Edge of the Old World (IC)

[Lionheart]

7th September, 2071 19:15
The Griffin - Bishopston
Bristol, UK

Your fixer told you that you'd be meeting the Johnson in the Griffin (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/The_Griffin_Pub.jpg), an upmarket gastropub that has stood in the neighbourhood of Bishopston (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Bristol_bishopston.png) for time immemorial. The copper statue of a griffon in an alcove on the roof has faded away to little more than a green spike, and the shingle has been replaced by an AR video of a neon griffon swooping and hovering over the doorway.
Bishopston is one of the nicer areas of Bristol, not home to the few corpers that live in this city (that would be Clifton), but significantly less scummy than the outer limits of Southmead or Frome Vale where the other runners, gangers and street scum reside. It's above your pay-grade, to say the least.

It's a Saturday night, and the pub is busy. A troll bouncer stands by the door, screening people for any obvious weapons with his cybereyes, but otherwise uncaring who enters or leaves. Inside, metahumans of all types mingle, laughing, eating real food and downing buckets of synthohol to rid themselves of the week's fatigue before they steel themselves for a return to work on Monday.

A table by the bay window has been set aside for your group, reserved in the name of your fixer. Advertisements flicker in AR across the glass, and a bottle of red wine sits in the centre of the table, surrounded by seven upturned glasses. There's no sign of the Johnson yet, so there's time to have a drink and maybe some pork scratchings before the meeting begins.

[Volthawk]

Hammer grins as he walks into the he walks into the pub - although the place was a bit upmarket for him (even in his days as an officer, he always preferred drinking with the lads rather than the other officers), it was still a good pub and with his concealed pistols he was sure he could handle any any problem that came up here.

Approaching the table, he frowns when he sees the bottle of red wine, turning around to walk back to the bar. After a few minutes, he heads back to the table with a pint in hand, grumbling to himself about the prices these days. He takes a seat, nursing his pint as he waits for the others to arrive.

[Taqukaq]

Ymra takes a deep breath as she peers around the corner of the alley she is in. She is still getting used to this world of giants and their strange methods. She takes in the cooling air. Autumn is near, She slides her helmet back on and does as she always does before going anywhere near a gathering of humans. There is a significant chance that no one will even see her but complacency is a dead man's tool. She readies herself for her spells, casting in the alley away from the prying eye.



Increase STR Force 3: [roll0] No drain Sweet 4 hits

Increase BOD Force 3: [roll1] No drain 3 or 4

Armor Force 6: [roll2] 4 drain [roll3] five hits with four of five hits to drain. Spells succeeded and drain has been resisted.

After Ymra has her spells on she takes a deep breath.Odin ser på meg og bladet denne dagen. Gi meg styrke til å drepe mine fiender og plyndre hva de er for svake til å forsvare.She relaxes and walks straight into the bar. Her natural concealment keeping just about every prying eye off of her until she gets to the meeting place where she sees Hammer. Say what you want about this world of giants...They still had Drink and Ymra was always happy to drink. Ymra orders the darkest and thickest beer she can and anything with meet in it.

Hei venn, hvordan har du det? She shakes her head realizing that Hammer probably doesn't speak Norwegian.Sorry. Hallo friend, how bodes the day?

[fibericon]

A pale man with hair just long enough that it seems less like a style choice and more like neglect shambles over to the table and has a seat next to Hammer.

"Hoi, chummers. Call me J. Johnson's gonna call me 'Puppet Master', but I think we can all agree on how stupid that sounds. I just put up with it because it gets me work." He looks over the seven glasses and one bottle of wine before adding, "Those are gonna be some tiny rations of booze. 'Scuse me for a moment."

He heads over to the bar and gestures toward a bottle of scotch.

[Volthawk]

When the pixie takes a seat, Hammer doesn't respond for a few seconds. He hadn't seen a pixie before, nor did he know her native language, but it didn't take long for him to mentally shrug it off. Stranger things out there than this, after all. "Yeah, I'm good. Just waiting for this bloody guy to turn up. You waiting here too?"

When the next person arrives, he nods and taps his glass. "I'm Hammer. Might as well get yourself something, we did. Not really a wine man, myself."

[Taqukaq]

Ymra probably looks even more outlandish as she is wearing what looks like iron breastplate with fur tinings, iron greaves, tassets gauntlets, horned helmet sword and shield. She looks like a viking. She grins at Hamner and J.

Tis accurate Venn. It seems there is need for a shaman or a warrior for I fill both roles. She drinks from her pixie sized pint of dark persuasion stout beer. Well met new Veen. Good to meet you. My name is Ymra.

[Lionheart]

Are you paying for your drinks, or putting them on the fixer's tab?
Ymra - the bartender seems surprised to see you, not just because of your size,but also your outlandish get up. He serves you a half pint of Oak and Dagger, a dark local stout.

Puppet Master - there's no scotch available, but there are single malts and blended whiskies from Tir na nOg, Wales and Cornwall.

[Eldest]

Smoke struts in and sits down in the corner booth. "Sup, chummers? I don't think I've worked with many of ya before." She stretches and yawns, eyes going unfocused briefly as she checks over the group in the matrix.

Switch Data Processing to a 5, Firewall to a 4
[roll0] Matrix Perception
7 hits, limited by Data Processing, for 5 hits.
Then switch the deck back to 1/5/1/4.

[Taqukaq]

Once more people are here and Ymra returns with her dark stout she squats on a chair. Being too smasll to sit. She calms down and focuses and opens her mind. Keeping an eye out for whats around.

Perception: [roll0] assensing[roll1]

[ReverseHermit]

Mihito gently braked within a hop and skip of the pub he was instructed to visit, of course a hop and skip covers a bit more ground for Mihito than most people. He blinks his eyes and stares at the pub, definitely an upgrade from the backalley he woke up in.

Interesting trip, interesting night.

Welcome to the world #31

"Wha..." he shakes his head, it's time to stay focused. He removes his skates, before making his way in. Hood down, yet head down, he made an effort to avoid eye contact.

[fibericon]

After being corrected by the bartender, Puppet Master gets a single malt from Wales on the rocks. He's gotten used to putting his drinks on someone else's tab for meetings, and doesn't think twice about doing it again.

After grabbing his drink, he goes back to sit with the ever-growing group. "I'll be your getaway driver for this evening. Your main course will be a stealth assassin drone with a side of breaking and entering."

[Volthawk]

Hammer nods as more people arrive, listening to then talk about their specialities. "Yeah, I'm your weapons guy. If it shoots, I know how to use it, look after it and probably have one at home. Demolitions, too."

[ReverseHermit]

Mihito moves his way into the rather chatty crowd.
"You guys seem pretty open to discussion, I don't know if that says more about you guys or this area in general."
His voice is soft and low, while slightly monotone.
"I am... #31", Mihito puts in a bit of effort to enunciate the individual syllables to his alias almost as if he were asking himself a question. It felt uncanny in a way to him.

[Taqukaq]

Ymra's voice was deep for a pixie, then again, she was large for a pixie. Her voice sounded like it came from a woman clad in iron armor. Well met Venn! Agzin, my name is Ymra. Im a viking raider originally unril i was discovered to have awoken. Now im also a shaman as well, but my people have been dead for nigh 1200 nears now if i recall correctly. Bah, a story for another time Venn. By Odin's beard... what... is this drink made from blood?! Fantastic!

Ymra takes the wine bottle and inspects it.... trying to figure out how to open it. She looks at the table and debates smashing it on the table but then finds the bottle opener and fumbkes with it. She drinks from the bottle with a grin. Her grin disapears as she stops drinking then fills her glass half full, she looks around.

The blood in this is diluted... it needs more... much more. It needs to be stronger.

[Volthawk]

Hammer chuckles at the little viking woman's antics. "It's wine. Made from grapes. Not my kind of drink, but it's still alcohol I guess." He then looks over to the new guy. "Huh. A number? Anyway, what do you do then?"

[ReverseHermit]

"Like the one I have on the back of my neck" He turns his head looks down to give everyone a better look. A highly visible number 31; monospace, sans serif. One would assume it look more like serial number than any sort of stylistic choice, "Perhaps, any of you have seen something like this?"
He returns his glance back to his new associates, "As for my abilities. I am an adept."
Mihito waves a hand over his face as an ethereal stag skull manifests for a brief moment before dissipating.

"Swifter than the wind"

"I can close the distance between myself and another target while avoiding fire in a matter of seconds. If you need me to pursue a target; land, water, and possibly even air, I'll chase them down. If you need me to draw enemy fire, whether a hail of bullets or group of gangers, I'll survive to finish the fight."

[Vixsor Lumin]

Apollo comes strolling up the street, his CU^3 drone staying in front of him recording an angle back into his own masked face. He walks into the Griffin and scans the room. Seeing the table full of "interesting" individuals he makes his way there. The drone spins, and gets an establishing shot of the area before getting a shot of each of the other runners.

"Oi omea! I'm Apollo and I'll be your marksman tonight." His covered gaze slides overy each of them and hesitates for just a second over the micro viking at the table. He holds his glass out to Ymra to have some wine poured for him.

[fibericon]

Puppet Master looks at the serial number quietly for a moment.

"Yeah, I've seen something like that. They put them on anthro drones - right in the same spot. I'm not a fan of them though. Cassie can help you remove it later if you want. Tattoo removal is null sweat, chummer."

Noticing Apollo come in, he perks up and raises his drink, "Ay, another drone user! Cheers!"

[Taqukaq]

When Apollo reaches out his glass, Ymra beams, her grin bright for all to see. She smashes her clenched fist on the table.... originally what everyone would think to be a tiny adorable pat, but her fist hit the table with the force of an average human male as she called out happily. Dette er flott!I would never pass up a chance to drink!

She pours Apollo a glass and picks up her bear and wine glass and cheers anyone with a drink before pouring them down one at a time because she is too small to drink both at once.

[Volthawk]

Hammer laughs at Mihito's way of describing his abilities. "Whatever you say, omae. Close combat adept then?"

When Apollo turns up and mentions being a marksman, he looks over. "Yeah? What are you using? A Desert Storm or something?"

[Vixsor Lumin]

Apollo cheers with Ymra and raises the glass to his mask pretending to drink it.

"It's just a hobby of mine, not something I would say I actually bring to the job as a skill. But if you know a guy who could get the pro model, I would appreciate it." He says to J nodding his head.

"The Desert Strike is a solid choice, but I find its valuable to be able to put more downrange when I need to, so I use a Crockett EBR. The other benefit is that it works at closer ranges because its a Battle Rifle rather than a true sniper." Apollo gives an appreciative nod to Hammer as he realizes that they have a similar passion. The drone pulls back to view the whole table at once while they wait for their Johnson.

[ReverseHermit]

Mihito shrugs, "To be honest, I was told 'you've got to sell it.' Though I can't say that's exactly my specialty. Of course, I'm hoping there's someone among us who's good with words."

[Volthawk]

Hammer nods as Apollo talks. "Yeah, the fact that it's less than two thirds the price of the Storm helps too. I swear, of all guns there's not much more expensive than a good sniper rifle, my own Crockett's probably the most expensive gun I own - not counting ammo or grenades and whatnot. Solid piece of kit, particularly if you start modding it. Not my standard weapon of choice, but pretty good at what it does."

[Lionheart]

You don't have to wait long, at 19:34, a skinny ork in a royal blue suit approaches your table. He wears a black t-shirt underneath the suit jacket, and a matching blue fedora at a jaunty angle on top of his greased back dark hair. He slides up to the table with an air of nonchalance that reeks of criminal activity, and you notice the chain going from the piercing at the top of his right ear to the lobe.

He smirks down at you all and sniffs loudly. "'Ello me babbers, good turn out this evening eh? He sits languidly in the last remaining sea, and clinks an empty wine glass against the bottle still in Ymra's hands. "If you don't mind little one, it's been a thirsty one."

Without waiting for a response, he glances over each of you in turn, nodding slowly to himself. "I imagine you've guessed that I'm Mr. Johnson. 'fore we start, why don't you all give me a quick rundown on the sort of work you've done before and how much you're willing to do, make sure our mutual friend ain't sent me any wrong un's."

[Vixsor Lumin]

Apollo thoughtfully swirls his wine as the Johnson speaks. Once he asks for the rundown Apollo clears his throat.

"Low level wetwork and assassinations of local gangers mostly." As he speaks a video of his most recent job pops up in an AR window. "Killing is no concern if its for the job, but I avoid collateral wherever possible. Oh, and I dont geek anyone that looks under the age of 16 unless they start it." His tone stays light and friendly, but there is an edge to his voice as it reaches the end of his statement.

"Technically an adept but everything I can do basically just makes me shoot better."

[Volthawk]

Hammer shrugs. "Most my life's been military. Officer in the Army before going private. Worked for the Dead Sea Group on their ops until the drekheads in charge messed it all up. Came here, did some work for Shrapnel - some protection, some muscle work, a little...forceful retrieval when a shipment went missing and was traced to a gang out there. This freelance stuff is a little new, just a few runs providing fire support when things inevitably went south, and one sabotage operation. As for what I'm willing to do...well if there's one thing the military teaches you, it's putting aside your opinions for the good of the mission." He neglected to mention the effects of that sort of thing, like how many nights he can't sleep.


Pulled a name for the merc group out of my arse, and to confirm Shrapnel is the street name/alias of my arms dealer contact.

[Taqukaq]

Ymra grins and pours for the Johnson before she goes back to hogging the bottle. Her own beer having long since been consumed. She waits for the others to give their spiels and then she gives her own.

Before I came to this futuristic land of giants, i was a veteran raider for the Brunhilder clan. My Svigerfar was the chieftain and taught me to lead my people and negitiate with neighboring clans. Then the local Shaman took me in and trained me as a Shaman. Since coming here, not much has changed. I lead my people with my Svigerfar's charisma, i raid and i will disable, detect and destroy our magical... obstacles. In short, i can fight, i can talk and i can do magic.

[ReverseHermit]

Mihito's youthful face works its way to observe Mr. Johnson, though he has difficulty getting an entire read on him.
"Combat adept. I can't say I carry too much notoriety, but I'll get the job done. Give me a blade and a set of roller skates and I can chase a vehicle in the city, dodge incoming fire and bring its driver and its crew down. I don't discriminate targets, but I'd prefer to be able to exercise my full capabilities when I can."

[Eldest]

Smoke smiles jauntily. "If you want something matrix related, I'm your girl. I don't really do the whole "guns' thing though, if I can help it. Decent with one, but I'd rather stay away. I'm not afraid of geekin' somebody, but isn't my favorite thing in the world."

[fibericon]

Puppet Master leans back in his seat and takes a swig of his drink before answering.

"Assassination is my big thing, infiltration comes with the territory. I can clear out a room of softies real quick, but your solid orthoskin and bone lacing guys go down eventually too. Rather not do anything that I'd have to flee the country for - that's kind of a pain, and I'm starting to like it here." He takes another sip, and suddenly remembers - only after glancing to the side of his comm's AR - to add something else. "Mmm, that's right. I'm a rigger. Should've opened with that."

[Lionheart]

Mr. Johnson smirks, "Well well well, a veritable parcel of rogues eh? That's good enough for me."

He takes a swig of his wine, and grimaces, before continuing, "I am here representing certain...
interested parties, shall we say. My employers want some help sorting out a nasty smuggling problem that's taking place in a facility nearby.

All at once the ork has gone from friendly local to smooth-talking businessman. His jaw is clenched and his eyes set as he gives the details. Someone has been robbing the Regulus Joint Industries facilities in Newport, South Wales. They're bringing their contraband into the Zeta ImpChem owned docks here in Bristol, and selling them to a third party. I'm sure you understand why nobody is particularly happy with this arrangement,

My proposal is 3,000 nuyen each for the termination of the smuggling ring. Not necessarily death, we just need you to make sure that they cease their operations and don't talk about it. You will probably have to break in to the facility, but my employers would prefer that none of the on-site security is harmed in any way that looks unnatural. Accidents only, no bullet holes.

Timing will be critical, if you hit the smugglers too late, the buyers might arrive and unleash hell. I suggest cleaning up the ring, then making the area spotless before getting away. There'll be a 500 nuyen bonus each if nobody comes off the wiser.

Oh, and you can keep whatever's being smuggled. We don't want to deal with that heat, and the buyers should be denied any assets from this.

Any questions?"

[fibericon]

Puppet Master listens to the Johnson talk, then nods and puts his glass down.

"Problem I see - we can probably get in past the security without them noticing. Some of us, at least. I'm not concerned about that. What concerns me is when we start shooting, they'll come running. I've got one quiet option, and it's pretty effective, but it's single target only. How many people in this ring?"

[Lionheart]

The Johnson taps his fingers against his glass."I'm not sure, though there shouldn't be more than three. Ringleader's an elf, and a nasty bit of work. The others are just muscle, could be they scatter when they see their payday splattered on the asphalt."

[Volthawk]

Hammer thinks for a few moments before resonding. He's had an idea, but he'll talk about that later with the others. "So when you say nobody being the wiser, that means that any security we have to disable have to be either dead - and as you say, killed cleanly - or somehow completely unaware of how they got knocked out, yeah? Guess that'll mean the latter mostly. I've got some quiet options when it comes to taking out the gang, so I'm not concerned there, just figuring out options with security. Also, are you interested in finding out who the buyers are, if we come across the info or have a chat with the gang?"

[Lionheart]

The Johnson shrugs, Knocked out would be better, yeah. As for the buyers, forget about them. They're not for you to worry about.

[fibericon]

This guy doesn't even know how many? Leave it to a Johnson to hire a team without good info. Unlikely he knows anything else.

"I think I've heard all I need to. I'll leave any further commentary for the planning stage. Team?"

[Taqukaq]

Ymra beams at the thought of pillaging the smuggled goods and thrn narrows her eyes at the lack of info concerning the buyers, however she doesnt nention it. Then she smirks at the mention of pay and no bullets.

Ah well, i have no guns, but i dont have nonlethal... i dont exactly take prisoners but my sword and magic will kill quietly. I have two concerns. This ring leader... does he need to be alive? As for tge pay, unfortunately i have to say im a little disapointed in this. You're asking quite a bit of us that includes alot of variables, a time limit and a generally nonlethal and silent approach. Im thinking we should see something more to compensate. Maybe even something small upfront to help us get nonlethal means.

[roll0] 4 hits unless anyone wants to join in.

[Eldest]

"I'm sorry, did you say three k a head for punching somebody's ticket, in the middle of a secure facility, without it looking like we were there? That's it?"

[roll0] Pre-Edged. I will roll any exploding 6s in the OOC chat.

Total of 3 successes.

[Lionheart]

The skinny ork purses his lips at your negotiations. "I can understand your reticence, but this is a milk run, no strings, and you'll be able to make up the difference through fencing of the contraband, shouldn't be a struggle for well connected chaps such as yourselves.

I suppose I can stretch to another 3k up front, for expenses etc. For the whole team you understand.
Alternatively, I can give you the smuggler's comm code, to make the job even easier."

He then turns to Ymra, a pained expression crossing his face."I did say no bullet holes, but tiny sword wounds would raise even more questions. Believably deniable blunt force trauma only please. Or, as your less bloodthirsty friend suggested, inexplicable unconsciousness would be ideal."

[Volthawk]

Hammer nods. "I'm assuming that nonlethal electrical takedowns are also off the table, yeah? Blunt force shouldn't be too hard to arrange, shouldn't have a problem getting fitting stuff for it. "

[Taqukaq]

Ymra smiles and nods at the additional 3k in advance for expenses. She nods, convinced that it is a simple run with quick and easy pay. Ymra would need to invest in nonviolent methods. Luckily her spirits could knock people out. She nods satisfied. She grins at the orc's words about swords.

Very well... no death. Ill focus on clearing any magical security first then. Probably summon a watcher spirit to scout, though would have to be careful. If thry see the spirit prior to the merting they may get paranoid.

Ymra being satisfied with the conversation she will wait before fully discussing the plan.

[ReverseHermit]

Mihito nods, "No bloodshed. Interesting... it should be doable."

He begins to visualize his approach; attack the armored points, or go with the back of the blade. Alternatively handling something such as a stun baton wouldn't be entirely too unwieldy for him, particularly if the team is planning to go for a nonlethal approach. Honestly, it sounds too easy, but he wasn't exactly in the position to say no.

[Lionheart]

The ork nods. "Very well then, I'll take my leave. Any questions, you can leave a message on this code. It's not my main comm, so might not answer right away. The deals go down every Thursday night, I'd appreciate this to be complete during the next."

He throws back the last of his wine, then stands, tosses a business card onto the table. It's blank save for a comm code. He thinks for a bit, then drops a credstick on the table too.
"There's your advance, feel free to stay and make plans, though perhaps somewhere more private would be better. Do try not to run the tab up too high.
Later."

He walks to the bar and speaks to the bartender for a moment before tipping his hat and walking out of the door into the rain.

[fibericon]

Puppet Master knocks back his drink after the Johnson leaves, then looks at the ice cubes for a moment, but thinks better of getting a refill. He looks up at the rest of the group.

"I got a van. Who needs a ride? We can talk shop there too - plenty big enough."

[Taqukaq]

Ill need a ride Venn.

[Volthawk]

Hammer nods. "Sounds like a good idea, I haven't got a ride at the moment. On the bright side, we have plenty of time - five days before the next deal, shouldn't have a problem being ready." He finishes his pint. "Shall we?"

[ReverseHermit]

"It would be best to continue business elsewhere, wouldn't it? Ok, I'm good to go if everyone else is. I don't mind riding in the back of the van."

[Vixsor Lumin]

"I've got a bike, but I'm more than happy to keep talking business." Apollo says as he stands. He pings his comm code to everyone at the table but the Johnson.

[Eldest]

"I'll need a ride. I caught a cab here. But first," and her french accent starts to show for the first time, after the Johnson leaves, "I will need to sample that wine." She pours herself a glass and enjoys it slowly, listening to the others plan.

[Vixsor Lumin]

Apollo turns to leave, calling his drone to land in his hand. Pocketing it he calls his bike to pull up front and hops on. "Anyone have a place to go? My place would get a little crowded." He says over DNI.

[fibericon]

Puppet Master waits for Smoke to finish her drink, apparently playing text tag with someone in the meantime. When she's done, he stands up and walks to the door, beckoning the others to follow. He steps out into the parking lot and pulls his coat up to protect his head, moving quickly over to his van.

Opening the door, he reveals it to be actually quite nice inside, especially for being the back of someone's van. Two sofas, a table, and a stocked minibar - all bolted down of course. A padded approximation of a hospital bed that normally folds up into the wall has been pulled down as well. A short girl - short for a human, that is, at five foot even - of ambiguous apparent age hands him a towel as he steps in, and has one for each of the other runners as well. Once everyone is inside, he closes the door and stands next to her, gesturing at each party member in turn.

"Cassie, this is Hammer - weapons specialist, Yrma - shaman, 31 - adept, Apollo - marksman, Smoke - decker. Cassie is my hands on the job."

She offers a small smile and a nod.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all. Please make yourselves at home. 31, J sent a message ahead that you might want a tattoo removed." She gestures over to the hospital bed, "Please have a seat and let me see. J, can you get us moving while I get everyone settled in?"

It doesn't take much to get the van rolling, since being a normal part of traffic is handled automatically. He sets the vehicle to make a wide loop around town, then turns back to the group.

"I favor an ambush for this. We sneak in, hit the dealers simultaneously on a signal. Any luck, we drop them all before they can react, and we can take our time cleaning up without security interference. Cassie, can you show us your fangs for a sec?" When she opens her mouth and extends her fangs, he adds, "Those things are coated with atropine, and she can get in with the help of ruthenium polymer. Should be able to take out her target in one. What are you all thinking for this?"

[Vixsor Lumin]

Apollo shrugs and sets his bike to follow the van. He nods to Cassie and accepts the towel, and uses it to clear the droplets from his mask. Wrapping it over his shoulders he finds a spot to make himself comfortable. "I agree, an ambush seems like the easiest way to resolve this.
I think it'll be important to get eyes on where the sale is happening." He reaches into his backpack and begins to reassemble his rifle.

[ReverseHermit]

Mihito neatly folds the towel once finished drying himself, before shaking his head in refusal to offer personally given to him personally. He briefly runs a hand over the back of his neck, "Not yet. There is a little bit more business I would like to do with this tattoo, things that might concern our mutual friend?" He pauses with a strange inflection unsure himself of what he just said.

"Well, perhaps friend is a stretch, but right now there is a... mutual exchange of business I might be able to set with him once I earn a bit more of his trust." Again he felt more uncertainty, though right now he didn't feel as if there was anything substantial lead on for his own personal circumstances. "Otherwise, I'm in favor of an ambush. Non-lethal isn't my specialty, but I can make do with something as simple as a baseball bat or crowbar to avoid any unneeded mess. Of course any final and further decisions might be best made once we case the place."

[fibericon]

Cassie nods and folds the bed back up into the wall.

"Yeah, I figure we'll scout at some point in the next few days, possibly the whole time. But we only need non-lethal on the guards, and that's if we need to disable them at all. We need the dealers to stop what they're doing and never speak of it again, which says lethal to me. If you think you can convince them all the be wage slaves and get a lobotomy, be my guest."

"A lobotomy targets the frontal lobe, which only handles working memory. You would likely want to temporal lobe or amygdala in this case."

"Actually, I want you, Cassie, to target the throat - that's my point, my lack of anatomy knowledge notwithstanding. These guys need to go away forever, and no one just goes away forever unless they're dead. I mean, I'm open to suggestions, but I'm not seein' a better solution right now."

[Vixsor Lumin]

As the last bit of the rifle screws itself back together, Apollo looks between the two magazines in his hands. One is loaded with gel rounds, and the other with APDS. He slides the second mag into the rifle but leaves the round unchambered.

"I think a circular incision to the amygdala sounds perfect Cassie." He says, with a smile in his voice.

"So the three inside need to be put down permanently with the outer guards having no knowledge. That means body disposal and recovering the goods are also something we should keep in mind." His hands play over the rifle making minor adjustments absent-mindedly, more as a tic than accomplishing anything useful.

"The more we talk about this, the more knocking out the guards seems like a requirement than a back up plan." He reaches over and sets his camera drone on the table to get abother angle.

"Unless Ymra thinks she can either talk or magic a crate and some bodies past the perimeter." He says, adjusting the drone to keep the smaller meta in sight.

[fibericon]

Cassie smiles at Apollo, "I only have first aid software at the moment, but once I have more advanced medical software, I'll be happy to oblige."

"Yep, that's your next upgrade. How about, some of us just show up in a boat like we're the buyers after the dealers are taken care of? Then we just leave with the goods and the bodies. Of course, if someone asks, 'Hey baby, we're the buyers' probably ain't gonna work. Smoke, maybe you can find something to help the impersonation effort? I know we don't have much to go on right now, but it's worth looking into at least."

[Volthawk]

Hammer shrugs. "The idea is sound, but I don't think the buyers will be coming by water. After all, the smugglers are bringing this stuff across the water from Wales, so logically the buyers are located in the city, coming in by land. The smugglers will have a boat adapted for being quiet, I'm guessing, so we just take theirs. If we get them quickly, we won't even need to load up the goods, they'll still be aboard.

As for the targets, let's face it we won't have any problems there between us. We can do that quietly enough, no problem. Main issue we have right now is that all we have is vague descriptions to go on for their identities, and we have no idea of their procedures - how they'll act on the night, any contingencies, backup, you get the idea."

He mulls it over for a few moments before continuing. "In any case, I think the next step is to get eyes on the area we'll be working in, scout out the surrounding area. If we can find a nearby vantage point, we can post Apollo up there - he can keep a lookout, inform our infiltration team of any changes he can see, tell us if the buyers are coming and if he gets the chance, he can drop a target. I'd also like to see the situation with the water and the possibility of access that way - I have gear for aquatic operations, and that might be a useful edge."

Input over for now, he shrugs again and looks at the others. "That's what I think anyway, with the limited information we have. Any thoughts?"

[Taqukaq]

Ymra takes her helmet off in the rain and uhhh....takes advantage of running watter. Running her fingers through her thick golden hair she curses silently that sge has no soap but shrugs it off. It was still better than nothing as she impromptu showered with most of her clothes on in the time it took to get to the van. Ymra takes the towel, folds it and sits on it but lets herself dry off naturally. She ponders at the plan.

Hmmm... my specialty is mostly negotiations, leading my people and ettiquite between the different clans before i walked through the door. I never lied to get where i needed and what i wanted because i always just killed and took what i wanted... I mean... im a raider, its what we do. This nonlethal thing however, complicates for me. Where can i find a nonlethal sword?

I have spirits and i can just tell them to nonlethally take someone out. Unfortunately that feels like a massive waste of good spirits that i might want to keep incase the raid does not go well. I can get myself in easily... most people just outright CANNOT see me no matter what i try. This world of you giants is strange. To this day i dont understand why I can't be seen. As for getting you all in... I can do that too, but it involves me killing them. Which I would like to get paid.

Once we get past the guards we can kill to our hearts content. I like Hamner's plan. If we go in from the water, we don't really have to fool them into thinking we are buyers. We just gotta convince them not to gun us down until we get close enough to quietly kill them and drop their bodies in the sea. I can do that, im decent at a quick negotiations, kind of a false flag. We used to do it back when I was a raider, when we targeted armies and stronger clans we would come in a false flag of negotiation and spring an ambush before they could get any kind of solid footing. Quick, effective, personal and bloody. Just the way i like it. Whats our time limit by the way? When is this going down?

[Volthawk]

Hammer raises an eyebrow. "Negotiation?I don't think that'll work, this isn't an opposing army we can parley with. They probably know their buyers, and we don't know who any of the players are - it seems like Johnson knows who's buying but don't want us prying. They see a threat - and they will see us as threats - they'll respond aggressively or just retreat, won't give a chance for reasoned diplomacy. If it all goes well, they shouldn't see us until we're engaging them. The Johnson said the deals happen Thursday night, it's Saturday night now, so that gives us around five days to prepare."

He thinks a little before adding a thought. "Perhaps... perhaps it might be worth snatching the ringleader rather than just killing him. I mean, as far as Johnson's concerned the ring's broken up, problem solved, but it might be worth questioning the smuggler away from the dock. Might open up some side opportunities for a bigger payday past what they have on the night. Also has its risks, though."

[Taqukaq]

Hm yeah i guess your right. You know more about this world than I do so i will defer to your better judgement on that. I do sgree with snagging the ring leader. I think that would be good.

[fibericon]

Puppet Master shifts uncomfortably at the mention of bringing the ringleader in alive.

"You know we're getting paid to both end the deals and silence the dealers, right? I mean, I guess we can pump him for info and then kill him, but I don't have a reliable non-lethal option. Even if I did, it seems like we're asking for trouble. I guess we'll know if it's worthwhile after we do some scouting. How do we wanna start this?"

[Volthawk]

Hammer shrugs. "It was just a thought that came to mind - I would've suggested stick'n'shock or similar electrical attacks. For what it's worth, he did say killing them wasn't strictly necessary, although even with this plan it'd be likely - if nothing else, the heavy is would need to go.

Anyway, putting that thought aside, I think we should go have a look around the area we'll be working in. We can't plan in detail if we don't know where everything is - as well as just eyes, a mapsoft of the immediate area would be useful and at some point, Smoke, you should probably do some snooping and see if you can get some schematics of the facility and similar information we'll need."

[Vixsor Lumin]

Apollo tilts his head to the side. "I like the idea of getting a vantage point, but convinient rooftops have a habit of being hard to come by." When Hammer mentions taking the ringleader alive, Apollo shakes his head.

"I agree with J. Taking the ringleader might lead to some side money but it seems like more complications than its worth. It appears we all agree that we need to take a look at the area though." Apollo leans back into the sofa clearly enjoying the comfort offered by the van.

[Eldest]

"I can take a look via the matrix, see what's what."

[ReverseHermit]

"So how are we going to this? The matrix provides a lot, but we will need footwork in meatspace." He takes a moment to look for a clear window to look out of, "And not to be the pessimist, but I get the feeling these kind of vans don't carry with them the most... conspicuous reputation. Though, I guess it wouldn't be too out of place at the docks. Of course a viking pixie on the other hand might leave a bit more of an impression.
He turns back around to the rest of the runners and leans forward contemplatively, resting his forearms on his lap.
"So I guess let's set some goals for when we arrive and the next couple days perhaps? I'm sure it will make the car ride seem shorter. Like we need to get a good idea of layout of the docks. Locate any sort of electronic sentries, figure out who has eyes on them, and what we can do about it. Maybe get general gist of the day to day routine of the area since we're given the time. Hmm, what else? I'm not exactly the planning type and a lot of the tasks I presented will primarily involve some sort of matrix work."
He lightly claps his hands and exclaims in dull excitement.
"Oh!"
Mihito pulls out his commlink and starts playing around with it. "Anyone know where the nearest department slash hardware store is? I'd like to buy a crowbar. For some reason I always feel like one of those tends to be handy."

[Vixsor Lumin]

"So a quick stop at the hardware store, and then off to the job site. Sound good J? Is is your van." Apollo says placing the rifle away and folding the towel that was around his shoulders. He hands the folded towel to Cassie, unsure of where it should be put.

"So how did you two meet?" he asks, pointing his masked gaze from Cassie to J. "Father-daughter wetwork team? Apprenticeship? .... Lovers?" He asks with a slight tilt to his head at the end, unsure of exactly how old Cassie is.

[fibericon]

Puppet master chuckles nervously at the question, rubbing the back of his head and averting eye contact. He turns around in his seat and mutters, "Let me get us to that hardware store."

Cassie stares at him, gauging his reaction, and dons a mischievous smirk before turning back to Apollo. "We did a run together in the UCAS, and he was upset about how Mitsuhama Computer Technologies treated me. A year and a half ago he liberated me from them, but we had to leave the country because I'm a prototype model, and they would have tried to retrieve me."

[ReverseHermit]

"プロトタイプ･･･そうか。" His thoughts begin to trail before focusing his attention to Cassie, "俺はお前が人間じゃないとは思わなかった。"

A prototype... I see. I didn't think you weren't human.

He silently turns to watch Puppet Master from the back of the van. "You have... had it difficult, haven't you? Then again, most of us in this business have." with a dissatisfied frown Mihito waves a dismissive hand as if trying to clear the air and puts on his best smile, "Sorry, forget I said that, we can save it for later." He returns once again back to Cassie, "Though you seem rather... candid about this information. Puppet Master must be a bigger softie than I thought."

[Vixsor Lumin]

Apollo is completely still, his blank mask locked on Cassie. "...Fragging what? Prototype?" He leans forward slightly and points at her mouth. "So thats not just ware? Err.. Well.. I guess all of you is ware..." His finger droops, and his gaze shifts to J. "All of it is ware? Is that rude? Do you have a preference, Cassie?" If his face were visible the cringe would be obvious. "Damn I suck at this transhuminist drek. I've never seen or talked to anything or anyone as advanced as you."

[fibericon]

Cassie giggles, 「私はUCASを離れてから日本語を話す人がいませんでした。これは楽しいでしょう！あなたがバレルの右側 にいるなら、彼は本当に心が柔らかいです。

I haven't had someone to speak Japanese with since I left UCAS. This will be fun! He really is soft hearted if you're on the right side of the barrel.

"Yeah, it woulda come out eventually, I guess. I've found it's bad to have surprises in the team. Did a meet with some Johnson once at a sushi joint, and one of our team didn't want to be rude, so she ate a little despite being deathly allergic to seafood. None of us knew until she... uh... died. At the meet. Yeah. A little warning could have avoided that, is what I'm saying. Alright, we're here. Grab your various blunt tools and let's head over to the docks."

Cassie retracts her fangs and turns her attention to Apollo. "Technically speaking, this is a drone chassis. To break down the functionality, it is a collection of cyberware tied to my piloting program, which can be overridden by a control rig. I identify as my personality software and appearance for purposes of gender, but I lack any biological components, so I technically have no species. I prefer whatever is more useful in the context of conversation, whether it's 'drone', 'cyberware', or otherwise."

Once everyone's back in, Puppet Master puts in a new destination.

"Alright, got your stuff? I'm gonna park the van a few blocks from the docks. Damn this rain - we won't be using gecko tape tonight."

[Lionheart]

7th September, 2071 22:08
Zeta ImpChem docks, Avonmouth (https://www.weather-forecast.com/locationmaps/Avonmouth.12.gif)
Bristol, UK

The rain is coming down in earnest now, as it only can do this close to Wales. It pours in sideways, almost indiscernible as it lands, but soaking everything exposed in seconds. As you pass from the middling neighbourhoods of Bishopston and Henleaze into the slick corper compounds of Westbury-on-Trym and Kingsweston, the grimy neon and worn concrete gives way to huge AR tridverts for Zeta ImpChem's latest vacancies, Reuglus Joint Industries' latest car model and aggressively American pitches for Ares' newest innovation in 'self-defence'. The buildings here are white plasteel, and the streets are lit by floodlights that perfectly simulate daylight. Shop windows display designer clothes, sunglasses and household paraphernalia that few in your line of work could ever afford, much less make use of.
There are a few wageslaves out this late, moving from one high end nightclub to another, veins filled with designer compounds and real alcohol, rather than the synthohol found in the pubs in the other areas of the city. Knight Errant officers trade salutes with representatives of the Lord Protector's Office as they patrol the streets, automatic weapons very much in evidence.

You come out of the other side and into the industrial district of Avonmouth, and the streets look very dark again, as if night has fallen for a second time. Between you and the open sea, fenced off compounds line the dirty river Avon, stacked with shipping crates and lit with rolling spotlights. The east side of the river is covered in UCAS flags and Ares logos, while the west side is rather more understated with Zeta ImpChem and subsidiaries' symbols. You find an inconspicuous parking space opposite the specific compound highlighted by Mr. Johnson.

It looks pretty similar to all the others, except for the fact that this is the one closest to the water; the first place that goods would be unloaded before being diverted to the correct locale. The compound is surrounded by a 12ft high fence, topped with razor wire. A guard tower stands in the south east corner (nearest to the entrance), and the shipping crates are stacked two or three high, effectively blocking line of sight in ordered rows between here and the water's edge. A pair of spotlights on the guard tower rove across the area, no doubt complete with motion sensors and cameras linked to alarms. A single guard in a stab vest and helmet, leans over the balcony, smoking a cigarette over the top of his assault rifle.

As you watch, you see a pair of Doberman drones round the corners of the shipping crates nearest to you, and cross paths before disappearing again around the corner from which the other came, as if on mirrored patrol routes.

[Eldest]

Smoke lights up with a smile and points at the drone. "With your permission, I would love to look at your software, see how it works. That sounds fascinating, I knew you were a drone but I thought he was low level rigging. A mostly autonomous drone is, well, fragging cool."

When they arrive, Smokes attitude changes. She pulls a small, beaten up plastic case from a hidden inner pocket and starts to plug in, lying down and curling around it on the couch. She let's her meat body fall away, and enters the matrix as fully as she can. Damn, but she's jealous of technos.

[fibericon]

Puppet Master makes a mental note to get a secondary cocoon to keep deckers safe, then slides into his own.

"Of course! Any information you could gather that isn't directly available to me would be very interesting. Shifting control... Okay, I'm jumped in." She starts to gather her gear - mostly breaking and entering technology, but also a submachine gun. "Don't get too bold. I'd rather not know something than have one of us get caught tryin' to figure it out. We've got a few days to handle recon and prep. Once we exit the van, I'm activating the anti-theft to keep Smoke from getting snatched while she's out, so take everything you need now."

She opens the door and steps out of the van, immediately activating her ruthenium polymer.

[Taqukaq]

Ymra grins at Mihito's remark about hiw cinspicyous she is. She shakes her head and shrugs her shoulders.

You would think i stick out but ive learned that unless people are specifically looking for a viking pixie, i can usually walk right past them. Im kinda sneaky but its some strange power i have developed. Anyway, lets see if we can find magical traces of anything going on here.

[roll0] perception holy **** that was almost a crit glitch. Almost a glitch. If i had one more 1.

[roll1] assensing for spirits or magical security.

[Vixsor Lumin]

Apollo sends a quick message to Smoke, inviting three marks onto his PAN. "You mind keeping an eye on my electronics?" he messages her.

Assuming the answer is a yes, he sends his camera drone up to get a lay of the land. Grabbing his bag, he jumps out of the back of the van and begins walking in the rain, looking for a good vantage point outside of the compound.

[Volthawk]

Hammer grins when caution is brought up. "I don't plan on getting grabbed - hell, I likely won't be going into there today. I want to check out the surroundings today, see how practical planning a water route for me is." He pauses. "I probably won't be swimming today. I left my gear for it at home so I can't do any serious underwater work that'd need an air supply, and it'll be bloody cold. Still, if I can work out the details it should be useful."

That said, Hammer leaves the van and fiddles with his commlink for a little before heading out, looking for a place he could get into the water in a covert manner.


Would this be Perception or Navigation?

To elaborate on what I'm looking for, while there are probably quite a few places I could get in, I'm looking for one with a few other qualities: primarily, I'd rather my entrance not require trespassing into one of the docks, a degree of subtlety/cover would also be nice, and although it's not necessary closer is nicer (that's more of a side perk than anything in my mind).

I'm aware that anywhere I use will probably be high above the water (embankments or whatever) but I do have rope and stuff so I'm not too fussed there.

Like I said OOC, if I can get a mapsoft I'd like to buy one and make whatever use I can of it.

[Vixsor Lumin]

Apollo highlights the cranes at a neighboring yard with an ARO. "Hammer, what do you think? Looks like it'd have decent sightlines.

[ReverseHermit]

Mihito puts on his subvocal mic and earbuds, the rest of his gear plus newly acquired crowbar in his backpack, before pinging his commlink to the rest of the crew.

"Testing, 1 2 3."

He exits the van, slightly disappointed with the current forecast. "Good cover, but not exactly skate weather." He tugs on his hood in a vain attempt to keep his face dry, he chuckles."Well, I'll probably still risk it come game day."

He scans from side to side, taking note to see if anyone in particular have taken notice of their presence.

Perception, Limit: 5. -1 Defaulting Penalty: [roll0]
2 Successes
Notes: Low Light Vision due to cat eyes bioware
He wanders around a bit, "What do guys think about hiding a mic onto the pier? Or maybe planting something in one of these crates for future use? I don't think it would be difficult or expensive to get an empty crate of our own and leaving it somewhere for later."

[fibericon]

Puppet Master can't see much past the rain. He sends over a message to Smoke through Cassie's commlink, granting matrix access to the gear under his command, then another message to everyone. "Putting the van on lockdown. Let's move."

He brings the drone slowly up toward the perimeter and moves along counterclockwise, carefully looking over anything he can see past the crates.


Perception (http://orokos.com/roll/557156): 9d6t5 3
Drone sneak (-6 to perception rolls to detect) (http://orokos.com/roll/557164): 8d6t5 4

[ReverseHermit]

"Ahh, so here's a suggestion to a solution to our smuggler problem. Why don't we just send them on an overseas vacation? What's good this time of year?" He nods a head over to the crates.

[Eldest]

A new group-chat window pops up in everyone's AR window, as Smoke accepts control and responsibility for the group's electronics. A little thumbs-up emoji appears, before a few spots start to glow red: a lock on the fence, a few of what look to be spotlights and cameras on the guard towers. A pair of little stick men with trunchons and guns appear on the overlay: one on the far side of the compound, one on the guard tower. Finally, the two Dobermans show up as snarling, well, dogs, tracking their location. A little chirp shows the arrival of a new message from Smoke: "First, the sensors." A little magicians wand appears above them all, waving about and leaving a trail of sparkles.

[Volthawk]

Still searching for the best spot by the water, Hammer takes a moment to assess everything said so far. "Looks good, Apollo. I've bought a mapsoft, take a look - if nothing else, it'll be worth knowing whose cranes you're sneaking up. As far as using the crates goes...definitely an idea, if we can be sure they won't be moved away to somewhere useless, although naturally the old classic of a bomb won't really work given our limits. Stashing stuff for us to grab on the night...I don't see anything we'd need that wouldn't just be brought in on the day yet, but it's worth keeping in mind for sure, if the circumstances shift. Hiding the bodies in a crate would make storing and moving them easier before we dump them I guess."

[Taqukaq]

Venn, becareful not to get too close, there are watcher spirits patrolling as well. They have magic security. It will have to be taken into note. When we do the run ill take out the watcher spirits. But not now, ill keep an eye on them and keep you updated on locations and maybe patrol routes.

Ymra keeps her eyes open trying to track the watcher spirits. She will keep everyone updated on the spirits she does see.

[Vixsor Lumin]

"Ooo sweet!" Apollo pulls up the mapsoft after Hammer gives him access, and beings pouring over it to find out more about the cranes. "The idea of a camera or something inside isn't a bad idea, but an RFID with some sensors slapped in there seems better than bugging a box that might get moved or noticed."

When Ymra mentions watcher spirits, Apollo stiffens slightly. "Think they'll care about somethng magical flaring up outside of the area they're assigned to? Itll be rough to try to get any climbing or sniping done without magic."

[Taqukaq]

Outside of their area, you have nothing to fear. Watcher spirits arent intelligent enough to register anything outside of the task they are given. If we don't do anything consistent, im dure you will be fine.

[fibericon]

"Should I be worried about thermographic or ultrasound? Cassie's got no aura, but the drones or trolls might be able to spot her."

When the map pops up, he grins and shoots off another message. "I'll take that as a no. Want me to take a crack at that maglock, or do you want to handle it in the matrix?"

[Volthawk]

Having found his place on the wall, Hammer looks over the wall and nods before getting onto the comms. "OK, I've found a place I can rope down into the water from. Doesn't seem like it'd give me the run of the place, but it'll let me sneak up to where they'll probably be arriving, and where their boat and contraband will be. It widens our options, anyway."

[Lionheart]

Just to be clear, there's no clear logos marking the owners of the cranes. This means they could be part of the Zeta ImpChem docks, or owned and provided by the port authority itself. They are also behind a chain link fence, whose gate is locked with maglock with a card reader, as opposed to the keypads on the other maglocks.

[Eldest]

Smoke's magic wand waves about much as a conductor's does with an orchestra, tapping each item three times, they all have the malevolent red glow replaced with a gentle blue. In the matrix, she laughs as she works, adding emojis and little details about the hardware to the group chat. Finally, everything is glowing blue, and she gives herself an admin override password to each item, before logging off, rebooting her deck to clear her overwatch score, and then logging back on to "legally" acquire all the marks again.

Because it's bloody lot of rolling, I am just going to buy hits, netting 5 successes per item with the agent's help (who is also buying hits). Going slowly, giving herself a password for each item as she gains the marks to do it, checking her overwatch score, and relogging if she needs to. Slow and careful. She's going to pull a copy of everything on both commlinks, send both Dobermans to the wrong side of the compound with a false alert and keep them there, and lock the safeties on with all the weapons.

[Vixsor Lumin]

Apollo whistles appreciatively. "Well dreck Smoke. You pull that kinda stuff on gameday and I think were gonna be in business." Apollo finishes survailling the area, and call his drone back to its usual spot at shoulder height. "Anything else we think we need to do before we go?"

Are they fully automated? Or is there a ladder or elevator to take up to the control area?

[fibericon]

"Now that's a superstar if I've ever seen one. I see a mechanical lock that looks ripe for the picking."

The drone crawls slowly toward the locked gate and pulls out an autopicker. This should be quick.


Drone lockpicking with autopicker (http://orokos.com/roll/557562): 14d6t5 6

[ReverseHermit]

Mihito shrugs and responds to Apollo, "Not that I can think of. Though I don't think we need all of us to go in. I'll stay outside just in case someone unexpected comes around."
He gives a thumbs up, "Don't worry, 31 will watch your 6."
A phrase he enjoyed more than he felt like he should have.

[Taqukaq]

Venn careful, if you must go in, let me come with you. This is a good casing but if we press this too much were going to make things difficult for us the day of. We have seen the place, mapped it out and tested the security, we should not push this, my suggestion would be to keep long range surveilance on this place while we prepare for the meeting and if there is a major increase in activity, we should come back to see what the differences. If the guards check the doors and later find thst they were openedor tampered with, then that will most likely make things more difficult. Have we checked for cameras? They may have electronic surveilance, i know they have magical surveilance.

Ymra shifts uncomfortably as she sends the message to everyone. She grips her sword, knowing, now was not the time to act this aggressively. She knew from experience that the best way to do something was instsnt violence of action.... not several days before the scheduled raid. She didnt shift because she was worried of future difficulties... she simply wanted to launch herself in, kill and pillage the goods already. But one must control themselves. Impatience is a dead man's tool.

[Lionheart]

That's fine, yes. Bear in mind that these are each opposed tests, so it's possible that they may have failed as there's no set threshold. That said, the opposer rolled terribly, so your marks stand.

Are you sure that's a good idea? There's still several days until the night, and the padlocked gate only leads to a loading dock by the water.

The cranes are automatic, but there is an access ladder leading to each of their central control units in case of repairs being required.

I'm not sure there's much left to do here, so I'm happy for you all to take a little bit of downtime before the night of the deal.
So if there's nothing else you want to do here, we can either roleplay the time in between, or skip ahead with you all letting me know what you're up to in the meantime.

[fibericon]

Puppet Master winces in mild annoyance and relocks the gate.

"You win, I'm pulling back. Can't blame me for itching for action. Meet up at the van - I'll decloak Cassie and open it up once people start showing up."

[Taqukaq]

Ymra grins and walks back to the van messaging. I understand Venn, soon we will get our chance. I too was tempted. Now i have to find a nonlethat weapon and we can try to see what more we can find about this smuggler. Ymra makes it to the van and waits.

Im all for some roleplay in here.

[Volthawk]

Hammer starts to walk back to the van, talking as he goes.

"Yeah, we don't need to go further today, I think. Good to know that we can get past that stuff in advance, but for now let's leave it all as it was. Apollo, does the crane work for you?

In terms of who does what, in my mind we'll be split in four. The main one is the ground infiltration team, who'll go in and make sure any security who might interfere are dealt with and prepare to ambush the smugglers. I was thinking of Cassie, Mihito and Ymra for that - Cassie seems like the best infiltrator with her tech, Mihito for quickly disabling any guards and Ymra for dealing with inside security and your natural ability at hiding - naturally the exact details of who does what depends on the situation, so I'll leave that to you guys.

Second, we have Apollo up high, keeping an eye out for trouble and potentially sniping along with the ambush if the opportunity presents itself. Again, I'll leave the specifics to you - our main worry is external involvement, the buyers or backup or something like that, you get the idea, but an extra pair of eyes for the ground team won't hurt, by your judgement. Do you have a quiet rifle? I noticed your Crockett was gas-vented, and we'll want any gunfire to be suppressed to some extent. If not, I should be able to sort something in time - a silenced hunting rifle won't be hard, or at the least subsonic bullets for your gun.

Third we have the van, with Puppet Master's body and Smoke. You guys know the drill, do what you do best, keep yourselves alive and under the radar, and so on.

Finally I'll go in by the water, secure the loading dock where the targets will be arriving first. After that, I'll be in a flexible support position - if you guys run into trouble in the yard, I can move in and flank from my angle, or I could work in from my side, or just hide out in the water to wait for the smugglers to surround them once they're here. If anyone I've suggested for the ground team is able and willing to come with me, they're welcome to, I guess in that situation we'd properly push in like the main team. Alternatively if you guys think me joining the main team is better, that works too.

Like I said to Apollo, if any of you need more specialised weapons, ammo or weapon mods for this, let me know and I'll see what I can do through my contacts in the arms market. This run has let me realise that I've been skimping in the quiet stuff front, anyway.

This is what I'm thinking now we've had a look around, anyway. Thoughts, people?"

[Taqukaq]

Im happy with this, i feel like i should stay with the ground team. I feel as if that was where the watcher spirits patrolled the most so i can deal with any barriers or spirits. That being said, if you hit a barrier, let me know so i can track it down and disable the mage. Ill take you up on your offer... i use swords... are there nonlethal swords? I feel like that would defeat the purpose of a sword. Huh.

[ReverseHermit]

Mihito continued to follow from behind the rest of the group as they take their leave, "Well I only got the crowbar because it was something I figure might be helpful during the wetwork as well something that would be convenient to pick up. But not that we've got the time, and if you're still concerned about a less... lethal weapon Ymra, we could probably acquire a training swords for the both of us. 木剣「bokken」, a wooden sword. That or... possibly a 逆刃刀「sakabato」, a reverse-blade sword, though acquiring one within the timeframe may prove difficult since it will likely have to be custom made. Of course either can still prove lethal given the proper skill and intent, the lack of an edge makes it more suitable for our purposes. Personally though, I think stun batons should suit us best for now."

[Vixsor Lumin]

"Understood. Headed back in." Apollo turns, and walks back to the van. After Hammer mentions using something quieter Apollo adds, "Yeaah, I had a quiet little rifle but I let a contact use it for a run.
neither him nor the rifle made it back. You got something I can use in the mean time? I can probably provide any ammo needed."

[fibericon]

Cassie decloaks when people start showing up, then opens the van door. Once inside, Puppet Master jumps out, and clambers out of his pod.

"So, silent options. Cassie's got one, but it's close contact. Wouldn't hurt to put a muzzle on that HK too."

"The panic that we're able to generate with the fangs is because the enemy doesn't know what's happening. Guns are easier for most people to understand, but not knowing where the shots are coming from can still be scary."

"Heh. We'll have to keep the panic to a minimum on this run, but I like how you think." Her sideways glance and sly smile at him in response is telling, but he doesn't seem to catch on. "Hammer, you've got a library of guns, so I'm sure you already have a solution at least for yourself, but I'm also inclined to let you handle loadout decisions for everyone else since you probably know best. Just bear in mind that Cassie has small hands - nothing bigger than a submachine gun. But for our melee, I dunno. The only thing that comes to mind is stun batons, but those will leave electrical burns. Might have to go with a club or something, but clubs kill people."

[Volthawk]

Once he arrives at the van and takes a seat, Hammer grins and responds. "Yeah, I've got a Remington you can use, although we'll need to get it a sliencer. As for the clubs...remember, Johnson's requirement wasn't that we don't kill, just that whoever we kill or knock out is taken down in a deniable way - when it comes to shock weapons, I'm not sure he'll accept any signs of electrical weapons."

[Taqukaq]

Ymra nods at Mihito in response to the sword alternative. Once everyone is back she seats herself in the van. She tries to make herself the last in so she can sit by the doir and be the first out. Not for any particular reason.

This was good Venn. And worst case scenario i dont find a nonlethal weapon and just get close to the smugglers... they are fair game. Ideas on what to do until them?

[ReverseHermit]

"Unconscious and slightly bruised is a bit more deniable than dead. But from the sound of it, it might be best that we avoid anyone other than the smugglers altogether." Mihito gestures an empty hand forward, "If the need does arise, allow me to go back to my earlier suggestion for wooden swords. Considering that Ymra and I feel most comfortable using one. With proper technique and focus on targeting... armored spots, we'll minimize any visible damage and hopefully we can knock out the opposition. Though it will require a little more... oomph."

Called Shot (Splitting the Damage): To make a Split Damage attack, the target has to be wearing armor and the attacker’s AP needs to be less than that armor. If the attack is successful the damage is split between the two condition monitors; if the damage was an odd number, make the Stun Damage the higher value. If the modified total Damage Value of the attack is less than the modified Armor Value of the defense, the attack ends up doing only half damage, all of it applied to Stun.
Either way, it shouldn't be too difficult to find a martial arts supply store that has training swords in stock."

[fibericon]

"Martial arts supply store? Can't say it's in my stomping grounds, but I'll see what I can dig up. Cassie, can you show Hammer your gun so he can get you the right silencer and subsonic ammo? Or mine, whatever. We have the same kind."

Puppet Master starts fiddling with his commlink, and Cassie pulls the sling off over her head and hands her HK MP75 to Hammer. It already features a personalized grip and chameleon coating as aftermarket modifications.

"This was issued to me by MCT the day I was activated. They must have taken the molds while I was still in development."


Computer (Search) (http://orokos.com/roll/558384): 7d6t5 2

[ReverseHermit]

Mihito nods, "Thanks, I would appreciate it. Plus the sword carrying bag (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/611LqMxQTML._SY355_.jpg) would be something nice to have around as well. Well, other than carrying swords of course." He takes off his backpack and rummages through his few belongings before pulling out a pair of roller skates. "Mind dropping me off at the next corner? I think as far as plans go, I've given my input. If anything changes just give me a shout on my commlink." He finishes putting on his skates, and checks to see if they're on properly. "I'm going to head over to central library and wait around until it opens, look for a nice bench to take a nap, maybe do some research that might help us out. Plus, I'm just not too big on sitting around and I like to get more exercise in when I can. So unless someone wants to join me, I think I'll be taking my leave until the run."

[Taqukaq]

Ymra nods at Mihito's offer as she gathers her things and grins. I would like to join you Venn. Though i am a raider, i must still keep my studies. Complacency is a dead man's tool

[Vixsor Lumin]

"If we're done here, I've got plenty of footage to go over from tonight. Hammer, if you've got time I'd like to get used to that Remington before the big day. Apollo says, as he shoulders his bag. "We can make a day of it! Pick up the supressor, throw some lead, and if anyone wants to go over things we can keep up in group comms."

[Eldest]

Smoke "sleeps" away on the couch, still deep in the matrix. If she hadn't been highly active in the group chat, you would be afraid for her health, but she's cheerfully expounding on the virtues and flaws of the commenting on the first section of the source code already. It's sort of aggrivating, given nobody has a clue what she's on about save maybe the rigger.

[fibericon]

Puppet Master starts doing what every rigger ends up doing at some point - playing taxi for the run team. Whether it's because he's focused on Smoke's commentary or because he really doesn't mind, there's no complaining as he drops people off at their requested stops.

Being from MCT, many of the comments are in Japanese, but can be translated by Cassie. The base source code, easily found on firmware, is largely unremarkable, with some notable exceptions. It is similar to other drone personality software in that it's a self-referential machine learning system, making heavy use of reinforcement learning. The first exception is that it allows for calls to installed language software to understand more verbal input and produce more verbal output than your standard "dog brain".

The second exception applies more to circumstance than the base code itself. Cassie was given her own commlink at some point, with matrix access through a global grid. Based on what she'd said before, this likely coincided with the run to retrieve her from MCT. This access has allowed her to collate an enormous amount of data on metahuman reactions and interactions from trids. So much available data has produced much more frequent and robust evolutions than would otherwise be possible.

It's also of some note that she seems to be aware of his real name, but has taken some care to obfuscate it in her own references.

[Lionheart]

10th September, 2071 23:00
Zeta ImpChem docks, Avonmouth
Bristol, UK

The night of the meet swings around, and after the poor weather of the last few days, the moon has chosen tonight to finally break through the clouds and shine white light down on the docks in Avonmouth.
Everything looks pretty much the same as it did last time you were here, down to the one security guard smoking on the balcony of the tower. According to the Johnson, the buyers are due just after midnight. Could be that the smugglers are already inside with the merchandise, could be that they're on their way.

Everything looks quiet and still save the roving spotlights and the pounding of your hearts.

[Vixsor Lumin]

"Moving to position. I'm sending my drone with the infiltration team to make sure I have vision where needed. Any specific targets you need hit, paint them in AR." Apollo's camera drone moves from its perch, to stay near Cassie as he climbs out the door of the van. "Smoke I might need some help with the lock to the cranes."

Apollo keeps his eyes peeled and does his best to stay out of sight.



Perception limit 4
[roll0]

Sneaking w/ Urban specialization limit 5

[roll1]

[Eldest]

Smoke nods and curl up on the couch again, muttering to herself about paying for a bloody cocoon if she has to. She checks to make sure all the passwords are still the same, and takes control over the site. The guards and Dobermans are painted on the AR map, and she checks with the cameras and sensors there to see if the smugglers have arrived already.

[fibericon]

Once control is shifted over to Puppet Master, Cassie gets out of the van with her gear, and waits for everyone else to exit before putting it on lockdown.

"Who's on point? I'll be activating chameleon coating as soon as we start moving, so you probably don't want me in front."

[ReverseHermit]

With his hood on Mihito swipes a hand across his face, manifesting the an ethereal stag skull to mask his face. Sparks seem to fly as he cringes from the sudden surge of power. He lets out a deep breath of air.

Focus

Spellcasting: Increase Reflexes [Force 4]: 4 Hits (http://orokos.com/roll/559279)
Drain (Physical): 4 - 1 (Mask) = 3
Drain Resistance: 2 Hits (http://orokos.com/roll/559280)
Mihito takes 1 physical drain of damage
Current Physical Condition: 10/11
Maintaining Improved Reflexes
Activating Heightened Concentration
"Sorry about that. Just a bit of nerves." He holds his sword straight up in front of him, behind his mask his eyes momentarily close in a meditative trance, before he returns the bokken to his side in a reverse grip.

"If Apollo and Smoke have eyes on a safe route, I'll take point. I can handle a mishap with a single guard before he can react, but there's still the fact that there's still a body to take care of and silent comms from one of their people. So I'd like to avoid fight if we can, but if we can't... well then we got to be quick. Fortunately, that's my specialty."

[Taqukaq]

Ymra doesnt take point. She hangs near the middle. Keeping an eye out for any new happenings or differences. Ymra opens her eyes and her mind to the task at hand. Her sweord and shield in hand she breathes in and focuses.

Perception: [roll0] assense [roll1] to check for guards, activity and magical defenses. 5 hits on both.

Venn, the raid is here. We go quietly and viciously. Ill try to leave the nonlethals to you unless i need to help. Once we get to the smugglers, we strike hard fast and lethal. This will be glorious. Odin guide our raid.

[Lionheart]

The spotlights pause in their movement for a split second before the cameras attached return to your control. Through their eyes you can see the other guard running his stun baton along the ridged side of a shipping crate in the centre of the compound.

A light shines into the compound, accompanied by the subdued hum of a boat engine. Looks like the smugglers are just arriving at the South entrance, as suspected.

You can see the second guard behind the shipping crate in the centre of the compound.
The crate in the north west corner also contains five humanoid head signatures.

The watcher spirit is back, circling above the compound. It seems wholly focused on the eastern entrance, rather than the other two. Both guards are mundane and feeling pretty bored.

You hear the subdued hum of a boat pulling towards the South entrance, and see a hooded light shining from its prow.

[Volthawk]

As Hammer leaves the ban, he's already dressed in his diving suit, his cloak wrapped around him to try to hide that. He sneaks over to the entry point into the water he scouted out earlier, and checks out the immediate area before starting to secure a rope for his descent (and future climb out of the water).

"Getting into position, should be in the water in a few moments."


Sneaking: [roll0]
Perception: [roll1] + [roll2] Audio or Vision Enhancement

[fibericon]

"That leaves me bringing up the rear. I'll watch our six. Weapons out, fingers off your triggers."

The chameleon coating activates, and Cassie becomes about as invisible as you can get without magic.


Drone sneak (-6 to perception rolls to detect) (http://orokos.com/roll/559402): 8d6t5 4
Perception (http://orokos.com/roll/559404): 9d6t5 1

[ReverseHermit]

"Basic firearm safety rules right? Well, let's hope this is as much of milk run as it appears. Everyone else is good to go though right?"

Figure I'll need these soon, so I'm getting these out of the way just in case stuff gets active when I'm not at the computer.
Sneaking: 2 hits (http://orokos.com/roll/559562)
Perception: 1 hit (http://orokos.com/roll/559581)

[Vixsor Lumin]

Apollo wines as he comes to a crouch near the door in the gate. "Dammit 31, why the frag would you say it's a milk run? Now we're all gonna die, or at the very least all these are guards are gonna have to."


He double checks that the Remington is loaded with the subsonic rounds, before piping up again. "Smoke if you could pretty please pop this lock?"

[Eldest]

"Of course, mon cheri." The magician's wand taps twice on the lock, and it opens. "I have control over their feeds. Looping the cameras now."

If I need to roll something, I will, but I have the password so it shouldn't be contested yet.
Not sure what to roll, either.

[Vixsor Lumin]

"Gracias señora" Apollo says with a slight Azetlan accent. He slinks into the yard and stows the rifle on its sling. He begins climbing up one of the ladders trying to reach a good position.

[Lionheart]

That's not a problem, I'll let you know if you need to roll anything, but currently you're covered by the backdoor passwords you've put in.

Is it safe to assume you'll be opening the other maglocks as well? Just let me know what you're doing with each piece of equipment and I'll let you know how it goes/ask you to roll when necessary

From your respective vantage points, you can see the boat as it pulls into the small loading dock. It's a Samuvani Otter, with a spotlight attached to the front of the canopy above the viewscreen. There's no obvious weaponry or other mods on the vehicle, and as it pulls into dock you see three figures climbing onto shore. One is a human with a cyberarm and trench coat, smoking a cigar with one hand, and clutching an SMG in the other. He scans the area with his shades before gesturing the other two on shore with a flick of his head.

The other two carry a metal crate between them, though it doesn't look heavy enough to tax them. One is a troll,
with metal ridges implanted along his skull in the manner of a dinosaur. There's no other obvious 'ware, but he's a big guy, and the Ares Alpha with underslung grenade launcher on his back looks like it's been modded too.
The other member of the crew is an Ork, both arms bare outside his armoured vest. He wears heavy goggles and has a number of holsters on his belt, some obviously pistols, but the others could be for anything really.

Are you proceeding into the compound? Or are you waiting for Ymra to do something about the watcher spirit?

[Vixsor Lumin]

Reaching the top, Apollo shoulders the rifle again, and braces it against the railing. From his kneeling position, he looks into the compound to see what he can."Looks like the Targets are arriving on schedule. I count three, human ork and troll. Human appears to be the leader, and the Johnson said something about their leader being different. Making him my priority target."

Now that the info dump was done, a little bit of mirth creeps back into his voice. "Twenty nuyen if someone grabs his cigar for me before we bug out." He zeroes the scope and pings his drones atmospheric sensor to check for a cross wind.

I'm taking the aim action at the captain. I believe it stacks up to 1/2 WIL rounded up? So 3 times for me for +3 dice and +3 accuracy. Assuming nothing interrupts me in the next 3 seconds.

EDIT: just double checked and I'm right about the amount but not the effect. 1st aim activates my vision mag, and the others I'm using to get +2 dice.

[Volthawk]

Seeing the smugglers arrive, Hammer holds back from diving until they're off the boat, before sending one last message to the others. "Yeah, I see them. I'm going into the water, will be off comms for a short time."

That said, he puts away his commlink before slipping down the rope into the water, diving down under the surface and swimming over to the dock.


Should I do a fresh Sneaking roll for this swimming portion?

From what I understand, my swimming/diving skil only matters when sprinting or holding my breath or the like, so I don't need to roll here - correct me if I'm wrong.

[Taqukaq]

Taqukaq whispers to the group. As she takes her team and points a beckoning motion to the west side. Watcher spirit is to the east side and seems to be staying there... two guards are mundane I sugest we take the west route and attempt to sneak around the guards.

The smugglers have arived so we have a few minutes before the buyers show up i presume. If i have to ill take out the watcher spirit but for now lets just go around it. I would rather not alert the summoner unless we have to and if i take it out now it might blow it for us. Lets go.


Ymra takes the group on the path away from the watcher spirit. Keeping an eye on the spirit and the guards, trying to memorize their patrols and manauver around them, leading the group to the meeting area.

[ReverseHermit]

Mihito nods, "了解「ryoukai」"

Roger that

He pushes on forward, tightening the grip on his sword. "Moving into position"

[fibericon]

Cassie creeps along at the back of the group, keeping an eye out for mundane threats as they make their way to the meeting room. Devices are running silent, vocalization module is disabled so Cassie doesn't mimic Puppet Master's breathing. Fangs are out. Time to get into that room.

[Lionheart]

Just so you're aware, you're actually entering from the east, so the watcher spirit us directly above you.

Ymra should probably also make a sneak roll if she doesn't want to get spotted.

[Lionheart]

The watcher spirit hovers for a moment, then shoots off towards the South, towards the city. It looks like it's spotted a least one of you.

You make your way into the compound, the gate sliding open noiselessly, and closing again behind you. The guard in the tower doesn't even move, his gaze is fixed on the sea to the north, as if waiting for something.
As you approach the shipping containers in the centre of the compound, you hear the coughing of the second guard, and the scuff of his boots as he patrols to and fro. You can probably sneak around him to get to the South gate, but there's no telling whether he'll notice you or not. That's a call for another sneak check please

Have you given the Dobermans orders to be elsewhere? Just wanted to check on the status of all the hacked electrics

There's little movement from the group of smugglers on the docks, it doesn't look like either of them have noticed you. The human and the ork converse in low voices, occasionally interspersed with a louder laugh. It's like they don't care whether they're heard or not. The troll sits a little way apart, on top of the crate, seemingly sulking and checking his weapon.

If you all want to roll initiative now, before we actually start the combat, that's probably a good way to do it.

[Vixsor Lumin]

Apollo makes sure to steady his breathing, and only speaks over DNI. "The troll has seperated from the main group a little bit. Hell probably have a chance to get to coverify if we're not fast enough."


[roll0]

[ReverseHermit]

"そうか「Sou Ka?」"

Is that so?

Mihito takes a moment clear his mind once more and exhales, his hand instinctively moving to hover an inch from his astrally masked face.

Sneaking: 2 hits (http://orokos.com/roll/562449)
Initiative: 26 (http://orokos.com/roll/562450)

[Eldest]

Smoke waves, and the Dobermans stop recording, slowly converging on the meet, safeties off. "Should we just make there be a terrible accident with the security targeting the unauthorized intruders?"

[fibericon]

Puppet Master sends Cassie effortlessly crawling across a wall with her gecko pads, completely avoiding the guard's notice. The fangs come out, along with the submachine gun, awaiting the signal.


Drone sneak (-6 to perception rolls to detect) (http://orokos.com/roll/562610): 8d6t5 4
Drone initiative (Hot sim) (http://orokos.com/roll/562612): 4d6+10 31
Ambush (http://orokos.com/roll/562613): 9d6t5 4

[Taqukaq]

Ymra curses under her breath as the watcher spirit speeds off. She quickly whisoers to her group. The watcher spirit left! I think it spotted us. That means we dont have much time. Lets sneak through now and hit hard and fast. We may need to escape via the boat.

Ymra crouches down and quickly bolts as quietly as she can. She has unsheathed her sword, she sounlessly chants norse raider chants to herself in her own head. She keeps low hoping to stay hidden. {Ta frem slutten på dager, Ragnarok vil komme når våre økser krasjer ned. Brenne deres kirker og slave deres svake, drepe deres sterke og plyndre deres verdighet.}

[roll0] opposing perception checks still suffer a 6 dice penalty. Yes 4 hits. If only i rolled that against the watcher spirit.

[Lionheart]

A message is coming through to both guards' commlinks. It reads:

Intruders spotted at your location. Armed and dangerous, repeat, armed and dangerous. Response team dispatched; ETA 10 minutes.
Good luck boys

You have the option to make sure it doesn't reach them if you want?

You sidle around the containers quietly, and find yourself against the last piece of cover between yourselves and the targets.

The troll is to your left, obscured by the corner of a container. To the right of him are the other two smugglers,
though neither of them are in sight, as they are blocked by the container in front of you. You can see them if you poke your head around the corner though. To your right is another shipping container, and in the gap between those in front and to the right of you, the other guard stands, selecting a new music tack on his comm. The guard tower is behind you.

As you pause, to decide on your next move. You see the troll's head swivel towards you, time stands still as his Ares Alpha swings up into his hands. He turns his head and opens his mouth to shout a warning to his colleagues, but before any sound comes out...

The main group have just about turned a corner to get in sight of the smugglers. The troll has noticed them, freeing his weapon and preparing to shout a warning.

Ok everyone, initiative order for combat actions now please. I believe first was Cassie, then Mihito,
then Apollo. Still waiting for rolls from Taqukaq, Eldest and Volthawk

[Eldest]

Ele clamps down on the message coming in to the guard's commlinks, sending out an alert to the team. "You're spotted, eta 10m, leave in 8!" With a small timer in the corner of the shared AR space counting down from 8:00 down to doom.

I figure they're both simple actions, so that's her turn when it comes around to her.

[fibericon]

The submachine gun drops from Cassie's hands and dangles from the sling as the drone leaps forward, plunging her fangs into the troll's throat.


Drone unarmed (cyberweapon) + push the limit (http://orokos.com/roll/563106): 18d6h5! 8

Base damage: 4P
Toxin level: 5

[Volthawk]

As it becomes clear that things are rapidly escalating, Hammer pulls himself out of the water onto the dock and moves to the nearest cover, still trying to be quiet and unseen. After all, they hopefully still have no idea he's flanking them like this, and he wanted to keep things that way until the right moment.


Climbing out, then moving to cover. Given what you said, I assume another sneaking check is in order.

Sneaking: [roll0] 6 hits.

[Taqukaq]

Ymra brings her shield up and with her sword hand she reaches out and touches the nearest enemy. Everyone in the immediate area can here her deep guttural Runic chanting as she funnels power into her right hand. She reaches out as lethal energy pools into her hand. Gripen til Fenrir vil senge deg denne kvelden. Det er ingen flukt fra verdensmataren. Gi inn i avgrunnen. Gripen til Fenrir vil senge deg denne kvelden. Det er ingen flukt fra verdensmataren. Gi inn i avgrunnen. Gripen til Fenrir vil senge deg denne kvelden. Det er ingen flukt fra verdensmataren. Gi inn i avgrunnen. Her voice is deep and rocky, just like the viking war chants during a raid as she closes the distance on her closest target. Death pooling in her hand.



Deathtouch [roll0] drain vs force -6 cast at force 6, there is no drain.

[ReverseHermit]

Following Cassie's lead Mihito sprints forward and scales over the shipping container.

Jumping: 1 Hit (http://orokos.com/roll/563122)
Edge Reroll: 5 Hits
Total: 6 Hits
Edge Total: 2/3

Vertical Height Cleared: 2.65 m
A slight stumble forward, followed by a more powerful step and leap upward just barely clearing the height of the shipping container. Continuing his run across the shipping crate before leaping down at the orc; aiming to strike a vital point not covered by visible armor.

Free Action (Called Shot - Vitals): -4 Penalty, +2 DV
Complex Action (Melee Attack, Superior Position, Charging): 8 Hits (http://orokos.com/roll/563134)
Accuracy: 4
Base DV: 11
"Mind if I drop in"

Next Initiative Pass: 16

Holy Drek! 1 away from a glitch, and almost a critical glitch at that. In numbers terms a glitch with 15 dice would happen 0.12% of time, and a critical glitch at LESS than 0.01%.
Also I just realized I forgot to add in the Light Body dice, which I won't bother linking since they didn't score any hits anyway.
But considering that, then a glitch would be at 0.07% chance of occurring

Also, I don't apologize for the one-liner :smallcool:

[Vixsor Lumin]

"Fraggin Hell." Apollo mutters as he squeezes the trigger. As soon as the shot he had been aimin goes off, ethereal light begins wafting off of him, and ghostly plate armor begins assembling itself over his body.

free action called shot vitals, -2 penalty
Simple action fire 21 base+2 aim-2 called shot [roll0] 11 base DV, -4 AP, 8 accuracy and if they can't see me they don't get to dodge.
Second simple action for ability boost AGI [roll1]
[roll2] resisting 1 drain