The facility is quiet, minimal lighting, not much activity. One extra car in the lot, but otherwise things seem solid.

So a trio of prostitutes are suddenly finding one another incredibly attractive and are rolling around in the poison ivy not too far from the front gate. Copperhead can watch this with the drone, but no one else can.

The truck your in does have the armored rear for storing chemicals, but no weapons or other surprises (unless by 'surprises' you include a half-eaten bag of fritos under the passenger-side seat).

Toombs and St. V are in the front of the truck, each in their very ill-fitting biohazard suits. Noruas and Copperhead are in the back of the truck behind barrels of mildly hazardous chemicals.

Copperhead's drone has an excellent angle on the exterior bay doors, but cannot see inside of the garage (since it is closed). You can use a laser to damage that exterior camera, but not the interior one.

Toombs' air spirit can no longer assist, as you've left her domain.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:30, Sat 20 June 2015.

St V makes sure that all of his personal effects are well hidden and where they should be.  He says, "Here we go," then gets out of the vehicle to meet the guy with the clipboard.

"Long night, eh?" he ask the guard rhetorically as he waits for the others to get out too.  He nonchalantly scans the contents of the garage, checking to see if there is anything noteworthy or pertinent to their ruse.

Noruas sits quietly behind a sealed barrel and tries to slow his breathing.  There wasn't much else he could do in this situation besides keeping as quiet as possible and getting ready in case there is trouble.

OOC: The following paragraphs can occur in whichever order makes most sense, depending on where exactly the camera is situated in relation to the vehicle.

If the camera in the garage looks movable, St. Velveteen will do an exaggerated yawn and "accidentally" bump it out of alignment as he walks by.  If not, he will sneeze into his hands first and leave the residue on the outer casing.

Either way, after greeting the guard, St. V peeks into the back of the van, only opening the back door a crack.  "We got everything we need, right?" he calls to Toombs.  "Everything is still where it's supposed to be back here.  Should be good to go."  He walks away from the vehicle and heads toward the exit, leaving a back door of the vehicle swung open just enough for someone to be able to slip out.

As the truck pulls into the bay, Toombs starts struggling with his seatbelt and lets St. V take the lead on a brief distraction. Again he calls for a spirit, this time the daemon of this facility and asks it to conceal, follow, & obey the two in the back.

Conjuring 6 (4), TN 3; 4,3,(6+5)11,2,3,2
Drain Resistance 6 (8) 3L; 2,2,5,5,4,4,3,4
Toombs summons a F3 spirit of man with 3 services. He dedicates the first service to Concealment for Copper, Noruas, and any drones; the second service is remote, so they can order the spirit to perform one task tonight. It will keep up the concealment until we leave the facility, regardless.



Fritos?! Drek yeah!
He clambers out of the truck, pulling at the seat of his pants. "Y' ever notice how no matter how long th' legs are, it always rides up in tha crotch?" he says to no-one in particular. As St V stretches, Toombs plops his own paperwork across the guard's board "Sorry 'bout this, we're tha replacement crew. Last guys got into some bad guac. You never want ta see what happens when a biohazard cleanup crew makes their own messes. Meantime, we've been getting complaints from some of our guys of gettin' bed bugs all burrowed inta tha seats or some drek. Ya can poke around in tha cab if'n ya want to, but try ta keep yer hands ta yerself.
That aside, on ta tha legal drek. We represent tha company." <beat>, he jabs a thumb at the truck "and are here ta transport medical waste, hazardous materials, or noxious chemicals. I know tha other guys musta asked ya this, but have ta have it on record for everyone." he continues back to a bored drone "Do we have yer consent ta enter tha premesis for purposes a' transporting, recovering, or extracting said materials in the pursuit of our duties?"
Toombs will continue droning for a bit until he's fairly sure that Copper and Noruas get clear of the van. When that is said and done, he will add a final "Also please remember ta stay back while we are engaged in tha transport. Some of tha guys down in processing have been turnin' purple and wretching worse. Not at liberty ta say where them materials came from, but I'll just say 'y'ain't paid enough ta deal with that if it's from here', innit?"
Etiquette 6: droning, 4,3,4,1,3,2. I had a much better roll a second ago, but I forgot to cut it back from 8d6 :[

Copperhead motions for Noruas to wait and subvocalizes "I'll ping 'an is safe.  Mister V, leave da laz'r"

Then, she watches her deck's video screen and slips off her lab coat.  Bright white is not her friend at the moment.  When she's sure the guard is well distracted and looking elsewhere, she slips down between the gap between the truck and the loading dock trying to use the partially open door as a shield from the camera.  She figured moving now would be less likely to be noticed as the eyes of anyone looking at the camera's images woudl be drawn to the gesticulating dwarf, not the small flash of motion by the truck doors.

Once down, she crawls to a position under the truck, invisible from anyone standing above and then continues to monitor the truck's cameras to wait until everyone's left and to plan the best approach to get into the camera's blind side once everyone has left.  While she waits, she pulls out her ultrasound emitter/detector to check for any motion sensors

quote:

16:23, Today: Copperhead rolled 5 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 4,2,(6+4)10,5,5,4. Stealth.

So with the protection of the spirit, that's a target 13 to notice her, probably higher given the combined distraction from Toombs and the joygirls and the misalignment and or grimed camera lens.

"Once they's gone, I'll pop da case on da camera and prep it fer yer deckin.  We jus cares 'bout what cameras and other dreck is on da route.  Loop da cameras em if ya can, odderwise just 'member where they ie and what coverage they gots"

The garage seems like a pretty standard loading dock. There's a pair of bays, some small cargo lifts, a giant dumpster of empty cardboard boxes, little bits of litter left here and there on the floor, and plenty of dollies. This room does have high ceilings to accommodate vehicles. The security camera is situated about eight feet up, in the corner where the guard might sit (judging from the desk and chair) beside the door.

St. V knocks the camera and the guard immediately shouts, "Hey! Put that back how it was, yah idiot! Goddammit this is why they should never hire trogs... sorry... trolls. Put it back, then open the back of the truck for inventory.

Copperhead, seeing the opportunity, hops out of the back and makes her way like a wraith to the underside of the truck. It stinks of old oil.

(I assume St. V takes the opportunity for some other camera mischief. Or not, once Copperhead is out.)

No sign of motion detectors.


When Toombs starts talking, the guard holds up his hands, "No no, I don't need... I don't touch nothing. Just bring the barrels out so I can check 'em off the checklist, okay? You ever done this before? Geez, new recruits... You got a dolly?" He goes back to checking through his checklist, shaking his head.

Placing his booger-covered hand directly over the lens as he "adjusts" the camera leaving it pointed part way towards the ceiling would be good :>  Key is that we can get up from below the loading ramp to under the camera without being seen and we can open the door without it being noticed.

"Look like deys movin yer cover Nuras.  Move ta da doors an when da troll is blockin' da view, ya can jumps down wit me.  I'll tell ya when is safe."

The rigger keeps a close eye on the cameras and gives the decker the go ahead as soon as St. V's bulk is concealing the partially open door and Toombs has the guard looking the wrong way.  She then waits for the door to the inside of the facility to open so she can get a good look at the hallway with the van's cameras.  She wants to know exactly where the camera is in the hall.

How's Noruas for stealth?  And shooting?  Think he can use the laser to fry the camera in the hall if we've got the door propped open and the guard looking the other way?  The nice thing about a laser is the camera won't pick it up until the dot's right on the lens, at which point, it's game over so long as you can hold it there for a couple of seconds.

Also, is Copperhead able to get any chatter over the guard's radio frequency?  Does the guard's desk have any camera monitors on it?

"Ey, cut me some slack. I got Corporate and HR chewin my ass ta stick ta handbook, you know how dat is. Shit, we only get one 15 minute break per ten-hour shift. You believe that drek?" He shrugs and waves St V over "Ey lumpy, if yer done makin this guy's life difficult, get yer ass over here. We gots a deliv'ry ta make an' I wanna be able ta take a piss break 'fore we scoot again. You remember tha dolley this time, or we gonna have ta do it tha hard way agin?" He looks back at the guard "I swear, sometimes you breeders make so much more sense." he gives an innocent look "Wha'? some of my best friends're long-pork."
Once Noruas & Copper are both out and under the truck, Toombs will pull the guard over to inspect it, and then pull him away again to try and get some of the paperwork filled ahead of time. He'll also ask for directions to exactly where they are going, and if they are more than "in the door there", he'll mix up the directions once or twice to give N&C a little more head start. "Ey, when ya been in tha industry long as me, all these top-secret spook plants start ta look tha same. Remind me ta tell you about that secret fireworks factory I got assigned to once. Was real awkward when tha whole thing burned down 'cause 'a one lit ciggie. Can I bum ya one by tha way?

Sorry - are you delaying him in the entrance?  That doesn't help us.  We can't do anything until you've gone down the hall so Noruas can deck the camera systems while you guys are getting out of the way.  If you want to stall him, do it downstairs.

The dwarf does his best to hide behind cover without being seen.  He pulls out the laser pointer Copperhead gave him, and waited for the signal to fry the camera.  Once the signal is given, he does his best to aim it straight into the camera lens, but all the while keeping out of sight.  And as soon as he is more or less sure that camera is gone, and the guard's attention is away from him, he begins to move according to the rigger's instructions.

I've got some stealth and some know-how with a gun.

It's like you guys read my mind!  That's exactly what he did.  All while grumbling to himself about being derogatorily called a trog, of course.

St V shuffles around, following instructions and grumbling to himself.  "Yeah, yeah, I got the dolly," he confirms and pulls the wheeled tool to the door.  He grabs the handle to open it when it is unlocked, but still gives it a little tug to test its sturdiness regardless.  If it looks like his ID badge would work, he'll try it.  If it has a key pad he'll interrupt Toombs's directions inquiry to say, "Hey, Buddy.  What's the combo ta get goin on our work?"  Or otherwise ask him to open the door for them.

The guard responds to Toombs, "I don't give a drek for your pee breaks. Damn stumpy... shorty. Just bring them over here."

When you bring over the first barrel he checks down his list, then crosses off a line. St. V takes the barrels over to the elevator. There's no locks or anything on it, you just hit the button and start loading them up. Like a proper cargo elevator, it'll stay open until you close the door.

He grumbles and goes back to the truck. Toombs intercepts him to ask for a ciggie and the guard growls, "frag you," before continuing back to the truck. "Bring 'em downstairs and into the storage room. Try not to touch anything. We really prefer the walls not glow."

While Toombs is distracting the guard, Copperhead gives the signal and Noruas hops out of the truck. Noruas can hit the camera with the laser, although it's not obvious if it worked or not.

The guard, completely oblivious, continues to check off barrels. There are four going downstairs, which you can load up and take to the elevator (you better believe he's not touching them!)

Is the guard returning to the desk like he's planning to not accompany them?  (If so, this would be a good time to play "which one's the storage room?").

I presume the camera you referred to Noruas hitting was the one that St. V. played with seeing as the door to the hallway isn't open, unless there happens to be one in the elevator too?  (I had somehow thought they'd be going down the hall so there might be line of sight to the camera there.)  What does the security camera look like right now?  How much of the room can it likely still see? (and most importantly, can it see the panel for the elevator controls or the path to reach the panel from where we are under the truck?)

Is there a computer terminal and/or TV monitors at the guard's desk?

Am I hearing any chatter from the guards on their channel?

Anything interesting happening outside?  Presume our joy-girls are still in the warm-up phase?

The guard is hanging around Toombs and checking the barrels, so St. V can continue unaccompanied if he'd like.

Yes, same camera. None in the elevator. The camera has a bad angle and gobs of troll boogers on the lens, but it's tough to judge its range (and quality) of view just by eyeballing it. It likely can see the path to the elevator controls. Not likely to be able to see the panel itself.

There is a small console at the guard's desk.

Not currently a lot of chatter right now.

Joygirls are giggling and laughing. They clearly wish they had pillows for a pillowfight. Otherwise it's currently quiet.

There are 4 barrels, presumably loaded one at a time by St. V.  What does the guard do once all 4 barrels are in the elevator?

Oh, and 'Americar' doesn't tell me a lot.  How comparable is it in make, age and condition to the vehicles of the guards and janitor?

Are you waiting to find out?

The Americar is about eight-years old. Looks to be in good condition. Standard wheels and all, but the back says it's the "Limited Edition", so probably a few thousand above normal price.

Somebody invested in the 3000-SUX.

Not sure we have a lot of choice.  Hard to spend 5 minutes jacking into the terminal or bypassing the airlock with the guard standing in the middle of the room without violating the "undetected" mission parameter.  He may be incompetent, but he's sober and conscious.

"'pears dat one a da director folks s'workin' late.  Bets on is da one whose office is fer da d'livry?  Tooms, if ya fine some downtime, a 'spection a da top floor'd be 'andy"

Once the guard finishes the last barrel, he goes back to his seat by the door and sits down.

"Alright, get them down to the storage room. Or do you need me to show you where that is too?"

"If ya'd be so kind, I'd rather no' have ta call ya if we gets lost. Get us outta yer hair that much quicker."
[radio: "Tink about 'leasin' som air from tha truck. Can say we gots a flat and haves ta change it in case yous two ain't back right yet."]

[radio: "Was gonna stick somethin' poky in fronna da back lef'.  Ya wanna delay, ya drive wit-out kickin' er outta da way, ya gots a real flat.  An mebbe stop right in da middle o da door.  We needs ta make tracks fast, ya kicks da sharpy - but not da pointy bit - an we kin booter."

She didn't bother looking for her desired 'pokey' object yet.  She'd prefer to use something from the debris on the ground, so as to look like it was Cavilard's mistake.  And she didn't want to start digging until the guard got in the fragging elevator and was locked safely downstairs.

Time allowing, she took a detailed look at the labels on the barrels that were being unloaded.  May as well give the rest of her team a heads up as to what they were pushing around.  Wouldn't want them to 'accidentally' spill the wrong one . . .

"Tellya what. I'll stop talking, you come with us."
Etiquette (6); 5,(6+4)10,(6+4)10,5,3,5. That's 6 successes if "not being obnoxious" lowers the TN to 3 XD

So where exactly are we all positioned?

St. V leans against the frame of the loaded freight elevator, acting casual and listening to the radio chatter.  His mind was busy sorting out the updated mission details as they were added, primarily bu Toombs and Copperhead.  They were real good at this, he soon realized.  Which was good.  It meant less weight fell on his own shoulders.

"Clock's a tickn'" St. V added to the conversation between Toombs and the guard.  "I wanna get back on the road soon as possible.  If we do get the wrong door, we can just check the next one until we get tha right one.  Or at least come back up here and ask him for further clarification.  Not like it's a one-way ride."  The big troll examines his fingernails as he leans against the wall.

Copperhead and Noruas are below the truck/behind the loading dock wall and looking around via the truck's cameras.  St. Velveteen and Toombs are up above the loading dock wall with the guard, loading the barrels into the freight elevator.  We are all still in the garage.

Toombs is trying to convince the guard to come with himself & St V so that Noruas and Copper have free reign to do their thing in the facility. Unless you are playing up the troll in a china shop for a subtle Intimidate check >:]

Was intending to help Toombs's point along by hinting that it would be less of a hassle if the guard came with us now, rather than having the two of them poke around in all the doors and end up coming back up to get him anyway.  (And it's not like the guard has anything better to do.)  Either that, or the guy doesn't come with them, implying that it is ok for them to just open whichever doors they want in an effort to find the room they are looking for.

Ok, cool. With new job, I think I'm getting too tired to read nuances.

The guard sighs, "Alright, come on."

He's still holding his clip board as he climbs into the elevator with the other two, careful to stay in the corner as far from the barrels as he can manage. The doors close and they descend. (Noruas and Copperhead are currently unescorted in the garage.)

The guard, Toombs, and St. Velveteen leave the elevator into the access room (#11 on the map). The room is a large airlock. It has sprayers built into the ceilings and environmental suits hanging up. There's a number of odd grates set in the ceiling and wall. They look to be some sort of air filters. There's also a single security camera. You pass through a blast of wind and the door closes behind you. The door ahead opens and you can enter into a hallway. On the left is a door, currently unlocked, into the Biological Materials Storage Room (#10). You notice the door is quite solid. Inside are racks and racks of barrels, samples, a few odd boxes with cables snaking out, and so on.

Time to party . . .

Copperhead moved in a crouched position, keeping below the edge of the loading platform to the far edge of the dock where the camera likely had the poorest field of view, gesturing for the decker to follow her.  When he's ready, she helps him up over the lip, then moves rapidly to under the camera where it has no field of view.

She speaks in a whisper.  "Ya wanna deck da console or da camera"

She helps connect his device to whichever of the two he prefers, then moves to the elevator panel by whatever path provides the least exposure to the camera and quickly unscrews the cover plate, trusting to her own stealth ability, the spirit, the troll boogers and the now frantic passion of the joy-girls to keep anyone from paying too much attention to her.

At the elevator, she worked calmly and quietly, doing her best to "fix" things in a way that would look like the device had failed due to natural failure/poor connections rather than deliberate tampering.  A full forensics test would tell of course, but she doubted that was likely - certainly not something that would happen soon, anyhow.

Was Copperhead able to read anything off the labels of the barrels?

quote:

08:17, Today: Copperhead rolled 3 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of (6+5)11,2,3,(6+2)8,(6+6+4)16,1. Stealth - get to camera/desk.08:17, Today: Copperhead rolled 2 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 1,3,4,2,(6+1)7,1. Stealth - get to elevator console.
08:17, Today: Copperhead rolled 2 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 2,(6+3)9,(6+3)9,1,3,2. Electronics - disable elevator.

That should do it, I hope.  Noruas - do your worst :>

Priorities (in order) as I see it are:
- find out what cameras or other sensors exist between us and where we need to go - computer center downstairs and director's office upstairs
- looping what cameras along that route you can, say for the next hour and disabling relevant alarms for the same period
- figuring out where the guards, janitor and extra high-level person are
- making the doors en route easier to open


If Copperhead finishes before the decker, she places a sharp piece of debris behind the left back tire of the van, then spends some time poking around the guard's desk, taking photos of anything she thinks might be worth money and checking for anything useful.

Party?  We got the joy girls, now all we need is the booze and lots of drugs, said Noruas sarcastically in his forced raspy voice.

As Copperhead hugged the wall in a crouch, the dwarf just strolled leisurely behind her.  His height was a problem at times, but not in this particular situation.

Console.  Might've better luck starting there, replied the dwarf as he starts pulling out the necessary cables needed to jack into the console.  He works quickly but only fast enough that he won't make any errors.

Noruas takes a seat at the console and slots in the cable.  With a quick couple of taps on the keyboard of his deck, he looks at the rigger, smiles and says, I'll be back.

The dwarf then crumples on the chair as his consciousness invades the matrix.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:58, Sat 11 July 2015.

St. V continues to act casual, but the guard's extreme aversion to the barrels was starting to worry him more and more.  Just what was in those things?  He reads the label again and puts some actual effort into trying to figure out what it could be this time.  He also tries to casually get a glance at the guard's checklist too in order to see if that has any hints as well.

Other than that, St. V just moves the barrels around as planned, letting Toombs do his masterfully annoying distraction work.

Here is a general knowledge check.  Unless one of his other knowledge skills happens to be more applicable?  Looking for anything to indicate what hazards the contents my pose.
11:05, Sat 11 July 2015: St. Velveteen rolled 2 successes using 5d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 ((3,(6+1)7,4,2,3)).

Toombs is presently thoroughly engrossed in the contents of his own nose, and wiping them on the leg of his coveralls.
Willpower test (keep mouth shut): 5,(6+4)10,5,4,1,3,2; 4 successes
1 minute Willpower test (keep mouth shut): 1,4,(6+1)7,1,5,4,1; 4 successes
2 minute Willpower test (keep mouth shut): 5,5,(6+3)9,4,2,1,5: 5 successes
3 minute Willpower test (keep mouth shut): 3,1,3,2,3,3,1: no successes
After quietly following the guard for 3 minutes, Toombs manages to belch and fart clangorously. He then starts laughing and reciting dirty lymerics, inviting St V to be his Fezzik.

"There once was a gal from DocWagon
Whose career went down by tha' flagon-
Her second career
lasted less than a year
cause she started ta deal with a dragon.

Ther once was a guard from S-K
Whose retire was two days 'way
So he rented a trick
ta play with his dick
but he lost his job fer a BJ.

Gawdamnit, do ya know how hard it is ta rhyme with Mitsuhama or Renraku?

Anyone is welcome to make chemistry or biology tests to try and recognize what the barrels are. St. V recognizes they are probably bad for him.

The guard rolls his eyes and grumbles. He's happy to stand at the faaaar end of the hall from the two cargo haulers, who seem slightly more disgusting than the cargo they're hauling.

Meanwhile, Noruas connects to the console easily enough, while Copperhead rigs her van for an inconvenient 'flat' if necessary.

Flat was post-rigging elevator, so I presume that I at least think I did the elevator bit successfully?  How long did the elevator take?

quote:

17:54, Today: Copperhead rolled 1 success using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 4,2,3,3,2,1. Chemistry test.

Target is presumably +3 for being against the attribute unless I can get a lesser penalty by defaulting to demolitions (I do have Technical School Education), so pretty sure that's a fail.

Sorry about that! Yes, you can disable the elevator through a simple bit of debris over the sensors. You can decide if you want to catch your poor party members in the elevator with the miserable guard, or at least let them out first. The cargo elevator is, well, a cargo elevator, so quite pokey.

Copperhead can recognize these as some minor biological agents for encouraging cellular growth in a simple medium, and samples of modified e. coli. Improper exposure might make you mildly sick for a few days, but nothing serious or requiring treatment.

St. V tries to sing along with Toombs despite not knowing the words, but he ends up just mumbling awkwardly and looking confused.  In the end he resigns himself to wheeling a barrel through the airlocks and to the storage room, casually taking note of the security features as he goes.  "Why ya need such thick doors?" St. V asks the guard.  "Afraid your boxes of cables are gonna make a break for it?  Heh."  He points to a corner with some empty space.  "These go over there?"

Is the door electronic in any way?

Pretty much all of the doors in this area have numeric keypads.

"If ya need ta slow-em down da barrel wit da big orange sticker is purdy safe ta tip assidently.  R' should be.  Make sure yer zipped tight first."

Orange sticker = growth medium.

Copperhead will let the elevator go all the way down and let the doors open.  However, ideally she'd like to set things up so that when the elevator doors close again, they won't open and it won't move.  Something that kills the power after it travels up a couple of feet would be ideal.

Noruas flops in the seat, apparently comatose. His body flinches a few times, then goes still again. Copperhead can check, he's not especially dead. Still network activity too.

Meanwhile, St. V. and Carver keep... singing. Unfortunately. Because toxic waste wasn't bad enough. The guard still seems to think that things are moving enough to not warrant calling the alarm or shooting one of you, so there's that.

Does Copperhead find anything interesting at the desk?  Can she see any of the facility from the console at the desk?

After checking the decker's pulse, the rigger runs another scan of the outside area, including the inside of her van before examining the controls for the door into the airlock.  She set about bypassing it, taking her time - may as well get the first one out of the way.

Copperhead:

The console includes video camera feeds from around the facility. All hallways, stairwells, lobbies, access rooms, and elevators are monitored. You can see some sort of a server room, currently occupied by a woman in full Native garb, and a man with a cyberdeck currently slotting into one of the servers. You also can see one of the utility closets, a computer lab, a bio lab, the loading dock (the feed is blurry and off-center), and the bio materials storage room your friends are entering. You can see two security guards in the lobby, plus the one escorting your friends. None more are visible, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. There's a janitor upstairs pushing a mop. There's some naked people outside making out.

It takes a little futzing, but taking your time, you can disable the maglock. It'll now accept any combination.

Oh goody . . .

Do any of the feeds show what the two security guards in the lobby are doing.  No sign of guard #4?  Have any of the guards said anything over the radio since we arrived?  I presume that seeing the different views requires scanning through the feeds - they're not all displayed simultaneously?

BTW - I've got a rating maglock passkey, so might be able to be a little less nasty than totally disabling it . . .

If she can, Copperhead zooms in on the people in the server room.  In any case, she examines them in as much detail as she can.

She radios the van "Ms. J, any reason ta spect others tryin ta grab da same payload?"

quote:

13:48, Today: Copperhead rolled 3 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 5,5,3,5,2,3. Observe in detail.

Lobby guards are hanging out in the lobby. Guarding.

No sign of #4.

There's been minor chatter. No one seems to have noticed the ladies on the camera feed, I guess. Or maybe that's pretty normal.

Feeds are displayed simultaneously, but you can focus on any one you care to.

Native garb is average height, long dark hair but shaved close at the sides. She has war paint on her face. She's carrying a shotgun. The one at the computer is a young man, tall, thin. He's got a cyberdeck and a small handgun.

"What? What do you see?"

Noruas shivers back and returns to consciousness.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:05, Thu 23 July 2015.

Could BB, please explain to the group what I did and saw in the matrix?  I'm not exactly sure what I did with the feeds and how it affects others.

Any response from Ms. J?

Copperhead gestures to the display.  "Dat pair looks ike der doin yer work fer ya.  Gots a 'what da frag' call in ta da J.  Any luck on loopin feeds 'r openin doors?"

Sorry, quote in blue is from Ms. J. She's looking for additional information.

In addition to locating the camera feeds which Copperhead has seen and shared with everyone, Noruas went on to loop the feeds going to the lobby and another monitor at an unknown location. Currently the only active camera feed is the one right here in the garage.

No sign of alert on the matrix (that he saw).

Is it possible to rewind any of the feeds to see where the other team came in from?

She responds to the Johnson.  "Gots anudder team here, already deckin da server.  Ya said dis was time critical.  And deys here at zactly da same time as us.  Kinda smells like a Trog's armpit when e's bin on a bender fer a week.  Ya gonna say was 'appenin er is we gonna 'bort?"

The rigger listens as Noruas explains what he's done and nods.  That would make things a lot easier.  "Dija leave da joygirl feed wit no loopin?  Show might be a might 'petitive else."

She switches to the team's frequency.  "Gots anudder team here.  Shotgun shaman an rigger.  S'already deckin da server.  Checkin wit da J.  Stan by 'cuz da plans might be chang'in."

Feeling pissed off that his hunting ground was being invaded by another decker, Noruas checks the console and tries to see if he can gather any other information without decking in just yet.

What skill should I be rolling dice with and how many dice?

Yeah I believe it was possible to rewind feeds, I just don't know if doing that now, might undo my looping.  We're just gonna have to wait and ask BB when he gets back.

To just figure out what you can do with the console, you'd probably be rolling your Computer skill - if BB decides a roll is even necessary.  My guess is that digging through archives won't influence what's happening with the live streams, but certainly worth checking before you do anything.

At this point, you'd do a perception check (Intelligence) to divine anything else about the other decker. But I can say right now, you can't. Worse, he's on the segregated system, so you can't run basic query commands on the matrix either.

No rewind capabilities (that you can see from this terminal).


The Johnson responds immediately, "No, we move forward with the mission! Make sure they don't walk away with that file, but as long as they're quiet, we're quiet."
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:55, Sun 26 July 2015.

I guess I'm back on the matrix duty.

Noruas lets out a sigh before hooking back into the terminal.  This time, he makes sure he can communicate with the others once he has entered.

Just before the decker heads in again, Copperhead makes a small request.  "If is not too hot, addin an extra passcode ta da doors 'd be good.  But da priorty is knowin where da frag dey came from an how deys likely leavin."

She replies to the Johnson, sounding more than a little peaved.  "How ya know deys after da same file?  An hows ya 'splainin deys here zactly when you says we's sposed ta be here.  Unsplained co-insdences has a way o makin folk dead.  So either you's splainin r we's done.  Oh, an 'I dunno' ain't splainin.  If ya was lyin 'fore, s'jus biz.  Ya lyin now, s'persnal."

The rigger uses her drone to check for heat signatures or occupants in any of the vehicles in the parking lot before proceeding to do the same in a two block band in the region area surrounding the exterior of the park.  She also looks for loiteres, or anyone occupying a position that would provide decent overwatch on complex.  She continues to listen on her radio, waiting for the Johnson to decide just how honest, or more likely dishonest, the woman is likely to be.

The new information about another team made St. V pause for half a second, but then he continued with what he was doing.  However, the gears in his head were already turning at a mile a minute.  "I think we got everything under control down here if ya wanna head back up," he says to the guard.  "Jus let me pull tha rest a the barrels off the elevator first.  Is there anything we need ta bring back up?"

The big troll wheels his dolly back toward the elevator, hopefully leading the guard away from Toombs as he does.  He speaks to the team over his subvocal mic as he moves. "Another team!?  That's a fragging big coincidence, don't ya think?  Can Toombs scan around to see if they are the only two when he gets a chance?  Gotta know what we're dealin with."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:04, Mon 27 July 2015.

"Yeh, I'll jus' be back here doin some final inventory 'n stuff." As soon as he turns a sneaky corner, he will sit somewhere comfy with an unlit cig on his lips and zip out momentarily. Quick through-the-floor check of the server room, followed by a pass through the facility looking for that last guard.

The johnson answers copperhead. "I didn't know anything about another team, but we aren't the only ones who know about this project! We grab this and only we get it."

No other metahuman heat signatures outside.

The guard reponds to st. V, "no, that's it. Come up when you're ready." He seems all too ready to leave you to it. He heads to the elevator and... Nothing. It buzzes but the doors don't close for him. "Goddammit now this too!"

Its not a long sweep to find the fourth guard in the security office (and another person in the office just south). Please roll an astral perception or aura reading spell.

"An dey jus' happ'n ta show up on da zact same day at da zact same time as when ya said we was s'posed ta be here?  How ya even know dey's after da same file?  Sides, agreement was ta gets you da file, not dat we interferes wit udders dat mebe is gettin it too."

Do Toombs' and St V's suits have build in respirators or better?  Do they fit well enough that they're comfortable they'd be relatively well protected in the event of gas or something?  Also, my understanding is that Neurostun is colorless and odorless, correct?

The third eye beckons!
Astral Perception (INT 6): 5,4,4,5,1,5
Remember that my Perceptive trait also drops the TN for all perception checks by 1.

Ooc notes: yes they have repirators, however the suits are ill-fitted. Handling neurostun seems fine? (Biotech or chenistry to confirm) but swimming in it probably not.

Toombs: the guard downstairs is under the effect of some sort of a manipulation spwll. You don't recognize it though. Otherwise he seems fine, if mildly irritated and very bored.

Not sure what you mean by "handling" vs. "swimming in".  Neurostun is a gas, so the question is whether the suits will protect them if there's Neurostun in the air.  I'm interpretting your comments to mean "if you're at ground zero, maybe not - biotech or chemistry to confirm risk; if you're on the periphery, you're probably fine".  Presumably they'd at least have the benefit of a respirator (so resisting 4M rather than 6S) and probably a bit more protection than that, though perhaps not full protection.  Maybe 3M or 2M?

"J says we're ta keep da udder team from leavin.  Think a few more hans on deck'd be good.  I kin pop a gas grenade in da shaft.  If ya tell da gard dat one a dem barrels is off-gassin an ta' stay in da elevator, we kin make 'im go nighty-nite.  Den you guys kin finish and join us up ere.  "

Copperhead popped off the control panel again to see if she could get control of the upper outer doors.

Even better, tell him to breath fresh air from the vent at the top of the elevator :>

EDIT: fixed formatting codes
This message was last edited by the player at 18:17, Sat 01 Aug 2015.

"He's in the lift now, actually," he says over his mic.  Then louder so the guard can hear he says, "It's not broken is it?  I don't wanna drag this dolly up tha stairs..."  Just then he stops and examines the barrel he has currently loaded on the dolly and sets it at a rest a ways down the hall.  "Uh oh."  St. V starts fiddling with his mask as he squats down to take a look.  "One thing after another, isn't it?  It's probably nothing, but I'ld stay back there for a minute if I were you while I check this barrel."  He pauses for a moment then adds, "There's good vents in that thing, right?"

Given the go-ahead, Copperhead opened the elevator door and quietly eased herself over the edge, dropping cat-like onto the roof.  The sturdy device didn't even give a hint of vibration as she began to inspect the surface.

She positioned the grenade carefully.  She didn't want it blowing gas directly out the vents - that would be too obvious.  But she did want to ensure that most of the Neuro-Stun(tm)  would make its way out in a timely fashion before the air rendered it inert.  Satisfied with her chosen location, she brushed several years of dust away before gluing the device to the metal.  She knew from experience that once the gas started spewing, grenades tended to bounce around a bit, especially if there were solid surfaces nearby for the gas to push against.

She toggled the timer down to 20 seconds and checked the her watch before initiating the countdown.  Her gloved hands easily found handholds to scamper up the shaft wall to the open door.  A quick pull on a wire and the upper door slid back closed again. The rigger moved quickly back to the desk and the unconscious decker.

"'nade set.  Do somethin loud when ta thing goes so 'e don't ear da hiss.  An keep'im breathin deep.  Off in 4...3...2...Noise now."

In the silence of the loading dock space she could detect the faint hiss from behind the door and her thermal goggles made out a tiny disturbance of the air around the crack.  The vents into the elevator and room below were a much easier exit for the gas.

She watched the elevator monitor closely to see how the guard reacts, sparing a quick glance at the server room to see how the other team were making out.  "Keep 'im stracted so he don use ta radio"

quote:

16:04, Today: Copperhead rolled 2 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 2,4,5,2,2,1. Electronics - open door.
16:06, Today: Copperhead rolled 5 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 4,5,(6+4)10,(6+5)11,3,5. Stealth: Drop to elevator roof.
16:10, Today: Copperhead rolled 3 successes using 4d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 1,4,(6+4)10,(6+3)9. Athletics: Get back up.

Presume those are all good enough.  If need be, I can do the electronics again without a penalty.

Just to confirm position of everyone based on Toomb's scan and what I can see on the camera feeds:
Top floor: janitor (hallway?)
Main floor: Copperhead & Noruas in 13(Loading Dock); 2 guards in 2(Lobby)
Lower floor: Guard in elevator, St. V and Toombs in 10 (Biological Materials Storage), "manipulated" guard in 13 (Security Center), unknown person in 14 (Armory), Decker & Shaman in 18 (Computer Center)

Did Toombs scan the whole place - so we're (relatively) sure there's no other humans or critters in the complex?  I presume there's no camera into the armory so I can't see whoever's there?  Did Toombs pick up any information about the armory individual - human vs. meta?  Significant cyber?  Favorite trid shows?

Also a reminder that I'm still waiting on a response from the J in our back-and-forth (not pushing, just didn't want you to lose track :>)

The Johnson responds to Copperhead, "Because this is the only project Cavilard has that's close to ready for deployment--and that deployment is the end of the week! We chose this time because it is the most ideal gap in Cavilard's security schedule. They perhaps did for the same reason.

"And the deal was you retrieve the file for us. That implies you don't retrieve the file for anyone else. We can't let anyone else get that file!"

Copperhead has no issue breaking into the elevator control panel again to alter which doors open or close.

"Yeah, the stupid thing won't close. I can't believe it. You know the cameras here are drek, but security's always the first thing to cut. But the elevators? And the maintenance crew doesn't come here until Friday. IF they even have management approval by that time. I tell you what, I really, really hate this place. I give you a lot of drek, but I'd jump on a chance to ride the open -- do you guys hear something? It sounds like gas escaWHAAAA ..." The guard hits the side of the elevator and slides to the ground, unconscious. No one else can hear anything (except the guard snoring).

Copperhead, your positioning is correct EXCEPT the person in 14 is actually in 15 (I was running the map from memory, sorry for the mixup).

Toombs did a quick sweep, although since he hasn't posted, we can safely assume he used that to do a slightly more in-depth sweep, so you're feeling pretty confident, unless there's a team hiding in the storage closets or something.

Toombs actually has quite a good deal of information on the individual, despite not taking the time to check him out thoroughly. Human male, built like a truck, bristley. His room reeks of order and right angles. He has some form of body ware (not a lot) and has a handgun on his hip.

As Copperhead is waiting at the top of the elevator shaft, she notices something odd on her remote deck; a pair of black sedans, likely nightwinds, just blasted past the security gate and came screeching up the driveway!

"Guard's down.  He's in the elevator," St. V reports once the man begins his snooze.  He then gets right to work putting the last of the barrels away.  Sooner that part of their ruse was complete, the sooner he could focus on other parts of the mission.  He could move much faster now that he wasn't stalling for time.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:58, Tue 04 Aug 2015.

Noruas said he was setting things up so he could hear me and communicate back, so I'm crossing fingers he did.

The Johnson gets a quick response. "Somethin jus came up."  She'd have to deal with her later.

She addresses the rigger's deck in the hopes he can hear her.  Or that he wakes up soon.  She speaks over the radio as well for good measure.
"Fraggin Troll nads.  Two cars jus crashed da gate an comin up da drive.  Noruas, ya gotta unloop da cameras out fron.  An den phone da fron desk like ya's from da Star ta offer 'ssistance on ta two vehicles jus broke true da gate.  Ideally fore I's assistin.  If Noruas ain't respondin, den mebe Toombs can call wit his cell"  Presuming he even knew the number for the front desk . . .

Then it was time to play.  She plopped down on the floor and leaned against the desk, slotting the cable into her back and jumping straight from the captain's chair into her drone.

She couldn't smell the Seattle haze - hadn't bothered to upgrade for chemical sensors yet.  But visually it was obvious.  It would probably rain later tonight too.  She altered thrust smoothly, maneuvering the drone into position where anyone seeking cover from the front doors wouldn't have any cover from her.  She toggled her ammo select to EX rounds.  LoneStar wasn't known for non-lethal and anyone coming in this hard and heavy had to be corp goons rather than runners.  She didn't much like corp goons.

I doubt the gas has cleared from the elevator, so I can't re-enable it yet.  Unless these turkeys have air support, I don't think they're going to last very long so I'll let you two up shortly.  Though who knows who's showing up next . . .

Did Copperhead see what the two in the server room were up to before she jacks in?

The two in the server room seem to be wrapping up and making for the door.

I LIVE! We haven't had internet since Thursday.
"Well ther's stairs, right? Handsome, howzabout ya grab da guard's keys, an we can start bustin through this place quicketty-split." Toombs keeps pulling at the mast straps. Something's catching on his earring and it's not helping the seal.

Noruas's voice comes over the radios, sped up, barely understandable: "Busy.  I'll try.  Don't know where phone connection is, yet."

St. V curses under his breath, then abandons his task.  Wasn't much point in worrying about the barrels now, unless they managed to keep the situation quiet.  At which point he could come back to it.  Instead, the big troll heads back toward the unconscious guard.  "I'll check security guy's phone.  See if he has this place's number."

St. V makes sure his mask is secure, then holds his breath anyway as he goes to search the guard for a phone.  (And grab the radio while he's at it.)  If he finds one he will exit the neurostun danger zone and search through the contacts list for a promising phone number.  If he finds that, he will read the number to Toombs over his mic.

The two cars continue down the driveway. They're moving fast, but not enough that they're likely to have any trouble maneuvering. Both have the lights out. They circle around the edge of the parking lot and approach the loading garage.

St. V grabs the guard's phone. It seems like a robust little brick of a thing, but the buttons are all too small and this is a serious pain in the hiney. Flipping through, he finds a few promising phone numbers, including the security center, the front desk, and a similar extension for "Mr. Drury". There's some minor traffic over the radio; one of the guards asks if anyone saw something out in the parking lot just then.

No one is currently watching the camera feeds, so no updates on your other runner group.

"Fraggin' son of a Trog . . ."

Attracting attention to the garage area was not really something she wanted.

How long would it take me to unblock the elevator?  Is it something they could do by popping through the hatch?  For that matter, could they pop through a hatch and clamber up?  Roughly how long until the gas is no longer active?

If they look like they're going to ram the door, Copperhead will fire a six-round EX burst into the lead vehicle to disable it, ideally by hitting the vehicle on one front corner to both take out a tire and the engine block.  (She doesn't want it to continue careening its way into the garage door)

If they plan to stop to breach some other way (because they don't want to ruin the paint on their nice cars by plowing into the rear end of a hazardous waste truck), she'll give them time to exit their vehicles.  She'll start firing (let me choose the targets and round count) when:
- it looks like they're all out and positioned with minimal cover
- it looks like they're splitting up such that she might lose contact with some of them before she starts shooting
- the door looks like it's going to be breached if she doesn't act.

Until then, she'll observe in detail and position the drone for best line of sight while having lowest chance of detection, keeping a distance just under her 1km range limit.  (Effective range for observation with rating 5 sensors = 4m).  She'll try to stay near overhead because few people look straight up - too hard on the necks and the sound from directly overhead will be hard to localize - especially when echos are bouncing off nearby objects.  Also, hard to find solid cover for overhead shots.  That's assuming the drone can pitch sufficiently to shoot close to straight down . . .

It will take at least a round to unjam the elevator. How successful you are will reduce the time. Yes, with St. V in the group, he could make an opening. The top of the elevator isn't especially well reinforced. But then they need to get up, which requires some athletic tests.

The gas doesn't have much space to dissipate. I'll have to double check the rules, which I don't have in front of me, but at minimum it should be several rounds.

The book says that it inactivates after 2 turns - presumably a reaction with the oxygen in the air.  Our rules thread says anywhere from 1 minute to 10 minutes, depending on the concoction, though it may faster in areas of higher air movement.  Two turns means that a victim is exposed to 6S twice and is done, so no chance of dying unless they were already in really rough shape.  With a period of a minute, they could be exposed to it 20 times, which would pretty much kill anyone not wearing full chem protection who couldn't get away before they were knocked out.

I'm gathering that means there's no hatch at the top of the elevator that St. V could boost Toombs through?  (Not that 'fixing' a sensor is necessarily a wise thing to do . . .)

In any event, I figure I've only got one combat turn before I learn whether I'm going to have to shoot the lead car, and not too many after that before I'm shooting anyhow.

It being called "neuro-stun", I'm okay saying it isn't going to kill you unless there's no other air to breath.

Regarding using gas grenades in combat, the rules assume the 'average situation'. Being trapped in an elevator is not 'average'. The rules for neuro-stun itself don't give a duration, so I'm forced to assume the gas grenade rules are talking about dispersion, and that doesn't really apply here.

No, no exit hatch per se (that you saw).

St. V gives Toombs the number for the front desk and wishes him luck.  "Try not to mess it up.  I'll make us an escape in the cargo lift for when you're ready."  St. V will go back to the elevator again (still making sure his mask is tight) and examine the ceiling.  If there is a hatch, he'll use it.  If there isn't a hatch, he'll make a hatch.  If anyone asked, it was to ventilate the area for the collapsed guard.

17:32, Today: St. Velveteen rolled 5 successes using 7d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 4,(6+4)10,4,1,1,5,(6+2)8. Break Things - cargo lift ceiling.

St. V makes a hatch. Pieces of ancient dirt and debris fall around him. Good thing he has a suit on! St.V does feel dizzy for just a moment. It could be the neurostun, or it could just be the sudden exertion.

Toombs is holding his action for a moment. He's quite a few actions he might take; calling on the phone, heading through the airlock towards the server room, or pulling back towards the garage.

Copperhead preps her drone. The two cars pull onto either side of the garage. The door swings open. Two people pile out with SMGs, and a third follows with some sort of a kit.

Do we know if Toombs' internet is out again?

You said "the door swings open" - presume that means "the doors swing open", or do they all clamber out one door of one vehicle?  Are the individuals exiting both vehicles - in particular, does someone come out of the driver's seat of both vehicles?  Also, they've parked so the garage isn't blocked?  That's very polite of them :>

What are the lighting conditions?  Are there lights in the parking lot around the garage door?  If someone looks out the windows of the reception area, any chance they'd see either of the vehicles?  Any more chatter on the radio?

The rigger watches the individuals exit their vehicles, looking for telltale signs of cyber enhancement or magical capability.  She wanted to know who to hit first.  And she wanted to conform her hunch that these were corp folk rather than just really inept runners.

quote:

14:30, Today: Copperhead rolled 2 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 5,3,2,4,3,2. Observe in detail.
14:30, Today: Copperhead rolled 3 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 1,4,1,(6+3)9,(6+1)7,2. Stealth.

"Elevator escape's ready," St. V reports when he gets the cargo lift's roof properly "ventilated."

I'll wait to see which direction Toombs takes before deciding what St. V will do.  But he will either go up the shaft or back down the hall, both in an effort to distance himself from any lingering gasses.

"Ders a piece o plaster in fron ov a sensor on da lef, door-side.  Ya move dat and it'll work da ol fashion way."

Dunno on Toombs.

Yes, you're correct. Multiple doors. One drive gets out. The cars are partially blocking the way, but mostly they're providing cover around the man-sized door, not around the car-sized door. You could get by with some minor maneuvering, or do a Pitt maneuver if you just don't care. One does exit from a driver's side door. Presumably the other car still has a driver.

Yes, plenty of lighting. Fortunately, they've come around the bend enough that the reception area doesn't have LOS.

Radios quiet for the moment.

All four of the people are wearing armored clothing. There's no sign of a uniform or formal patches. They move quickly, with the jerkiness telling of reaction enhancements. Copperhead can see a pistol holster here or there, but no signs of anything bigger.

Is it 4 people or 3?  I'm guessing 3 out and one probably still in the vehicle?  Are any of the doors to the car that likely still contains a driver still open?  I'm guessing those with the SMGs are taking up positions to use the vehicles as cover while the guy with the tool kit is going up to the door?  Does anyone actually have cover from me?  If so, I'll try to adjust position so no-one does  I'm assuming none of them are looking straight up or showing indication they're aware I'm there?

Three are currently visible, plus implied driver.

Your positioning is correct. Given you're at altitude, the gunmen behind the doors would have some very light cover, while the techie has none. You can move directly overhead though. They just hopped out of the car, so no one has noticed you yet. Once they get to their positions, they may.

Oh, so the doors are open?  What I'm picturing now is:

==-----------===---============
                 a
           ____    ____
        ___|  |    |  |___
         b    |    |c   d
           |  |    |  |
           ----    ----




                X

a = techie
b+d = goons with cover from small behind vehicle doors and hoods
c = presumed driver with driver door closed
X = rough position of drone, though up ~1000m

Presume a was sitting w/ b and closed their door after they got out and that c didn't open their door.
So I'm not sure where the cover for b & d would be coming from, meaning I probably misunderstand the positioning.

Cars aren't so neatly parked. Imagine them like a V, with the open end towards the door. The grunts are on the inside of the V, aiming out (shooting through the door into the building provides enough cover as it is).

Because of the angles, unless you're 'inside' the V, they have cover from the side of the building, the cars, or doors (which aren't open at right angles).

"If they's already engagin' tha guards, maybe we shoul' just take care of tha guys inside an' do tha bail-out-boogie. Contract says leave no trace, don' say nuthin about clearin' up other drekheads' mess. 'sides, they get caught an' the last thing they 'spect is a sim-same time sec breach, neh? Bu' I'm just da pretty face, I'll do what gunner up dere says."
"fer now."

Toombs pulls out his phone and readies it for the call (you guys can decide on what & such, BB can make the roll if I don't), while the other hand palms a cue ball. It begins to spin with a quiet whir that gradually builds to a droning whiz.

==-----------===---============
            _    a     _
           / \        / \
          /   \__  __/   \
          \ b   c  d     /
           \    \  /    /
            \   /  \   /
             \_/    \_/



                  X

That a bit closer?  (though probably still neater)

I think that from 1000 meters up, their degree of cover will be pretty minimal, but I'll move closer to on top of them to eliminate what they've got.

As she studied the figures below, Copperhead cut her thrust to zero, angling the control vanes to bring her into a position directly overhead from the goons.  She was going to need to dive to get into position to take out the driver of the first vehicle anyhow, may as well let gravity do some of the work for her.  Plus, killing the jets would conceal the limited noise she was making and the night air would rapidly reduce the thermal bloom of her thrust.  Given that anyone who bothered to look up would have to detect her through a thousand meters or so of Seattle's typical mix of aerosols, soot, dust and other things that were best not to think about, they wouldn't see much.  The additional cloud cover provided by the Dwarf's spirit would help too.

She switched her Ultimax back to stun and enabled full-auto.  These slitches weren't obviously corp and the local security seemed to be happily oblivious, but they were obviously wired and she needed to take them out fast.  Hopefully no one would pay too much mind to a few extra pieces of plastic debris on the parking lot pavement in the morning.

The smart link came alive as she zeroed in on the driver of the car on the right as he did a semi-professional scan of the area, predictably not looking up.  This amateur was gonna have a fragging nasty a headache in the morning.  He'd only need one bullet.  Once he fell, she'd have to take the others rapidly before they had a chance to do anything.

"Goin' hot an' quiet.  Hold da call."

So, I'm guessing the target number to detect me is as follows:
Stealth roll of 11 + 3 for spirit -2 for drone having signature of 4 compared to a human's signature of 6.  Additional considerations - I'm directly overhead and almost a kilometer away and now quiet.  On the other hand, there's not exactly a ton of cover up here to hide behind without blocking my ability to see.  This team has just arrived so they're probably scanning the woods, and watching the door in case security responds to the camera.  I'm guessing there may be a net positive modifier, but up to you.

quote:

17:24, Today: Copperhead rolled 10 successes using 12d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 2 with rolls of 3,5,(6+6+6+4)22,5,(6+2)8,3,2,4,1,1,3,4. Surprise.

Assuming they don't notice me, I get ambush bonus of -2, rolling reaction of 12.  If they did notice me, that drops to 6 - which is the number of successes they need to roll with reaction against target 4 in order to be able to act against me - or to be able to dodge.  If none of them succeed, then they can't even take free actions like dropping prone or talking or starting the car.

quote:

17:28, Today: Copperhead rolled 27 using 4d6+12 with rolls of 1,4,4,6. Initiative.

First shot (which happens before initiative if they didn't see me) is on the driver of the first vehicle - the one who has cover behind the driver side door.  Modifiers are:
- normal light +0
- extreme range, with x3 scope making it short range +0
- small target (because of the angle, I've got less to shoot at, though a head shot is more likely) +1
- moving toward target -1
- speed of 30-60 +1
- Attacker's maneuver score exceeds target by 10 (I can roll for it, but not sure there's any point) -1
So base TN of 4, presuming I've been able to move such that there's no cover

I'll aim for two actions to bring that down to 2.

Gunnery 6, no combat pool, on die on the elf.

quote:

23:18, Today: Copperhead rolled 3 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 2 with rolls of 1,5,1,3,1,3. Attack elf.

Elf resists 7D stun, with half armor, must make a body test against 7 without falling down and must make two more successes to avoid getting pushed back by a couple of meters (and if he can't move that far, taking a penalty to his next actions.)

Gunnery 6, 6 combat pool dice, 5 rounds
Extreme range = 9
Smart link = -2
Plus 2 for second target = 9

quote:

23:31, Today: Copperhead failed (no successes) using 16d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 9 with rolls of 3,4,4,5,4,5,2,4,2,2,5,2,5,2,1,5. 2nd goon .

Frag.

+2 for 3rd target
+4 for extra bullets
Gunnery 6, 3 combat pool dice, 4 rounds

quote:

23:34, Today: Copperhead failed (no successes) using 15d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 15 with rolls of 1,4,5,1,3,4,4,5,5,2,5,2. Techie.

I'd actually rolled 3 more dice than I should have, but missed regardless.

I *don't* have a sound suppressor, but I am about 950 meters away at time of firing and have a spirit concealing me, which I presume affects sound too.  Assuming -6dB per spirit point and that my medium machine gun firing single rounds isn't any noisier than an M60 (155dB), that should put the noise at 60dB for them.  So they'll definitely hear it, but with it bouncing off the building and other stuff, shouldn't be able to localize.  And with the sound energy coming down, it's very unlikely anyone inside the facility would hear anything.

quote:

21:42, Today: Copperhead rolled 20 using 4d6+12 with rolls of 1,1,3,3. Initiative - next turn.

That sucked.

Simple action to aim at goon 2 if he's still there, otherwise at techie, firing a 6 round burst.  TN = 3

quote:

23:38, Today: Copperhead rolled 7 successes using 11d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 3 with rolls of 4,3,2,1,4,1,(6+1)7,1,(6+2)8,(6+4)10,3. Goon 2 - 2nd try.
23:46, Today: Copperhead rolled 3 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 3 with rolls of 4,1,(6+5)11,1,1,3. Forgot my combat pool.

He might make 10 successes on his dodge, but I doubt it.


The rigger swore as the air currents buffeted her on the way down.  That hadn't gone nearly as well as she'd hoped.  This was likely to get noisy fast . . .

Second CP will depend on who's left to shoot at.  At the end of this CT, I'll be descending at 90 m/CT.

EDIT: Adjusted combat rolls and actions as per revised rules
This message was last edited by the player at 06:26, Fri 21 Aug 2015.

"I'll help with the guys down here then," Saint Velveteen says as he heads back toward Toombs.  He prepares his shock gloves and flash-pak grenade as he walks.  "If things get too hot up there, you should be able to retreat down the elevator shaft."

The dwarf quickly jerked open his eyes before carefully reaching for the line connected to his head.  He disconnects both sides gently and puts away his equipment as fast as he could without damaging anything.

Boys and girls, if you have need to access any other rooms, feel free to use the access codes.....1...1....1......and 1, said the dwarf with bated breath.

Noruas hurries over next to Copperhead to make sure she is covered.  He stands next to her and gingerly palms his Predator, feeling the sudden but smooth connection to his smartlink.  Need anything, rigger?

The HUD starts to display a red targeting reticle as well as numbers indicating ammunition left in the gun.  He slides it out of his armpit holster and checks the magazine.  Gel rounds...check.  Silencer....check.



BTW, where exactly did we determine the target room to be?  I'm looking at the game map right now, but I don't quite remember where we thought it was.

We're supposed to place the "packages" in room 10, top floor (the bio-tech director's office).  The other team was finishing up their work in room 18 in the basement and may already have left it

"Figger out where da udder runners is.  An check da guards"

Copperhead never had been great with social niceties.

The techie reaches the door and begins to work. The driver holds up a hand--his elven senses sense something! A moment later, rounds pelt him and he drops like a sack of potatoes. There's a yelp from the second goon, before the line of fire follows.

Quick note; the SR3R rules require an aim action before using a scope. This means there's no 'hit four targets in quick succession at extreme range' type actions. This bumps your TNs for the second and third target up--a lot--but reading through, I don't think it would change your action except to move to Long Range, unless you want to shift who you're pelting in the head first.

Also, I still need to read your new character sheet. I'm going to put that on the to-do list. But an Ultimax is above the availability for a starting character. Bumping you to a Valiant doesn't save this guy though.

Finally, you're walking fire, so that's +2 for the second goon and +4 for the techie. That +2 is barely enough to make a bad roll into a miss.

The second goon has a moment to try and raise his arms above his head as a round pelts the ground by his foot. A second later, the techie drops.

The goon responds quickly--too quickly. He's clearly wired. His gun is out and he starts firing rounds into the sky as he dives for the driver of the first car, scooping him halfway into the open car door. The driver of the second car leans out the window and pops off rounds as well. His are aimed, but still very wide.

----------------

Downstairs, St. V and Toombs can hear sounds of people moving on the other side of the doorway. With no one watching the cameras, it's impossible to tell what's going on.

I did aim - If they saw me (as appears to be the case), I had 3 phases of actions, two simple actions per phase:
CT 1, Phase 1: aim, fire
CT 1, Phase 2: aim, fire
CT 1, Phase 3: aim, fire
CT 2, Phase 1: observe in detail, ??
CT 2, Phase 2: ??

The aiming action with a scope takes me from extreme range to short range and gives a -1 to TN.

As per the book (p. 112 SR3), there's a +2 for multiple targets within a combat *phase*, not within a combat turn.  In a given phase, I'm only hitting one target (my other action is aiming).  So, I really should be able to hit all 3 of them with minimal modifiers before they have a chance to react.  Also, they won't be pelted with multiple rounds.  I'm firing a single shot at the head/upper torso of each.  So there shouldn't have been any gunfire from them, nor any chance for them to dodge.

Noruas sighs, and heads back to the terminal to jack in again...this time with his own account.

You can look at the cameras without jacking in - but may be better positioned to lock down the doors or other things jacked in, so decide which is faster :>

"Righ'. If subtlety's out, then I'm gonna bust out some more mojo fer us." He lifts the cue ball up and scowls at it, before dropping his hands and cracking his knuckles. The ball, meanwhile, stays put as if suspended on string. "_{On a cold dark winter night hidden by the stormy light, A battle rages for the right for what will become,} In the valley of the damned a warrior with sword in hand, Travels fast across the land for freedom he rides!
And while all of this is happening, his player looks up the damn spellcasting rules again! So fragging hard to find it all. Memory serves, base TN it's Force? In which case, I'm casting F6
Using only my base Sorcery, because this drain is going to *hurt* 6,3,1,3,1,2
1 success on the casting. I now have a very angry cue-ball.
Drain WIL 7 +6 Spell Pool v TN of (6+2)/2 = 4S
1,2,(6+3)9,5,5,5,3,3,2,4,2,3,1
5 successes. 2 S->M, 2 M->L.
So Toombs now has a Sustained F6 Nailgun spell, a +1 TN mod for Light stun, and a +1 for Sustaining spell for any action other than cracking skulls.
It wobbles unsteadily before leaping at a wall with a resounding "crack!" With a bolero motion, he swings the projectile back around him so it slowly orbits between his two outstretched hands.

With sounds of people outside their storage room and Toombs working his magic, topped off by having no clear idea of how things are going upstairs, St. V doesn't have much time to think about what course of action to take.  He only has time to react.  If it was the other runners outside, he wanted to get the drop on them, especially if they were in this hall to go up the cargo lift.  And if it was some other people, well, that meant they were probably already in deep drek anyway.  "Mind yer eyes.  Things're 'bout ta get lit up down here, Toombs."

St. V bursts through the door.  If it is guards (or a group of janitors) he will hold his hands low behind him and say urgently, "Where's the bathroom!  It's an emergency!"  If guards (or a group of janitors) aim weapons at him, he'll duck back into the doorway and work on getting his pistol out from his suit. If it's the runners, he will sock the shamaniest-looking one with his shock gloves if they are close by, or light up his flash-pak grenade (when they turn to look at him) and rush toward them if they are too far away.

Probably not the best course of action, but St. V doesn't have much info to go off of and he doesn't want to let an advantage slip through his fingers when everything seems to be in a downward spiral from his perspective.

(minor update given Copperhead's revised rolls ...)

The techie reaches the door and begins to work. The driver holds up a hand--his elven senses sense something! A moment later, rounds pelt him and he drops like a sack of potatoes. There's a yelp from the second goon, before the line of fire follows.

The second goon has a moment to try and raise his arms above his head as a round pelts the ground by his foot. A second later, the techie ... doesn't do anything.

The goon responds quickly--too quickly. He's clearly wired. His gun is out and he starts firing rounds into the sky as he dives for the driver of the first car, grabbing him up into his arm. The driver of the second car leans out the window and pops off rounds as well. His are aimed, but still very wide. The techie hurries back towards the car and dives inside the open door.

Copperhead, I don't see an initiative roll. If you get above 13, you can interrupt the first two goons. If you get 21, you can get the techie.

(Meanwhile... or actually, just a little after...)

St. V busts through the door like the Aztech-Aid man. The shaman is immediately ahead of him, her shotgun out and at the ready, but she only has a chance to gasp in surprise. St. V swings out with his shock glove. It's a glancing blow, but it's enough. There's a WHUMPF of impact and a crack of electrical discharge. The woman stumbles backwards, her hair so recently pulled back now extends out in every direction. Behind her, the white-haired decker curses and levels his gun at St. V, but doesn't shoot. Further down the hallway, you hear someone shout "What the drek was that??" and something shifting heavily in one of the offices.

(Feel free to declare your next actions and post initiative if you don't want me to roll it for you.)

15:36, Today: St. Velveteen rolled 9 using 1d6+5 with rolls of 4.  Initiative.

If he had had time to think about it, St. V may have chosen a different course of action.  But as it was, he didn't have time to think.  Only time to react.  And what he was reacting to was a guy pointing a gun to his face.

In a feat of speed and finesse one would not typically expect from a large troll, in one fluid motion Saint Velveteen uses his long arms to push the gun to one side, steps to the other, and delivers a devastating electrical uppercut to the decker.

It was there, but there was a heck of a lot of orange and rolls :>

quote:

21:42, Today: Copperhead rolled 20 using 4d6+12 with rolls of 1,1,3,3. Initiative - next turn.

Seeing as the second driver was kind enough to stick his head out of the window, he'll be the target of the hail of bullets I rolled for the first combat phase of this turn.  I figure head and torso sticking out the window of a car isn't a significantly different from a head and torso standing upright, so target modifiers should be the same.

Confident that both drivers were out of commission and knowing the bullets of the second goon couldn't reach her even if he managed to be on target, Copperhead turned her sights to the techie who was wisely trying to get to the best cover available from an aerial drone - the inside of the hill on the other side of that garage door.  The one her meat was lying on the other side of.

This will go off at timeslot 10.

Gunnery 6, combat pool of 3, 6 bullets = 14 dice.  Aim, then fire 6-round burst as two simple actions.  TN = 3 as before.

quote:

21:40, Today: Copperhead rolled 8 successes using 14d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 3 with rolls of 4,1,1,5,5,2,5,1,(6+6+6+4)22,3,1,5,1,3.  Techie.

Base damage is 7S

There's a brief burst of speech over the radio, on St. V's and Toombs' frequency; "armedsecurityheadingyourway"

I presume that's the radio they borrowed or is it the team's channel?  Do I see the results of my last shot or do I need to expend a free action?

That's on the team's channel.

Copperhead's gun fires another burst. The driver is stoic and armored, and under any other conditions would be triumphant, but in this case, the barrage of bullets are too much, and the poor man slumps inert in his seat.

The techie, from inside the car, grabs the first driver, still an unconscious lump, and lugs him into the car. The two are both hidden from view.

(At this point, the only remaining target is the one goon standing out in the open.)

Another spray of bullets and the remaining goon drops.

Both cars are quiet. There are two visible unconscious bodies.


Inside, things play out a little differently.

St. Velveteen steps in and swings out. The fist connects and there's a audible crack--and not just the sort made by electrical discharge. St. V has been in enough fights to know that's bad. But regardless, the elf is out cold.

Behind him, the woman who was so recently knocked shouts, "Tiger!" She brings her hands together and Toombs can see the astral energy gathering around her... She casts at St. Velveteen. The troll feels a momentary tingling. The woman does not look pleased with the result.

While St. V is unknotting this conundrum, a man leans around the corner and sprays the area with gunfire. Rounds hit St. Velveteen across the chest. The troll has already invested himself in knocking down the elf, and he is too off-balance to dodge. The rounds punch through his suit and armor underneath and he is feeling... probably rather angry, but otherwise okay.

A second burst hits the woman and she staggers backwards, a spray of blood spritzing across St. Velveteen's back.

(Next initiative!)

Toombs has been quiet. I know the player is pretty busy. Unless Toombs posts, I'm going to assume he uses his last action of the turn to attack the guy with the assault rifle, and then continue to attack him. The two runners seem to be pretty well sorted.

quote:

11:34, Today: Copperhead rolled 24 using 4d6+12.  Initiative.

The drone's been in semi-guided free-fall for 3 turns now.  So current speed is 90m/turn.  Current height is ~ 865m.

quote:

12:00, Today: Copperhead rolled 10 successes using 12d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 2.  Acceleration.
12:01, Today: Copperhead rolled 5 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 2.  Crash test.

So a delta-v of 100 meters/turn.  That'll slow my vertical somewhat.  I should now be at my vehicle's max speed of 150 meters/turn.  Say 90 meter/turn descent and 120 meters/turn horizontal.



The drone's jet thrusters cut in.  It was time to give mother nature a hand.  Copperhead angled the stabilizer fins to redirect her movement to give her a position where she could target the techie through the open door while still keeping a safe range from the vehicle.  She wanted to allow for the vehicle to start moving too.  As the drone continued its descent, she surveyed her targets for any signs they might still be conscious, then focused her attention on the door.

quote:

12:09, Today: Copperhead rolled 2 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 2,1,4,1,3,(6+6+5)17.  Observe in detail.

Holding remaining actions in case the techie does something that exposes him.  As soon as I'm close to getting a mostly clear shot, I'll slow the drone to remove my speed modifier and then aim and fire a 6 round burst rolling 17 dice as soon as the techie comes into view.  My guess is that'll be in about 3 turns which will be when I get to a 45 degree angle.

IRL every day at work tends to be 11 hours at the least, so weekend posts only.
"drek, drek, DREK!" Toombs pushes out some of his aura like a cloak over St V, swinging a little extra protection if the shaman tries again. +3d from spell pool. "Hey Chica, check dis!" Toombs cannons the cue ball into her stomach.
Nail-gun 6S stun, firing at TN 4 (edit TN as necessary); using Sorcery 6 + Spell pool 2.
(6+6+6+6+5)29,3,1,4,2,1,(6+1)7,5
4 successes. If I remember right, that might still cap my successes at 1 because I only scored 1 success on the casting, but might be wrong. Which means I either strike for 6S or 8D stun.

Nail Gun fire two! TN 4 (again, adjust as necessary) at the gunner; using Sorcery 6 + Spell Pool 1.
(6+5)11,2,4,4,3,4,5
5 successes. As above, that means either 6S or 8D.
Also, This One is pleased that the damage code is a smiley face.

The blood on St. V's back is from the shaman lady getting shot, right?  St. V is relatively unharmed?

"Frag." St. V thought his strike against the shaman had stunned her worse thanb it had.  He just hoped that the strange tingle he felt wasn't some exotic curse she had hexed him with.  But a spray of bullets prevented him from thinking about it too hard.

The troll turned on his heel to face the new threat.  "Lighting it up!" he warns Toombs over the subvocal mic.  Then he lobs his flash-pak grenade in the guard's direction and charges.

Outside, Copperhead prepares to knock out the one shooter still conscious. Unfortunately, the opportunity doesn't seem to arise. There's a blast of gunfire, then a second. The head of the goon on the ground explodes, spraying blood across the asphalt.

Inside, the man with the assault rifle does not seem pleased with St. Velveteen's refusal to lay down and die. He opens up with a pair of bursts. The troll is surprisingly deft on his feet, side-stepping left, right, then punching forward.

St. V tosses his flash-pak. It hits the ground and bounces, lighting up the hallway like a dance hall. St. V closes the distance, going toe-to-toe with the security guard.

Toombs launches his cue ball with a distinctive "FOOMP". The ball, with all of its stored up magical energy, throws the shaman across the hallway and into the far wall, with a spurt of blood from her mouth. She crumples to the ground.

The guard fires another two bursts as he backpedals. The flashpak certainly seems effective; the first burst hits St. V in the shoulder, the second goes wide. Unfortunately, that first burst actually DID hurt (and is totally tearing up that chemical suit).

The door to the security center opens and a second guard steps out. He blinks his eyes a few times groggily before he reaches for his handgun.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:41, Tue 01 Sept 2015.

"Fragging More??"

The rigger scans the area, pinpointing where the gunfire was coming from.  So much for not making a mess.  Hopefully she could still keep one of the nice cars . . .

Did my previous observe in detail notice cover where the shot was coming from or should I roll again?  I've included a second one, just in case.  Ignore as appropriate.

quote:

15:48, Today: Copperhead rolled 3 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 2,4,2,3,(6+1)7,5.  Observe in detail - locate gunner.

If necessary, she'll try an active sweep

quote:

15:49, Today: Copperhead rolled 2 successes using 5d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 2,1,4,(6+1)7,1.  Sensor sweep.

Same roll, but perhaps different modifiers.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. The techie in the car shoots out the car door at his goon friend, killing him.

"Ow!" St. Velvateen exclaims as he feels the bite of bullets.  He would have to wait until later to assess just how hurt he was.  In the meantime he uses his modified eyes to aim another strike in the fading brightness, toward the nearest upright security guard.

"Nobody will get hurt if you stay outta our way!" he says even as his fist sails through the air.

INSIDE

The guy with the assault rifle is none too happy about this turn of events. He turns heel and runs for the cover of the next door down the hall.

Toombs tears the little radiation sensor off of his suit. Once it's comfortably in his hands, it launches across the hall at the poor sucker of a guard who just walked out of the security center. The sensor impacts the wall hard enough to crater it. St. V follows a moment after. The guard is wearing a thin armored vest; the sort of thing meant to stop .32 rounds, and has a handgun at his side. Nothing intended to take flying Geiger counters or Valentine's strobe-lit freight-train of a fist. The troll smashes the guard in the face. The poor man stumbles back into the security post, falling over the chair and crashing into the ground.

No sign of the guy with the assault rifle. He almost certainly ducked into one of the rooms. The two Shadowrunners you hit earlier are both on the ground, either dying or unconscious.

OUTSIDE

The techie in the car waits a moment, as the pool of blood around her compatriot's head spreads. Then the car pulls out backwards, and makes a three-point turn to exit the facility.

The rigger had sort of been expecting this.  She let the vehicle get well clear of the garage doors - and the second vehicle while adjusting her controls to slow her decent and bring her onto a vector slowly approaching the departing car.

In theory, there was nothing to be gained by stopping the techie.  It was outside the mission parameters.  But the guy had just killed a teammate in cold blood.  Plus, having a distraction outside might relieve some pressure on her friends inside.  To put the nail in his coffin, what self-respecting rigger parks in a way so as to require a 3-point turn to make a get-away?

She toggled her ammo to EX and took her time aiming before placing a nice 6-round burst directly in the center of the engine block.  Nothing likely to cause an explosion, just enough to ensure the car wouldn't be driving or steering or doing much of anything other than plowing into the nearest tree . . .

quote:

13:59, Today: Copperhead rolled 15 successes using 17d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 2 with rolls of 3,4,5,4,5,5,(6+3)9,4,2,(6+2)8,(6+6+6+4)22,1,2,5,2,4,1.  Stop dat car!

Base damage 11S becomes 5M.  Then stages up a bunch . . .

She'll apply successes beyond any needed to avoid dodging or taking the damage below D to avoid damage to the occupants.  She wants the techie out cold, not dead.  She needs someone around to take the heat for the mess they're making . . .

St. V keeps one eye on where the guard with the assault rifle went as he starts to backtrack toward the decker, loosing access to his pistol under his suit as he moves.  When he gets to the decker, he drags the guy back to the doorway St. V first burst forth from. "Don't wanna murder the guy if I don't gotta," he says to Toombs quietly over the subvocal mic.  "Plus he could be useful."  The troll will sling the unconscious decker over one shoulder (face towards St. V's stomach, and jolting him again first if necessary) and start heading back to the elevator so they can climb up to the getaway car.

I realize this is multiple rounds of actions, so just let me know how much of it happens before this intended series of actions gets interrupted.

Outside ...

damage would still be 7S (plus explosive rounds)--there aren't any 9S weapons available at chargen. But it does stage up to like a million.

The car doesn't even dodge. It's likely being driven by autopilot, not an individual. The hood crumples like wet tissue, and explosives rounds burst inside the engine block. In a moment, an 8,000 nuyen V-8 ruptures and a belch of flames. Gears grind as the car rolls to a stop.

You can be pretty sure the lobby guards are aware something is going on.


St. V has no issue scooping the decker -- and deck -- and heading for the exit. With no resistance in sight, Toombs is able to scoop the shaman too. After all, when there's time for professional courtesy, why not extend it?

The two of you can haul butt back to the elevators. The two of you feel lightheaded as you pass the unconscious guard, but neither suffer any serious harm. The neurostun seems to have mostly dissipated, at least enough to permit you a quick escape.

Unfortunately, Copperhead hasn't had a chance to unbreak the elevator. Punching the button, the elevator buzzes that the door is still open, and indeed, it will not close.

I believe St. V has opened an uninstalled escape hatch on the roof.  If they radio me, I can tell them how to un-stick it.

Are both doors on the vehicle closed?

You can't buy a 9S weapon, but apparently you can buy a drone that contains a 9S weapon.  Strato-9 is availability 8 (cutoff for chargen) and comes with an MMG.  Plus cool flashing lights . . .

And I'm very much hoping the guards are aware that something's going on outside.  That means they're not chasing my teammates inside.  I figure if they were gonna call for reinforcements, weird noises outside won't increase the likelihood.  And if I can drop one or two of them outside, that's fewer to worry about when we run to install the packages before vamoosing.


Copperhead descends down to about 200 meters, hovering directly above the disabled vehicle and flips on her lights.  A pre-recorded synthesized voice booms out over the loudspeaker.

"This is Lone Star.  Place your hands behind your head and exit the vehicle.  Failure to comply will be considered a hostile act"

She'd always wondered how perps were supposed to open the door with their hands behind their heads.  One more reason for the star to shoot first and ask questions later.

She keeps a close eye on the vehicle, while sparing an occasional glance toward the complex entrance.

quote:

14:42, Today: Copperhead failed (no successes) using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 6 with rolls of 2,4,4,1,4,2.  Sensor lock on techie.

So unless I'm getting good modifiers, the smoke and heat from the engine fire are making it difficult to get a read on exactly where the techie is in the car.

Copperhead already told them how to unstick it, so they should be good.


They only went down one level, right?  So standing on top of the elevator should have St. V close enough to the ground floor that there shouldn't be a whole lot of climbing involved after that, correct?  Also, I want to note that St. V is more concerned about the decker's equipment than the decker himself.  He will leave the decker behind if the situation becomes too dangerous, but will go to greater lengths to keep the guy's equipment (and the presumed paydata stored within).

St. V begins the ungraceful task of climbing on top of an elevator to get at the sensor Copperhead mentioned so he can unstick the elevator.  However, if it takes him more than a few seconds to locate the sensor, he will try prying the doors open with his bare hands and lugging the bodies up the old-fashioned way.  He reports to Noruas and Copperhead as he works.  "On our way up.  Bringin a couple a lukewarm leftovers with us.  Taste like shadowrunners.  The unconscious kind."  He spares a skeptical glance at the shotgun shaman Toombs had.  "Hopefully."

10:41, Today: St. Velveteen rolled 2 successes using 3d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 5,(6+5)11,2.  Electronics.  Unstick elevator.

Yes, all the doors are closed.

The burning car sits still. The techie doesn't seem willing to get out (or possibly can't).

The second car pulls backwards and drives (backwards) past the burning first one. There is no visible (conscious) driver.


Inside, St. V works the sensor clear. He has to wait a few moments, not sure if it worked, before the door slides shut and the elevator lifts. The elevator is slow (and noisy), rattling up the shaft, but soon it slides open again on the garage floor.

Both the decker and the rigger are slumped over in their seats, totally oblivious to the world immediately around them.

"Score!" Saint Velveteen exclaims as the elevator kicks in.  He climbs back down and rides it up with their "cargo."  In the tiny bit of downtime, he takes a moment to look over the decker and the shaman to see if they are packing any more surprises.  Either hidden weaponry or gifts that St. V might want to help himself to.  Not all gear was cheap or easy to come by, after all.

11:43, Today: St. Velveteen rolled 2 successes using 5d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 4,3,2,2,4.  Perception - finding the goods.

At the top, after claiming his spoils, St. V glances at the two tech-heads with an unsure look on his face.  Then, figuring they were probably hard at work he says, "We'll just put these two in the truck..." and proceeds to do exactly that.

The decker has a knife, a streetline special, a pair of car keys, and a deck. Not much else of interest.

It was time to stop playing with the third team.  She wanted the vehicle, but it wasn't a primary mission objective.  She flipped off her lights and programmed her drone to return to a 1km height and alert her if it saw any movement other than the currently mobile car.  She had a few minutes to do things before she risked losing the second vehicle.  And there was much to do.  Before returning to her body, she took a quick view through the cameras of the waste management van.  If there was something going on around her body, it was best to know before she opened her eyes.

"Oi, tech-wiz! See if dis guy has da files we need on his deck. Don' wanna try breakin' in twice." Toombs barely restrains himself from throwing the confiscated deck at the decker, and instead slides it across the floor. "We been spotted aready, so weapons hot. Just don' go too nuts."

Not long after Copperhead wakes up, Noruas too snaps open his eye lids.  He stretches his limbs and informs the arriving group, I've intercepted and blocked their calls for outside help.  So we should be alright for the next few minutes.

He picks up the decking equipment the other dwarf had passed him, This might take a while.  See if you can try and find the remaining security guards and shut them up.  Its bad enough we have two other competitors in this area; we don't want anyone sending out any signals.

Copperhead can see in the distance the three women you hired fleeing the area. It takes a moment, but Copperhead has an eye for these things... These aren't your women. Your women are on the other side of the facility (also fleeing).

The non-exploded car pulls out into the driveway. One of the lobby guards takes some pot shots at it.


Inside, a klaxon sounds. The locks flash from green to red.

Toombs and St. V have a moment to examine their new friends. The shaman looks like she'll survive. It's hard to tell with the decker. He's taken a beating.

Noruas slides into the deck. It's not bad; there are a few nice programs here. Wonder if he'll want them back. Regardless, after a few moments he comes back with the results--the Silver Angel file. It's encrypted, so there's no telling what it is, but it's definitely there.

To clarify - three women who look like joy-girls fleeing the other side of the facility or are they dressed differently?

"I don tink da boxes is getting planted t'nite.  Or any udder nite.  Time ta get movin."

She wasn't big on wet-work anyhow.  And staying any longer would be pushing their luck a lot further than seemed wise for a rigger who wanted to stay in business a while.

Not waiting for a response, she jumps down into the loading area to remove the debris she'd placed behind the tires

"Pop da door.  I'm gonna take care o da guards an da guy in da burnin car."

She slides into the middle of the front seat, leaving the driver door open and slipped back into her deck.

I'm going to drop the guard(s) with stun rounds, then get into position where I can blow out the front windshield of the burning vehicle  (also with stun rounds) and knock out the techie if he's visible.  I'm also going to drive my (own) van closer to the base of the driveway.  When the remotely driven car gets down there. I'm turning on the jammer.  Let me know what rolls you want me to make, if any.

St. V sticks the decker's gun and knife into a random pocket just so that they wouldn't be on the guy if he miraculously woke up.  After looking at the keys to see if they look like they belonged to any of the cars in the parking lot, he does the same with those.

"Yeah, it's time to move," St. V agrees with Copperhead after getting the bodies squared away in the back of their vehicle.  He pops the door like she asks, then hops into the drivers seat with his silenced and smartlinked Ares Predator ready (but out of sight) and the window down.  "If ya want me ta toss a smoke grenade fer cover, jus let me know."  He makes sure his grenade is easily accessible from his sitting position.

Reading through the module, the runners you now have in custody ALSO hired joygirls.=\ So there's two groups of joygirls hired by runners to distract guards. Thought that was too funny to not slip in at least a mention :P

The guards aren't going to have much impact, so no need to roll for them unless you want to be sure. Same with the techie, really. She's sort of in a pickle and she can't exactly stop you. The electronic warfare is tough though; if you're just flipping on your jammer and let the other rigger take a penalty, that's a free action. But if you're trying to engage in real EW, finding and jamming specific frequencies, you're going to need to engage in several complex actions and an Electronics Roll. So it's your choice how you want to split your attention.

The keys are for a Nissan Runabout. There is one in one of the side lots, if you want to take the time to try them.

A minute passes before Noruas opens his eyes again.  He smiles at the group and says, We got what we came for.  Let's boogey.

I presume I noticed the Runabout when I was doing my earlier scan of "new & different vehicles" in the parking lots?

I'm rolling 17 dice with a base TN 2 against each of the guards, positioning myself to minimize whatever cover they've got.  Anyone who doesn't fall or braces themselves when they fall earns a second burst.  For the techie, I'll position myself so I can actually see her when I shoot her after blowing out the window.

If simply turning on a rating 6 jammer less than 100 m from the target vehicle isn't enough to make the vehicle stop, then that means a level of technical sophistication and back-up that Copperhead doesn't want to deal with at this point in the mission.

St. V (and the others hear a few bursts from the MMG around the corner of the building.  A brief shout is quickly silenced by a second burst.  A few seconds later the windows on the burning car resting against a tree opposite from them shatters and they witness the woman inside slump as she takes several stun rounds to the head.

Copperhead's head pops up again as she turns to the troll.
"Ya wanna yank 'er outta der?  Chicca'll make a better scapegoat if she don get burned up.  Kill'd er partn'r cold blood ta keep 'im from talkin, so null sweat leavin' 'er ta take da heat.

If ya gimme da keys, I ken drive out da udder car."

How far is the car from where we are and/or the path to the driveway out?

St. V climbs back out of the vehicle, tosses Copperhead the decker's keys, then says, "Looks like they belong to Nissan Runabout."  He then jogs over to rescue their scapegoat.  As he pulls her out of the car, he checks her over to see if she has anything that might be able to clue them in to who she is working for.  (wallet, cellphone, recognizable tattoos, anything else easy to grab, etc.)

Also, can I rig the waste disposal truck remotely or am I limited to programming in a destination before I leave?  Can I put it in a "convoy" mode so it'll follow a designated lead vehicle?

Correct. The runabout was there previously.

I forget the name of the mode, but you can use the one where you watch all of your vehicles at once, and keep giving them all commands (captain's chair?) with the garbage truck. But if you jump into one vehicle, it's going to make it very hard to drive the truck as well. Programming in convoy mode works as well. In this case, you're driving AND shooting, so I'm going to assume you're giving basic commands to the garbage truck, then jumping into the drone to mop up. Or you could let Noruas drive.



There's one guard standing outside of the lobby firing. Copperhead aims at him and fires a burst. He drops with a shout. The other one inside is still dialing frantically on the phone. The glass windows of the lobby provide some level of armor, but with enough rounds, you can get through anything; she also drops (behind the desk, so it's difficult to tell how deadish she is).

The techie is a little tougher, but not much. The first blast shatters the windshield. The techie dives down below the console as rounds tear up the  seat behind her. The techie is clearly a bit faster than your average bit-banger, but the cover fire keeps her pinned so St. V can 'creep' up to her, pull the door off its hinges, and apply his fist directly to the forehead until her headache goes away. With that done, he can prop (or steal) the elf, as he likes.

She's pretty well wired. Dermal armor, and her muscles are hard as steel. She's got an armor jacket, a fichetti security 500, a set of throwing knives, an uzi III smargun, and a small electronics kit. No sign of anything obviously incriminating though; quite likely she's experienced enough to strip that sort of stuff off before going on a run.

Copperhead hits the jammer and the westwind, nearly at the gate, rolls to a stop.

Yes, it's captain's chair.  If I jump into a specific vehicle, then I'm relying on the autopilot to follow the instructions I've provided.

The first question is whether the waste disposal vehicle is equipped for wireless control or not.  (It's not unreasonable for it to be - once the vehicle gets to the waste disposal area, they might prefer a central rigger to manage all of the vehicles to minimize human error amongst drivers.  However, it's not guaranteed, so I figured I should ask.)  If it's not wireless, then I can't control it even from captain's chair mode if I'm not jacked in.

The second question is whether the runabout is riggable or wireless.  If not riggable, then I can't even drive it from the captain's chair mode without significant penalties.

The third question is how far out of the way the Runabout is.  The fact the Westwind just stopped has significantly reduced my interest in rescuing the other runners' vehicle.  If Noruas is up to driving it (and wants to), he can.  If not, we'll leave it.  If it's too far out of our way, we'll leave it anyhow.

Fourth question (new one) - are the doors on the driving Westwind closed?  I had understood the driver door at least was open.  Though I suppose the vehicle might be fancy enough that the rigger can close them himself.

So far, I'm assuming the waste truck isn't doing anything - still waiting for Noruas and Toombs to jump in, so I'm jumped into the drone busy shooting at stuff, occasionally pausing to give a command to the camper.

Oh, and the jammer doesn't kick in until the vehicle has cleared the driveway - don't want something blocking our exit :>

Copperhead ensures there isn't much left of the phone on the counter-top, then programs the drone to maintain station and fire gel rounds at anything that moves until she gives orders otherwise.  She then pops briefly out of the waste disposal truck to go through the brain-spattered driver of the burning vehicle, quickly checking for keys or anything useful.  For good measure, she cuts off his thumb.  A lot of the higher-end cars had biometric access these days.  But unless it had been upgraded, a dead thumb would likely be as good as a live one.  She gets back to the vehicle just before the troll has a chance to squeeze in.

"You take da middle.  I'm hoppin out at da bottom o da hill."

Do we have any sense of what security rating this area is?  I.e. how quick is the response time likely to be?

The truck is set up for (very awful) wireless. It would normally take some time to set up, but we can assume you had time somewhere in this adventure to sync up gear.

The runabout at the end of the parking lot. You'd guess someone parked it to avoid the 'prime' spots, but it's still close enough to the road to haul buns over there in a round or two.

One of the westwind's doors is ajar. The inertia of driving was enough to shut it, but it's not clear if it's latched or not.

Security rating here is around A or B. Unfortunate for them, it's set in the middle of a park, so that adds some driving time. But you've definitely made a boom and can expect a response soon.

Ok, so that nixes the Runabout.  If we're likely to have LoneStar inbound, not worth having a non-rigged individual trying to evade them.

Was looking at the New Seattle rules for response times and it seems out to lunch.  The rules state that in a AAA area you can expect a patrol car on site in 12-18 seconds from the incident (and in area B, from 12-63 seconds).  I think rather than "initiative pass" it should really be minutes.  I.e. AAA is aware of the problem immediately, has security rigger on camera and astral mage on site in 1-2 minutes and a drone on site in 2-4 minutes with a patrol car arriving 4-6 minutes after the incident.  That's lightening fast security and semi-realistic given real-world travel constraints.  That means that in our situation, we've got 1-6 minutes before someone calls in the issue and another 1-6 minutes before we've got someone looking at a camera and an astral mage on site.  And another 1-6 minutes before there's a drone, then 1-3 minutes to a patrol car.  It's now been almost a minute since the kaboom, so definitely time to move our hoops.

Copperhead barely gave her teammates a chance to close the doors before the truck is accelerating.  It didn't leave a trace of rubber, but that's only because she'd so carefully accounted for wheel torque and the coefficient of friction of the dry but dusty concrete and asphalt.  The truck careened slightly as she made for the driveway.  She vectored her drone away, headed toward the transfer point the group had used to move the waste disposal employees.  She programmed her camper to start moving in the same direction and set in an alternate route for the disposal vehicle to follow if not given commands to do otherwise.  As a final touch, she added an extra security pass code to all three vehicles in case the goon's rigger decided to get fancy.

"If I can't get da car, I'll meet ya a block over.  Toombs, can ya gimme a watcher ta say if I gots an astral snoop?"  The van would automatically pause on a side street about 300 meters away if she didn't tell it otherwise.

As the vehicle reached the bottom of the driveway (and into areas more likely to have security cameras, the speed slowed to a more natural pace.  She dropped from the passenger door as the truck rounded the corner, maneuvering around the now-stopped Westwind and stuck the severed thumb to the vehicle's sensor before pulling open the door.  She hoped it didn't have one of those new electro-shock anti-theft systems.  That would really ruin her day.

quote:

16:08, Today: Copperhead rolled 4 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 1,(6+3)9,3,(6+2)8,4,4.  Athletics - drop from moving vehicle.

Does anyone have first aid?  It'd be good to check on the mage . . .

Assuming she gets in, she'll close the door, jack in and disable the vehicle's wireless before shoving the driver out of her way and strapping into the driver's seat.

The numbers from New Seattle are based on the old Lone Star book, which in turn seem to assume Lone Star is made up of superheroes. The only pieces of LS I use are the cool car and the Thunderbolt. You can expect that there will frequently be a drone on hand for near-immediate response, but an actual cop car will take about as long as you take a cop car to reach you. In this case, in a park, it'll be a while.

But yes, probably time to move hoops.


It barely takes a minute, but soon drone, truck, and car are down the driveway and on their way to safety.

The van is where you left it. The trash collectors seem very glum. Eve is eager to see that you got it.




At this point, you have made it away. I'll be posting a new thread for the rewards & mop up.

3 karma for everyone, plus cash rewards!!