"It's a compound, actually. Used to treat withdrawal and addiction, mostly organic. My local doc said I needed it and sent me here to obtain, said you folks were friendly with awakened types." he searches his pockets for a moment.

"Well damn, I had the name written down somewhere. Do you know which med I'm talking about? Maybe I could just speak with the doctor?" Duck began to wish he'd have just asked CH to shoot him in the leg or something instead. It would have gotten their attention more quickly, plus CH would have gotten to take out a little latent aggression on him, which he was always certain he deserved in some way.

PM

"Okay, look, tell you what. I'm really just here trying to visit the occupant of room 6. I need just a few minutes of Freya's time, and your time and assistance are valuable to me. Maybe we can just pinpoint the numbers on how valuable your time is and we can stop wasting ours here?" he asks, changing his tone a bit and switching gears when he notices the nurse seems more interested in her probable shopping/drug addiction than patient care to begin with. The direct approach was working for him so far this run, and Duck always felt more comfortable with honesty than deception. He'd leave lies to rest with the people who tell them regularly and let them deal with the consequences.

Copperhead winced.  He shoulda bringed da case . . .

She shook her head and continued to concentrate on the surrounding environment

When Caduceus heard White Duck's blunt response to the nurse, he just crossed his arms in his seat, shook his head slowly, and chuckled softly to himself.  He still thought the kid might get them all killed with his antics, but Caduceus was no longer quite as put off by the way White Duck went about his business.  The shaman's meditation and nap during the day had helped to put things into better perspective.  His totem, Snake, helped him to understand that every serpent hunted its prey in different ways.  "Duck has his own way of doing things, that's for sure," he commented to Copperhead, still chuckling under his breath.  (Off radio so as not to distract White Duck.)  "At least it is a random nurse and not a paranoid man on the run this time."

She smirks on the other side of the partition.

"'E best watch 'is 'oop.  'r she's gonna pull on a rubber glove."

The nurse arches an eyebrow, looking White Duck over critically.

"Put your weapons over on the bed."

(I assume you comply.)

As you disarm, she plugs something into the credstick and hands it back; a charge is waiting for White Duck's approval, for 1,500¥.

Duck smirks, then shrugs, taking out a deck of playing cards, his pack of smokes, and a lighter, tossing it onto the bed. In a place like this, with all of these sharp objects around, he'd never truly be disarmed to begin with. The one thing remaining in his pockets is a credstick, to which he approves the charges.

"No guns or anything like that on me I'm afraid. Ready when you are to proceed." he remarks, holding out his hands and allowing the woman to pat him down if necessary.

The nurse motions you to follow her toward the rear of the clinic, to room 6. The nurse knocks twice on the door.

"Freya, there are some people here to see you." She pushes the door open and steps inside.

The room has several bouquets of flowers. The fresh air is a welcome relief after your long spell of breathing disinfectant. The nurse closes the door behind you. Sitting up in bed, wearing a light blue hospital smock, is a strikingly beautiful Elven woman. Although she seems tired and somewhat pale, she smiles and extends her
hand to you.

"I am, as you have already guessed, Freya Goldenhair. How can we help one another?"

Outside, another hobo wanders into the clinic front door. The road is picking up traffic a little with the lunch crowd; mostly big old beaters or work trucks.

Taking her hand gently, but firmly into his own. Duck gives a good shake.

"I'm White Duck, but you can call me Duck if you like. I'm certainly charmed, though you're likely accustomed to having that effect." he offers a friendly smile, his albino features unable to mask the slight blush on his countenance. He takes a seat, bedside, then continues.

"I'm working with a team to recover the assets you were hired by Cooperman to obtain. I don't know the guy at all, honestly, but he seems like a real dirtbag for leaving you in the lurch. While admittedly, I'm technically working against your old job's expectations, I'm presuming your end of the contract was regarded as null as soon as your guy left you for dead." Duck looks out of the window for a moment, if anything, to keep himself from staring into her eyes for too long, then back to her.

"If that's the case, I'll let you know that I've already talked with Tee Hee, and, if he's smart enough to lay low, he's still breathing, in case you were worried about him. My employers didn't specify any living targets for this assignment, so I'm really just trying to retrieve the package they lost. In other words, I'm certainly not out to get you, I'd just like to know what you know. Even in that hospital gown, just getting a look at ya might just be worth the fifteen hundred I paid to get in here, but I'm hoping you might be inclined to assist."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:27, Tue 17 May 2016.

Freya grins, a little lopsided owing to bandages and fresh synthskin on the side of her head. "I'm done with Cooperman. He cut me loose as soon as it was convenient, and I'm still owed money. Until he pays me what I'm owed, and my medical bills, I'm happy to give him away to any rat, or gentleman, who comes asking nicely."


She smirks again at Duck's comment on her gown, "don't get cheeky. I don't think I'm your type, and even in this hospital gown, I could clean your clock."

Duck laughs.

"Sorry, that wasn't a put-on, I'm just honest, sometimes to a fault. I've sorta got my eye on an old friend of mine for romance-type stuff, but that's beside the point. We're going after Cooperman ourselves. I'd invite you along- seems personal, but you're in recovery. Any clues on where we can find him?"

"No, the little rat disappeared. I've been reaching out feelers for him though. I've heard about Val and Griffin though. They might know, if you can get close to them. Griffin has a little flat downtown. Not that I'd think he'd help you. Val's doing something with HSE. I guess she used the job as an excuse to get on their books legit. Doesn't seem like her, but... a girl's gotta eat."

Once Caduceus was pretty sure that Freya wasn't going to be too hostile toward White Duck, he decided he would make an attempt to monitor the hall outside the room where Duck and the mage were talking.  It would be good to know if anyone in the clinic was encroaching on their privacy.  "I'm putting myself on hall monitor duty," he reported quietly to the team.  "My eyes are leaving the RV."

Caduceus sat in his seat and closed his eyes, beginning to cast his shamanic magic.  He sat perfectly still and controlled his breathing, then let his consciousness slither out from his body.  He imagined it as an actual physical thing, like a snake stretching impossibly long from the base of his skull out into the world beyond.  It slithered out of Copperhead's RV, across the sidewalk, into the clinic, and to the hall he had observed while he was astrally projecting earlier.  When his consciousness-serpent reached its destination, it and Caduceus opened their eyes simultaneously.  "I can sseeee..." he reported in a whispered hiss over the coms.

Clairvoyance Spell
Rolling for a Force 3 Clairvoyance spell (his max) vs. a target of 6 (range of 18 meters)
Rolling 3 Sorcery dice + 3 Spell Pool Dice + 2 because he is a snake shaman casting a detection spell
21:07, Today: Caduceus rolled 2 successes using 8d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 6 with rolls of 3,3,(6+1)7,5,(6+5)11,5,3,2.  Clairvoyance.

Drain Test
Rolling 3 remaining Sorcery dice + 3 remaining Spell Pool Dice vs. a target of 2 (Force 3 divided by 2)
21:14, Today: Caduceus rolled 5 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 2 with rolls of 2,(6+6+1)13,3,1,(6+3)9,4.  Clairvoyance Drain Test.
That should reduce the default of medium stun damage down to no stun damage.

"Well, we've never met Cooperman. Maybe you could give us a profile on the guy, tell us what you know about him, and we might be able to narrow it down. My team has ways of getting things done with very little. Heck, you'd probably be surprised at what we worked with that led us to you. As for Val and Griffin, I'd of course like to meet up with them both. Do you have contact info for them? Would you be willing to arrange a meetup?"

Duck takes out a pen and pad, realizing he didn't turn in the ink pen when asked to put his weapons on the bed, running through several different ways to kill with it by idle instinct before realizing he was getting lost in thought, ending the train of thought with a *click* for its caboose.

I love the spell description there! +1 karma.

"If I had contact to any of them, Cooperman would already be dead. I don't think Griffin would be happy if I showed up at his pad. Val got hired by Cooperman, and I only know she's at HSE from hearsay.

"As for Cooperman, that jerk face is a rat, plain and simple. He'll do anything for a little extra piece of the action. He's not so much in it for the nuyen as he is for the power. I suppose that's why he went on the run. He must have figured those chips would make him more powerful, for all the good it'll do when I get hold of him.

"He's really into history, considers himself an expert in the field. Blessed Lady, if you ever get him started, he'll talk your ear off. The battle of this, the general of that. Can't quite figure it, but he seems to have a serious lock-on for Genghis Khan. Why anyone would want to imitate that smelly barbarian is beyond me. In any event, he loves all that old stuff. The more obscure the better."

"He's not too distinctive. Short, 5'4". Dresses well though. Texas accent. Talks about posterity a lot."

In the hallway, Caduceus continues to watch. The hallway is mostly quiet; the doctor goes into room 4 and closes the door behind her. There's some screaming, then quiet, and the doctor walks back out, her apron spattered with blood. A nurse enters behind her, carrying a cyberfoot still in its shrink-wrap.

Noruas keeps his position by the back alley. Things are quiet, which is good.

Out in the parking lot, Copperhead keeps her eyes on the radar and cameras. The avenue gives her plenty of contacts to track, but none seem suspicious. Van, freight truck, minivan, motorcycle, motorcycle, sedan ... when with a screech of rubber, the sedan jumps the curb and the engine roars. Copperhead has a moment to brace herself before the big sedan smashes into the rear corner of the van, spinning it ninety degrees.

Resist damage of 3M for your van. You can use pool dice. If you take any damage, you need to roll a Crash test as well.

Everyone can roll initiative if they'd like, and Noruas and White Duck should roll a perception check (audio) to see if they hear the collision. At this point, only Copperhead is aware of the position of the car, and she and Caduceus both know there's been a collision.

I'm parked on the street, so I'm not clear on why/how it's jumping the curb to hit me.  (I couldn't get into the alley, as I understand it.)

What does Copperhead notice about the approach of the sedan?  I gather "engine roars" means it accelerated into the crash?  Was it erratic before it hit me or was it a deliberate last-minute turn?  Did it blow a tire or show any other sign that this might be accidental?  Does the driver try to adjust to avoid me as I dodge or to hit me more effectively?  Essentially, how confident is she that this was deliberate vs. not?  Perception test to see how much I pick up.

quote:

09:08, Today: Copperhead rolled 2 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 2,(6+2)8,2,1,(6+1)7,1.  Perception.

Damage resistance test, using 5 control pool dice

quote:

09:08, Today: Copperhead rolled 7 successes using 9d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 3 with rolls of 3,1,5,(6+2)8,1,(6+6+1)13,3,5,5.  Damage resistance.

Staged down to nothing


Seat restraints applied tension as soon as the rigger noticed the imminent collision.  She hoped Caduceus was buckled up . . .

The emergency brake toggled off and the RV moved slightly forward as the oncoming vehicle veered toward her.  Copperhead didn't have enough time to accelerate out of the way, but she could at least choose the point of impact and give the energy of the collision somewhere else to go.  The oncoming vehicle caught her squarely on her rear corner bumper, accelerating her into the left-hand turn turn her wheels were already making.  The Bison used the stolen momentum and it's own acceleration to complete a full 180, pulling into traffic opposite the sedan.  She drove past heading west and using the drive-by to take a good look at the attacking vehicle - though the tinted windows made it difficult to see exactly who was inside.

As she drove, her brain absently noted the swearing cyclist she'd edged off onto the cluttered sidewalk on her right.  A cavalcade of fruit poured onto the street triggering further yelling from an aged street-side vendor.  They'd both better find cover fast, because things were likely to get messy.

She watched for signs of other attackers and to see how the sedan responded.  She didn't want to aerate some poor sarrary-man whose stim-patch had run out after pulling an all-nighter.  But if this was an aggressive action, someone was about to have a *very* bad day.

quote:

09:28, Today: Copperhead rolled 28 using 4d6+12 with rolls of 3,6,3,4.  Initiative.

I'll wait to hear more about what I see before I decide on my actions.  I won't radio the team know until I'm sure this is an attack.

Initiative
11:31, Today: Caduceus failed (no successes) using 1d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 1.  Initiative (+6).
Total of 7

Does Caduceus need to roll anything for damage from the crash or something?

Caduceus let out a frustrated string of Portuguese as he slid in his seat.  His conciousness-serpent snapped back like a tape measure as he stopped sustaining his spell and Caduceus's sight returned to the RV.  "What the frag happened?" he asked as he regained his bearings.  Already he was calling forth the City Spirit he had conjured earlier in case he needed its services.

The crash itself probably wasn't very noticable as I doubt either vehicle took much damage - the oncoming car was only traveling about 40km/hr when it hit, so it may have a dented fender if the driver's incompetent.  Major noise would have been the squealing tires.  And Caduceus may have noticed when his head hit the wall (or the floor) :>

Copperhead's voice comes over the speakers into the back.

Collision.  Assessin'

The car accelerates at the last moment; it was clearly a deliberate, last-minute turn, waiting until it's too close for you to dodge.

14:28, Today: White Duck rolled 4 successes using 4d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 2 with rolls of 5,(6+4)10,5,(6+2)8.

Duck instantly gets up and checks the hallway upon hearing the noise.

"May have a situation here, Freya." he explains to her briefly before touching his finger to his ear and subvocalizing.

"Sounds like someone rammed you with their car, CH. Could just be your paranoia rubbing off, but it seems like they accelerated on purpose. Standing by to assist."

Duck, you're at the back of the building inside a room.  You may have heard some street noise, but unless you've got exceptional hearing, I doubt you know more than "something vehicular sounds like it's happening outside" - certainly not that he accelerated to hit me :>

"Hostile veh'cle.  I's got it covered.  'll keep ya posted."

She considered whether to wait for the vehicle occupants to exit or whether the vehicle would follow.  The problem was that if there was a full team, she could lose one or more of them in the crowd.  Far easier to deal with them while they were confined.  And dealing with the driver would stop the vehicle just the same.

The first step was to blow out a window or two.  She opened up with both rifles, firing EX rounds.  She couldn't really aim when firing both, but all she really needed was to hit the general area of the back window.  Her odds of hitting anyone inside with more than glass and shrapnel were slim.  Explosive rounds tended to go off on impact with the first thing they hit, especially if it was armored.  And that suited her just fine.  She didn't want the occupants dead, merely accessible.


Maneuver score: -3 (van) -3 (tight) +0 (<10 m/turn) +5 driver test = -1


Phase 1
Free action - trigger my pop-up turrents.

Complex action - accelerate (I realized after the fact that I couldn't have done this in the round where I was hit)

quote:

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

End speed = 6*5 = 30 meters/turn.  So second phase will be a few meters past the sedan.  Final grenade will be from about 12 meters past the vehicle.

Phase 2
1st simple action double-tap with both rifles on the sedan's rear window (depending on how far you think I get before firing)

Short range (4).  Smartlink -2?.  Blind fire to hit passengers (in theory +8, though I think the modifier should be less, seeing as the location of the driver and passengers are roughly known.  Given my roll, probably not relevant though.)

quote:

13:43, Today: Copperhead failed (no successes) using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 10 with rolls of 1,4,2,2,4,1.  Shooting at driver (and busting back window).13:47, 13:44, Today: Copperhead failed (no successes) using 1d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 10 with rolls of 4.  Missed die for extra bullet.
Today: Copperhead failed (no successes) using 2d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 10 with rolls of 2,4.  Forgot the second gone.

So that should be 4 (7 if you allow the smart link) successes on the window, none on the passengers.  Window is being hit with 11S (EX rounds).  Hopefully that's enough to open a decent hole (it certainly would for barrier 8 armor-rated glass).  If not, I'll hit it again and forego my first aim.

Second simple action - aim

Phase 3
First simple action - aim
Second simple action - fire grenade

Short range (4).  Smart link -2.  Aim -2.  Called target +4.  Using 6 dice from control pool.  Concussion grenade

quote:

14:14, Today: Copperhead rolled 7 successes using 12d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 3,4,5,2,4,5,1,4,4,5,2,1.  Grenade.

quote:

14:21, Today: Copperhead rolled 10 using 3d6 with rolls of 4,2,4.  Scatter.

So 3 successes to reduce scatter to 0, leaving 4 successes to stage damage up from 12M stun to 12D stun.  (And that's not counting rebound from being inside a largely enclosed vehicle - so there's probably going to be some unhappy eardrums.)

05:36, Today: Noruas rolled 5 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 1,4,5,(6+2)8,4,5.  Perception test to find out if I heard a crash.

The dwarf perked at the sound of metal clashing against metal.  He quickly asked, What the hell?  Anyone need back up?

The van's wheels spin a moment before getting traction and launching backwards. An ork pops out of the side window of the car and fires off bursts with her AK-47. Rounds pelt off the side of the van. The ork shrieks, "Get some! Get some!"

The van barks twice and the windshield and rear window shatter. The AK ork throws open her door and dives away, spraying suppressive fire as she goes. The front passenger door opens and a second ork jumps out, ducking for cover between the door and the car.

Noruas hears the crack of a rifle shot behind him, from some building behind the clinic.

Around the corner the sedan came from, a pair of bikes come around and puppy their engines. Already the other vehicles in the area are responding, trying to get out of the way. A box truck pulls up beside the Bison and the driver shouts something indecipherable.

The windshield just above and to the right of Copperhead's head cracks and something embeds itself in the ceiling of the Bison near Caduceus.

Caduceus's spirit appears beside him. "Hello, chief! Are we taking a ride?"

Copperhead's grenade launcher fires with a "WHUMPF". The projectile arcs neatly into the center of the car. There's a momentary shout of surprise followed by a burst which shatters all the remaining windows in the car.

pausing here--Copperhead has expended all her actions, but everyone else still has an opportunity to act before the turn ends, if they'd like
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:55, Wed 25 May 2016.

Caduceus flinched involuntarily when he heard something embed itself over his head.  He half-covered his head with a sleeve of his armored jacket as he made his way to a more secure part of Coperhead's RV (not that there were many options...).  To the spirit he replied, "I need you to-" he paused as Copperhead's grenade launched drowned out his voice.  "-To Confuse the guys shooting at us.  Their buddies too."  The shaman crouched in the most secure spot he could find and cursed the fact that violence had indeed found them on this run.  He had had his hopes up that the stun rounds they had used previously would be as far as they needed to go.  No such luck.