White Duck passes by the car and, in half a moment, the bug is planted. As he's stepping away, one of the security staff approaches, "hey, step back from the vehicle!"

Watching his motions to avoid setting the guard off, White Duck can slip away without further issue.

Caduceus can step back out of the commotion and get to casting. Ahead of him, Pengrave and Cleo are guided through the crowd to their car. As White Duck slips back a safe distance, the car glides away, moving slowly through the crowd towards the gates.

I'm assuming no one is going to interrupt this--you can if you choose to though.

When the car approaches, the guards unlock and open the gates. It's a momentary push through the last trickles of the crowd and they're gone. Only a few other guests are permitted off the premises, all men and women in the most cutting edge fashions, some leaving through the gate via car, others going on foot to cars or personal helicopters just outside the compound. Pengrave's car peels onto the main road and heads into the darkness... and onto Copperhead's tracking screens.

Going to assume WD provided some sort of indication to me that the tracker had been placed

Copperhead waited for Noruas to make his way into the vehicle before activating the tracker and verifying it was transmitting properly, then texted White Duck.

"DEVICE IS WORKING.  YOU GUYS NEED US TO WAIT FOR YOU, OR DO YOU WANT TO CATCH UP WHEN THEY START LETTING FOLKS OUT?"

The tracker was good quality and theoretically good to more than 10 k, but theory didn't hold up well in a dense urban jungle.  She figured she could safely count on about five kilometers max as a safe window and she preferred to be closer still so she could monitor the couple when they left wherever it was they parked.  The tracker wouldn't be much use if their target had his driver drop them somewhere and keep going.

While she waited for a reply, she adjusted the thrust of her drone, putting it into motion.  She flew at an angle to the limo and kept her high altitude.  She didn't want any chance of the driver realizing he was being tailed.

Duck just flips on his commlink at this point.

"Well, might be a bit difficult to find them again. Let's see if we can get a quick way out of here." he finds Cadeuces and nods for him to follow along, scouting the perimeter for a good place to hop the fence.

Once he confirmed that the guy who nodded him over was truly his fellow runner by scanning his astral signature, Caduceus followed White Duck.  Discretely, of course.  When his wound was healed up, the shaman made an increased effort to help find a suitable location to cross over the fence.  As they searched, he made note of things they would need to watch out for.  Spirits, drones, cameras, electrified perimeter, guards, fellow party-goers, etc.  "Let me know if you think an illusion would help."

The two runners walk discreetly into the darkness and greenery surrounding the building. It's hard to be sure how many sensors are placed around, but there's no sign of anything being triggered.

Soon they reach a point where a thick oak tree reaches over the fence. With some quick climbing, they can get over and drop outside of the perimeter, and away from the security forces.

Outside, once outside of the gate the car puts on speed, weaving around traffic as it heads down increasingly rural highways skirting the edge of Seattle. It continues driving for about forty minutes before pulling into the driveway of a small mansion not far from the border.

As it became obvious the sedan was heading into less populated areas, Copperhead immediately set out looking for a prime ambush site.  As she scanned the terrain, she consulted with the other runners to confirm they were game to deal with their well-dressed targets while they were in the more vulnerable vehicle rather than waiting for them to hit whatever well-secured compound they were heading to next.  The drone's sensors gave her considerable advantage as she could easily see both the terrain and the roads for kilometers around.  All she needed now was to find a location that would let her drone and the van get in good and close without raising attention.

quote:

12:26, Today: Copperhead rolled 6 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 4,(6+4)10,(6+6+3)15,5,4,4.  Perception.

Changing this roll to be looking for a good ambush site

Ideal would be somewhere I could set the drone down safely where its heat would disipate quickly and would give me a sufficient view that I could aim for a turn before they hit short range (75m) and hit them in their front end as they approach my position before they've noticed me.  And obviously some place where I could get into position well before they had any view of me.  (I'd use the spirit to help cover me).  At the same time, the road behind them should be windy enough that the van could get in quite close behind them such that arrival time after the crash would be minimal.  Final constraint is that the crash site should be far enough away from nearby estates that it'd be unlikely anyone would hear or be super-alarmed by full auto LMG fire that was close to the ground.

If getting the van to be able to safely approach from the rear seems unlikely, we could fall back to something that allows me to take advantage of a spirit's movement/guard powers to let me safely go cross-country if I can do that without being noticed so as to get to a concealed location ahead of the sedan.


This message was last edited by the player at 15:59, Sat 10 Dec 2016.

After getting into Copperhead's vehicle, strapping in and relaying the most pertinent information he had gleaned from the party, Caduceus made an effort to rest up and let the last of his injury fade away.  It didn't take long for him to figure out that the bumpy ride was going to make that all but impossible, however, and instead focused on helping to plan the ambush when their course of action shifted that direction.  "My spirit friends should be able to assist us.  What is the weather like outside?" he asked.  Perhaps a mist or storm spirit would be possible.  "And don't forget I can veil us with illusions as well.  I'll be pretty much useless as I maintain it though."

He grabbed his satchel and made sure all of his gear was still in its proper place, then put on his standard armor jacket, concealed gun, and subvocal mic.  "Oh yeah, and just before Pengrave punched me with his cyberfist and Cleo stabbed me in the kidney with her secret switchblade, I gleaned a bit of information from Pengrave's mind."  He went on to describe how he learned "the man is ambitious, and overjoyed at his success. He's had a taste of being aristocracy, and thirsts for more regardless of the cost. He's a golden boy in HSE, and secretly working to acquire Global as well--a huge coup if the Global board meeting this week goes his way. He is also absolutely enchanted by Cleo--not magically, nor meager puppy love, but he has a level of dopamine running through him that approaches chemical dependence. He absolutely desires and needs her."

The rigger's voice crackles through the speakers in the back as the van pulls out of a sharp turn.
"I think's Pengrave's gonna be goin inta witdrawal purdy soon."

Wow, that must be some woman!  To have him wrapped around her pinkie like that.  I'm guessing she's probably got a medical/psychiatry degree to be able to get him become so addicted to her.

He quickly turns to Copperhead and politely asks, D'you mind if I plug in and take a look at what you are seeing with your sensors?  Unless this turns into a high speed chase with guns blazing at each others' vehicles, or unless there is something to hack, I'm going to be pretty useless to all of us here.

The audio and video feeds from the van and the drone are both already being piped onto the video screens in the passenger compartment but Copperhead understood what the decker meant.  There was 'looking' and then there was looking  There was a slightclick, then a recessed panel above the passenger seats clicked open revealing an optical port.

"'Bove ya"

You can't actually see Copperhead's body - she's encased in the front of the van, so I presume you just talk in the direction where you know her meat to be. :>

Thanks.

The dwarf quickly plugs his cord into both the optical port and his own datajack.  Within seconds he was seeing and sensing everything Copperhead had allowed him to take a look at.

Which is what exactly?  I'm guessing I'm just piggybacking onto your feed.

The weather outside is thick fog and light rain--perfect for ambushes, not so much for long-range targeting. Caduceus can attempt to summon a storm spirit, although he expects it won't be especially stormy.

The road is long and winding. Pengrave is clearly enjoying the drive. With the maps already available, White Duck or Noruas can find stretches which will be ideal for an ambush. With that, and Copperhead scouting ahead, it's easy to find a place where the road drives two hundred meters along the edge of the mountain; a sheer overhang on one side, an incline on the other, and nearly straight before a hard left. Copperhead can place her drone in the trees over the overhead and hope that the fog and rain cool it off enough to not be a spotlight to the incoming car.

Noruas found ample feeds to amuse himself.  The regular ping of the tracker, video and thermographic from both the van and the drone.  On a smaller feed he could see the zoomed gun-cam with smartlink tracking the sedan as it meandered through the twisting roads, though the view through the precipitation made it hard to pick out much other than the headlights.  He could see the safety on the LMG was currently on.

I'd kind of like to not have the car plumit to the bottom of a ravine when I take out their tire.  Am I relatively confident that if I blow away one of their wheels somewhere within the planned ambush zone there's little chance of the vehicle doing more than just hitting a tree or spinning out?  If not, Copperhead will look for a different ambush site  Also need a sense of how closely the van will be able to follow without being noticed in the lead-up to the ambush.  I don't necessarily need them to have a straight approach, just sufficient that I can see them coming for 3 seconds before they get inside the 75 m range.  (And in fact, it's advantagous if there's no line of site between the drone and the target too much before that 3-second aiming period.)  As well, I don't need a direct head-on shot.  I'm assuming that a called shot to take out one of their wheels (tire + rim) is probably the best way to bring the vehicle to a rapid halt with lowest risk of blowing up, so anything that would give me line-of sight on one of the wheels for 4-5 seconds or so would be fine.

Probably wouldn't go off into the ravine. If it did, you're reasonably sure the chip would be protected by Cleo's jack, so you'd just send a drone to retrieve it. If you hit it closer to either turn, it's very unlikely to go off; the ravine is only along the straightaway. But at his speed, a fiery wreck is a very real possibility regardless as to the location.

At the speed the car is going, you'd want at least 100 meters for your 'three seconds to aim'. More on straightaways. You can get a less treacherous point, but you won't have the space for an extra action, while having clear LOS. (You can of course change where you place your drone however you like.)

ok, so if I hit him as he's slowing down to go around the sharp bend - which presumably he can't do at 100km/h - he'll be past the sharp drop-off.  How close behind can the van follow with low likelihood of being detected at that point?

it's an opposed roll. How well do you think either one of them will roll perception compared to your stealth? You do get a bonus for light fog and darkness as well, plus he's driving pretty fast (I'm going to rule that 'driving fast' penalizes your stealth roll less than his perception roll, but not a huge difference either way.

It was more a question about how close I can get without being in line-of-sight.  If it's a winding road in hilly terrain, I can probably get reasonably close without getting to a place where he can see me on sensors, but "reasonably close" could be "30 combat turns" or "3 combat turns", which makes a bit of a difference. :>

Is the vehicle showing any signs of using radar or any active detection mechanisms?

Yes, the vehicle is using radar and ultrasound, but only weak levels, probably part of the on-board navigation system. The road is windy and forested, so for the most part you can lag two combat turns behind without LOS. Any closer would require stealth tests. There are some places you would need to slow up, of course.

Out of curiousity, when Pengrave and Cleo got into the vehicle, did they have a driver or was Pengrave in the driver's seat?

Copperhead scouted ahead as the RV easily handled the curves and tight conditions, though it did strain a little going up a few of the inclines.  A rigger could do many things, but they still had to work within the limits of their vehicle.  When she had enough nuyen, she'd have to look into replacing the electric drive with a good turbo-diesel.  A hybrid would be even better.  Electric for stealth and diesel for power . . .

Her attention returned to the road ahead.  There!  The site was about as perfect as she could get with these conditions.  A short straight-away followed by a tight corner that couldn't help but bring the sedan down to a more reasonable speed - one less likely to send it flying end-over-end when it suddenly found it was driving on one less wheel than recommended by the manufacturer's specifications.  There was a decent boulder she could hide the bulk of her drone behind while still being able to track and aim at the approaching vehicle.  Plus there was no civilization around for miles.

"Gots an ambush site.  5 minnets 'head.  Snakey, kin ya git one o' yer spirit frens ta cinceal da van an da drone?  An mebbe you 'an ducky too, if it's big 'nuff.  Da drone's perdy much strait 'head an a bit lef.  If it kin, mebby have it keep da car up fron safe if it looks like is gonna crash"

I'll leave it to you to decide if you want to re-summon to slow/confuse the occupants of the vehicle once it stops - don't want to hit them until then.  I'll do some more preparatory stuff once the spirit has done its stuff.

"I'm on it," Caduceus replied.  He had been keeping an eye on the video feed to know what type of weather and terrain they were in so he could know an appropriate type of spirit to conjure when the time was right.  Misty mountains seemed to be the norm for where they currently were, and potentially forest or storm spirits as well.  He decided a mist spirit would probably be most practical for their current concealment needs.

In his seat, Caduceus closed his eyes and spread his arms wide.  He let an emotional pulse of serenity flow out from him, coaxing the mists to gather and shape themselves and agree to provide a service or two, if they felt so inclined.  The shaman did his best to keep his injuries from distracting himself as he made his attempt at establishing a connection.

He felt a spirit's presence, but it was reluctant to form for him.  He wrestled with it and negotiated with it using methods only a fellow shaman could understand.  In the end he managed to convince it to provide one service for him, but at a significant cost to his physical state.  Breathing heavily, he said to the group, "Got one.  I'm pretty well spent though."

Bowing reverently to the spirit he had conjured, Caduceus said to it, "I would like you to Conceal Copperhead's drone, this vehicle, and everyone in it.  Keep us concealed as good as possible whenever we are within your domain tonight."

17:36, Today: Caduceus rolled 1 success using 3d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 7 with rolls of 2,4,(6+6+4)16.  Conjure Force 6 Mist Spirit.

17:37, Today: Caduceus rolled 1 success using 9d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 7 with rolls of 4,4,5,1,3,5,(6+5)11,1,1.  Drain Test.

Caduceus takes 3 boxes of stun damage, for a total of 4.

"K, thanks."

As soon as Caduceus appeared to be finished with his instructions, Copperhead angled the drone for its ambush location on the far side of the mountain, descending as she went.  She wanted it to be down with the engines off as quickly as possible to maximize the time for the surrounding weather to cool her heat signature.  She parked the vectored thrust device, extending the landing feet and adjusting them so she was almost completely concealed behind a boulder, a strange weathered area providing an excellent view of the road for her gun-cam and LMG.  It was like the rock had been set there for the purpose.  It would have been hard to see her in broad daylight.  With the cloudy moonless sky, the mountain blocking a large portion of Seattle's endless glow and the swirling mist enhanced by the spirit, she was as close to invisible as it was possible to be without magic.  Or without much magic, anyhow.

She adjusted controls to disable unnecessary sensors and anything else likely to consume power or boost her heat signature, then accelerated the van, closing the distance with her target and aiming to be just outside line of sight of the speeding sportscar when it reached the ambush site.

For good measure, she killed her headlights.  Anyone approaching from the other direction would be seen first by her drone, so there was little risk to driving in the dark.  And her passengers in the back were looking at her thermographic and radar images anyhow.  They wouldn't have a chance to panic at the fact that she looked like she was driving blind.

She monitored the tracker signal, watching for any shift in speed not tied to the road conditions she'd already mapped out that might hint awareness that something was off.  A mental twich flicked the safety off and shifted the ammo feed to EX rounds.  A second adjusted the visual filters on the gun-cam to thermographic.

Regular visuals would have been ok if she wanted the engine block - just aim between the headlights.  But that carried too much risk of fire or explosion.  Both gasoline and high-performance batteries tended to not react well to the penetration and sparks associated with large calliber ammunition.  So she wanted to take out one of the tires.  And those would be glowing even brighter than headlights on her thermographics as the speedster dumped energy approaching the corner.

She set the van on auto-pilot given that Noruas hadn't seemed overly enthusiastic at the notion of driving.  And given the steep drop-off beside the road, she frankly hadn't been overly enthusiastic either.  Him manning the rifles to provide an extra set of eyes and source of cross-fire would be sufficient.

It was too bad the mage was out of commission already, but the concealment he'd provided would hopefully make his other skills unnecessary.  She'd try to make the ride back into town a bit more relaxing.  No need for the same speed.  It'd be fine for their captives to stew a bit.  Noruas could have a stab at their comm devices and White Duck could apply his talents to convince the pair that cooperation was in their best interest.  If they needed magical persuasion, they'd just have to wait a bit.

She'd actually prefer if they could get what they needed without magic.  Threatening to slice off someone's cahones she could handle.  But somehow the notion of someone's mind probing another's left a sick feeling in her belly.  She was sure there were worse things to do to a person, but she wasn't sure it was a long list.

quote:

17:46, Today: Copperhead rolled 16 using 6d6 with the Shadowrun, Open Test with rolls of 2, 6+4, 3, 5, 2, 6+6+4.  stealth - drone.

Base signature is 4.  + 6 for the spirit, +2 for tight terrain, + 1 for fog.  With the rock, I don't think he has direct line of site, though if you want you could do a -1 for partial line-of-sight.  So overall TN is 28 or 29.  I think we'll avoid honking or doing anything to wake the driver up from their nighttime joy ride.

quote:

17:52, Today: Copperhead rolled 11 using 6d6 with the Shadowrun, Open Test with rolls of 1, 6+5, 1, 3, 4, 6+2.  Stealth - bison.

Base signature is 2, + 6 for the spirit,, +2 for terrain, + 1 for fog and no line of sight so final TN is 22

I'll wait to see if anything intesting happens before making my attack roll.

Do I need to roll anything to see if I can man the rifles and grenade launchers?

The dwarf then quickly offered, I'm gonna man the guns, if you want.  Feel free to open the port for that.

Once Copperhead does reveal another port for him to access, he quickly plugs in and takes aim at nearby boulders and rocks to adjust himself to the settings.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:26, Sun 18 Dec 2016.

"Ya should 'ave access.  Don pop-em 'til ya got somethin ta aim at do.  Da sites kin get fragged if ya drive wit 'em up fer too long.  An it bumps up da signature which we don wants.  Ya kin pop 'em once ya hear ma gun.  Oh, an yer gonna hafta tell da auto-pilot ta stop once ya round 'da bend."

You probably can't approach too much closer than 50 meters and still be able to decline the rifles sufficiently to get a decent shot if they keep low.  That'll still put you in short range for everything.  Shouldn't need to roll.  If you're jacked in and Copperhead has given you access, you should see all the controls

Understood, thanks.

The dwarf waits until the van comes around the bend before letting it slow to a stop.

Pengrave was driving.

The car comes around the bend at 90 miles per hour; the wheels momentarily lose traction and the vehicle skids towards the precipice before the vehicle's computer compensates. Pengrave accelerates on the straightaway. To the drone, it's supernova, the heat from the engine and tires giving everything a red cast.

The engine kicks up as Pengrave shifts to engine braking, the vehicle speed (and range) dropping. The drone gets an easy lock, but there won't be second chances. Copperhead has a hard time driving while also feeding information to the drone, so slowing down as she comes around that bend may be advisable, even if it increases that same range.