"Crap!" The word slipped out of Caduceus's mouth as he leaned in closer to Copperhead's monitors when the shooting began.  There wasn't much the snake shaman could do from here that would be worthwhile, but that didn't stop him from grabbing his satchel and making sure all his concussion and smoke grenades were where they were supposed to be.  He also semi-subconsciously began going through the list of all the healing magic he knew and hoped he wouldn't have to use it.

The lines do not appear to be road blocks. Riots, protests, or lines of attack, maybe.

As soon as the adept had managed to get himself out of the line of fire and it appeared no-one was trying too hard to follow him, Copperhead jumped back into the scorpion.  She listened and watched, zooming in and capturing what she could.  She paid particular attention to what the bikers were saying.  If the team was going to have a hope of getting to this particular chip, they were going to need to find some sort of crack to use.

She also looked around the room, looking for a good place to place the remote-controlled Docwagon bracelet and to get a sense of whether there was any chance of getting close enough to the leader to inject him.

Copperhead is going to record whatever video and audio she can from inside.  Also,
 I was presumbing that seeing as Papa's last post didn't describe any further action against White Duck that he is successful in getting away?

Yes, White Duck will be able to return to the van successfully. I also assume you are feeding your camera from the scorpion to the van.

The leaders are talking about some sort of strategy. You can only catch snippets at this distance:
"... the armored column will provide cover until we can establish artillery overwatch on the harbor ..."
" ... the Bloodhounds can cover 90. The Rumblers should take 5. They're not going to get any action from ..."
"... maybe a few thousand here. But once we start skinning 'em they'll settle ..."
"... we put the tankers downtown ..."

Scanning the area, it looks like most of the boxes are low-value loot, but there's also equipment here for managing some sort of a VTOL craft, including containers of aircraft fuel locked in a fuel locker in the corner. There's plenty of arms, including stockpiles of artillery shells, and a few tanks of unlabeled compressed gas. Near one of the corners of the room, the Scorpion spots a manhole set in the floor. Possibly to the sewers or a utility line?

So the arguing isn't about the sanity of the plan, but rather the best strategy?

Is there a good place to leave the bracelet?  Any path for the scorpion to get close to the leader without being noticed?  (And how much risk is there of being noticed from where I am?)

Do I have a sense of how far along they are in their planning?

What do I see in the way of gas masks?
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 15:40, Wed 17 May 2017.

For the brief snippet you hear, yes, they seem to be arguing about details of execution.

There's plenty of dark space around the warehouse, and the broken terrain outside means there's lots of concealed space there too. Where you are, the risk of being seen is low; above normal lines of sight, dark, far corner, partial cover. You could probably get within twenty feet without being seen by ducking behind cover (assuming you aren't unlucky enough to run into a sentry coming the other way.

You'd guess they're more than halfway through planning. There's a few sticklers they're working out.

Most people have filter masks, to keep out the worst of Seattle's smog. One or two gas masks on belts. One corner of the warehouse has been kitted out as personal space, and is bedecked fitting a shadowrunner crew. The gear is eclectic enough, there's liable to be some gear there.  But the planning table is almost as far from that area as could be.

Do I get a sense of how much time is left to go?  Are we talking 10 minutes?  2 hours?

How clear a line of sight do those in the room have to the sewer cover?

Is there a relatively covered path to get over to the corpse?

How big is the space they're in?  Would one gas grenade near the sewer cover fill the whole space?

Hours, most likely.

The sewer cover is partially obscured by crates, so partial cover, plus poor light conditions.

Your scorpion could make it over easily enough (with time). A person would have more difficulty.

The space is warehouse sized. Around the table is gas-grenade sized, but the warehouse at large is not. On the other hand, ventilation is limited, so gas (and smoke) effects will be extended.

How far from the sewer cover to the table?  What level of opposition exists in between?

What sort of 'new' cyber does our target have?  Is he one of the ones with a visible gas mask?  Does he have cyber legs?

Does the warehouse have a functioning HVAC system - whereby we might be able to distribute gas more widely throughout the facility?

Do any of the leaders or the body guards look like they're magically active?  (Obviously can't go by astral perception, but can at least identify anyone who is obviously dressed as such - I'll have to assume there's going to be a couple that aren't as obvious too.)

From the sewer cover, you'd have a few crates to negotiate, then about 20 feet to the table. Of course, you have the gang leaders to contend with, plus maybe 4-6 guards, with the guards sticking to the periphery.

You don't have the information to really guess the target's cyber. No visible gas mask. No cyber legs that you can see.

The facility does have HVAC, but it's not currently on, and you don't know the condition of the machinery. The building has power as well.

No obvious mages.

Copperhead maneuvered the scorpion to the best cover she could find that still provided audio and visual of the goings-on at the table, then turned her attention to the sewer system.  From the drone it was easy enough to spot the pattern of manhole covers and get a good sense of which would connect to which.  City planners were not an overly creative lot.  That combined with the general tendancy of water to flow down-hill let her easily identify the nearest sewer cover with a straight line to the warehouse that was both outside and out of direct sight of the ganger's perimeter.  The Buffalo made its way through the maze of streets easily, keeping a low profile while her eye-in-the-sky continued to monitor things on the ground.

As the RV pulled to an easy stop next to the manhole, the access hatch to the driver's compartment opened and the rigger's scarred face emerged.  She moved towards the back of the RV and opened a locked drawer, revealing a sizeable cache of grenades and what looked like C4.  She removed several additional grenades from a pouch around her belt.

"K.  We gots mebbe two hours 'fer deys done talkin an we gots a whole mess 'o trouble.  I figger we kin use da firs hour ta lay in da 'stractions.  I's gonna break der comms, den I's gonna make sure da sewer's clear o' sensors an guards an Devil Rats an other drek an git da bracelet positioned.  Ducky, you an Snakey kin lay in da 'stractions.  Some 'o dem's gonna kill an' some's jus gonna make noise an make'em wanna run er puke er both.

Ducky, I know ya wants ta leave da Tuskers in good shape.  Anyone else gots folks 'd be useful ta frag 'er ta keep safe?

Copperhead was planning a call to Eddie Tango.  He knew enough to keep his trap shut, but could position himself to take advantage of the chaos that was likely to errupt.  If she had to take on a bunch of go-gangers, she might as well earn a favor or two while she was at it.

"Noruas, you gots overwatch.  Ya listen an watch an keep da rest o' us outta drek."

Copperhead's air of leadership wasn't exactly natural, but it was obvious she'd at least been exposed to military command.

quote:

08:30, Today: Copperhead rolled 1 success using 2d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 1,4.  Gang turf.

To get a sense of who's aligned with or opposed to the Hell Hounds and Ancients, as well as to identify how best to spawn friction between the groups.  Anyone with related skills feel free to make your own tests.  Hopefully we can pool successes.

quote:

08:36, Today: Copperhead rolled 4 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 4,5,5,5,2,2.  Complementary skill.
08:36, Today: Copperhead rolled 5 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 5,(6+2)8,3,(6+1)7,5,(6+4)10.  Crack decryption again.
08:35, Today: Copperhead rolled 4 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 2,4,1,5,4,5.  Electronic warfare - complementary skill.
08:32, Today: Copperhead rolled 4 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 5,5,4,1,5,2.  Electronics - eavesdrop on the gangers.

So the first time fails unless the encryption rating is only 1.  Second time should break anything 3 or less, which I assume should be sufficient.  I also suspect not all of the comms are encrypted.  Anything that's not encrypted, I should be able to listen in on easily.

Once she's cracked comms, she'll remove the cover from the sewer access and carry down her crawler with the shotgun, then head back up to the safety of her van before carefully exploring the sewer, looking for sensors or guards.  (She can look on infrared and ultrasound)

Finally, she'll figure out the best location to put the van to use the grenade launchers for some indirect fire and, with the aid of the aerial drone as spotter, will program in some pre-calculated firing trajectories for the autopilot to use in its initial attack.

WD, Caduceus, I'll leave it to you to figure out how you want to penetrate and whether Caduceus just wants to provide astral overwatch and spirit protection or if he wants to help plant grenades using magic fingers or perhaps plant some influence suggestions if he finds promising targets who could be primed to attack other gangers.  "If they pull anything, I'm gonna blow that fragger's head off" sort of notions :)

Noruas, if you've got any ideas for what to do beyond overwatch, feel free to share.  That said, overwatch is probably going to be essential to White Duck and Caduceus not being detected.  If you think you can stealth better than Caduceus, feel free to make the case for trading places.

"I've got an ally with The Ancients," Caduceus commented as he helped out Copperhead outside the rig, keeping an eye out for astral presences.  "But I think they might be one of the few gangs not here at the moment."

Caduceus scratched his chin as they unloaded all of the explosives.  "Duck, do you want me to take half of these and place them?  Or should I go astral and watch over your shoulder and look around corners for you?"  He would be nervous to go out there either way, since there were both physical and astral threats present.  However, there was a much smaller chance of getting shot at with bullets if he stayed in astral space.

The dwarf takes a look at the screen for the overwatch positions and then looks back at the other three shadowrunners.  It was probably best to get some rest while keeping overwatch to heal the wounds previously sustained than to risk exacerbating his health.

He nods in agreement to Copperhead and plugs in to the secondary rigging position.

Neither of those gangs are too active here (and the plan on the table seems to skirt their territory.)

Copperhead decrypts the radios. Radio traffic is light, and somewhat confused, without any standardized codes. Mostly people addressing each other by name, some idle chatter, now and again a patrol somewhere checks in.

The underground tunnel is narrow, about two feet in width and height. There are cable harnesses attached to the wall. It's clear this was once a telecom line, but all the cabling has been removed which (fortunately) leaves enough space for a human to crawl through.

Creeping down the tunnel (I assume this is White Duck? Anyone providing support?), the area seems to be mostly clear, excepting a few rats of the totally mundane (and shy) variety. A few hundred meters later, you are immediately underneath the conference space. The manhole cover is attached by screws, but you can twist them out from the underside, clearing the cover.

Timewise, I presume the grenade positioning is happening first?  Unless White Duck planned to check out the tunnel first?  Copperhead would have sent her drone with him in either case and would have used it to explore a ways past both the ingress and egress point proceeding carefully watching for booby-traps and critters on both ultrasound and infrared.

Is the manhole cover close to one edge of the building?  Given the constraints on movement,
 you guys are going to want out and away from that building before it blows.

You can determine the order of actions however you like. I wanted to describe the space quickly, so you can describe your actions.

Yes, the manhole cover is closer to one corner.

Taking some of Copperhead's explosives, Caduces suggested, "How about I take these and plant them around out here and White Duck can handle the warehouse.  I'll have my spirit buddy help out all of us though."

He summoned his gnome-like city spirit to his side to request another service of it.  "Please keep myself, White Duck, and Copperhead's crawler drone Concealed whenever we are within your domain this night.  Guard us as well."  He pointed to each target as he mentioned them so there would be no confusion.

Into his mic he said, "Noruas, can you watch my back from the sky?  Notify me if anyone is nearby and update me on any radio info that comes up?"  With that, Caduceus headed off into the dangerous night to plant the explosives.


Rolled Stealth skill roll with Seattle Back-ways knowledge skill as complimentary if that is even possible with an open test.  +3 with city spirit aid and any bonuses Noruas can provide with drone imaging and radio intel.

Caduceus will do his best to stay out of sight and cast Stealth on himself if he has to cross any particularly noisy areas (broken glass, puddles, a field of chew toys, etc.).  If needed, he will use Magic Fingers to place Copperhead's grenades in opportune locations such as between parked vehicles, caches of other explosives, or near heavy guns.  He will always scan astral space before using magic to make sure none of the astral guys are watching the area right that second.  If he manages to plant all of his explosives, then on the way back he will do things like let air out of tires and and put rocks in tailpipes using Magic Fingers.

20:47, Today: Caduceus rolled 1 success using 3d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of (6+2)8,3,2.  Stealth - sneaking through the streets.

20:48, Today: Caduceus rolled 3 successes using 6d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 2,(6+4)10,(6+2)8,2,3,5.  Knowledge: Seattle Back-ways (complimentary, if possible).

"Well, all in all I was just trying to give those dolts a chance to save their own hoops. They didn't listen, so it's null sweat if there are casualties there." he grins.

"Explosives, eh? I wanted to go in and challenge the guy to mortal combat, but I like this plan better."

I'll see what I can do, replied Noruas as he starts switching channels between the drone and the van.

Caduceus begins making his way along the periphery of the camp. It's tough to get close enough to sabotage the bikes while also keeping out of sight. But with the aid of his spirit and Noruas's eye in the sky, Caduceus creeps up to a line of parked bikes. One after the other he can snip fuel or brake lines. Moving on, he plants an explosive by a parked cargo van, and another behind an old wood fence blocking him off from a group of dwarves assembling rockets.

Copperhead does some more maneuvering on the van. It's at extreme range for the grenade launchers, but then, with a horde, it's hard to miss. Meanwhile, she has partial cover and the benefit of darkness. If her goal is to make chaos and have a clear field of fire, she's set.

As Caduceus places another explosive under the driver's seat of a battle wagon, Noruas gives an alert--a patrol is coming his way! Caduceus has just a moment to hustle the other direction, nearly tripping over a ganger pissing in the lee of a building. "Hoi chummer, this piss pot is taken!" she says as she pulls up her pants. "Hey sweetmeat, I think you found the right girl. Come on over here."

Caduceus was surprised to find a person back here and fumbled back to his feet after he stumbled.  This wasn't good, but luckily this wasn't the first time he had had to talk his way out of a tight spot.  Time for a little improvising.  "Sorry mate, wish it was just a piss pot I needed.  Got a frag grenade about to explode out the back of my pants, if ya know what I mean."  He shifted his weight from side to side a bit to emphasize his claim.  "Don't happen ta have a roll of the heavenly white stuff you could lend me, do ya?"  He continued wandering off into the darkness in an impatient and uncomfortable manner without fully waiting for a reply.

14:37, Today: Caduceus rolled 3 successes using 5d6 with the Shadowrun system with a target of 4 with rolls of 1,(6+5)11,3,(6+2)8,5.  Etiquette.

"I got a whole lotta white stuff for you, honey. Yeah... maybe when you're done with that... see ya later, baby." She lets Caduceus makes his way off into the darkness. Caduceus can toss his last bomb on the way out and return to the van (or at least a safe distance). Noruas watches the whole thing, ready to rain down firey death, or at least give Duck the head's up that the perimeter is rigged.

The dwarf quickly signals White Duck regarding their new setup, WD, we're all set up and good to go.  Balls in your court now.

After his excitement out on the town, Caduceus was happy to regroup back at the rig with Copperhead and Noruas.  After entering the vehicle, the shaman brushed off his sleeves with practiced calm and said, "Well, that was quite the ordeal.  How are things coming along here?"