"Yeah ... shit, I didn't think of that. Guess we'll rule the EMP out. Frostburn's actually got some wide authority on this op, so if you guys want more backup we could call in anyone in training or Auxiliary. Even outside contractors. They might be a little late, but it's still better than nothing."
"But yeah," Dillon nodded to Slider,
"you just stay with Dr. Jansen. He can work miracles, so if anyone on the team gets badly injured it's going to be your job to get the Doctor to them or them to the Doctor. Don't wander off, don't try to get into the fighting, just stay ready to portal to the coordinates our headsets send back to you."
He checked the clock.
"Uh, okay, let me get through the rest of these files again so we don't run out of time. We ... don't actually know how many novas we'll be up against. Could be as many as nine. Could be as few as none. Violates our usual doctrine, I know, but we've got a lot of support so ... I decided it was worth the risk."
It only took about five minutes for Dillon to finish out the slideshow. The complete roster of possible nova hostiles came to nine, each rated on an experimental threat scale from one to five:
1. Juan Tajillo [Threat Level: 5]
Electrokinesis, Strength, Stamina, Absorbtion. Since his escape at Kansas City, Juan's been sighted building ties with Mexican cartel leaders. After one incident with some Federal Police, the government has issued a strict non-engagement order and sightings of him set off alarms. He was seen just yesterday in Chihuahua.
2. Cloudburst, a.k.a. Eleanor Shechter [Threat Level: 4]
Basic weather manipulation, flight, toughness, and coordination. Back in Nigeria Cloudburst worked for the 'right' side and favored carrying dozens of grenades to drop on trenches and fortifications from above. It's unclear exactly what she's doing here -- 'weather observation' is almost certainly a cover -- but her experience increases her threat rating.
3. Simón Espericueta [Threat Level: 2]
Powers unclear. A very recent eruption. He has some talent for vanishing from sight and eliminating evidence of his passage, as well as some clear mental issues. He hates Dr. Zero and regularly manages to send him actual paper letters promising a long and preposterous death. Likely very little threat.
4. La Alegría [Threat Level: 3]
Trans-human marksmanship, speed, coordination, and leadership skills. A Zeta commander, former commando, and counter-insurgency expert. Photos showed a woman in some sort of modern combat armor, a kevlar helmet and a balaclava. She wore the mask in every photo in order to avoid being positively identified, but photos from her military days made their way into the mission file. She carries assault rifle, grenades, a mean looking knife ... the works. Most of the intelligence on her is sketchy, rumor and legend, but some of her Zetas tangled with Mexican military near the border, and the whole thing was caught on amateur video and posted to OpNet.
5. Prometheus, a.k.a. Diego Roman Salazar [Threat Level: 3]
Trans-human intelligence. A Hispanic man with a gleaming white aura, black beard, and spectacles. Prometheus used to be Diego Roman Salazar, a university professor of Chemistry. After his eruption he was briefly in the public spotlight in Mexico City, espousing some pretty extreme political ideals. Most of the information in the file was gleamed from Prometheus' OpNet site, a blog that took Zapatista rhetoric to a new level. His ideal was complete reform of the Mexican government and people, and to that end he claims to have sided with 'those willing to exert the greatest power for the greatest good.' Other intelligence suggested that he'd turned his thinking to problems of infrastructure and production, giving the Zetas a lot of their edge over the other Mexican cartels.
6. Boneyard, a.k.a. Walter St. Claire [Threat Level: 5]
Trans-human strength, durability, natural weapons and some capacity to immobilize victims with fear. Boneyard has bones growing through his waxy, purple and gray skin, forming hard, sharp edges. Walter isn't a proper ranked Elite and has never had an agent or anything like that, but he's made his way around the world. Once a native of New Orleans, he's shown his face in three different insurgencies -- Eritrea, Colombia, and Cambodia -- in the last year. Two months ago his bank-accounts in the United States were subpoenaed and frozen, and it was found that he'd received two and a half million dollars in July from accounts suspected to belong to Mexican cartels.
7. La Voz [Threat Level: 2]
Possesses a Sonic-attack, the precise capabilities of which are unknown. Another recent eruption, "La Voz", as she has been dubbed, is a brown-haired Nicaraguan woman, photographed in street-walking-prostitute clothes (complete with a mug-shot) as well as more recent photos wearing a suit. La Voz was una leoparda, a prostitute working for Los Zetas. Her eruption followed the mug-shot; she broke out of her own interrogation at the threat of imprisonment and ran, the force of her voice enough to punch two-foot diameter holes in reinforced concrete walls. The more recent photos show straight teeth, perfect skin, and a subtle redistribution of her physical features. Her newfound beauty earned her attention, and she spends her time attached to Rogelio González Pizaña (the Zeta Cartel's leader).
8. The Mask, La Máscara, a.k.a. Luis Reyes [Threat Level: 3]
Trans-human strength, stamina, and presence. The Mask is a well liked luchador, a very public figure with his own action figure. It is suspected that he has very strong ties to the cartels however. The Mask's expensive private home in the hills overlooks Chihuahua. Soldiers are going to try and catch him there to keep him inside while the operation is underway.
9. Mr. Tao [Threat Level: 2]
Powers unknown. An unnamed Chinese man with a wide nose, always in very casual street clothes, trendy sunglasses, and carrying a satchel. It is speculated that Mr. Tao works for the Triads as a courier and hit-man, but he's only ever killed baseline targets so very little is known about him and his powers if he has any. Mr. Tao leaves a trademark yin-yang on all his work -- this being the only means of identifying him or even speculating that he's a nova -- and two killings in Juarez place him in the area.
This procession was followed by a few slides of "people of interest":
1. Rogelio González Pizaña, the Zeta Cartel's leader.
2. A collection of scientists, including Esteban Perez, a kidnapped medical researcher thought to be held captive, likely here.
3. Governor Patricio Martínez García, Governor of the State of Chihuahua.
4. Four or five Zeta commanders of lesser status that might have the information useful to the investigation.
5. About eight different drug traffickers, notably Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, who it is suspected handles interaction with the Zeta's Medellín backers.
Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Okay, information dump over with. Anyone who is interested could make appropriate Intelligence rolls to glean additional information and insight from the pile of data Comstock's sitting on.
As for the map of the complex, here are the important zones:
Topside:
1. Northwest Barrio
2. Northeast Barrio
3. Southwest Barrio
4. Southeast Barrio
Underneath:
1. Northwest Complex -- large open spaces, presumably for warehousing.
2. Northeast Complex -- barracks, cell blocks, officers' quarters.
3. Southwest Complex -- no information available.
4. Southeast Complex -- chemical labs, food storage, ventilation and diesel power generators.
North of the neighborhood are the industrial parks. South of the neighborhood is more city, eventually reaching the center of town where the state capital, a cathedral, and other historic sites are located.
Also, if anyone would like to have finished some useful weapons or other toys, such as the ones discussed after the Kansas City brawl, I'm all for trying them out here. Just tell me what (or even who) you'd like to bring to the party. Also, anyone wants to try something other than Comstock's "show up at the Southeast Barrio, find the entrances we know to be around there, and start punching" plan, I'm all for it. It's your show.
Once everyone's satisfied and ready to go, we'll advance straight to deployment.