RolePlay onLine RPoL Logo

, welcome to cWoD: Los Angeles

18:33, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Scene 2b: Portentum.

Posted by StorytellerFor group 0
Storyteller
GM, 63 posts
Fri 11 Mar 2016
at 21:07
  • msg #1

Scene 2b: Portentum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPQvwW77pRU

The sun was high up in the sky, blanketing the city below in 34 degrees of solar heat. A sedan followed by a van drove up to the head office of "Yanowich, Dreisel & Associates", former Front of Vigil's previous incarnation. From the outside some of the damage was already apparent.
The top floors had burned out, part of the roof had collapsed. broken glass laid strewn on the pavement below. Intermittent fencing connected by police lines kept anyone interested at a distance.
3 security guards stood outside talking to the cops parked in a patrol car in front of the building before the long arm of the law drove off, past the Vigil cars. The driver looked out his rolled down side window at the sedan James drove by them before the police car hit the gas and drove off.

Jacki drove the van, a paper bag with waffels from big Ed's Waffelhouse next to her chair. Though her team mates had been surprised at her caloric intake Jacki knew it was only a matter of time before she craved another snack.

In the back of the van Devon had been working on identifying the guard at Doorman&Doppler but with Devon's doorway into the firm's personell files it was easy enough to identify the nightguard as Archibald Clay, a 57 year old father of 3 with a 5 year career of keeping an eye on the corporate building during the night. His prior jobs had included several jobs in security. Under hobbies Archibald had written down: "Playing a mean banjo and shuffleboarding with the wife on the weekends".
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:34, Fri 11 Mar 2016.
Jacki Tanner
Enforcer, 14 posts
Enforcer
Mon 14 Mar 2016
at 20:34
  • msg #2

Scene 2b: Portentum

Jacki cut the wheel hard, rolling the box into a loading/unloading zone. One of the only parking spaces available on a crowded LA street. The air conditioner hummed along, but barely managed to keep the plastic-lined interior cool as the sun pierced through the windows. Jacki had already thrown two drained water bottles behind her and was working on a third as the van rocked to a stop. The AC cut out as she twists the keys back.

"You situated back there?" she looks back to Devon, glancing over the top of her sunglasses. "Sign says twenty minutes. I'll be back in ten. Need me before then, I got a phone, you got a phone, we'll get it figured out," she twirls the keys around her finger, tossing them up and snatching them from the air with her other hand. She slides from the van and hits the locks on her way.

Whistling to herself, Jacki draws a worn, paper map from her back pocket and a cheap ballpoint from the front. Looking between it and the surrounding area, gaze hidden by her sunglasses.

OOC: I'm going to attempt a Perception+Streetwise roll in order to determine the best paths of approach to and exit from the building. I'm gonna set this difficulty 5 cause it seems 'general order of business'?

16:34, Today: Jacki Tanner rolled 5 successes using 7d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 5 ((8,7,1,8,7,10,6)).

Storyteller
GM, 68 posts
Tue 15 Mar 2016
at 00:08
  • msg #3

Scene 2b: Portentum

(sounds about right)

Jacki made a quick assessment of the building. the 7 story building was surrounded by fences and police lines. The obvious entry was the front door, leading into the lobby. An opening in the fence allowed one to reach the lobby. There was one guard there standing guard. The other two guards walked back into the lobby.

On the left side of the building was a basement garage entrance. The outer door was rolled down and  a security camera hung over it.

The back of the building was reached through an alley. A stylised grated door blocked the way. Behind it was a paved backyard surrounded by a chainlink fence. Most likely there was an emergency exit in the back of the door. Possibly a second door for the garbage containers.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:10, Tue 15 Mar 2016.
Lauren Wilson
Media Expert, 21 posts
Syndicate
Tue 15 Mar 2016
at 10:20
  • msg #4

Scene 2b: Portentum

"Alright people, let's do this," Lauren indicated over her comm.  "Remember we are supposed to be here, just following up on the insurance claim.  So let's go."

Lauren exited the car and prepared to walk to the entrance.
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 32 posts
Tue 15 Mar 2016
at 12:15
  • msg #5

Scene 2b: Portentum

Devon sent a Youtube link to everyone's iPad. "He's not kiddin', he's a damn fine banjoist. Banjo...er? Banjo Kazooey."

He waits for laughter expectantly.

"Anyways, good to go. I'll keep my eyes out for tech, since that's what I'm good at. I don't expect to find much of use beyond security footage and equipment, but anything that survived could help. We'll have drones above keeping an eye on the outside for us, just in case, and I'll be piping the feed from those to everyone."

So saying, he popped open a pair of padded suitcases, pulling out a set of mini-drones, each not much larger than a sparrow. Opening the back door, he activated them. "Fly my pretties, fly!"
James Ellings
Enforcer, 11 posts
Iteration X
Wed 16 Mar 2016
at 07:47
  • msg #6

Scene 2b: Portentum

Parking a distance from Jacqui and Devon's van James spared a glance to the IPad to confirm it was nothing immediately relevant for him before moving into Lauren's wake as they headed towards the building. Whilst Devon and Jacki peeled off to cover their respective objectives his was a fair bit simpler, though he did send a glance at the retreating police vehicle. Security guards should be slightly less of a problem but he would have preferred they arrived after the cops had left. Still, no reason they should be attracting any real attention though he made a note to look into switching the car's plates at a later time.

Leaving Lauren to pick their initial conversation targets he instead focused on the simpler stuff that had already been considered as a possibility, in this case whether or not the car that arrived the previous night before the attack kicked off was still there. If so they had something to double check for the identity of the owner, if not they had something run down since its owner had been in the buiding when the hit happened.
Storyteller
GM, 69 posts
Wed 16 Mar 2016
at 22:53
  • msg #7

Scene 2b: Portentum

James spotted the car easily, clearly hastily parked near the building, lined up slightly askew in relation to the pavement. Glancing inside James saw coffee spilled over the passenger seat. A brown briefcase had slipped between the driver's seat and the backseat.

The guard outside stopped Lauren as she walked toward the entrance:"The building is closed. Can I ask your business, miss?". Lauren guessed the guard was in his 50's. He had grey hair and a moustache and wore a darkblue guard outfit.

(Devon, no need to this time but next time roll Perception + Stealth to release the drones in a busy street in the middle of the day without them being spotted :p)
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 33 posts
Fri 18 Mar 2016
at 12:38
  • msg #8

Scene 2b: Portentum

(Sorry, wasn't sure really how big they are... and I don't think Devon's particularly concerned if he's spotted, flying drones is getting to be a more common hobby.

Devon checked his uplink, making sure comms and drones were all linked up and communicating properly. After, he checked the details of his outfit, a simple workman's jumpsuit and a toolbelt... really, only barely a disguise, as unctional and useful as it was camouflage. He nodded to Lauren and followed behind her, slapping a bored expression onto his face.
Jacki Tanner
Enforcer, 15 posts
Enforcer
Fri 18 Mar 2016
at 16:52
  • msg #9

Scene 2b: Portentum

"Huh," Jacki says to herself as she looks over the rear door. She takes a moment in the alley shade, looking the unharmed garage door over. Gave the entrance in the fence a shake. A few moments later she emerges back onto the sidewalk, tucking the map into her back pocket.

After her survey, Jacki returns to the van. Sliding back into the driver's seat, windows left up. "Camera over the garage entrance. Anyone who's not brain dead catches that. Street is a hard sell. Visible, where security's gonna be focused. Hard entry. Plus it means parking on street. Even at night that's rough," she talks herself through the process, only halfway to Devon in the back.

"Emergency exit out back. Someone would've had to futz with the alarm. Them shits are hard wired. Gonna have go crawlin' through the wall to find a short. Fuck."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:48, Fri 18 Mar 2016.
Storyteller
GM, 72 posts
Fri 18 Mar 2016
at 21:21
  • msg #10

Scene 2b: Portentum

(For clarity sake Jacki: Archibald is a guard at Doorman&Doppler, the office opposite the former Front. The lobby security guard with "Yanowich, Dreisel & Associates", the former Vigil front, was Red Brown, and he definitely got creamed)
Jacki Tanner
Enforcer, 16 posts
Enforcer
Fri 18 Mar 2016
at 22:10
  • msg #11

Scene 2b: Portentum

OOC: Oops, my misunderstanding. Post edited. It still tracks, as no one was killed beneath, it looks like, the 4th floor.
Storyteller
GM, 73 posts
Fri 18 Mar 2016
at 22:39
  • msg #12

Scene 2b: Portentum

(except for Red Brown who was in the lobby on the ground floor at the front desk :p. He was the guard who let the owner of the car that's parked outside into the building before the flashy entrance of the purported murderers. When in doubt check the gamewiki, it's updated when new facts come to light :))
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:39, Fri 18 Mar 2016.
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 34 posts
Mon 21 Mar 2016
at 03:15
  • msg #13

Scene 2b: Portentum

Devon went about marking Jacki's stated locations on his iPad. "Depending on how it was fried, there might still be some salvageable data. Failing that, let's hope the old boss was paranoid... that's a joke, by the way."
James Ellings
Enforcer, 14 posts
Iteration X
Tue 22 Mar 2016
at 14:56
  • msg #14

Scene 2b: Portentum

Tapping his ear piece to contact the van James voice came throuhg a couple of seconds after the initial sound, "Looks like whoever turned up just before the hit went down left their car. Might have some information about who they were inside if we can't find out the owner from the plates."
Lauren Wilson
Media Expert, 22 posts
Syndicate
Tue 22 Mar 2016
at 21:21
  • msg #15

Scene 2b: Portentum

Lauren explained to the guard at the entrance that the team was sent by the insurance agency to make a more detailed damage report and Devon's ID's did the job of convincing the guard to let them pass the barrier. Lauren contacted James as she went inside:"James, see if you can get into the car without drawing attention. You can contact Homefront if you need the licence plates checked".

(where's everyone at this point?)
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 35 posts
Tue 22 Mar 2016
at 22:29
  • msg #16

Scene 2b: Portentum

Devon walked in Lauren's wake, continuing to note any and all surveillance structure in the building, and speculating about the wring layout. Anything that can hold a charge records information... though he's not really equipped or trained in that kind of analysis. Some of his old lab buddies could possibly help out if he called in a favor o two, if needs be.
James Ellings
Enforcer, 15 posts
Iteration X
Wed 23 Mar 2016
at 07:45
  • msg #17

Scene 2b: Portentum

"Can do." Strolling to the car James eyed it for a moment or two as he replayed the man's departure from the vehicle the previous night, slowly pulling on a pair of gloves as he did so. Glancing behind him as Lauren and Devon entered the building to see if the security was focusing on them rather than him he waited for an opportunity then, once he was content, checked the door to see if the driver had even bothered locking it in his rush out.

OC: Outside the front of the building by the road.
Storyteller
GM, 80 posts
Wed 23 Mar 2016
at 08:27
  • msg #18

Scene 2b: Portentum

Devon explored the lobby desk, a long and slender chrome and glass design with the company name etched into it. It had monitors linked to the various cameras in the building. Several of the screens were black, most likely linked to cameras on the top three floors that were caught in the fire. "The police made copies of the footage", one of the guards who called himself "Tom, not Tommy"  mentioned:"They were all over the building the past two days but I think they finished their initial investigation".

Walking around the car James noticed two holes in the back of the car, burned clean through at a 45 degree angle as if something had been fired from up top. Glancing around to find the right moment James tried the doorhandle. The owner hadn't bothered locking the door before he had gone into the building.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:55, Wed 23 Mar 2016.
Jacki Tanner
Enforcer, 18 posts
Enforcer
Wed 23 Mar 2016
at 23:29
  • msg #19

Scene 2b: Portentum

Jacki remains in the van, on the street. Keeping a watch out for signs of surveillance. Anyone in the know enough to strike the office might be on the look out for the next target to strike. And that would be bad news for them.
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 36 posts
Thu 24 Mar 2016
at 00:02
  • msg #20

Scene 2b: Portentum

How are my drones faring, anything worth seeing from above?

"Yeah, I'll need copies for the assessment, too. Mind getting me some while I go up and start looking at the site?" Devon's hand dipped into a pocket and produced a Snickers. Devon knew a desk job could still work up a mean hunger, and a little lubricant could help grease wheels.
Storyteller
GM, 83 posts
Thu 24 Mar 2016
at 22:48
  • msg #21

Scene 2b: Portentum

The desk guard smiled slightly at the sight of a Snickers bar as he took the sugary bribe:"Yea I can do that. Oh hey, it's a mess upstairs and the fire department said the top two floor are off-limits because there is the danger of possible collapsing ceilings and walls".

(Jacki you can make a perception + (appropriate skill such as alertness or awareness) to scan your surroundings).

(Devon, I've put up stats for your drones in the OOC thread. You can make a perception roll on their behalf).

This message was last edited by the GM at 22:50, Thu 24 Mar 2016.
Jacki Tanner
Enforcer, 19 posts
Enforcer
Fri 25 Mar 2016
at 00:40
  • msg #22

Scene 2b: Portentum

Investigation, as Jacki is actively looking for things unusual or out of place:

20:39, Today: Jacki Tanner rolled 4 successes using 5d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 ((5,6,10,6,6)).

Storyteller
GM, 84 posts
Fri 25 Mar 2016
at 09:53
  • msg #23

Scene 2b: Portentum

As Jacki was sitting in the van, with the airconditioning at full blast to combat the sweltering heat outside, she looked out over the street. The seven floor tall building of "Yanowich, Dreisel & Associates" was flanked by a number of offices and stores. Since it was now around noon it was fairly busy in the street, with people sitting outside eating lunch, visiting the restaurant on the streetcorner 5 buildings further up or commuting back and forth between work and whatever else they did during their break.

A small class of children accompanied by two adults walked by the van before they went into an office. Several of the children stuck their middle finger up at Jacki and laughed before their adult companions berated their rude behaviour and raised their hands apologetically at Jacki. Five businessmen passed by the van on their way to the corner restaurant. One of them, a younger man with short black hair waved at her. A small group of out of place highschool kids were skateboarding until they got chased off by a guard. Two asian women with bags of groceries walked by hastily, glancing at Jacki as they stomped by on their stubby legs. Jacki saw them look back at the van in the rear view mirror, both shaking their heads to each other and then laughing.

Checking her rear view further Jacki noticed a shabbily dressed elderly man with a scruffy beard staring at her reflection in the mirror. He made no attempt to hide, standing in the middle of the pavement, out of place in an otherwise high priced neighborhood in his stained beige raincoat and dirty brown corduroy pants.
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 37 posts
Sat 26 Mar 2016
at 23:01
  • msg #24

Scene 2b: Portentum

3 Perception on surveillance drones? Ehh, those are probably gonna go in the scrap heap when I get home then and I'll work on building something better.

Drone Perception: Devon Arc botched using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 ((2,1,5))


Devon made his way up to the damaged levels.
Jacki Tanner
Enforcer, 20 posts
Enforcer
Sun 27 Mar 2016
at 01:01
  • msg #25

Scene 2b: Portentum

"Huh," Jacki says to herself. Leaning against the door, keeping her eye on the side-view through her sunglasses. Pulling the map from her back pocket, laying it against the wheel. Her pen marks off where the man stands. Then she starts counting as she watches him walk, timing out the period it takes for him to get to the next street.

OOC: Casting Track Person.

21:01, Today: Jacki Tanner rolled 2 successes using 2d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 5 ((8,8)).

James Ellings
Enforcer, 17 posts
Iteration X
Sun 27 Mar 2016
at 12:04
  • msg #26

Scene 2b: Portentum

The holes caused James a moment's pause and he was briefly tempted to check potential firing arcs. However with only a small window whilst attention was focused inside with Lauren and Devon he wanted to get a closer look at the contents of the car. Opening the door he ran the check quickly for the usual hiding places for a driving license; sun visor, glove compartment, any other obvious nooks. That check done he plucked out the briefcase and moving to the back of the car to check its content and also see if the boot yielded anything.
Storyteller
GM, 88 posts
Sun 27 Mar 2016
at 17:22
  • msg #27

Scene 2b: Portentum

As Lauren and Devon left the hallway Devon noticed the two holes in the wall behind the desk and a congealed puddle of blood, police markers stuck above them. This was where Red Brown had been killed, two holes through the chest. The middle of the lobby, where the intruders appeared to have made their entry the floor was dusty, a layer of dirt and pebbles strewn across the tiled marble floor, but appeared otherwise undamaged. Several footprints were visible in the dust.

Even after the fire had long been extinguished the smoky smell lingered in the hallways, the staircase, the offices of the building. It hung on the air throughout the law firm ready to greet whomever opened the front door and it only got worse as one moved further upstairs. On the way to the upper floors there was water damage everywhere from the sprinkler system and the firebrigade's rescue attempt. On the fourth floor Lauren checked the outline of Morgan Freehand's body with yellow tape still marking the location he had succumbed, supposedly due to smoke inhalation.

Eventually Devon and Lauren went up to the 5th floor. The 5th floor held the board room and meeting rooms where clients had been invited to discuss their particular cases. 3 big offices had been the workspace of the associated laywers. The hallways were black with soot and the electricity didn't work on this floor anymore so only the light that came from the sunny outside through the large windows lit up the floor. The ceilings were blistered black and the panneling had fallen to the ground in places, revealing pipes and wires. This floor had seen the least of the fire but would still have been considered a total loss insurance-wise.
Nothing had escaped the fire entirely unscathed, the soot-covered metal desks with melted computers and barely recognizable personal nicknacks, the leather office chairs, the oaken board room table, Dreisel's priced stamp collection, Yankowich's Warhol print.

Lauren looked around the charred board room, glancing at her tablet:". The floor one up from here housed the server room .. ".

(The drones are mundane tech, not Devices. They are a lot more useful when remote controlled and used as foci by you but on their own their function basically is to fly and record. Even the level 3 Scout Drone Device from the Technomancer's toybox has an effective  perception pool of 4, so these drones aren't all that bad given that they are not magic)
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:26, Sun 27 Mar 2016.
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 38 posts
Mon 28 Mar 2016
at 02:19
  • msg #28

Scene 2b: Portentum

Devon noted the pool of blood, amazed that forensic clean-up hadn't been through yet. No wonder the pointy-hat types had so much representation here, if this was the norm.

He coughed, then fought the impulse down as he moved through the smoke-laced wreckage. He noted the half-slagged tech, popping a few cases open to see if the mobos or memory sticks were remotely salvageable. Data was infinite and inviolable and magnetic re-imagers could do a lot, but some physical properties would take nearly infinite time and resources to fully re-capture. The old problem of diminishing returns.

Shaking his head at the tragedy this place represented, he let the side of a computer tower fall and nodded to Jacki. "Hopefully the damage was a bit less extensive up there. Keep an eye out for internal cameras for me, those will get us the most on what actually happened. I'm..."

He looked at Jacki speculatively. She worked media, she had to understand at least a good bit about NWO standard operating procedures. "We're,"</darkblue he chose the inclusive instead of the singular to subconsciously remind her that both the team and the Conventions were supposed to all be one big happy whatever. <darkblue>"Especially looking for surveillance designed to monitor the previous Amalgam and the support staff."

So saying, he moved upwards and onwards to the next level, becoming more and more careful of his footing.
Storyteller
GM, 89 posts
Mon 28 Mar 2016
at 19:47
  • msg #29

Scene 2b: Portentum

The car smelled of coffee, vanilla and sweat. Having been in the sun since early morning the heat in the car by the time James stepped inside was close to unbearable. James quickly found a driver's licence in the glove compartment, registered to Francis Stryker.

The briefcase held a tablet computer, a burner phone, a vial of pills, a bag of gummiebears, sunglasses and oddly enough .. someone's face. The skin felt strangely real but it couldn't be real skin as the backside was featureless pink and had no skintexture and felt slightly sticky to the touch. There was no apparent cut by means of which the face had been separated from the skull nor  a trace of blood. It was a sort of mask but more real than anything James was familiar with. Who the face was supposed to represent was unclear it its current boneless state.
Storyteller
GM, 90 posts
Mon 28 Mar 2016
at 19:52
  • msg #30

Scene 2b: Portentum

The scruffy looking man kept watching Jacki's van and wasn't moving. He divided his attention between the burned office building and the van, observing both without apparent fear for being noted. And then suddenly he was on the move toward the van, crossing the 20 meters with a slight shuffling gait, his hand reaching in his pocket ..
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:56, Mon 28 Mar 2016.
James Ellings
Enforcer, 19 posts
Iteration X
Mon 28 Mar 2016
at 20:32
  • msg #31

Scene 2b: Portentum

Tapping his earpiece again James sent out, "Looks like our late night visitor who possibly was not part of the raid was a Mr Francis Stryker and by the look of the holes in his boot he might have been taking some fire on his drive here. Also a glance in his briefcase suggest we might have something for Ai to look at as well as a tablet for Devon to crack open. Anyone want to grab the case and stow it in the van?"
Jacki Tanner
Enforcer, 23 posts
Enforcer
Tue 29 Mar 2016
at 13:45
  • msg #32

Scene 2b: Portentum

Jacki keeps her casual watch on the out of place man. Her finger slides over the button that unlocks the doors with a click. Just in case she needs to get out.
Sandra Reyes
player, 3 posts
Thu 31 Mar 2016
at 07:18
  • msg #33

Scene 2b: Portentum

Flashback to Devon and Lauren entering the building.

Sandra followed in the pair's wake. She wore the disposable coverall personal protective equipment of a forensic technician which obscured most of her features and the outfit she wore at the meeting. She carried a hard plastic kit that contained her high tech gear, disguised currently as mundane sensors, testing, and diagnostic equipment.

Sandra kept quiet as they talked their way upstairs. But her glasses were active. Micro sensors embedded in the frame were capturing and analyzing the structure of space-time and the dimensional properties of the Gauntlet. The results were being stored for the Pan Dimensional Corps of the Void Engineers, should the need arise, and fed to a HUD overlay in the lenses in real time.

The present.

Sandra knelt down and opened her kit. She removed a handheld amplifier, disguised as an environmental air testing device, which enhanced her glasses' readings.

"Hmm... nothing so far, but this should give me a better picture..." she said to no one in particular.

OOC: I assume I'd need an Inspired Science roll? I'm thinking Correspondence 1, Time 1, Dimensional Science 1 to try to read for disturbances?
Storyteller
GM, 93 posts
Thu 31 Mar 2016
at 07:53
  • msg #34

Scene 2b: Portentum

(you assume correctly)
Sandra Reyes
player, 4 posts
Thu 31 Mar 2016
at 17:35
  • msg #35

Scene 2b: Portentum

Sandra frowned as multiple areas of the room were highlighted on her HUD, but there were quite a lot of indicators that returned "inconclusive". She toggled to a display of the raw data, to see if there was anything she could interpret.

"Readings are fuzzy..."

I wasn't sure what modifiers were involved.
10:31, Today: Sandra Reyes rolled 10 using 3d10 with rolls of 3,3,4.  Inspired Science.

Storyteller
GM, 95 posts
Thu 31 Mar 2016
at 19:46
  • msg #36

Scene 2b: Portentum

There were minor fluctuations in the dimensional spectrum, wobbles and pings and a very faint wave. Sandra focused on getting those more clearly defined as right now it was unclear what type of anomaly she was detecting, what dimensional frequency the anomaly was resonating, where exactly it was located. But there was something that didn't quite belong ...
Sandra Reyes
player, 5 posts
Void Engineers - PDC
Dimensional Sci. Expert
Fri 1 Apr 2016
at 00:35
  • msg #37

Scene 2b: Portentum

"Umm. We may have a problem," Sandra started, trying and largely failing to keep her voice from growing sheepish. She turned toward the others and pulled the unnecessary respirator off of her face. Her eyebrows contracted and rose in the middle, creasing her forehead with furrows, and her mouth tightened. "There's a dimensional anomaly I'm detecting. But I'm having trouble locking in a source or determining an explanation."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:27, Fri 01 Apr 2016.
Richard Jackson
player, 2 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Fri 1 Apr 2016
at 03:25
  • msg #38

Scene 2b: Portentum

Richard had entered the building with the other agents -- wearing dark suit, tie, snappy shoes, and sunglasses fitted with subtle image enhancement tech for facilitating data-gathering -- and was busying himself with systematically casing the building.  Time was of the issue here; with enough data, he could work backwards from the evidence available to construct a chronology of events.

Sandra's observation swiftly had his full attention.  "Current and active?" he asked her, lowering his sunglasses for a brief moment before replacing them.  "Partner up.  If our perps left us a surprise, we can't afford to be picked off."

He trailed off, hand trailing to his earpiece as James updated them on the vehicle outside.  "Inbound," Richard answered him over channels.  "Be advised that dimensional flux has been detected at the scene.  We'll keep you posted."

Richard nodded once to Sandra and the others present inside, and turned to leave for the car and the briefcase within.
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 42 posts
Fri 1 Apr 2016
at 09:51
  • msg #39

Scene 2b: Portentum

Devon paused, foot lifted, and quirked an eyebrow at Sandra. "Anomaly how, pray? Like, 'Who y'gonna call?' or like 'oh god, oh god, we're all gonna die?"
Claire Blanc
player, 3 posts
Fri 1 Apr 2016
at 14:42
  • msg #40

Scene 2b: Portentum

The French native was always well dressed and manicured, but didn't wear much in the way of makeup; it was a practical sort of clean. Claire looked at the car and it's tags and through her ADEI's radio connected to her botnet. "I will see if I can not back track zis vehicles previous movements wiz the cameras in ze area."

The blond also added "We should also pull ze 'arddrives from the copiers to see if zere are any documents of interest, no?"


Botnet - Spies 5: Try and recover video footage from regional cameras and the traffic monitoring system of the TSA and then try to backtrack the car.

Storyteller
GM, 96 posts
Fri 1 Apr 2016
at 19:53
  • msg #41

Scene 2b: Portentum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3MUCZH1R-Q

Devon concluded pretty swiftly that while the computers on the fifth floor were probably partially salvagable it would take a lot of time and from the briefing it had been apparent that enlightened personell had been working one floor up. These computers likely held no particular value to the investigation.

As he moved out to the 6th floor he heard Lauren talk to James:" .. is the former supervisor of Vigil. We haven't found a body identi- .. "..

---

Jacki saw the scraggly man walk up to the van faster. He pulled a whiskeybottle from his pocket and took a last swiff before shattering it on the pavement. He slammed his dirty hands on the window looking in at Jacki and started screaming, foaming at the mouth with rage:"They're coming for you nazi scum! They'll stop your kind! Can't hide anymore you bastards! I know what you are! I know what you are!".

---

James called in his find to Lauren. She replied back:" .. Stryker is the former supervisor of Vigil. We haven't found a body identi- .. ". The commlink went dead.

---

Sandra's indicators suddenly flared up bright red. The wobbles began fluctuating, the pings followed each other in increasingly accelerating repetition, the wave turned from a calm sea to a raging storm. A blinding flash of blue light appeared close to Lauren. And through the rift between worlds a giant man made of rock and lava stepped through. Behind the behemoth a paleskinned darkhaired young man cloaked in blue, his hands still glowing paleblue after he had used them to tear through the walls between worlds. The cloaked man distilled the reason for the duo's appearance into a simple command to the rock giant:"Bring the house down".

---

Richard was halfway down when the building began shaking violently.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:35, Fri 01 Apr 2016.
Storyteller
GM, 97 posts
Fri 1 Apr 2016
at 20:14
  • msg #42

Scene 2b: Portentum

(Claire you can roll Intelligence + your Spy rating. It will take some time to get back to you.)

(Sandra, roll Perception + Alertness or Awareness (your choice).

(Everyone roll initiative: Roll one die and add the result to your dexterity+wits.)

This message was last edited by the GM at 21:32, Fri 01 Apr 2016.
Claire Blanc
player, 4 posts
Fri 1 Apr 2016
at 20:24
  • msg #43

Scene 2b: Portentum

16:21, Today: Claire Blanc rolled 4 successes using 9d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 with rolls of 7,2,6,8,10,9,4,1,2.  Intelligence 4 & spy network 5.
Storyteller
GM, 100 posts
Fri 1 Apr 2016
at 21:36
  • msg #44

Scene 2b: Portentum

(noted claire. Your bots get to work on gathering intel. I'll let you know the result once everything calms down. Remind me if i forget)
Jacki Tanner
Enforcer, 25 posts
Enforcer
Fri 1 Apr 2016
at 21:52
  • msg #45

Scene 2b: Portentum

OOC: Ugh, terrible.

17:51, Today: Jacki Tanner rolled 9 using 1d10+8 ((1)).

Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 43 posts
Sat 2 Apr 2016
at 00:38
  • msg #46

Scene 2b: Portentum

"I guess 'we're all gonna die' it is."

Hey ST, can we get the diceroller set to default on the world of darkness?

init: Devon Arc rolled 10 using 1d10+5 ((5)).

Sandra Reyes
player, 6 posts
Void Engineers - PDC
Dimensional Sci. Expert
Sat 2 Apr 2016
at 00:46
  • msg #47

Scene 2b: Portentum

17:45, Today: Sandra Reyes rolled 13 using 1d10+5 with rolls of 8.  Initiative.
17:44, Today: Sandra Reyes rolled 30 using 5d10 with rolls of 3,5,8,6,8.  Perception + Awareness.

Richard Jackson
player, 3 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Sat 2 Apr 2016
at 06:36
  • msg #48

Scene 2b: Portentum

01:35, Today: Richard Jackson rolled 11 using 1d10+5.  inish.
Storyteller
GM, 101 posts
Sat 2 Apr 2016
at 07:38
  • msg #49

Scene 2b: Portentum

(it should be set to WoD now. If not let me know devon)

Just need Claire and james' initiative. Then we'll start with round 1
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:17, Sat 02 Apr 2016.
Claire Blanc
player, 5 posts
Sat 2 Apr 2016
at 20:01
  • msg #50

Scene 2b: Portentum


16:00, Today: Claire Blanc rolled 4 successes using 5d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 with rolls of 10,5,10,8,6.  Dexterity & Wits.

Storyteller
GM, 103 posts
Sat 2 Apr 2016
at 20:08
  • msg #51

Scene 2b: Portentum

(sorry if there was any confusion about the intiative roll claire. I need a 1d10 rol from you and you add your dexterity and your wits to the result)
Claire Blanc
player, 6 posts
Sat 2 Apr 2016
at 22:04
  • msg #52

Scene 2b: Portentum


my mistake. too many systems are rolling around in my head.

18:06, Today: Claire Blanc rolled 12 using 1d10+5 with rolls of 7.

This message was last edited by the player at 22:07, Sat 02 Apr 2016.
James Ellings
Enforcer, 21 posts
Iteration X
Mon 4 Apr 2016
at 09:12
  • msg #53

Scene 2b: Portentum

OC: 15 Initiative
Storyteller
GM, 104 posts
Tue 5 Apr 2016
at 08:27
  • msg #54

Scene 2b: Portentum

(Sandra you can take an action before we start normal intiative)
Sandra Reyes
player, 8 posts
Void Engineers - PDC
Dimensional Sci. Expert
Tue 5 Apr 2016
at 19:11
  • msg #55

Scene 2b: Portentum

Sandra's eyes widened behind her glasses as they registered the breach. "We're in trouble!" she shouted into the comms as she scrambled away from the two figures. In all her work with the Union, she had never been so directly threatened by deviants or dimensional entities.

Sandra sheltered behind a nearby desk. Her back was pressed to the furniture and she panted heavily, from panic rather than exertion. The urgent warnings that blinked on her HUD pixelated and distorted, reminding the rational part of her mind that she still had a job to do. But the interference meant that her other devices connected to her glasses were not nearby. With a growing dread, she risked a peak around the desk. The kit containing her gear and the amplifier lay where she had dropped them on the floor, dangerously close to the threats.

OOC: This may not be the most effective use of my turn. But I think it's in her character and dramatically appropriate.
Storyteller
GM, 107 posts
Tue 5 Apr 2016
at 23:36
  • msg #56

Scene 2b: Portentum

The pyroclastic monstrosity slammed its feet on the floor as it passed through the gate, causing a sickering groan to emanate from the concrete tower. Windows blew out, showering the streets below with a glistening rain of glass particles as the safety glass burst into a thousand pieces. Ceiling panels came down as Sandra leapt to her hiding place.

Lauren had little time to think as she turned to face the lumbering molten rock entity bearing down on her. Her eyes flashed between Sandra's equipment laid on the floor near the rock monster, and the door out of the office, realizing that if she fled now Sandra would be left without her gear with two powerful entities about to bring down the building on top of everyone. She ducked into the monster's reach and kicked the kit into Sandra's general direction.

(initiative order: James (15). Sandra (13). Claire (12). Richard (11). Devon (10)/Machinist (10). (Jacki 9). Prime (8). Golem (7).
Storyteller
GM, 109 posts
Wed 6 Apr 2016
at 12:45
  • msg #57

Scene 2b: Portentum

James felt the tremmor outside as he got out of Stryker's car. He looked up to see a rain of glass fall down on the streets below. Since the building had been cordoned off after the fire no civilians were in direct danger. This could change though if the building was going to crumble in its entirety. Stryker's caralarm went off when the tremmor hit, as did a number of other cars parked nearby. Further down the street James saw a large man dressed in shabby clothes harrassing Jacki's van, slamming on the window and shouting at her.
Sandra Reyes
player, 9 posts
Void Engineers - PDC
Dimensional Sci. Expert
Wed 6 Apr 2016
at 19:52
  • msg #58

Scene 2b: Portentum

Sandra quickly ducked back behind the desk with a heavy, sinking feeling in her gut. If the Gauntlet was breached, then it was up to her to stop or limit the danger to the team. But if she went for her devices, she would almost certainly be killed herself. To make matters worse, Sandra still had very little idea of what the dimensional situation was. The HUD on her glasses only continued to flicker and distort.

A flash of inspiration struck her, and she pulled her phone from her pocket and called up a command prompt. Her expression changed from wide eyed panic to brow furrowed focus as her fingers flew across the screen, tapping in commands.

"Connect to... remote user... hook the transmitter..." Sandra muttered while using her phone's radio antenna to boost the signal and to execute command scripts on her gadgets.

"Yes!" she cheered as her readings flared back to life and seemed to give her a much more clear picture of the situation.


12:39, Today: Sandra Reyes rolled 3 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 5 with rolls of 8,5,9.  Scan Locality - Correspondence 1/Time 1 / DS 1.
I assumed a +1 higher difficulty to represent not having her apparati directly in her hands. Sandra will of course quickly relay any info that is useful to the team that she gets.

This message was last edited by the player at 19:56, Wed 06 Apr 2016.
Storyteller
GM, 110 posts
Wed 6 Apr 2016
at 22:19
  • msg #59

Scene 2b: Portentum

Sandra's fevered brain realized on some subconcious level that her phone wasn't supposed to have the proper software to pull off the connect and remote display but for the time being she could damn well justify it conciously. Of course she was able to connect to her kit and pipe her graphs and measurements through her phone's graphics app even if she only half conciously understood the principles, running partly on instinct. Her phone began spitting out information.Sandra started noticing recognizable patterns. The portal connected two spacial locations. Her kit registered the coordinates and stored them so she'd be able to locate it on a map. Furthermore there was a dimensional signature to the molten rock entity. It was unsurprisingly not of this world. Sandra's equipment registered the specific quantum frequency. She might be able to further study it and possibly even open a portal to this unknown realm, though given the nature of the creature its home dimension might be extremely hostile, if not deadly to humans.

Lauren for her part, after kicking Sandra's kit in her general direction, screamed as she was grabbed by the glowing hot giant and yanked past it into the spacial rift, leaving the sickening smell of her burned arm behind. Behind the cloaked man Sandra vaguely saw the outlines of another and she heard another voice:"We have multiple bogeys outside the building. Put me there". Sandra registered the spacial anomaly starting to close, leaving the magma creature behind to deal with the trembling Void engineer and anyone else left in the building. Sandra was having a really shitty first day at work.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:48, Wed 06 Apr 2016.
Richard Jackson
player, 5 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Thu 7 Apr 2016
at 01:23
  • msg #60

Scene 2b: Portentum

This was -not- an earthquake.  Richard had felt his share of them.  With what Sandra had mentioned not a moment ago -- and was now echoing in a shout -- it could be a bomb, it could be RD action, but whatever it was, he needed to get out of there.  With their combat personnel outside, Richard was not in a mood to tempt fate.

He books it at top speed to the nearest exit.

OOC: Priority 1: get out of the building.  Priority 2, assist any teammates he encounters enroute.  Priority 3, if escape becomes impossible, report to HQ and turn on his GPS beacon so a recovery team can identify him.
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 45 posts
Thu 7 Apr 2016
at 01:44
  • msg #61

Scene 2b: Portentum

Devon blinked at Lauren's sudden disappearance. He quickly bent to help gather the kicked equipment. "Run, run run!

While he moved down the stairs, he checked for any other exits from the building. "Jesus, this place is already messed up, it can't take another hit... how did..." His mind raced, a thousand questions trying to demand his attention, all ignored in favor of survival.

I assume we'd have some advance knowledge of the layout of the building, if not, can my drones highlight anything they've noticed in their simple patrol? Mechanically, Devon's focused on just staying alive and getting people out, so full defense and movement available and all that.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:46, Thu 07 Apr 2016.
James Ellings
Enforcer, 23 posts
Iteration X
Thu 7 Apr 2016
at 10:22
  • msg #62

Scene 2b: Portentum

Shielding his face as the glass showered down James dropped the briefcase and slid it under the car with one foot. Not the best cover he could give it but the best he had right now. Sparing the man hammering at Jacki's van only a glance he headed for the building, trusting to the other to be able to handle the problem, whilst reaching up to his headset, "Everyone outside stay outside. Everyone inside get out and give us some news about what's inside. Don't like the shape the building's in. Devon did your drones spot any alternative exits from the building besides the front one? Anyone who's on and can do so get the civies back and visibility lowered, if this is something strange we need as few witnesses as possible."

Keeping his guns holstered for now he headed for the building, heading past anyone who tried to stop him even the building security with patient focus. As he moved James glanced at his watch, hit the stopwatch function and began to take his steps measuredly, still quick but timing his motions rather than rushing as he cleared his head to focus on the task at hand. He added one last remark over the communications, a slightly dry note to his voice, "Oh and please, if everyone is clear of the building, do tell me. I would hate to be inside looking for you whilst you are outside."

OC: Nothing odd in actions yet, saving dice pool for defensive if something comes swinging but mostly focused on heading where the others should have been going off the floor plans to try to get them out. If anything does try to impede that guns stay out of it unless we've got clear supernatural in which case all bets are off.
Claire Blanc
player, 9 posts
Sat 9 Apr 2016
at 01:42
  • msg #63

Scene 2b: Portentum

Clair looks around, quickly trying to piece together a possible solution. "Aria, queue me up some music, and download bomb-making." She thought to her internal AI, before ducking down and letting her ADEI remotely pull down the knowledge and skill set needed to piece together a makeshift bomb from the car she was now leaned up against. Over the radio she contacts the rest of the team. "Please try to lead ze -onster out into ze open."


ADEI > Hypercram 4 for Chemistry or Scrounging - which ever you feel is appropriate. She is planning to make a makeshift bomb from - something. Probably a car.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:18, Sat 09 Apr 2016.
Storyteller
GM, 117 posts
Tue 12 Apr 2016
at 23:10
  • msg #64

Scene 2b: Portentum

Outside bystanders were fleeing from the building, except for the angry drunk pounding Jacki's window. James ran past the two guards in the lobby who were on their way out:"The building is coming down! Get the hell out of here man! Get out!", one of them shouted at him. He didn't wait to see if James was following him though, dropping his snickers bar on the floor as he ran out the door after his collegue. James headed up the stairs since the elevators were already down since the previous attack.

Sandra hid behind the desk as the lumbering lava creature crashed through a loadbearing wall on its way to the hallway. The ceiling in the board room came down on Sandra's hiding spot, raining debris down on the desk. Sandra hid under the desk before the heavy concrete beam came down along with the ceiling tiles and pipes.

Claire's mind switched to download mode, her arms dropped limp. Her breath remained steady and she remained upright but her mind was attempting to find and download the information she was looking for. Claire's mind had trouble focusing for the time being, her mind distracted by the crumbling building and her team mates who were still inside, the screaming masses, the loud caralarm nearby and the shattering glass.
(Claire, you have trouble going into the trance state required to download the information, but you can try again next round)

Richard headed back down when the building made known its fatal wound with a cracking roar of splintering concrete and tearing metal. In front of him, as he ran back down, a central heating unit shook itself from the wall and scolding hot water began spraying across the staircase. Forced to wait for the time it took for the water pressure to lessen and turn the spray into an arc he could avoid he heard someone come down from the 5th floor. The man was covered in dust and he had a bewildered look on his face.

Devon narrowly escaped the 6th floor collapsing on top of the boardroom on the 5th floor. Behind him he heard the molten rock creature slowly following him down the corridor. He ran downstairs as the building shook again, lighter this time, and ran into Richard standing in a steam-filled staircase. Above him he heard the glowing hot monstrosity stumbling after him.
(Devon, in case these main stairs become .. ehm .. unusable there are emergency stairs in the back of the building. There is also an elevator shaft but the elevator itself has been deactivated after the fire. And finally if you really want to press your luck there might be a garbage chute in the back of the building)

The beggar's eyes turned a cold flickering crimson red, his left hand transforming right before Jacki's eyes into a plasma cannon aimed at the van, plates replacing skin, fingers turned into plasma emitters, veins replaced by cables and tubes. The weapon fired a superheated plasma bolt into the van at Jacki.

Jacki knocked the weapon upward, twisting it up to avoid getting hit. The plasma bolt punched a smoldering hole through the van's roof instead of Jacki's face. Jacki grabbed the doorhandle and kicked the door open but the cyborg leapt back in time to avoid getting hit. Jacki leapt out of the van to give herself room to maneuver. The cyborg charged up its plasma cannon again and for a moment Jacki realized the cybernetic organism closely resembled the basic configuration of a HITMark unit, the shocktroops of the Technocracy, near-mindless engines of destruction, more man than machine. 3 clawlike blades sprang from its other hand ...
(i split your dicepool for dodging, which you did splendidly, your counter attack however failed)

The blue-cloaked teleporter collapsed the spacial rift as the roof came down, leaving Sandra alone in the collapsing boardroom ...

The lava creature didnt really fit the corridors but it wanted to crush the moving prey that had escaped the boardroom. It did not like fast-moving objects, preferring the relative immovability of rocks, the creeping slow movement of magma. It wanted to know what the creature would smell like when it smoldered in its embrace. It found itself at the top of the stairs downward, seeing two moving creatures far ahead of it ...
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:32, Thu 14 Apr 2016.
Storyteller
GM, 118 posts
Tue 12 Apr 2016
at 23:10
  • msg #65

Scene 2b: Portentum

(round 2, same initiative, lets hear your actions)
Richard Jackson
player, 6 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Wed 13 Apr 2016
at 01:42
  • msg #66

Scene 2b: Portentum

"That steam is coming out of a cracked pressure heater!" Richard shouted to Devon over the high-pitched whine of escaping steam.  "Don't get caught by it!"

He glances past Devon to see if the other man is being followed, then gives the staircase a few moments.  Will there be an opening clear in time for him to try and beat feet downstairs, or will they need to find an alternate route?...

OOC: If there's a break in the steam/water venting that might be passable for someone not tremendously agile, head downstairs; otherwise, he is consulting the mental map of the area for an alternate exit.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:18, Wed 13 Apr 2016.
Storyteller
GM, 119 posts
Wed 13 Apr 2016
at 09:45
  • msg #67

Scene 2b: Portentum

(just to clarify Richard, the man covered in dust coming down the stairs is Devon :))
Richard Jackson
player, 7 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Wed 13 Apr 2016
at 10:15
  • msg #68

Scene 2b: Portentum

((editing accordingly!  >_>))
Sandra Reyes
player, 11 posts
Void Engineers - PDC
Dimensional Sci. Expert
Wed 13 Apr 2016
at 22:34
  • msg #69

Scene 2b: Portentum

Sandra cringed and clenched her eyes underneath the desk as the ceiling collapsed around her. When the debris had settled, and she realized she was still alive, Devon's command spurred her to action. Seeing that he had grabbed her equipment, Sandra wasted no further time in extricating herself from the pile of debris and sprinting after Devon.

As she ran, she risked a single glance back at the lava creature.
James Ellings
Enforcer, 25 posts
Iteration X
Thu 14 Apr 2016
at 10:05
  • msg #70

Scene 2b: Portentum

(OC: I might be wrong Sandra but I think lava man is between you and Devon since he left the room you were in, followed Devon and is now looking down the stairs the way he ran)

Continuing to sprint up the stairs despite the warning James did not bother listening for sounds of movement, instead just heading up the stairs as he looked for some sign of those who had gone in whilst dodging the odd bit of debris. Without any reply over communications he was lacking in a direction but given where they had been heading up was the way forwards.
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 50 posts
Fri 15 Apr 2016
at 09:44
  • msg #71

Scene 2b: Portentum

Devon shouted to Sandra, but he saw beams tumble down and his feet were already carrying him forward. The way the building was shaking, he couldn't be said to run dow the stairs, more a jangling series of long, jarring hops, barely cut short as he fell into Richard's arms, just shy of scalding water. He looked at the man with eyes over-wide and flicking left and right rapidly... he looked half-mad, but he was visualizing everything he knew about from their prep work. "We've got nearly no way out, man. Most everything's back towards that, that monster and I don't-"

Wait. Hot water. He slapped at the pockets of his jumpsuit and grabbed at a vial. The nano-machines were basically self-fueled, but they could convert anything to energy.

Anything.

"Can you hold that thing off? I think I can clear the stairs and keep it off our backs at the same time, but I need a minute, here."

Furiously, he ran calculations over in his head, hoping a favorable solution lay beyond the equal sign.

I'll spend another point of Willpower on Int + Hypertech so I can hopefully pull off the Genius roll in one go next round. Ugh, I never picked an Int specialty, but whatever it would be, I don't think this is what Devon's specialized in.

And as always, I hate the ones cancel rule.
Int+Hypertech: Devon Arc failed (1 failure) using 6d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 ((1,1,9,5,4,3)).

Oh well, I guess some gambles aren't meant to pay off.

Claire Blanc
player, 11 posts
Sun 17 Apr 2016
at 19:11
  • msg #72

Scene 2b: Portentum

Claire got up and moved away and took cover around a brick wall while she let the ADEI do it's download. Sure, it was going to take a moment, but Claire felt it was the only way that she was going to help with a resolution.
Storyteller
GM, 126 posts
Mon 18 Apr 2016
at 21:39
  • msg #73

Scene 2b: Portentum

James (15). Sandra (13). Claire (12). Richard (11). Devon (10)/Machinist (10). (Jacki 9). Prime (8). Golem (7).

James bounced up the stairs, relying on his enhanced dexterity to remain steady in the aftermath of the initial quake. Somewhere far up, on the 6th or 7th floor, he heard a ceiling collapse, shaking the building a second time and further destabilizing the collapsing structure of the tower. Lights flickered as electricity systems went down. The building was in a bad state. He glanced at his chronograph, he'd have to pick up speed ...

Sandra was hesistant but ducked past the molten rock creature and tried to run down the stairs to Devon and Richard. Devon had her gear and without it she couldn't even begin to tackle this mess.

Claire managed to block out the distractions and entered the desired download state. In her heightened state of awareness she was capable of hypercramming temporary skills suitable for her current situation. It wouldn't last long but it would let her think up a viable plan. She began to inventorize her surroundings. While she wasn't clear on exactly what was coming down after her team mates explosives were usually a good bet when trying to stop something big and nasty ..
(I'll let you know your options shortly since this is not instant knowledge but you have 5 successes so you'll figure something out once you snap out of your trance. You'll be busy downloading and extrapolating information next round)

Richard saw no way around the hot steaming geyser emanating from the cracked unit. He expected the pressure would eventually lessen and the heater wouldn't be able to heat all the water escaping for a long time. Which was little comfort in light of the imminently collapsing building and the magma monster at the top of the stairs. And now Devon wanted him to .. hold the entity made of molten rock off. He quickly tried to think of alternative routes. But caught between steam and an alien molten rock entity left him with no real options. Except through the walls ..

Devon couldn't figure out the most favorable pattern to feed into his nanomatrix. He might still be able to pull off the move but activating the damn thing to make the desired shape was going to be tricky.
(Devon, you can still make an Arete roll for the effect the next round but with the difficulty 6 that i mentioned earlier)

The machine man recharged and attempted to fire his plasma weapon again. Having Jacki right in his line of sight Jacki prepared to duck the beam. Observed by a small group of onlookers from a distance the highly experimental weapon fired up but the plasma buildup fizzled out before it was discharged. Jacki got lucky and made use of the weapon misfiring and leapt up to plant her foot in the cyborg's face. She hit him square in the jaw, knocking his head sideways and staggering him.
(lucky you, the vulgar plasma weapon had trouble firing on account of being observed by sleepers)

The robed teleporter began muttering incantations again from the safety of his secret sanctum santorum ...

The giant made of living molten rock swung its powerful arm at Sandra. Caught unaware Sandra managed to duck under its massive arms and slid/ran-crawled down the debris-strewn stairs toward Devon and Richard.
(8 dice on its attack and no successes, sigh ..)
Storyteller
GM, 127 posts
Mon 18 Apr 2016
at 21:40
  • msg #74

Scene 2b: Portentum

(round 3, lets try to get through this round within 3 days rather than a week this time)
Richard Jackson
player, 8 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Mon 18 Apr 2016
at 22:55
  • msg #75

Scene 2b: Portentum

It's a choice between terrible and worse, but it's not the first such choice Richard has made in his life.

He pats Devon on the shoulder and moves past him to where he can hear the deviant spirit crashing down the hallway.  "Excuse me!  Tall, dark, and glowing?" he roars at the top of his lungs, over the unsubtle shifting of the building, making his way a bit up the stairs.  "If I could have a moment of time before you pound us all into bits?  I've never had the chance to speak with one of your kind and I'd love the chance to learn more about you before we all get crushed beneath your overwhelming strength!"

All in.

OOC: We're going to hope it has some sort of notion of vanity and appeal to that as a stalling or possible door-making tactic. More specific plans emerge if it a) answers, or b) is susceptible to Mind effects without a Spirit prerequisite.
Sandra Reyes
player, 14 posts
Void Engineers - PDC
Dimensional Sci. Expert
Wed 20 Apr 2016
at 07:53
  • msg #76

Scene 2b: Portentum

When Sandra caught up, she took the kit from Devon with trembling hands.

"Wh... What do we do?" she asked, unable to hide the fear in her voice. She fumbled with the latch and took a synthetic fiber gauntlet with an embedded touch screen display and a miniaturized multi-field manipulator array. Hurriedly, she pulled it onto her left arm and felt some relief as the display blinked to life, the nano filaments weaved in the material interfaced with her arm and hand to detect their motions, and a connection confirmation appeared on the heads up display in her glasses.

Her face paled when she heard Richard call out to the beast. That was not at all what she expected. And she wondered briefly if Richard had lost his mind.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:56, Wed 20 Apr 2016.
James Ellings
Enforcer, 28 posts
Iteration X
Wed 20 Apr 2016
at 08:24
  • msg #77

Scene 2b: Portentum

Rounding onto another floor James spared a quick glance for any sign of the others fleeing, hampered somewhat by the inconsistent lighting, before heading upwards again. Still no sign of the others, if they had headed out and no-one had bothered to communicate that he planned to bring it up at the debrief assuming he survived this experience.
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 51 posts
Wed 20 Apr 2016
at 12:36
  • msg #78

Scene 2b: Portentum

Devon growled, unable to complete his calculations, but needing to do something. He pulled out a cylinder from an inner pocket. Witha twist, he pulled the top off the cylinder... which promptly softened, revealing itself to be a silicon-based putty, programmable, durable, and heat-resistant.

To a point.

"If this works, which it should but maybe not cause this stuff isn't tested yet, we go forward... if it doesn't, which maybe it won't cause y'know, see previous statement, I think we still go forward, cause better scalded than crisped, y'know?" His words came quick, jittery, as much a babble to release tension as voiced decision. His fingers slapped at his pocket until he found a measuring tool, a long, thin rod helpful for smal, highly accurate distance recording. He formed the putty around the rod, hen wiggled it, widening the tunnel in the putty, before he eyeballed the steaming pipe. Wincing in preparation of the pain he was likely about to feel, he jammed the putty over the pipe and bent it, aiming it back at the lava monster simultaneously jamming a small device into the putty, which would shock it, signalling the putty to maintain its current configuration.

Assuming it worked, of course. "Clear!" he shouted, hoping Richard would get the warning, but not the slow-moving lava beast.

I'll go ahead and spend my one point of quintessence on this'n and another point of Willpower, so that'll be dif 5 and need one more success.

Devon Arc rolled 3 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 5 ((10,6,5)).

Woo! alright, so that's 4 total successes. Any chance of something going unexpectedly well, maybe a weird reaction with the heat and the water that supercools it as it hits the lava dude? Either to constrain it or for damage, maybe?

Storyteller
GM, 134 posts
Sat 23 Apr 2016
at 13:34
  • msg #79

Scene 2b: Portentum

As James ran further up the stairs water was leaking from upstairs. James heard someone .. Richard? .. yelling upstairs
(For dramatic purposes I'll let James reach the team at the beginning of the next round

Sandra had her kit back, and putting it on gave her a little jolt of feeling ever so slightly more secure. It didn't last long when the massive glowing rock-thing began moving down the stairs after her and her team mates.

Richard saw no outward sign that the creature recognized his attempt to communicate with it, there were no facial expressions, its face as immovable as rock in most places with flickering streaks of molten magma seeping from between the solid parts of the creature. There was no understandable body language save perhaps aggression and anticipation, and whether the magma entity was even capable of human speech was equally impossible to determine as the only noise it made was the grinding of rocks against each other and the bubbling of the furnace inside the creature. If it did have sentience it either completely ignored Richard's words or simply did not understand them. As it came down the stairs the steps made of marble cracked under its weight, its eyes two menacingly glowing orange pinpricks glaring at Richard. Its crude hands malformed into a sort of funnel from which black smoke escaped and an orange glow, like the mouth of a volcano ..

"Clear!" Devon shouted, hoping Richard would get the warning, but not the slow-moving lava beast. Steam scolded Devon's face and hands as he slapped the putty on the pipe and aimed it at the lava creature. A focused beam of water shot at the magma entity. While for humans the water was scolding hot a creature made of magma had different parameters for comfort. The magma cracks began to crystalize under the water's cooling effect, and with it the magma monster's steps grew slower, less mobile, and for a moment it appeared to stand still alltogether.
(while the skin of your face and hands is painful and red you managed to soak the damage). The extra successes have cooled the molten rock down. It will need to make a strength roll to break free, but it is not helpless and more than likely will break free at some point. It needed 4 successes this round, 3 next round, 2 the round after that, etc)

The rock monster strained to break free from its petrifying shape, forcing its inward lava core to the surface to splinter its rigid hide and regain movement. The fleshings would burn for their insolence!
(but not this round as it failed its strength roll to break free)

Outside, Claire began to inventorize her surroundings, her ADEI downloading the information she needed to puzzle together the components to build a bomb. This was not going to be easy without any tools. It would require some quick thinking and rapid assembly.
There were cars parked nearby, cars had gasoline. She saw a truck left behind by the driver after the initial shockwave. It was stacked with water containers. She glanced at her watch. It could be used as a timer. She'd need wiring. She'd need the car battery as well.
Claire went to work.
(Claire will be assembling a bomb made of water containers filled with gasoline, a car battery and a digital watch. It'll take a couple of rounds)

Jacki still struggled with the man-machine. It now tried to swipe at her with his left fist, sharp blades protruding from between the knuckles. Jacki ducked and narrowly escaped a claw to the face, then planted her own fist squarely in the cyborg's lower abdomen. A low growl escaped the burly man but Jacki realized her opponent's skin and bones were likely enhanced to witstand the impact of her punches. She hadn't fought anything like this before. This one could match her pound for pound. Metal versus mutations.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:45, Sat 23 Apr 2016.
Storyteller
GM, 135 posts
Sat 23 Apr 2016
at 13:37
  • msg #80

Scene 2b: Portentum

(round 4, post your actions, lets see if we can finish this round in 3 days :)
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:39, Sat 23 Apr 2016.
Richard Jackson
player, 11 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Sat 23 Apr 2016
at 19:45
  • msg #81

Scene 2b: Portentum

There's a thin smile that crosses Richard's expression as the EDE slows and comes to a halt -- it lasts only a moment, but it's there.

Then, business all over again.  "MOVE!" he shouts to the other two Technocrats, slapping Sandra on the shoulder and leading the charge down the stairs to hopeful safety.  "Get to a clear radius!  This place is still coming down around us!"

OOC: running running running down the stairs and out.
Claire Blanc
player, 12 posts
Sat 23 Apr 2016
at 20:56
  • msg #82

Scene 2b: Portentum

Claire continued her construction of the makeshift explosive, being careful to get the air-fuel mixture as close to ideal as possible by letting the fuel pumps atomize the gasoline between the various containers while she worked on other components. "I really need to begin carrying a gun."
Sandra Reyes
player, 15 posts
Void Engineers - PDC
Dimensional Sci. Expert
Sun 24 Apr 2016
at 15:00
  • msg #83

Scene 2b: Portentum

Sandra was keying in commands into her gauntlet when Richard urged her on. She stumbled forward, stopped, and twisted her torso back towards the lava creature.

"Wait! Almost...!" she shouted, tapping the touch screen a final time to execute the commands. She extended her palm towards the monster as the emitters in the multi-field array hummed and glowed. The air between the two shimmered with waves of energy.

When the burst finished, she wasted no further time. Sandra spun on her heels and sprinted back the way they had entered the building.

Though she had not had any time to properly analyze the data that she had gathered, it was likely that the lava creature was a dimensional entity. By manipulating the local Umbral signature surrounding it she hoped to "tag" the creature. Perhaps later they could find a way to work together to bring it down from a distance with their combined efforts of Inspired Science. Or at least this might make it easier to track it down.

07:41, Today: Sandra Reyes rolled 2 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 with rolls of 3,7,6.  The Reach and the View, Dimensional Vibration a (Data 2, DS 2).

I'm assuming base 5, +1 fast casting, -1 personalized instrument, +1 magical effect that's not a Procedure.

Storyteller
GM, 137 posts
Sun 24 Apr 2016
at 16:55
  • msg #84

Scene 2b: Portentum

(where can i find a description of that procedure sandra?)
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 52 posts
Mon 25 Apr 2016
at 01:27
  • msg #85

Scene 2b: Portentum

Despite the clinging pain of too hot water, Devon laughed with relief as the monster slowed to a stop. He waved his companions forward and ran down the stairs, glancing at his iPad. "Our evac's engaged, do we run while they delay for us, or support them?"

He wasn't sure which response he would prefer. He wanted to help, but against these opponents, he wasn't sure what he could do. Wait, was that-- ++Agent Tanner, what's the nature of your engaged target?++

He hoped that was the appropriate language protocol (hell, were they supposed to have codenames for fieldwork? There was no way in hell these comms were secure enough, any broadcast could be monitored), but was much more concerned with getting out alive. A cybernetic foe could, depending on the technology involved, be hacked, and he'd seen an entire production run of HITs with those wannabe-Wolverine claws when he'd been surfing the archives a while ago.

Too late he realized he'd left the clay behind, but what else could he do? Oh man, he was gonna get such a write-up...

Y'know. Assuming he survived.

Running and dodging, probably towards Jacki unless countermanded.
James Ellings
Enforcer, 30 posts
Iteration X
Mon 25 Apr 2016
at 07:40
  • msg #86

Scene 2b: Portentum

Continuing to run upwards as the sounds of shouting above gave him at least some hope that the rest of the team were ahead James heard the chatter from Devon over the communications with a brief clench of his jaw. Sounded like things outside were still ongoing, meaning this matter could be taking a turn for the wqorst fairly quickly. They needed to get people together again and get some sort of coverup going before the authorities turned up.
Storyteller
GM, 139 posts
Mon 25 Apr 2016
at 19:56
  • msg #87

Scene 2b: Portentum

"MOVE!", Richard came down the stairs as James looked up, slipping on the water running down the stairs. Devon followed right behind him, covered in dust splashed with water. Sandra successfully managed to work out how to capture the entity's unique quantum frequency and plug the information into her visor, allowing her track it and possibly affect it from a distance.
And then the creature broke free, its basalt skin cracked, magma seeping through the cracks, its mobility restored. Sandra ran after the others.
(Devon you are still on the third floor at the end of this round so reaching Jacki will take more time but you did spot her through a broken window on your way down)

The cyborg's plasma gun, began transforming into a different weapon as it took another swing at Jacki with its claws. Jacki blocked his claw arm, sliding under his arm and tried to kick him in the knee, but royally miscalculated and tripped herself. She cursed as the HITmark swiveled around, its weapon ready for use, only to find it jammed ..

(Claire, where are you setting up your explosive?)

In his sanctum sanctorum the man with the blue robes continued to weave a flurry of barbaric names of power into an incantation ..
Storyteller
GM, 140 posts
Mon 25 Apr 2016
at 20:24
  • msg #88

Scene 2b: Portentum

(new round, lets hear your actions, i liked the pacing this round)
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:24, Mon 25 Apr 2016.
James Ellings
Enforcer, 31 posts
Iteration X
Wed 27 Apr 2016
at 07:03
  • msg #89

Scene 2b: Portentum

Having just run up the stairs seeing others running down them again did not do much for James' mood, especially given Devon's voice over communications to Jackie. That a few minutes ago would have been damn helpful. The thing at the top of the stairs rapidly heating back up to lava levels did not improve matters.

Beginning to head back down keeping easy pace with the others as he pulled his guns free of their holsters he left communications off and instead spoke aloud to those running, with the occasional glance back as he put himself to the rear of the group covering their descent, "You do understand that going outside with this following is going to be a cover-up FUBAR right? We need it down in here, watch for extinguishers as we go and if you spot any collect them. Let's see if we can cool the thing down again, if it's some sort of lava thing it's going to be a damn sight easier to crack when partially extinguished."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:07, Wed 27 Apr 2016.
Richard Jackson
player, 12 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Wed 27 Apr 2016
at 13:36
  • msg #90

Scene 2b: Portentum

"We can't cover -anything- up if we take a half-ton of impact at five thousand degrees," Richard shot back, a flicker of generalized irritation in his expression -- it had been a long time since he'd had to sprint for any reason, and the effort was not a little bit taxing.  "That thing is more spry than it looks.  Devon, Sandra, where's Lauren?  Was she with you when the EDE arrived?  ++Claire, what's your sitrep?++"

Away from the immediate and impending danger of the EDE, he could think a little more clearly, eyes out for emergency spots -- where there was an ADE, there was likely to be a fire extinguisher, and vis versa...

OOC: Still running, also now looking for possible support for anything James does.
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 53 posts
Wed 27 Apr 2016
at 13:43
  • msg #91

Scene 2b: Portentum

"Not saying you're wrong," Devon said, moving quickly down the stairs. "But no way in hell those are standard RDs. I'd, uh, bet my life, present situation excluded, that those things are Marauders and their woop-de-woo crazy weird nightmare beasties. That's a whole different set of Protocols, and I'm pretty sure 'Call in every big gun you've got' is high on that list of commands. 'Survive' is on the list, too. Cover up for them is post-facto, and above our pay grade."

Lauren, Jesus, he'd almost forgotten her... "Uh, and Lauren, she got nabbed. That portal kinda swallowed her... or something."

He kept an eye out for extinguishers as he went, but it was a surreal feeling doing so. Fire extinguishers? Against that thing? But water had been worked, so flame-retardant foam would, too... especially if he could find some convenient common cleaning supplies...

Meanwhile though, if Jacki got taken out, they'd be surrounded, and that would be game over. He tapped a few commands onto his iPad, sending one of the drones outside onto a suicide crash-course with her assailant, hoping to buy her a necessary distraction.

If that leap of logic is too much for Devon, let me know and I'll change it, but Marauders seems like a solid prognosis given how weird things are right now. Also I have no idea if the drone dive would be an attack or how to do that. Would it juts be a Data-based attack that sacrifices the tool used? I'm open to whatever, not even looking to do damage so much as help out.
Sandra Reyes
player, 17 posts
Void Engineers - PDC
Dimensional Sci. Expert
Wed 27 Apr 2016
at 19:36
  • msg #92

Scene 2b: Portentum

Sandra scrambled after everyone else. She felt mounting pressure to help her team deal with this threat on top of the leg-shaking terror she felt as they fled for their lives.

Sandra called up the readouts from her earlier scans. The data was superimposed over her view of reality, but sprinting made it difficult to gleam any meaningful information on the spur of the moment.

"There are temporal disturbances in the area too. Whoever did this can manipulate not only the Gauntlet but also space-time! Can't read much more than that at the moment...!" she called out, huffing between phrases. Hoping that this little bit of knowledge of the enemy's capabilities would somehow help the others.

"If the threat is as strong with spacial and temporal manipulation as they are with dimensional, containing only this building may not be enough!"
Claire Blanc
player, 13 posts
Thu 28 Apr 2016
at 02:28
  • msg #93

Scene 2b: Portentum

In reply to Richard Jackson (msg # 90):

"I am in ze parking lot building a bomb for your large destructive friend. Are you set to arrive soon?" She replied through the ADEI with a surprisingly calm thought while busily working to finish her contraption.
Storyteller
GM, 143 posts
Thu 28 Apr 2016
at 16:02
  • msg #94

Scene 2b: Portentum

Another quake shook the wounded building. It trembled violently and screamed a loud sustained thundering roar of concrete shattering and metal buckling as the 7th and the sixth floor crashed into the 5th floor, sending out a thick cloud of dust through the building. Having been build with LA's geological problems in mind the building had been made to withstand minor earthquakes but these were unfortunately not minor shakes. The last remaining ceiling tiles and lighting fixtures came loose. The stairs right in front of James and the others broke in two, creating a meter wide gap between the top and lower half of the stairs. Looking down Richard could see the main lobby 7 meters down ...

Outside Claire was close to finishing her explosive. Given the building's current broken structure it was possible the whole building was going to come down when the explosive was set off but by this time, after the second quake, there was a 89,4% chance it was going to come down within the next minute or so regardless of her explosive. As long as her team was out of the building before she set off the explosive the building itself was an acceptable loss if it buried a Reality deviant before it was exposed to the nearby sleepers.

The cyborg's weapon had transformed into a machine gun, parts and pieces shifting and sliding into new positions, wires snaking across the weapon linked it to the cyborg's nervous system, a bullet belt popped from the machine man's lower arm and slotted into the weapon. Jacki was faster and knocked the weapon's aim away from her body, then kicked the cyborg's teeth in. The bullet rain embedded the bullets from the machine gun in the van behind her and ricocheted against the pavement. The walking arsenal seemed to barely feel the impact but spat a bloodied tooth out and grinned.

(Richard, Devon, James all receive 1 hp of debris damage. Sandra managed to avoid falling debris)

Richard, Devon, Sandra, James, you can jump to the lower stair section and continue running down the stairs to the lobby. You could maybe try to jump down to the lobby but 7 meters is pretty high. In either of those cases you will need to make a athletics+strength roll diff.6, either to jump across safely, or to jump down without damage. Alternatively you can seek another route as there are two hallways leading into a set of offices to either side. There should be emergency stairs somewhere.

(Claire, while there is not a parking lot (remember the cars were parked under the building) there is room nearby the entrance for four individual parking spots for guests. One of them is where the car is parked that James was investigating earlier.

(Devon, usually this would require a knowledge roll of some sort but marauders were specifically mentioned as possible suspects so it's not a huge leap of logic in this case)

This message was last edited by the GM at 16:27, Thu 28 Apr 2016.
Storyteller
GM, 144 posts
Thu 28 Apr 2016
at 19:13
  • msg #95

Scene 2b: Portentum

New round, new chances. Lets hear your actions! Those inside the building are currently on the second floor
Richard Jackson
player, 13 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Thu 28 Apr 2016
at 23:12
  • msg #96

Scene 2b: Portentum

"++Four on the second floor and descending.  Lauren has been taken by opposition.  Advise you blow it as soon as we're all at safe distance.++"

Richard rotated his shoulder in a circle, wincing as he felt where a bit of concrete had cracked him on the back, and eyed the drop below.  Time was rapidly running out.  "Let's see how well I remember how to fall," he murmured -- steeling himself, he took the leap down to the lobby...

OOC: 18:11, Today: Richard Jackson failed (no successes) using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 ((7,5,1)).  With WP, one success total.
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 54 posts
Fri 29 Apr 2016
at 02:35
  • msg #97

Scene 2b: Portentum

"Oh, hell," Devon muttered, seeing the potential fall distance. "Y'know, you only need a speed of about 12m/sec to risk death in a fall... so barely anything past a second of free fall... but people have been known to die from even just a few feet of distance."

He looked around at his companions. "Uh. Sorry. I talk when I'm nervous."

Shaking his head, he took a few steps back and tried to clear his head of the plethora of distractions around him. He took a deep breath and ran.

I don't suppose there's time for a Data procedure to plot a course as part of this? Assuming not: Devon Arc rolled 2 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 ((5,6,8)).

Whew.

Storyteller
GM, 148 posts
Sat 30 Apr 2016
at 09:39
  • msg #98

Scene 2b: Portentum

(devon, just to avoid confusion, did you jump across or down?)
James Ellings
Enforcer, 34 posts
Iteration X
Sat 30 Apr 2016
at 13:02
  • msg #99

Scene 2b: Portentum

"Marauder protocol is KOS. On the other hand doing it in a collapsing building is not my idea of a working tactic." To say nothing of the fact that they had taken Lauren, making the whole scenario a cockup from start to finish. Wincing where he had been winged by a chunk of collapsing building James dropped onto the communications again for a moment, "Richard's got the right idea of when to set it off. If you're around the cars out front one of them's got a briefcase under it, grab it before you move away would you?"

Taking moment to steady himself by the edge of the point James eyed the drop down vs across and followed Richard. With any luck he could get the others down a bit better from there and the extra distance between the pursuing entity could not hurt.

OC: botched but technically a failure since I spent the WP as noted in the roll. Oh goody.
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 55 posts
Sun 1 May 2016
at 04:56
  • msg #100

Scene 2b: Portentum

Ack, sorry. That was across, Devon is not tough enough to absorb a 20+ foot fall, especially with his athletics level of "plays pickup basketball games on the weekends so he doesn't turn completely into a desk-bound potato."
Sandra Reyes
player, 19 posts
Void Engineers - PDC
Dimensional Sci. Expert
Sun 1 May 2016
at 20:23
  • msg #101

Scene 2b: Portentum

Sandra gulped in spite of herself as she saw the distance she had to cross. Though she kept in shape, she was by no means an athlete, much less a gymnast to be able to take that kind of a fall. Nor did she have the equipment for a proper quantum teleportation jump--she was just supposed to analyze the Gauntlet on this mission. But she did have the multi-field array...

Sandra keyed in commands to contract the mass-energy tensor field. She briefly hesitated on the next step. She had never done this outside of a lab, not always with stellar results, and never on herself. But with no time for anything else, and before she could change her mind, she altered in the charge-density field of space-time in a bubble surrounding her.

The strange, electrical tingling feeling swept all over Sandra's body just as she jumped.

13:07, Today: Sandra Reyes rolled 1 success using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 with rolls of 9,4,3.  Reduce the fall distance, Correspondence 3.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:29, Sun 01 May 2016.
Storyteller
GM, 149 posts
Mon 2 May 2016
at 21:09
  • msg #102

Scene 2b: Portentum

James leapt down through the meter-wide crack in the stairs, hoping to help the others drop down into the lobby. An aftershock knocked him off balance as he leapt. His rightfoot slipped as he hit the lobbyfloor and he slammed against the tiled floor.
(James you take 1 hp of damage. I rolled your stamina to soak the damage but unfortunately that didn't net any successes)

Sandra warped space-time around herself, just enough to decrease the distance between here and there and then she leapt. It was enough to absorb the impact when she hit the tiled floor below.
(Sandra your effect reduces the distance you fall by 10 ft/1 success rolled. You'd have suffered 1 hp but your stamina soaked the damage)

Devon leapt over the crevice, landing safely on the lower part of the stairs. Scrambling back on his feet he realized he still had to get down to the lobby the normal way, the slower way and he began to run.

Richard's jump down was less than stellar but he managed to land on his feet more gracefully than he'd hoped.
(Richard, you managed to land on your feet and absorb some of the impact but you take 1 hp of damage nonetheless as you didn't soak the damage that remained)

As Claire's juryrigging skill slowly faded from her concious mind again she glanced at the nature of her finished work. Would it do the trick?

The HITMark didn't have a good day as his jammed machine gun now stopped functioning alltogether despite the cyborg having Jacki dead to rights. Again the weapon started transforming . Jacki began realizing her luck was going to run out at one point or another. She smashed her foot in his face again but the bastard kept a straight face, except for the slightest hint of a mocking grin.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:42, Mon 02 May 2016.
Richard Jackson
player, 14 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Tue 3 May 2016
at 00:54
  • msg #103

Scene 2b: Portentum

Richard grits his teeth against the sharp-and-dull throb from his knees -- it's been a long time since his athlete days, and he'd be feeling that impact tonight.  Which he planned to do, on account of the exit being so close now...

He spares one glance back for Devon, making sure the other Technocrat is still on his feet and coming, and books it for the exit -- lingering just at the entrance to watch the other man, make sure he can get out in time...

...and if the worst happens, to order the detonation.  The one Enlightened operative compromised on this mission is already too many.

OOC: Running toward the exit, but hanging back long enough to be able to give a go signal to Claire if aforementioned worst happens.
Sandra Reyes
player, 20 posts
Void Engineers - PDC
Dimensional Sci. Expert
Tue 3 May 2016
at 02:41
  • msg #104

Scene 2b: Portentum

Sandra landed with a sharp pain in her ankle that caused her to stumble. The stinging quickly subsided however and, with a glance back upwards, she knew it could have been a lot worse. The view also reminded her that the building could be coming down at any minute--due to the lava creature or her team's containment measures...

With a renewed sense of urgency, she turned and sprinted after Richard.
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 57 posts
Tue 3 May 2016
at 04:09
  • msg #105

Scene 2b: Portentum

Devon ran like the dickens.
James Ellings
Enforcer, 37 posts
Iteration X
Tue 3 May 2016
at 10:03
  • msg #106

Scene 2b: Portentum

Letting out a brief curse as he hit the floor James levered himself up awkwardly, looking up to where Devon was still following them. Checking to make sure the others were still running he moved up to a crouched position and waited for Devon, ready to take a pot shot at the possible Marauder if it tried to intefere with his escape.
Claire Blanc
player, 14 posts
Sat 7 May 2016
at 18:40
  • msg #107

Scene 2b: Portentum

Claire dashed off to seek out any cover she could afford to claim while holding the salvaged car's remote key fob in her hand - now the trigger for the hopefully functioning bomb.
Storyteller
GM, 153 posts
Sun 8 May 2016
at 16:44
  • msg #108

Scene 2b: Portentum

Claire ran off to find cover. It was easy to imagine that the explosion would bring the building down and with 7 floors it was hard to predict which way it would fall.
(but remember with Actively Actuarial you may be able to manipulate the building to crumble the safest way)

Devon heard the rock monster follow close behind him. It did not however follow him down the stairs. Instead it crashed down the crevace in the stairs but being too large it got stuck.

James saw what passed for the creature's legs stick from the hole in the stairs above the lobby as the molten rock monster began to glow and melt the concrete around itself, slowly melting through it, sinking down slowly.

Richard managed to make it to the exit safely before the creature dropped down into the lobby.

Devon rounded the corner just as the others made it to the exit. Above him he saw the magma monster fall down in a rain of molten concrete down to the tiled lobby floor. A 3 meter wide spiderweb of splintered tiles radiated from where it landed.
(Devon, you can try to sneak past the creature as it gets back on its feet but if you fail it will see you and make an attack. There are also other routes of escape. First the lobby is mostly glass windows. Second, from the lobby the hallway that the stairs are connected to runs all the way to the back of the building and four corridors lead to offices. Finally James might be able  to distract the creature
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:45, Sun 08 May 2016.
Sandra Reyes
player, 21 posts
Void Engineers - PDC
Dimensional Sci. Expert
Sun 8 May 2016
at 19:42
  • msg #109

Scene 2b: Portentum

Sandra burst out of the building at a dead sprint. Her limbs flailed gracelessly along, carrying her a short distance away before her adrenaline started draining away and her body started to give in to the fatigue that she had not felt up to that point. She took huge gulps of air as the fire of weariness swept over her legs and torso.

Sandra looked around, with another wave of fear rushing through her, searching for other members of her team. Though she was out of the building, by no means was she or her team safe yet.
Richard Jackson
player, 15 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Tue 10 May 2016
at 03:36
  • msg #110

Scene 2b: Portentum

When the magma-based EDE slid and crashed into the floor not tremendously far behind him, Richard decided he had made the right move in taking the gap in a single leap.  Hurdling one of the cars parked outside, he came down with a solid -thunk- close to Claire.  James was still close enough to take shots as needed.  One hand went to his own earbud.  "++Your call, agent Ellings.  Make sure all hands are accounted for and give the word.++"

They'd already lost one agent in this cluster-pluck.  Richard really, really hoped that count didn't go to two.
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 61 posts
Wed 11 May 2016
at 02:52
  • msg #111

Scene 2b: Portentum

Devon desperately wished life were more like a Looney Tunes cartoon. The lava freak would've just gotten nice and stuck all firm-like, and Devon and the gang would b tickling his tootsies now.

They'd also be immortal, and he was poignantly feeling the lack of that right about now. He looked around, eyeing the windows... yeah. That would have to do. "If I get out o this, I'm applying for more combat training, I swear," he muttered, reaching into a pouch on his tool belt. He was trained, but he wasn't an amazing shot by any stretch of the imagination. Luckily, he just had to keep pulling the trigger until there were more than a couple holes in the same window. "Schwarzenneger, eat your heart out."

++Firing and exiting through silica, cover me. I'll report when I'm clear.++


So saying, he shot til it went click and ran, arms over his face.
James Ellings
Enforcer, 41 posts
Iteration X
Wed 11 May 2016
at 07:28
  • msg #112

Scene 2b: Portentum

Retreating as he saw Devon aiming for the window James hesitated as he considered taking the shot himself but instead began a retreat of his own as Devon began shooting, aware that he could easily be outrun as soon as gravity took over on Devon when he got through the window. Picking up on Richard's request he replied, ++"The call is on the demo agent. As soon as me and Devon hit the pavement we will run. When they think we are clear of the blast area trigger it."++

Out through the entrance James waited for Devon to make his more dramatic exit and, as soon as the man did, moved to help with his recovery. They hopefully would be able to start running quicker than the thing inside did and get clear.
Storyteller
GM, 156 posts
Thu 12 May 2016
at 19:06
  • msg #113

Scene 2b: Portentum

Claire sat huddled behind a car, her mind already racing ahead of herself preparing to calculate the probability of perfectly collapsing a seven story building right behind her collegues but fast enough to bury the magma manifestation under a tower of concrete, glass and metal, and making sure the building wouldn't bury her team as well .. the task was rather daunting. And with her temporary knowledge of making make-shift bombs slowly fading from her mind again her she'd need to keep her mind clear as she mentally juggled a million different things.
And they kept on piling.
Police sirens in the distance closing in announced the next problem.
Trying to explain away blowing up a building recently the target of a fire.
The bulletholes in the van.
The guards' that protected the lawfirm offices.
The bystander witnesses.
Jacki fighting a large beggar with a metal arm.

Jacki!

Claire's head swiveled in Jacki's direction just as the cyborg's arm-turned-flamethrower spewed fire in Jacki's face. The spread was too wide to dodge, even for an biotechnically enhanced enforcer. Jacki dropped on the floor screaming as she caught on fire, and began rolling to smother the flames.

Richard ran through the front door first and leapt over a nearby car for cover, followed by a bewildered Sandra, her legs nearly giving in from sheer exhaustion. Richard heard the sirens blaring nearby, police, ambulance, police. They'd be here soon.

Claire ducked as the window was shattered by someone emptying an ammo clip through the tempered glass window which formed a fractured web of glass before it shattered into a cloud of small silicate granules, through which Devon made his grand escape.
Alarmed by the gunfire the magma monster turned to watch Devon smash through the bulletriddled glass and raised its glowing arms. Devon's silhouette was framed by the bright orange blast of flames that followed his jump to safety.
(Devon you take 2 points of fire damage. I rolled for dodge and soak. While your clothes are ruined they didn't catch on fire)

James turned and ran through the front door as soon as he saw Devon blast the window to smithereens. Outside havoc reigned. Sirens nearby, a few blocks away. Devon running for cover, his burned back exposed by the smoldering coat he was trying to extricate himself from as he ran away from the tall building. Jacki screaming and rolling. A beggar with a metal arm, transforming once again. Several eyewitnesses foolish enough not to flee the scene.

Chaos ruled the streets.

And with everyone except Jacki now having found cover it was up to Claire to bring the house down without killing everyone else.

No pressure.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:08, Thu 12 May 2016.
Storyteller
GM, 158 posts
Sat 14 May 2016
at 09:02
  • msg #114

Scene 2b: Portentum

New round.
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:02, Sat 14 May 2016.
Richard Jackson
player, 16 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Mon 16 May 2016
at 05:07
  • msg #115

Scene 2b: Portentum

The sound of flames and screaming from outside of the building, 'behind' their cover is very much unexpected.  Richard turns at the sound, wondering immediately if this is a multiple-prong attack -- and, seeing someone Jackie's size, shape, and wardrobe sense on the ground, with something he can only presume is a generations-old HIT Mark looming over her, decides that things are only getting worse.  It's operating in the open, with bystanders --

Can't stop to think about that now.  A quick glance to his side yields that Claire has seen it, too -- once she's free of all the glass shards.  Devon's escaping, he hopes.  Can't think about that either; it's in Claire's hands.

Out comes his sidearm.  Off goes the safety.  He is adequate at best with a gun, but he can at least distract the cyborg before it finishes the job.

OOC: Drawing the (mundane) heavy pistol he carries and firing at the cyborg -- Dex+Firearms pool of 3.
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 64 posts
Wed 18 May 2016
at 08:26
  • msg #116

Scene 2b: Portentum

Devon continued moving away, tapping furiously at his iPad. He was attempting to utilize simple predictive algorithms based on the known materials of the building to plot out useful routes for himself (and anyone else) to remain safe and clear of the falling debris... He spent a long moment... too long, perhaps, deciding if he'd be spending his time better by figuring out ways to maneuver their enemies into the path of the building, but he was in no position to limit their actions. Better to keep to what was more easily possible.

I'll go ahead with a Matter + Data effect to try and keep myself and anyone else successes allow in clear paths.
James Ellings
Enforcer, 42 posts
Iteration X
Wed 18 May 2016
at 14:29
  • msg #117

Scene 2b: Portentum

With general chaos reigning at this point James tracked Devon's movement for a second to satisfy himself that the other would be getting clear enough before turning to Jacki, still likely in the danger zone when the building came down. He couldn't get her out of there in time and the thing she was fighting also would be unlikely to let them try. So instead he needed to try to make the best of the situation.

Jacki on fire, still by the van where she'd been attacked.
The entity...was it a cyborg? Certianly it looked like some James had seen but he was not certain. Assuming it was it would likely not be overly put off by his shots but perhaps distracted enough.
Richard behind drawing his own gun.
The rest of the team heading away for cover.
Witnesses.
Claire ready to set off the bomb.

++"Jacki, roll under the van towards us. Best cover you can get. Claire give us a countdown from three." As he finished the last word James started his own timer seeing it flash up briefly int the cover of his glasses before drawing both guns and allowing himself a brief smile. God bless John Woo.


OC: Golden Gunman with Foci -1, Fast Casting +1, point of Quintessence -1. Difficulty 4, 1 WP spent for Success. Total 4 successes

Per the rote I believe I can dual wield without penalty for the round and get the extra actions for Time so 2 extra actions (2 for 1). So 2 actions hail of bullets on the robot, last action turn away and start the running since the building is about to come down. Worried less about dropping the target as keeping it in place for when the building comes down

15:26, Today: James Ellings rolled 2 successes using 7d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6.  Shooting.

15:26, Today: James Ellings rolled 2 successes using 7d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6.  Shooting.

15:26, Today: James Ellings rolled 1 success using 7d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6.  And yet more shooting.

15:26, Today: James Ellings failed (2 failures) using 7d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6.  One last shot for the money.


Sandra Reyes
player, 24 posts
Void Engineers - PDC
Dimensional Sci. Expert
Wed 18 May 2016
at 21:11
  • msg #118

Scene 2b: Portentum

++Reyes c... clear!++ panted Sandra into the comms. She scrambled over to a nearby car. Her back thumped into the metal and her mind raced to think of ways to help contain this mess.

Lines of data scrolled in the lower left of her display, showing micro local disturbances caused by Devon's scans. It gave her an idea. She peeked around the car towards the building.

++Containment will be impossible if... if more entities breach through,++ She said with strained breath and alarm in her voice. ++Attempting to reinforce the Gauntlet...++

Sandra keyed in commands on the touch screen. The range on the emitter was limited, but perhaps if she could construct a carrier wave, she could use it to extend the effect far enough to cover the building.

13:47, Today: Sandra Reyes rolled 1 success using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 5 with rolls of 3,3,5.  Fortify Gauntlet (DS 2), adding Correspondence 2 for range.
Claire Blanc
player, 16 posts
Thu 26 May 2016
at 21:40
  • msg #119

Scene 2b: Portentum

Claire took a small peek from over her cover as everyone cleared the area and then ducked back down herself. "trois - deux - un" Once finished she pressed the keyfob down to 'Unlock' the doors, now set to arm the weapon, and then 'Start' to detonate the cobbled together weapon. If it worked correctly, the device should mist the fuel in the air just before setting off a small chemical explosive salvaged from the airbags. In short; a thermobaric bomb.
Storyteller
GM, 170 posts
Fri 27 May 2016
at 09:44
  • msg #120

Scene 2b: Portentum

Sandra's efforts were not in vain. Somewhere far from the disaster area the bluecloaked man howled in frustration as his portal failed to open to retrieve his cybernetic ally.

The elemental creature crashed through the lobby's side window, in search of Devon. It stood around scanning its surroundings for the fleshlings it sought to roast at the behest of its hidden master.

On the other side of the building's entrance, a couple of dozen meters away the cyborg attempted to continue roasting Jacki. Despite its bulk the cyborg moved fast, advancing toward the van Jacki was rolling to while trying to douse the flames. Richard narrowly missed the cyborg's head.

Today: Storyteller, on behalf of Richard Jackson, failed (no successes) using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 ((2,4,5)).

James had better luck. His bullet hit the cyborg's shoulder and despite the armored underhide managed to wound it. It glanced sideways looking straight  in James' direction before the collapsing building and dustcloud obscured him.

11:06, Today: Storyteller, on behalf of James Ellings, rolled 4 successes using 5d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 (damage).
11:11, Today: Storyteller failed (no successes) using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 (soak).
11:13, Today: Storyteller rolled 2 successes using 4d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 (armor).


Devon realized everyone was probably best off remaining where they were currently hidden although it was impossible to guess what Claire's explosion was going to do to the already weakened structure. The unfortunate exception was Jacki and he hoped she'd find sufficient cover under the van.

Claire calculated with lightning speed the likelihood of the tower neatly collapsing without burying any of her team: 22.54%. Not great odds but certainly in the realm of possibility.

Storyteller, on behalf of Claire Blanc (Actively Actuarial), rolled 3 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 5 ((6,7,7)).

The fuel-air bomb went off, the fuel misting into the air a fraction of a second before the chemical explosion ignited the expanding fuel cloud. The car was consumed by an blinding bright orange cloud that blew the elemental creature back into the building. The explosion bloomed into a giant ball of fire. The booming shockwave that immediately followed shook the building's foundations. It was the last push the building needed to collapse. With a thundering death roar the concrete giant crumbled.

As the floors started to collapse onto each other thick clouds of dust rolled in from the site obscuring the ultimate result of the explosion under a brown-grey murky veil. The explosion turned the sound of a seven story building collapsing into a muted rumble for a few seconds until  ears recovered from the sonic assault. For a moment it was eerily quiet and dark as the dust slowly started to settle and the last debris fell victim to gravity ...
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:45, Fri 27 May 2016.
Storyteller
GM, 172 posts
Fri 27 May 2016
at 15:28
  • msg #121

Scene 2b: Portentum

(for the moment combat is over but remember there is a lot of work to do still, witnesses to "convince", police officers to attend to, supervisors to contact and you need to confirm two kills, one cyborg and one magma elemental)
Richard Jackson
player, 17 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Sat 28 May 2016
at 00:26
  • msg #122

Scene 2b: Portentum

The moments following the collapse of the building were some of the tensest Richard had experienced in a long, long time.  The detonation-induced ringing in his ears was slow to die away, but by increments the sounds of the city began to re-establish themselves.  He took out a kerchief from his pocket and held it up against his nose and mouth against the omnipresent cloud of dust -- hardly hazmat gear, but the best that could be managed -- and began breathing normally, slowing his head down.

"++All personnel, chime in,++" he subvocalized over the line.  "++Sandra, we need confirmation on the EDE's status.  James, can you locate Jackie and the cyborg?  Claire or Devon, inform Control and get a chain of command re-established.  If we are clear of hostiles, I recommend we move to Contingency 6.++"

The distant whine of police sirens was indication enough that his own specialty was about to become relevant.
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 65 posts
Sat 28 May 2016
at 01:50
  • msg #123

Scene 2b: Portentum

++Ugh. Agent Arc, sounding off. Attempting base contact.++

He was glad he wasn't in charge of spin on this one... though he could probably chip in. ++I can start re-routing traffic away from the area, keep the nosey-types locked up in traffic. Won't be hard with all this commotion.++

So saying, he began the usual encryption protocols necessary for base communication.
James Ellings
Enforcer, 45 posts
Iteration X
Tue 31 May 2016
at 15:43
  • msg #124

Scene 2b: Portentum

++"Ellings, I'm heading for the van now. Give me a heads up if security or the police start noseying around, I come out of the debris holding a gun someone might not bother with a warning before shooting me."++ Not bothering to dust the mess of his own clothes given he would soon be getting more rubble and detritus on it James headed into the mess after only a momentary pause to adjust his glasses.

Unable to see much further than his own nose in this much of a mess James trusted to his memory as best he could and aimed for where the van was, carefully checking the surroundings as best he could. The odds on something robotic and angry rising up and trying to wrench his head off seemed fairly high at this point.
Storyteller
GM, 173 posts
Tue 31 May 2016
at 16:32
  • msg #125

Scene 2b: Portentum

(OOC: James, roll perception + Alertness (or if you want some form of perceptual magic) to find your way through the dust and smoke)

(Devon, what are you using to reroute traffic?)

Sandra Reyes
player, 25 posts
Void Engineers - PDC
Dimensional Sci. Expert
Tue 31 May 2016
at 19:52
  • msg #126

Scene 2b: Portentum

++Reyes here. Scanning++ Sandra called into the comms as her breathing finally returned to normal. The familiar task of scanning an area for data probably saved her from a mental or emotional breakdown from surviving nearly being torn limb from limb by a lava monster or being blasted to smithereens from a fuel air bomb. Instead, she focused on her work.

Sandra's fingers tapped into the touchpad on her gauntlet. Encouraged with her previous success with the carrier wave, she constructed another to extend her instruments' range to the ruins of the building. "It should work for this too, in theory..." she muttered to herself she keyed in the final commands, extended her palm, and the emitter array hummed.
Sandra Reyes
player, 26 posts
Void Engineers - PDC
Dimensional Sci. Expert
Tue 31 May 2016
at 19:53
  • msg #127

Scene 2b: Portentum

12:44, Today: Sandra Reyes rolled 2 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 with rolls of 5,10,6.  Scan Locality - Correspondence 1/Time 1 / DS 1. Boosting to Correspondence 2 to reach the building.
Claire Blanc
player, 17 posts
Tue 31 May 2016
at 19:55
  • msg #128

Scene 2b: Portentum

Claire crawled out from under the car she had hunkered behind. "I am fine and attempting to re-establish ze connection. " With her ADEI and uplink she tried the remote connection with control, hoping that the dust wasn't going to cause too much interference.
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 66 posts
Tue 31 May 2016
at 22:31
  • msg #129

Scene 2b: Portentum

Devon began tapping into the automatic stop light control servers, an entry-level hack that most serious "security consultants" will try once they think they can get away with it. It was just such a particularly Hollywood hack. From there, he cross-referenced a few easier observation satellites, and started cutting off access to any streets nearby.

Not sure how much of that is mundane security work and how much is Data / Mind to encourage other roads.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:32, Tue 31 May 2016.
Storyteller
GM, 174 posts
Tue 31 May 2016
at 22:39
  • msg #130

Scene 2b: Portentum

Sandra's instruments detected no EDE activity on the material plane. Whatever gave shape to the magma elemental had abandoned the form it inhabited and slinked back to its home dimension. It had shifted frequencies and slipped sideways into another dimensional layer. For the time being Sandra still had a bead on it through the link she'd established prior and she realized technically she could probably track and follow the creature if she wanted to. The notion of going after the EDE on her own to hunt it down in its home dimension wasn't very appealing though.

James felt his way through the thick cloud of dust and smoke, sometimes briefly seeing glimpses of things around him. Piles of rubble consisting of blocks of concrete, brickwork, steel beams formed a disarrayed obstacle course.

Richard did some quick calculations: emergency services would begin arriving at the edge of the cloud in a minute  or so. From there standard disaster protocols would be followed. Their first priority would be to establish a paremeter to keep civilians out of the way. Then emergency personell and police would start swarming the area. The media would soon follow.

Claire received an incoming message through her uplink. "This is HQ. I've just gotten some disturbing reports in from The Hub, our data center, about your area. I need an on-site sit-rep. Do you need assistance? ", Claire recognized Erin's voice from the briefing. Erin sounded calm but very-matter-of-factly.
James Ellings
Enforcer, 46 posts
Iteration X
Wed 1 Jun 2016
at 05:13
  • msg #131

Scene 2b: Portentum

OC - no successes on a Per + Altertness.
Claire Blanc
player, 19 posts
Wed 1 Jun 2016
at 16:19
  • msg #132

Scene 2b: Portentum

++Please standby HQ, I am establishing a secure bridge to zee rest of my team now.++ With that Claire opened encrypted channels to her team's various communications devices so that they could share her connection. "A Uplink and encrypted bridge -as been established as requested."

Claire then focused on dusting herself off - this is why she hated field work. Back in the office nice suites were never ruined.
Storyteller
GM, 181 posts
Thu 2 Jun 2016
at 16:44
  • msg #133

Scene 2b: Portentum

Making his way to where Jacki was last seen was not an easy task. James kept stumbling into debris that was obscured by smoke and dust. The landscape had changed rather drastically and the fog of war had not quite faded yet. James slipped and fell. Nothing too bad, scrapes and bruises and a damaged suit. He continued.

Slowly in front of him the fog dissipated, getting thinner and less opaque and he could make out the van. The sight of a large concrete section of pillar that had crushed the front part of the van made James a little queasy and dashed his hope of getting Jacki out alive. He couldn't find a body though, and neither the cyborg that attacked her. Was it still alive ..

(Make another perception+alertness, james)
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:49, Thu 02 June 2016.
James Ellings
Enforcer, 48 posts
Iteration X
Thu 2 Jun 2016
at 17:00
  • msg #134

Scene 2b: Portentum

OC: No surprises, 0 successes again

Muffling a curse at the sight of the van James pulled clear the gun and moved closer to it, checking underneath for any sign of Jacki or her erstwhile opponent then slowly looping it for cover back to where he had last seen her and the thing she had been fighting. His visbility was still non-existent and he somehow doubted that thing would have the same issues if it was still there.
Richard Jackson
player, 18 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Fri 3 Jun 2016
at 10:40
  • msg #135

Scene 2b: Portentum

Richard nodded to Claire as he took in the scene once again.  "++Agent Jackson reporting in,++" he announced quietly, hand on his earpiece.  "++We were in the process of concluding our investigation of the previous amalgam's headquarters when we came under attack by RDs.  Near the top floor, an EDE was drawn in to attack the agents present.  We chose to withdraw and bring the building on top of it with improvised explosives to neutralize the EDE.  Agent Wilson is MIA, abducted on-site through what we believe to be a dimensional rift.  Agent Tanner is down, possibly KIA, attacked while on watch outside by what appears to be a cyborg of unknown origin.  Minor injuries from most other personnel.++"

He glanced over to Sandra, and a quick observation of her body language suggested she wasn't finding anything they needed to be worried about.  "++EDE confirmed denatured, buried in the rubble.  We have not found sign that the enemy cyborg is still on-site.  Unenlightened emergency services are currently on-route to our location; we have a minute before they arrive.  I plan on spinning the destruction of the building as our having discovered an impromptu methamphetamine lab and its subsequent explosion.  Requesting a spot-check on the plan, and backup as needed.++"
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 68 posts
Fri 3 Jun 2016
at 11:04
  • msg #136

Scene 2b: Portentum

Devon sighed, a bit put-upon. His old municipal passwords were outdated. Time to make a phone call to the appropriate individual. He waited patiently through a couple of rings... "Hey, Frank? I bet you've noticed a bit of a kerfuffle..."

Working to re-route civilian channels into the area. As noted, shouldn't be too hard with contacts and the like, lemme know if I need to roll anything.
Sandra Reyes
player, 27 posts
Void Engineers - PDC
Dimensional Sci. Expert
Sat 4 Jun 2016
at 03:23
  • msg #137

Scene 2b: Portentum

Sandra breathed a sigh of relief as her HUD informed her that no extra dimensional entities were detected in the area. Again she keyed the touchpad to change the display to the raw data. A smile of triumph that she had managed to "tag" the EDE in a way that can be tracked was suddenly replaced by a new feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach that she could very well face the monstrosity again.

When Claire connected the team to HQ, she quickly shook her head at Richard to indicate that she found nothing without interrupting his report. She gave an additional, awkward, thumbs-up and an embarrassed smile that she was not ready with the information in a more timely manner.

When he had finished his initial report, she switched over to the team's channel and quickly said to Richard, ++Good news is no other EDEs detected. The bad news is the magma monster shifted back to its home dimension and was not killed...++

Sandra paused. Self preservation screamed at her to leave it be. But then again... some of her colleagues who had failed to meet standards from Control had suddenly vanished.

++But I 'tagged' it. I can trace where it's going++ she finished, sparing him the technological details.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 03:24, Sat 04 June 2016.
Claire Blanc
player, 21 posts
Sat 4 Jun 2016
at 17:44
  • msg #138

Scene 2b: Portentum

Aria muses to Claire in her head, appearing in her vision as 'sitting' on a piece of rubble. "Oh now you've done it. Control is going to come down and investigate the team about the deaths of fellow enlightened and when everyone feels the pressure they'll throw you under the bus."

Claire furrowed her brow "No, I do not zink so. Our team was not prepared for zis confrontation. Control will understand."

Aria smirks "Maybe, but you better start covering your tight little ass darlin."

Claire glanced over to Sandra and then broadcasts over the comm, though not to Control. "Zis is atypical for Traditionals; zey tend to be more passive and zere was that `itmark too. I zink zat zis may `ave been a trap all along - possibly from a turncoat within ze former team."
Storyteller
GM, 184 posts
Mon 6 Jun 2016
at 08:19
  • msg #139

Scene 2b: Portentum

It stayed quiet for a second or two before Erin's voice returned over the open channel:" ..well .. we'll have to go over the details in debriefing .. ". In the background someone was heard cursing something about having:" .. sent along a VE to deal with EDE's without the need to drop a fucking building on it ..".

Erin chose to ignore the background commentary:" .. A methlab in a guarded burned out law firm? Wouldn't a ruptured gasmain be an easier explanation? Seeing how earthquakes aren't all that uncommon in california and all?".

Mister Light cut in:"I'm sending Ai to your location to deal with the wounded. She'll have backup with her. Stick with Erin's story, localized seismic activity followed by a ruptured gas main".

"VIGIL, we have two missing team members. We have one cyborg and one teleporter on the loose. We need to track them down. That is our team's main focus. Richard, convince whoever is in charge of our cover story. Advice them to stay back. Forget about explaining the cyborg. Most likely there are only a few witnesses who saw something we don't want to reveal to the masses, not enough to create any sort of major shitstorm. A few rumors about advanced cybernetics being in use is not going to harm our cause. We'll deal with the fallout after the fact. Keep your story short and simple. After that help in coordinating the team's efforts. Claire, start up a Dragnet procedure. Devon, assist Claire and find out where those bastards are hiding. Sandra, continue increasing the local gauntlet but first see if you can find out where the other side of that dimensional rift led to. James ... lethal force if there are still targets on site".

Erin chimed in:"Wait for Ai before following potential traces, team".
Sandra Reyes
player, 28 posts
Void Engineers - PDC
Dimensional Sci. Expert
Tue 7 Jun 2016
at 01:32
  • msg #140

Scene 2b: Portentum

Sandra's eyes widened, she hunched, and her cheeks colored.

"B-but...! I sealed... The EDE was..." she sputtered out quietly. She quit speaking, out of the simultaneous shame from being criticized and distracting the team from instructions from Control. As the exchange continued she tried her best to will herself to be invisible.

++Understood++ she said, then tried to cover for her shaking voice with a cough.
Storyteller
GM, 186 posts
Tue 7 Jun 2016
at 20:07
  • msg #141

Scene 2b: Portentum

Frank Langetta was a traffic controller for a decade before making it to management. He caught the attention of VIGIL for being an efficient team player. After setting up a chance meeting with a lowly vampire who was about to snack on poor Frank the Technocracy staged a rescue from the bloodthirsty vampire and Frank easily agreed to aid VIGIL in keeping the city safe. Frank never asked questions, smart enough to realize that the Technocrats were the good guys if vampires were the bad guys and simply assumed they were a secret government agency. He'd become quite a valueble asset in VIGIL's growing spy network. Devon had worked with him before as he was familiarized with citizen spy networks during his training days.

"The crumbling building? That was you people? No, forget it, I don't think I want to know. What can I do for you?".

Today: Storyteller, on behalf of Devon Arc (charisma+spies), rolled 9 successes using 10d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 ((3,9,10,8,8,10,6,7,7,6)).
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 70 posts
Tue 7 Jun 2016
at 22:24
  • msg #142

Scene 2b: Portentum

"Yeah, the less said, the better. We're looking to keep civilians away from the area and potential hostiles, and slow down media involvement. If you could clog up the streets, just gum up the works within about three-four miles, you'll help us out and keep people a lot of safe."

Devon kept his voice calm and bland, what he thought of as an "air traffic control" voice. It was reflection theory, the calmer the person you talk to, the calmer your own emotional state. In actuality, he was in a very... odd mental state. Was he really insulted that he wasn't the lead on comms right now? The major threat was outside his specialty, he knew nothing about DS vibratory scanning, so what was bothering him?

Probably just a side-effect of shock. Loss of rationality, emotional distance from the important events. Shove it to the back and don't worry about it for right now, focus on his job, that's the point of being in an amalgam in the first place. Specialization leads to a smoothly working machine.

Anything else I should get Frank to do for us while I've got him on the line, folks?
Storyteller
GM, 190 posts
Wed 8 Jun 2016
at 18:53
  • msg #143

Scene 2b: Portentum

"Three to four miles is a pretty wide area .. that's a tall order but I'll see what I can do. I can probably give you about two hours before I get a call from the major's office. Good luck with .. whatever", Frank replied.
Richard Jackson
player, 19 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Thu 9 Jun 2016
at 00:53
  • msg #144

Scene 2b: Portentum

"++Is a better idea, Control++" Richard agreed with Erin.  He must be still somewhat dazed if the first thing that came to mind were television shows gone horribly wrong.  "++Working the crowds until contact is made with first responders.++"

He murmurs a brief prayer below his breath -- habit, honestly -- and leaves the slowly-dissipating cloud of dust.  There are uninitiated people who need to be brought back into the comforting safety of mundanity, and he's probably the best person to do just that.

Richard will be simultaneously helping people up onto their feet, doing basic safety disaster protocols, and helping people get their story straight.  If any concerns arise about a shooter (or shooters!), he's going to play up the immediacy of the disaster and distract them with relief that nothing else happened and nobody they know is injured or hurt (probably using some combination of Manipulation + Expression, Subterfuge, or Blatancy, plus his Writing the Open Book rote to reinforce this impression).  When first responders are on site -- hopefully delayed by shenanigans -- we'll have things under control.
James Ellings
Enforcer, 51 posts
Iteration X
Thu 9 Jun 2016
at 09:40
  • msg #145

Scene 2b: Portentum

Continuing to check the immediate area whilst communications were relayed James resisted the urge to snort a laugh at the suggesiton he might have ben going non-lethal. Anything that survived being that close to a collapsing building that option was off the table. On the topic of the EDE he briefly chimed in, "++Can we keep scanning going for anything coming from the other side? I'd rather get as close as I could to a warning before something tears a hole in the world and attempts to imolate my head.++"
Storyteller
GM, 192 posts
Thu 9 Jun 2016
at 18:22
  • msg #146

Scene 2b: Portentum

Richard walked through the slowly dissipating fog of war until things started clearing up slowly. Buildings because visible, here and there small groups of people. Some of them came toward him.

Heavy set hispanic man: "Sir, sir, are you alright?".
Grey haired business woman: "What happened? Was it an earthquake?".
Pimply caucasian teenage boy:"I saw two people fighting, one of them had a metal arm that spewed fire! I took photos!"
Elderly asian man: "I think I heard gunshots".
Blond shorthaired man in black:"Thank God for He has granted you another day to repent your sins, brother".
MIddleaged caucasian man:"Hey man, there's sirens heading this way. You should get yourself checked out. You look like shit".

(richard you can roll appropriate skills or magic rolls. You can choose to roll Writing an OPen Book for each person separately needing 2 successes per target, or affect all of them with 5 successes. Base difficulty is 5. Note that at level 2 Mind can't erase or alter a person's memories but it can affect their emotional state and block or induce impulses).

(James, roll Perception + investigation to see if you can find out what happened after you lost sight of Jacki and the cyborg. difficulty 6. Alternatively you may use magic. Hint? Jacki had a commlink. You have Forces magic)

(Sandra, make a magic roll to see if you can find out where the portal that spat out the EDE originated from. It will be an extended roll as the other side has likely taken measures against detection. It's up to you how many times you want to roll before giving up. It is a level 2 effect as it involves correspondence 2)

(Claire, the cyborg, if it is still somewhere in the vicinity, won't have gotten very far. Roll Genius against difficulty 6. This is an extended roll. You need to decide how many times you want to roll before giving up if unsuccessful. You can roll Intelligence+Spies (7) to reduce the difficulty of the Genius roll. Each success on the Spies roll reduces the difficulty by -1 (max -3).
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:32, Thu 09 June 2016.
James Ellings
Enforcer, 52 posts
Iteration X
Fri 10 Jun 2016
at 09:50
  • msg #147

Scene 2b: Portentum

OC: Magic is one of the things I'd been considering, for infravision in this case. Double checking since it'll be off the glasses that's Diff 6 -1 Focus, -1 if I take a round casting?

2 Successes on Per + Inves

Storyteller
GM, 193 posts
Fri 10 Jun 2016
at 18:37
  • msg #148

Scene 2b: Portentum

James looked around, taking note of heat signatures, but in the smoldering mess that was once a seven story building little was noticeable. There were hot and cold spots but there was no particular pattern that was significant other than confirming that the EDE's physical form had shattered. Continuing scanning his surroundings there was something drawing his attention. The dust and rubble made finding traces very difficult but about 6 meters from the van James noticed a perfectly round shape, colder than the street. James recognized the size and shape as a manhole. There was less dust and rubble on the manhole cover than on the street, not much but enough to indicate someone likely had opened and closed it after the explosion. And now that was apparent to him he noticed a set of tracks, although mostly covered by a subsequent layer of dust and rubble James suspected they were human made.

(Just noticed I read your post wrong, but investigation by itself would have had you notice the tracks as well so I'll let it stand)
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:13, Fri 10 June 2016.
Sandra Reyes
player, 31 posts
Void Engineers - PDC
Dimensional Sci. Expert
Sat 11 Jun 2016
at 19:19
  • msg #149

Scene 2b: Portentum

Sandra turned her attention back toward the rubble. She had lost her respirator somewhere inside the building before it was destroyed. But she hoped that the rest of her personal protective equipment would convince the gathering onlookers that she was just doing routine investigative work, albeit with strange electronics...

She opened up her kit and once again retrieved her handheld amplifier, quickly interfaced it to the micro sensors, and scanned the Gauntlet for a trail that could lead them to the portal's origin.

Sandra's tension almost visibly vanished as her focused returned to her work.

11:59, Today: Sandra Reyes rolled 2 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 with rolls of 6,7,3.  Tracking the portal again.

11:59, Today: Sandra Reyes rolled 2 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 with rolls of 10,6,3.  Tracking the portal.

I'm not sure what difficulty to set it at. Does Sandra's gear count as a personalized/unique/specialized instrument? And is this coincidental or vulgar with witnesses magick?

James Ellings
Enforcer, 53 posts
Iteration X
Sun 12 Jun 2016
at 14:43
  • msg #150

Scene 2b: Portentum

OC: No prob

"++Looks like someone's gone into the sewers, I'm, guessing the cybrog took Jacki since I can;t see either. Following or not?++"
Claire Blanc
player, 24 posts
Sun 12 Jun 2016
at 16:41
  • msg #151

Scene 2b: Portentum

Claire slipped into the back of the van - it being the only place remaining with any stability or seclusion. She furiously worked with her botnet in search for the Cyborg, and quickly began to narrow down the likely heading.


I forgot to modify the difficulty of the dragnet role to 3 from the Spies. With that and the willpower expenditure in mind that should be five successes on the first pass; enough for the area of a small town.

12:23, Today: Claire Blanc rolled 3 successes using 6d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 with rolls of 6,9,9,5,4,2.  Dragnet - Enlightenment 3, Quintessence 3, Willpower 1.
12:03, Today: Claire Blanc rolled 7 successes using 11d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 with rolls of 8,10,1,7,3,9,8,9,10,2,8.  Int+Spies.

Storyteller
GM, 197 posts
Sun 12 Jun 2016
at 23:40
  • msg #152

Scene 2b: Portentum

Claire found that the back of the van was the only part of the van that hadn't been crushed by a large pillar of concrete but it was far from a comfortable place to do her work.She set about sending off commands to her botnet, inputting search parameters, what little she had.Information started coming in sporadically, images of the building, the explosion, the cyborg caught on camera fighting with Jacki prior to the explosion.Claire building the bomb (claire made a mental note that she and several other team members were caught on camera prior to the explosion and marked the source as a security camera from one of the nearby buildings). (more information will be forthcoming but it is not an instant effect).

Meanwhile her ADEI received information from the search she'd instigated prior to the assault, about the car James had searched through earlier. Traffic cams had picked up the car several times, although Claire noted the cameras had had trouble capturing the image of the driver. Some technocrats, in particular those associated with the NWO and the Syndicate, often developed techniques to avoid capture on camera, and since it was already fairly certain the car had been driven by VIGIL's missing former supervisor this was likely the reason the cameras had acted thusly. The car itself had not so been edited out and Claire could rewind the path that had led its driver to its doomed destination back to a coastal area at night, and one building in particular, Rancho Las Flores Boy Scout Camp. In one filmframe of a traffic cam about half way to VIGIL's former HQ Claire saw the image of a human, apparently clinging to the roof of the car.

The dust was slowly starting to settle. Large shapes could be seen again within the cloud.
Claire heard James over the comm.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:42, Sun 12 June 2016.
Storyteller
GM, 198 posts
Sun 12 Jun 2016
at 23:57
  • msg #153

Scene 2b: Portentum

Sandra began to trace back the quantum filament that ran from her end to another, as yet unknown location. It ran northward,somewhere around Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley. stil a wide area to find a single mage able to tear through space. Her measurements at this point began to widely fluctuate, unable to focus more clearly on the exact location, as if someone was actively trying to to throw her off the trace. She'd have to push harder to narrow her search ..

(the effect uses Data 2 as the highest rank. It is coincidental as no one would quite understand why you're using some kind of scanning device. So it's 3+2 is difficulty 5). Sandra equipment can be uniquely specialized but remember that if it gets broken you'll need to relearn the spheres it is used for with a new focus. UP to you whether you feel that's worth the -1 difficulty it gains you. Let me know and note on your sheet if you choose that option. The number of successes required must overcome the successes rolled by the other party who made sure to set up a spell to counter yours. To find him you need to break down his defense. You can continue rolling if you wish or stop and fail to further narrow your search
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:56, Mon 13 June 2016.
Storyteller
GM, 200 posts
Mon 13 Jun 2016
at 00:28
  • msg #154

Scene 2b: Portentum

There was a lot of honking in the far distance, roadraged car owners venting their frustration with the traffic situation. One ambulance had made it through, following a van similar to the one the team had arrived in, but the other emergency personell either had their hands full further up, or had been stuck in traffic as the neighborhood slowly became gridlocked.
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 71 posts
Mon 13 Jun 2016
at 10:15
  • msg #155

Scene 2b: Portentum

"Heya Sandy, I got my hands in my pockets over here. You're letting a genius go to waste. Whaddya need? Whaddya need? Hell, anybody, whaddya need?"

For some reason, the distant, nigh-incessant honking put Richard in a good mood. Maybe it was the fact that he was still tasting air, scorched and sooty as it might be.

And then, the distant honking meant all those people out there, pissed off as they might be, were alive. They were safe. They weren't currently the focus of a WoW reject wannabe throwback and his band of miscreants. They might not have nabbed the bad guys, but the sure as shootin' had a strong lead.

Probably even a decent lead on their primary ongoing investigation. The level of destruction they'd encountered (ahem, previous to the total destruction) seemed consistent with the first attack. The immediacy of manifestation suggested a honeypot ambush, and the speed of response suggested a familiar scenario.

He was worried, of course. They had people out there, maybe in danger, maybe dead. But Devon was feeling downright optimistic.

And he wasn't in charge of anything... which gave him license and leisure to run his mouth.

"We've got a good buffer here, folks, let's not waste it! Let's get those noses to the grindstone, or something."
Claire Blanc
player, 25 posts
Tue 14 Jun 2016
at 15:02
  • msg #156

Scene 2b: Portentum

Claire looked up to Devon from her laptop. "If you are looking for something to do, ze security camera across ze street needs to be sanitized. I am narrowing in on our little friend in ze mean time, so get ready for zat as well."
Richard Jackson
player, 22 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Wed 15 Jun 2016
at 04:42
  • msg #157

Scene 2b: Portentum

"Gas line explosion," Richard wheezed through his kerchief, steadying himself on the shoulder of the first person he came across.  "Gas line must have been ruptured... since the building fire a few days back.  Earthquake, maybe.  My team had just gotten out, we contacting emergency services, but there must have been a stray spark..."

He shook his head, taking off his sunglasses, half-useless as they were covered in a fine layer of masonry dust, and pointed at three people in turn -- the Hispanic man, the elderly Asian, and the businessman.  "You three, make sure people stay clear," Richard said to/instructed them; in crisis circumstances, people needed direction, and most people could be counted on to obey.  In the case of the second two, it would also distract them from what they'd just seen and heard.  "That gas line may still be seeping.  Could be a second explosion.  Don't want anyone else hurt..."

We'll aim for Manipulation + Leadership here to organize the crowd into thinking more about damage control, using Writing the Book to reduce the difficulty...
23:30, Today: Richard Jackson rolled 1 success using 2d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 5 ((10,3)), which provides a -1 modifier to the skill check...
23:28, Today: Richard Jackson rolled 4 successes using 5d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 ((3,6,9,6,8)).


Richard changed his armrest to the middle-aged caucasian for a moment.  "Can you keep an eye out for anyone else who might have been near the building?" he asked, just low enough to be heard.  "I saw some people scattering, but we'll have to wait for the dust to clear before it's safe for anyone to get in there..."

And, as he's got everyone paying attention to other things, he sidles up to the excited teenager.  "Who was fighting?" Richard asked.  "Can I see?"  A pause, waiting to see the pictures -- kids loved to show that stuff off -- then a chuckle, that turned into a cough and a wheeze.  "Not bad.  Did you do that yourself?  You've got a future in graphic arts design..."

For the kid, we'll be Writing the Open Book again, this time to quash any impulse he might have to share any photos he might have.  Spending WP on this one...

23:41, Today: Richard Jackson rolled 2 successes using 2d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 5 ((6,5)).  Should be ideally enough.  Apologies if I'm taking liberties with moving too quickly, I've been late enough.

James Ellings
Enforcer, 54 posts
Iteration X
Wed 15 Jun 2016
at 07:23
  • msg #158

Scene 2b: Portentum

With no answer to his question and distances likely increasing James headed for the manhole cover to move it, carefully keeping back as he shifted the cover to avoid a possible hail of fire from below, managing to ignore the pointed twinge from his side as he did so.
Vadim Dragomirov
player, 14 posts
Syndicate Transporter
Wed 15 Jun 2016
at 15:19
  • msg #159

Scene 2b: Portentum

Looking over to Ai he nodded, "Traffic wasn't as bad as I thought it might be."

Vadim looked back in the direction of the rear of the van before looking at her again, "Do I need to stay here and let him out if you need him?"
Sandra Reyes
player, 32 posts
Void Engineers - PDC
Dimensional Sci. Expert
Thu 16 Jun 2016
at 10:00
  • msg #160

Scene 2b: Portentum

Sandra's jaw clenched as her readings distorted and her trace unraveled. She tried to focus the scan to little effect.

She glanced up at Devon. Where before she would have failed to hold eye contact for longer than a second or two, she locked her gaze on his with razor focus and responded with a flat, even tone.

Something is wrong with my trace. I'm almost certain I'm being blocked. If you have the expertise to help, I've narrowed the search to somewhere around Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley

02:41, Today: Sandra Reyes rolled 1 success using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 5 ((8,9,1)).

Without waiting for a reply, Sandra tried constructing an algorithm to sort through the readings to attempt to identify and discard bogus results. But she sighed as frustration mounted. If it was a Traditionalist covering his tracks, he was incredibly good.

02:52, Today: Sandra Reyes rolled 1 success using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 5 ((3,9,3)).

Without much success, Sandra tried a sort of brute force attack, boosting the energy output of her multi-field array.
Storyteller
GM, 203 posts
Thu 16 Jun 2016
at 18:42
  • msg #161

Scene 2b: Portentum

Erin glanced back at Jordan Light as she turned off the microphone:"You're quiet. The team could do with some coordination".
Jordan didn't look at her, instead keeping track of numbers and graphs:"If they fall apart the second their team leader falls away how are they ever going to be effective assets? One will stand up as leader or they will fail".
Erin turned to look at him:"That is callous. And wasteful if we lose them all".
Jordan glanced at her:"We won't lose all of them .. ".
Erin sputtered:"But the Deviants ...".
".. and they won't fail", Jordan added as he leaned back, once more studying his specs and stats, the matter closed.
"Well, I don't agree .. ", Erin muttered.

---

The civilians were relieved someone took charge. At least two of them had been in shock and with Richard's directions slowly came out of it as they started moving away from the disaster area, urging others who might have been inclined to be disaster tourists to leave the area as there was " .. danger of another explosion. We need to get everyone out of .. Go back sir!". Richard's impromptu deputees began cleaning the streets.

The kid was a hard sell. He was somehow offended, calling Richard a government stiff and he wandered off. Fully intending to send his photo into the world for all to see he erased it from his phone instead. He stared at the phone, stunned by his own stupidity before unleashing a litany of curses aimed at Samsung, Jesus H. Christ and "Whoever invented the fucking delete button!".

One of the ambulance personell hurried to Devon, noticing his burned clothes:"Sir, are you alright? Come. Let's take a look at you". He urged Devon to follow him to the ambulance. "Are you alright miss?", he asked Sandra, glancing at her.

Ai saw the ambulance, lights blinking, the siren was turned off. For all her medical knowledge Ai had had very little contact with civilian emergency personell, having spent most of her life in laboratories. She could see Devon and the medic up ahead. She'd do a better job patching him up than they could ..

James moved the manhole lid aside. Looking down he could see the walls were coldblue to his infrared sight. He could distinguish walls from water though, and here and there were faint small pink blobs on the walkway. Blood. Someone was bleeding and the liquid was still warm enough to faintly stand out against the cold blue of the concrete sewer walls.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:21, Thu 16 June 2016.
Ai Fujiwara
Medical Expert, 70 posts
The Progenitor Prodigy
Fri 17 Jun 2016
at 03:04
  • msg #162

Scene 2b: Portentum

She hesitated for a moment as she looked to Vadim, then glanced towards the back. "Um, could you.. um.. stay with him, just for a bit?I don't know if we'll need to bring him out, but we definitely don't need anyone getting curious and stressing out further."

 Opening the van door, she stepped out and gave a light wave towards the group as she ran towards them. "... r-report?"
Devon Arc
Information Speciali, 72 posts
Fri 17 Jun 2016
at 06:52
  • msg #163

Scene 2b: Portentum

He ran a hand through his mussed hair, wincing at the pains the movement provoked, but still, Devon waved off the paramedic. "We're green tags, buddy, you've still got yellows and reds out there the deal with."

He scowled at the poor man that was trying to do his job until he went away, and then synced up his iPad with Sandra's, and through that, her equipment. "Simi Vally, that's beautiful land. Filmed MASH out there, and Gunsmoke, though I was never a western fan. Gibralter Savings is out there, it was adapted into the Playtronics Toy company for Sneakers. You ever see Sneakers? Great movie. Dustin Hoffman's amazing in it. Thousand Oakes, though, that's the FBI's fourth safest city in the country, so how damn exciting can it be, am I right?"

The patter wasn't useless, though it might well be aggravating. Data was data was data, and his mind required attunement to pattern recognition. Devon's slavish devotion to minutiae was just as effective a method of self-hypnosis as playing video games, and was better suited to tracking don the truth of a situation, as opposed to overcoming defenses.

That'll be trying to Get in the Zone again, and then I'll start adding on to the tracing attempts.

Get in the Zone: Assuming standard difficulty of four, unless we're starting to hit cascade or like in the scene, but I don't think anyone's used this kind of effect yet.

Devon Arc rolled 2 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 4 ((6,7,2)).

James Ellings
Enforcer, 55 posts
Iteration X
Fri 17 Jun 2016
at 10:49
  • msg #164

Scene 2b: Portentum

Into a dark dank sewer with no backup. Great.

Pausing before he headed down James flicked his communicator again, a general broadcast to all including central control, "++Someone that's bleeding has made a break for it in the sewers. Might be Jackie, might be the cyborg, might be one carrying the other. I need to know that we've got things on site secure enough that you do not need me watching your backs before I follow. Also if anyone else can check the rubble for either of those two I'd appreciate it I might have missed in the sweep.++"

He would also have appreciate a warm compress, some bandages and a chance to sleep off the injuries to his leg before mucking around in a fight in an enclosed space with something likely able to see him coming. On the other hand stopping someone being taken rather than trying an extraction later was probabaly be the better choice, plus if they could take down one of the attackers it might add some actual results to the day rather than the pure disaster so far.
Vadim Dragomirov
player, 15 posts
Syndicate Transporter
Fri 17 Jun 2016
at 15:15
  • msg #165

Scene 2b: Portentum

Vadim smiled at Ai before pulling out the handkerchief again to cough into it, "I'll stick with your brother, no problem.  I can help out there but it would be rough on the body."

He held out his cell with his number on the screen so she could contact him before he tapped his ear, "I've got a bud in so you need me or your brother just call."
Storyteller
GM, 204 posts
Fri 17 Jun 2016
at 17:59
  • msg #166

Scene 2b: Portentum

"James ..", Light's voice sounded over the comm despite his previous comment to Erin:" .. while I admire your dedication a note of concern. They ambushed your team. We can't be certain they're not still playing the same game. Be careful down there. If you split up I would suggest taking at least one person with you ... Oh yea, there is a hidden compartment under the passengers seat of Vadim's van. I suggest you make use of the contents".

---

Erin smiled at Light:"Not entirely callous then?".
Jordan made a dismissive gesture.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:00, Fri 17 June 2016.
Storyteller
GM, 205 posts
Fri 17 Jun 2016
at 19:56
  • msg #167

Scene 2b: Portentum

Devon's mind began racing feverishly, his thoughts branching out like a tree, one thought leading to another, compartmentalized sections following different trails of thought, neural networks flaring up until everything was information, pattern, data.

The medic wasn't exactly convinced Devon was alright, especially once he started rambling but he was distracted when the elderly asian man started to get unwell and slumped against a lantern. He ran off to help his collegue.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:07, Fri 17 June 2016.
Storyteller
GM, 206 posts
Fri 17 Jun 2016
at 20:33
  • msg #168

Scene 2b: Portentum

Despite mounting frustration Sandra's efforts were not in vain. Fine tuning her input data the map coordinates were slowly closing in on her prey despite the other's efforts to end her trail. Closer to Simi Valley than Thousand Oaks .. but where exactly ..

https://www.google.nl/maps/@34...39.13t/data=!3m1!1e3
James Ellings
Enforcer, 56 posts
Iteration X
Sat 18 Jun 2016
at 16:10
  • msg #169

Scene 2b: Portentum

"++Received sir. Believe me I'd welcome cover but unless someone's keeping quiet I've heard no-one on the comms able to actually cover me speak up. Not heard anything from Vadim at all, if he's arrived I can take a quick check at the van.++"
Ai Fujiwara
Medical Expert, 71 posts
The Progenitor Prodigy
Sat 18 Jun 2016
at 16:27
  • msg #170

Scene 2b: Portentum

Ai hesitated as she began hearing the local comm on her earpiece. She moved a hand to it. ++James, Vadim and I are here. I need to prepare treatment for those topside, but we do have Alpha.  If needed, I could try to keep tabs on him down there with you remotely, but it would be more effective ifI were in range.++
Richard Jackson
player, 24 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Sat 18 Jun 2016
at 17:52
  • msg #171

Scene 2b: Portentum

The delete button: savior of conspiracies everywhere.

Richard stayed more or less where he was, communicating the story to anyone who strayed too close; it was a task much easier with the aid of others, reinforced by the smoky grayness his suit had acquired from all the building dust.  At the second opportunity for a breather, Richard took off his sunglasses, started to wipe them clean, then noticed his kerchief had also picked up a thin layer of dust itself.  With a sigh, he tucked them away, listening to the communication traffic -- and wondered, briefly, why Control was not intervening.  Wasn't there a chain of command that stepped in when...

Hmm.

He glanced at the only other vehicle to actually make it close by as Ai made their presence known, and nodded briefly to himself.  Time to take measures.  "++Fujiwara, do you think Alpha would still heed you effectively if we could get you a two-way feed on their location and environment?  We could send a drone, and Claire or Devon could be re-tasked once we're done topside.  Vadim, are you up to a sewer crawl with James to chance recovering our agent?"
Vadim Dragomirov
player, 18 posts
Syndicate Transporter
Sat 18 Jun 2016
at 18:42
  • msg #172

Scene 2b: Portentum

Vadim had been listening in on routine comm chatter before his mind caught up to what was being said, ++I can if needed.++

His contacts were feeding him signal data that let him look around to spot the direction James was reporting from before responding, ++I'll collect up++ and there was a pause as he seemed to cough on his end a few times before continuing ++the contents of the compartment to bring them to you.++

As he moved from his seat he remarked in the direction of the back of the van, "Your sister will be here momentarily." He had no idea how well Al understood him or if he even would but he remembered his own gone family and could empathize.  While his hand checked that he still had his revolver secured safely inside his suit since he was going into a sewer he'd want to bring his backup.  Once over by the passenger side he looked to open the compartment and collect his other tool.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:42, Wed 22 June 2016.
Sandra Reyes
player, 33 posts
Void Engineers - PDC
Dimensional Sci. Expert
Wed 22 Jun 2016
at 08:58
  • msg #173

Scene 2b: Portentum

As her algorithm worked, Sandra noticed that all of the results processed from Thousand Oaks were flagged as false positives. With still many more to go, she took a gamble. Calling up another command prompt, she purged all data from Thousand Oaks and limited her scans to Simi Valley.

"Yes! I think I have it..." Sandra exclaimed. She had not lost the trace entirely, she felt a sense of triumph as she called out "Simi Valley! Our target is somewhere there. I'm trying to narrow it down further..."

The brute force attack, no longer covering such a wide area, was working much more efficiently. Sandra kept it up.

01:28, Today: Sandra Reyes rolled 3 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 5 with rolls of 8,6,5.
01:28, Today: Sandra Reyes rolled 2 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 5.  Tracking the portal.

This message was last edited by the player at 08:58, Wed 22 June 2016.
Ai Fujiwara
Medical Expert, 73 posts
The Progenitor Prodigy
Wed 22 Jun 2016
at 13:30
  • msg #174

Scene 2b: Portentum

+The feed isn't needed. We should be able to handle that on our own. We've tested it before in the lab. We've just never done so in the field before.+ She explained.
+My only worry is that he's never been around other agents.+

 Ai made her way to the van, and looked to Vadim with a bit of a nervous smile. "You're getting the things under the seats from Control? I.. I don't know what they packed, but I hope it helps out a lot."
Storyteller
GM, 211 posts
Wed 22 Jun 2016
at 13:56
  • msg #175

Scene 2b: Portentum

Under the passenger seat was indeed a hidden compartment. It contained four adult sized suits of a material light enough to wear under civilian clothes. The fabric itself resembled flack material but denser and the individual threads finer. There were 4 specs with red tinted glass. On the side they had an activation button. Furthermore the compartment held a set of primium handcuffs and something that appeared to be a headset of sorts that could be strapped tightly to someone's head. Two prongs with a metal pad on the end would clasp the wearer's temples. It's function was unclear. Since the cuffs and headset were packaged together the headset was likely for containment as well. Finally it contained 2 shotguns and 2 heavy revolvers each with 12 rounds of special ammo.

Light commented over the commlink:"The guns and suits should be obvious enough. The ammo will counteract your target's potential subdermal armor to a degree. If it is indeed a rogue HITMark remember we made those things to take down mages. Make no mistake it can take you down as well. The cuffs and headset are to contain the unit should you somehow manage to capture him alive which, i will repeat, is not necesarry. Recover the body and return it to base if possible. Needless to say mister Gunn will be most pleased if you bring home the gear back in one piece".

He continued:"Sandra, keep up your trace. Once you have his location locked down see if you can prevent him from leaving his location. We are after all dealing with a teleporter. I won't hold it against you if you can't but i'll welcome the surprise if you do".

"Target 1 is the cyborg. Target 2 is the teleporter. Good hunting. I'll be listening".
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:07, Wed 22 June 2016.
Richard Jackson
player, 26 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Wed 22 Jun 2016
at 18:47
  • msg #176

Scene 2b: Portentum

Richard weighed the details while Control supplied information on the pleasant surprise.  Two, even armed and armored, into the sewers against a rogue plasma-arm-wielding cyborg, injured or not, is not good odds if there is a second layer of defensive.  Three, when one of them is also further enhanced...

"++Get Alpha ready to go down below,++" he said.  "++We've brought him this far; we were never going to be able to control the circumstances of his first real deployment anyway.  James, do you feel comfortable taking point down below?++"
Storyteller
GM, 213 posts
Thu 23 Jun 2016
at 20:44
  • msg #177

Scene 2b: Portentum

(in game terms the outfits grant +2 soak dice to bashing and lethal damage. The specs allow you to see in the dark. Primium handcuffs prevent magic from being used on them to get lose. The Encephaloclamp has a mind 3 scrambling effect. The guns themselves are not enhanced but the bullets negate 1 soak point of primium armor).
Storyteller
GM, 214 posts
Thu 23 Jun 2016
at 21:45
  • msg #178

Scene 2b: Portentum

With renewed fanaticism Sandra filtered the quantum filament through a Heisenberg Wave Packet Compiler. While it was hard to trace a quantum-entangled paired particle's particular position geographically, multiple wave readings superimposed over each other led to more precise measurements. Sandra locked on to her target!

https://www.google.nl/maps/@34...41.23t/data=!3m1!1e3
Vadim Dragomirov
player, 20 posts
Syndicate Transporter
Fri 24 Jun 2016
at 01:20
  • msg #179

Scene 2b: Portentum

Vadim put the cuffs and encephaloclamp into pockets inside his suit jacket with little pomp and circumstance and while they normally would appear bulky after he had smoothed the pockets one would be hard pressed to notice he had added them to his person.  He looked over to Ai and asked, "Will Al need, or even be willing to wear one of these suits or any of the weapons since he'll be accompanying me down below?"

As he waited for a reply he added over the comms ++Also James do you want any of the weapons, ammo or armour brought down to you?++
Storyteller
GM, 215 posts
Fri 24 Jun 2016
at 17:45
  • msg #180

Scene 2b: Portentum

(Alpha would require a suit specifically tailored to its shape. Its form deviates significantly from baseline human. It's certainly possible but it would be a Wonder game-technically since it is uniquely tailored to its needs, whereas these are loaners requisitioned for this particular mission)
Ai Fujiwara
Medical Expert, 76 posts
The Progenitor Prodigy
Fri 24 Jun 2016
at 18:08
  • msg #181

Scene 2b: Portentum

Ai hesitated as she picked up one of the suits. They were a bit big for her, but that was to be expected - these were made for the more typical agents. "Maybe? I've never tried to put clothes on him before." She admitted.

"He's quite tall compared to most people, even adults, and his legs are a bit.. big. Um, also it doesn't look like he'd be able to have room for his tail." She saidas she looked the suit over.

 Her eyes moved back to Vadim, smiling slightly. "Probably not, but, that's ok. Maybe when we get back to base we can look into it." She offered. "Go ahead and open the back. I'll help get him out."
Vadim Dragomirov
player, 23 posts
Syndicate Transporter
Fri 24 Jun 2016
at 18:14
  • msg #182

Scene 2b: Portentum

"Tail?" remarked Vadim in an interesting tone.

He chuckled lightly, "Sounds like some specialized work.  Just figured if he's going to be helping us he deserves as much protection as anyone else..." he looked around to see how many people were left in range that could see something like Al leaving the van before adding, "...and maybe we should back the van up to the sewer entrance...less budding paparazzi or conspiracy theory quacks get a pic the better, no?"
Ai Fujiwara
Medical Expert, 77 posts
The Progenitor Prodigy
Fri 24 Jun 2016
at 18:24
  • msg #183

Scene 2b: Portentum

"Yep." She said with a nod before climbing in, so they could back the van up. The fewer curious eyes the better. She knew that he was surprisingly good at avoiding detection, but better safe than sorry. Besides, Control was watching. They couldn't risk it.

"His base genetic structure was a rat,I think, but I've never seen any rat quite like him."
Vadim Dragomirov
player, 24 posts
Syndicate Transporter
Fri 24 Jun 2016
at 18:34
  • msg #184

Scene 2b: Portentum

Vadim looked at where he needed to go and climbed into the van.  As he maneuvered the van into position he remarked, "Rat huh...interesting.  What else can you tell me about him and how he should be in the field?  You know is he hand to hand specialized, understand tech and use ranged weapons, likes jokes?"
Ai Fujiwara
Medical Expert, 78 posts
The Progenitor Prodigy
Sat 25 Jun 2016
at 01:31
  • msg #185

Scene 2b: Portentum

She smiled softly, clearly a bit amused by Vadim's request. "No weapons, though he has strong legs and claws. Um, the last time he hurt someone, he.. threw them through the glass.. with his mind." She explained. "He's really not mean, He just gets confused and scared sometimes." She explained.

"but.. um.. he's a really good swimmer. Dr. Fujiwara.. when I was little, he'd put Alpha in a big tub, and Alpha would swim.. until he couldn't anymore, and he'd fall asleep in the water, and then.." She trailed off, frowning as she moved a hand to her head. "I.. I don't remember.."
Vadim Dragomirov
player, 25 posts
Syndicate Transporter
Sat 25 Jun 2016
at 02:12
  • msg #186

Scene 2b: Portentum

Vadim listened to her primer on Al with a nod, "No worries Ai, thanks for the heads up.  Let's Get him out of the van and into the sewer so we can meet up with James..."  He put on one pair of glasses before getting out of the van and heading around to the back so that he could be there when Ai opened the doors.  The entrance to the sewer barely a meter away.
Ai Fujiwara
Medical Expert, 79 posts
The Progenitor Prodigy
Sat 25 Jun 2016
at 02:34
  • msg #187

Scene 2b: Portentum

With a nod, Ai headed out of the van and to the back doors, opening them. She looked to Alpha with a smile. "Hey, are you ok? I know this is all really new, but you're going to be alright."
Storyteller
GM, 217 posts
Sat 25 Jun 2016
at 10:42
  • msg #188

Scene 2b: Portentum

Al blinked at the bright sunlight as the doors opened. Almost instinctively it became translucent, barely visible unless you knew where to look. Al looked around, feeling a little stressed by the bright light in the sky, the tall obstacles and the noises in the distance.
James Ellings
Enforcer, 57 posts
Iteration X
Sun 26 Jun 2016
at 13:08
  • msg #189

Scene 2b: Portentum

"++I'm fine taking point as long as things above are covered. As for extra gear if you've got it, bring it. down in the sewers we've got a little freedom on what we can use without witnesses. If we're hunting down an actual HITmark I'dlike an edge.++"
Vadim Dragomirov
player, 26 posts
Syndicate Transporter
Wed 29 Jun 2016
at 00:47
  • msg #190

Scene 2b: Portentum

++Got it.  One suit of form fitting armour, shotgun, revolver, spec ammo to use against a Hitmark, spec glasses, encephaloclamp and cuffs on the way.++

He then turned to look at Ai, "I'm going to leave the rest up here in case anyone needs them."
Vadim Dragomirov
player, 28 posts
Syndicate Transporter
Sun 3 Jul 2016
at 22:17
  • msg #191

Scene 2b: Portentum

With a reassuring nod to Ai before looking down into the sewer access Vadim let out a small, almost inaudible sigh.  Climbing down into the sewer he activated the glasses so that he could see adequately and head in the direction of James to give him the extra supplies...
Sandra Reyes
player, 35 posts
Void Engineers - PDC
Dimensional Sci. Expert
Tue 5 Jul 2016
at 01:24
  • msg #192

Scene 2b: Portentum

"There!" Sandra exclaimed. ++I have a lock on the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library++

A thought struck her suddenly.

++...for now++
Ai Fujiwara
Medical Expert, 82 posts
The Progenitor Prodigy
Tue 5 Jul 2016
at 13:18
  • msg #193

Scene 2b: Portentum

Ai gave a nod to Vadim. "O-ok. I'll let them know."

 She looked to Al, smiling softly. "I know, it's a lot to take in and it's all really scary right now, but I'm here for you, Al. We have to look into this. Now, you're going to be down there with Vadim, and he's really nice. You'll be ok, I promise."

The creature, once directed for the entrance down began to make its way down.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:27, Tue 05 July 2016.
Storyteller
GM, 224 posts
Tue 5 Jul 2016
at 20:30
  • msg #194

Scene 2b: Portentum

"Good work Sandra", Light commented:"Now listen carefully. I need you to put on a suit and take one of the guns. I have a police car drive up to the library. I need you to lock down the teleporter's ability to leave the library by means of a gate. I know you can do this, I read your file, increase the strength of the dimensional barriers. Once the policemen have evacuated the library and engage the enemy I need you to jump to the location and assist them in bringing down the teleporter. They know you're coming. You can do this. He must not escape!".

"Good luck, Sandra!', Erin followed up cheerfully.

(Sandra, you have a -1 difficulty on your roll to strengthen the barriers across a long distance because of mister Light's rousing speech)

---

Erin glanced back at mister Light, switching off the microphone temporarily:"She's so dead ..".
Light glanced back at her:'Probably. But imagine the confidence boost if she does succeed".
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:35, Tue 05 July 2016.
Richard Jackson
player, 29 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Wed 6 Jul 2016
at 02:12
  • msg #195

Scene 2b: Portentum

It was at this point that Richard finally consented to be sat down on a dust-covered bus stop bench.  The borders were up, the away team was getting into position, and Control even had found something for Sandra to do.  He'd be up and at things again to manage the press, when the time came again, but now was a chance to see to that ankle he almost certainly twisted...

"++Whenever you have a moment, Ai, I could use some medical attention,++"
Richard observed.  "++The rest of you, keep in touch.++"
Ai Fujiwara
Medical Expert, 86 posts
The Progenitor Prodigy
Wed 6 Jul 2016
at 18:43
  • msg #196

Scene 2b: Portentum

Once it seemed like the group was on their way, Ai gave a nod. +Got it. Where are you? I'll head to your location.+
Storyteller
GM, 229 posts
Thu 7 Jul 2016
at 12:16
  • msg #197

Scene 2b: Portentum

(You should be more or less in sight of each other, barring debris and lingering smokeclouds)
Sandra Reyes
player, 37 posts
Void Engineers - PDC
Dimensional Sci. Expert
Fri 8 Jul 2016
at 20:34
  • msg #198

Scene 2b: Portentum

++Okay! I'm on it++ Sandra radioed back. Then, while unnecessarily studying a satellite image of the library with a furrowed brow, she said aloud to herself. "I... I can do this"

After a quick, deep breath Sandra sent a carrier wave from the multi-field array through the quantum entangled filaments that she used to lock on the teleporter. With the emitter "hooked" into the filaments, she drew mass-energy from the surrounding area and converted it into a spectral tensor field that could reinforce the Gauntlet.

13:13, Today: Sandra Reyes rolled 1 success using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 4 with rolls of 8,1,4.  Fortify Gauntlet (DS 2), adding Correspondence 2 for range. Spending a point of willpower.

I think it's still Correspondence 2, even at that distance. 2 successes total if so.

Storyteller
GM, 231 posts
Fri 8 Jul 2016
at 20:56
  • msg #199

Scene 2b: Portentum

(that is correct Sandra. You can make it an extended roll if you wish to garner more successes if you wish, with the usual chance of catastrophic failure of course :)
Richard Jackson
player, 31 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Fri 8 Jul 2016
at 21:37
  • msg #200

Scene 2b: Portentum

"++Behind you, to your right.++"  Richard waved at Ai from where he was seated when she turned around, offering the woman a brief, grim smile.

"Everyone inside got a bit roughed up," he says, more seriously, when she was closer.  "I didn't see any evidence of major injuries myself, but I'll leave the doctor work to the doctor."
Ai Fujiwara
Medical Expert, 88 posts
The Progenitor Prodigy
Sat 9 Jul 2016
at 02:04
  • msg #201

Scene 2b: Portentum

She turned and the teen smiled softly before making her way towards Richard.

"Yeah, I heard over the network. I'm just glad that we didn't have to bring out a stretcher." She reasoned softl as she looked over him.

21:04, Today: Ai Fujiwara rolled 1 success using 10d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6.  Int+Medicine Check.
Sandra Reyes
player, 38 posts
Void Engineers - PDC
Dimensional Sci. Expert
Mon 11 Jul 2016
at 22:28
  • msg #202

Scene 2b: Portentum

Sandra frowned. ++There's some kind of electromagnetic interference in the area. I'm trying to compensate++

She boosting the output levels and adjusted the distribution of the spectral tensor field. The data returned positive results.

++Okay, the Gauntlet at the target area is thick as molasses. Best I can do from here. But you should probably hurry. It's not going to stop anyone from physically running away++

15:20, Today: Sandra Reyes rolled 2 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 4 with rolls of 2,9,6.  Fortify Gauntlet (DS 2), adding Correspondence 2 for range. Spending a point of willpower.
15:20, Today: Sandra Reyes rolled 1 success using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 4 with rolls of 1,10,6.  Fortify Gauntlet (DS 2), adding Correspondence 2 for range. Spending a point of willpower.

I think that's good. Spent a total of 3 willpower for 7 successes.

Storyteller
GM, 237 posts
Tue 12 Jul 2016
at 12:02
  • msg #203

Scene 2b: Portentum

(I don't have the books here at work but i believe you can only spend 1 willpower point/round Sandra so that'd be 4 successes, still not bad)

Erin responded:"Excellent work Sandra. Lets hope it will keep our teleporter stranded long enough. Our friends in blue are at the site right now trying to apprehend the culprit. Now get your gear in order and prepare to jump to the location on my mark".
Richard Jackson
player, 33 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Thu 14 Jul 2016
at 18:51
  • msg #204

Scene 2b: Portentum

When the go for Sandra is given over comms, Richard glances over to the VE and offers a brief tip of an imaginary hat.  "Good hunting, Ms. Reyes," he says pleasantly.  "Take care."

Richard waits patiently while Ai examines him.  He is a little battered and bruised from landing too hard on his knees, but his injuries are otherwise comparatively trivial and would, if there was ever a point a Technocrat was not exerting themselves, heal completely by a few days (1 B or L, wasn't clear on what "hp" meant in retrospect)"Were you able to make much progress on the medical examinations?" he inquires, making conversation while she works.
Sandra Reyes
player, 39 posts
Void Engineers - PDC
Dimensional Sci. Expert
Sun 17 Jul 2016
at 06:25
  • msg #205

Scene 2b: Portentum

"Thanks! See you soon... I hope" Sandra replied. Thinking her words probably sounded foolish, she coughed and excused herself. She retrieved one of the suits and, reluctantly, a gun as ordered. She threw on the suit as quick as she could, feeling a bit self conscious as she did, in the back of the van without much room to maneuver. It must have been a comical sight that she hoped no one noticed.

++Reyes again. Ready for the jump++
Storyteller
GM, 240 posts
Mon 18 Jul 2016
at 17:25
  • msg #206

Scene 2b: Portentum

"You're clear to jump, Sandra", Mister Light's voice came over the comm. Sandra felt a shiver down her spine. As interested as she was in dimensional science and quantum mechanics making the actual jump still felt like the first time you jump out of a plane.
Ai Fujiwara
Medical Expert, 90 posts
The Progenitor Prodigy
Mon 18 Jul 2016
at 17:31
  • msg #207

Scene 2b: Portentum

He didn't look too bad, minor at best, but still, she tended to what she could.

"I got to all of them. Some of the agents were clearly injured by a deviant capable of burning them through some kind of effect. However, there was one thing I found that was particularly interesting.. but I'd need some help decoding it before I can really say much more." She admitted.
Richard Jackson
player, 34 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Wed 20 Jul 2016
at 11:02
  • msg #208

Scene 2b: Portentum

Richard nodded, wincing briefly as Ai put things back in order.  "You know, if you'd asked me this morning why I would be sitting here with a sprained knee," he said, reflective, "I would probably have said I'd taken a fall.  I probably wouldn't have said it would be down an incomplete flight of stairs, on the run for my life, but I suppose that's field work for you, isn't it?"
Ai Fujiwara
Medical Expert, 92 posts
The Progenitor Prodigy
Fri 22 Jul 2016
at 16:51
  • msg #209

Scene 2b: Portentum

"That's field work." She agreed. "It's rather hard to predict exactly what you'll be faced with on a given day."

"You should be fine, just try to avoid anything too strenuous."
Storyteller
GM, 255 posts
Fri 29 Jul 2016
at 07:53
  • msg #210

Scene 2b: Portentum

Out of sight of the mortals Sandra vanished in an instant, displacing air with an audible pop.
With Ai's medical assistance Richard's foot was feeling a lot better.
From somewhere deep down the sewers a muffled boom resounded.
Richard Jackson
player, 36 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Sun 31 Jul 2016
at 16:51
  • msg #211

Scene 2b: Portentum

Richard stood back up when she was concluded, testing his weight on it again.  "Looks like I'll be pole-vaulting again in no time," he said, satisfied.  "Next up, we--"

The concrete jungle rumbled beneath them all, deep within.  "Secondary explosion!" Richard called out to the crowd, waving his hands down, keeping the calm.  "Further down the line.  Emergency services will handle this."

Only slightly belying the calm he was attempting to promulgate, he keyed his earbud.  "Agents underground, situation update?" Richard subvocalized, reaching for his sunglasses in his pocket once more...
Storyteller
GM, 259 posts
Mon 1 Aug 2016
at 20:09
  • msg #212

Scene 2b: Portentum

(Richard roll an appropriate social skill like Manipulation+Subterfuge (since you're kinda lying) or a Mind effect to see how the public and ambulance personell react to you calming them down)
Storyteller
GM, 266 posts
Tue 2 Aug 2016
at 22:12
  • msg #213

Scene 2b: Portentum

The comm stayed ominously silent ..
Richard Jackson
player, 37 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Wed 3 Aug 2016
at 00:58
  • msg #214

Scene 2b: Portentum

One of the most useful tools in the NWO book is the fact that people are generally willing to suborn their self-determination to give their authority away to someone who knows what to do.  Richard, having made himself be the person in charge, acts with the experience of a lifetime in spy games, pressing on Psychodynamic buttons that nearly all Western-raised people have been raised to possess...

Going for Writing the Open Book, to instill and renew calm in the crowd.  Enhancing with Manipulation+Subterfuge to give the people the lies they need to hear.

((19:51, Today: Richard Jackson rolled 4 successes using 6d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 with rolls of 6,10,3,7,3,6.  manip+subterfuge enhance rote.))  This reduces the target number of the Mind effect by no more than -3, minimum 3.  I'll aim for 4 successes total to be able to encompass the crowd as a whole.  Mind 2 coincidental effect is base TN 5, modified down to the global minimum of 3...

((19:51, Today: Richard Jackson rolled 4 successes using 6d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 with rolls of 6,10,3,7,3,6.  manip+subterfuge enhance rote.

19:53, Today: Richard Jackson rolled 1 success using 2d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 3 with rolls of 2,3.  arete mind 2 writing the open book 1.

19:53, Today: Richard Jackson rolled 1 success using 2d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 3 with rolls of 2,6.  arete mind 2 writing the open book 2.

19:54, Today: Richard Jackson botched using 2d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 3 with rolls of 1,1.  arete mind 2 writing the open book 3.))  Daaah.  All effort lost, Paradox gained, have to start from the beginning... if the situation is still stable enough to try.

Storyteller
GM, 268 posts
Wed 3 Aug 2016
at 23:20
  • msg #215

Scene 2b: Portentum

Richard was not getting through to the crowd. About two dozen had gathered by now, previously unseen people cautiously coming out of the surrounding buildings to look at the disaster area only to be frightened by a second loud Thud from somewhere in the sewers. Restlessness was spreading through the gathered souls and Richard felt the tide turn against him, his confidence draining as he saw confusion and fear take hold. Should he pick the wrong words next panic could set in .. perhaps it was time to make an exit and leave things up to emergency services.

(first time for everything :P. You have two options. You can cut your loss and take the paradox increase. it will be 2 points. Since it is not very much there will not be an immediate backlash. You can also choose to spend 1 willpower, subtract 1 previous success, increase the difficulty by +1 and continue trying to control the crowd but if you botch a second time it's instant disaster. Roll another botch, i dare you! :))
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:50, Thu 04 Aug 2016.
Richard Jackson
player, 38 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Fri 5 Aug 2016
at 04:34
  • msg #216

Scene 2b: Portentum

He can't leave yet.  He has too much at stake.  Richard mentally dumbs his language down a bit -- maybe the mob was agitated, and the vocabulary was too complex to register?  Yes.  He just needs to take a deep breath and speak at an eighth-grade level...

Nothing wrong can possibly can come of trying again!  1wp spent, one success remains, starting again at TN 4.

23:32, Today: Richard Jackson rolled 2 successes using 2d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 4 with rolls of 8,7.  arete mind 2 w.ob take 2 roll 1.
23:32, Today: Richard Jackson rolled 1 success using 2d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 4 with rolls of 4,2.  arete mind 2 w.ob take 2 roll 2.  This makes a total of 4 successes.

Storyteller
GM, 272 posts
Fri 5 Aug 2016
at 20:45
  • msg #217

Scene 2b: Portentum

The startled crowd began to listen to Richard explaining that help was on their way and that keeping calm was the best thing they could do at the time. They slowly calmed down. The ambulance personell focused on their job whereas before they were beginning to wonder who the hell these people were and what they were doing at the site taking charge of the situation.

"Richard, time to move out. We suspect your team is trying to stop the target from escaping using the subway system. The station is about 500 meters from your current location. Take Ai with you. There are likely wounded", Erin's voice came over the comm..
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:49, Fri 05 Aug 2016.
Richard Jackson
player, 39 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Sat 6 Aug 2016
at 13:35
  • msg #218

Scene 2b: Portentum

There was a long moment when he got to enjoy the sight of a crowd of folks milling about a disaster zone in calm.

It was, of course, not to last.

"++Confirmed,++" Richard subvocalized, touching his earpiece.  He'd not forgotten about the two men and one science project, silent in the aftermath of the underground detonation, but they had taken on a secondary importance in the wake of cleaning up his own mess.  "Emergency services are on their way now.  We're as done here as we can be," he announced, looking to Ai -- and Devon, lost in his own devices.  "Next is reconnecting with everyone down below.  There's a station in..."

He glanced up, checking street signs.  "That direction," Richard said, pointing the way, and leading his comrades on.
Ai Fujiwara
Medical Expert, 95 posts
The Progenitor Prodigy
Wed 10 Aug 2016
at 14:08
  • msg #219

Scene 2b: Portentum

She seemed a bit out of it for a moment, though she looked to the other agent and gave a nod, registering his words. "Yes, of course. We'll need the vehicle. I.. I can try to communicate with Al, but I don't know if it'll work on the others." She admitted.
Storyteller
GM, 281 posts
Wed 10 Aug 2016
at 17:13
  • msg #220

Scene 2b: Portentum

The vehicle Vadim had driven Ai and himself to the site was still intact. As opposed to Jacki's vehicle which was half-crushed by the falling building.
Richard Jackson
player, 40 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Thu 11 Aug 2016
at 01:28
  • msg #221

Scene 2b: Portentum

Richard shot a look to the van they'd arrived in, frowning, doing a quick mental tally -- there shouldn't be any compromising equipment in there that wasn't encrypted, but Control had slipped body armor in the back seat of their reinforcements; transport.  One never knew.

"I'll drive.  Let's get the keys."

OOC: A'driving we go to the station.
Ai Fujiwara
Medical Expert, 96 posts
The Progenitor Prodigy
Thu 11 Aug 2016
at 01:54
  • msg #222

Scene 2b: Portentum

With a nod, Ai moved towards the van. "I think Vadim may've left the keys inside.."
Storyteller
GM, 288 posts
Fri 12 Aug 2016
at 13:43
  • msg #223

Scene 2b: Portentum

The keys were still in the van and Richard and Ai made their way to the station. As much of the traffic had been gridlocked they could move pretty rapidly. There were more people on the street here though, dozens really. Most heard the explosions and were watching aghast at the billowing smoke. In the distance they saw a truck had rammed a family car and two police men were trying to handle the situation while their own car was stuck in the resultant traffic jam. This area was more gentrified with smaller office buildings sharing the neighborhood with cafes, stores and restaurants. The neighborhood had seen better days though with most buildings showing a measure of wear and tear.

Around the subway entrance dozens of people were wandering around, making phonecalls or watching drama unfold around them. They had most likely evacuated the station after the building had collapsed.
Richard Jackson
player, 42 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Mon 15 Aug 2016
at 11:16
  • msg #224

Scene 2b: Portentum

"Coming through, coming through..."

Richard had his ID out, sunglasses on, and purpose to his stride as he wove and nudged his way through the crowd.  He didn't expect any serious resistance from them, but he was carrying Ai in his wake; the diminutive young woman had a measure of seriousness to her, but seriousness was not the gravitas of an official.

"+Keep your eyes and ears open," he subvocalized to Ai as they made their way through.  "+They're either close to or have found the target, or they would have answered me back at the explosion site.+"
Storyteller
GM, 295 posts
Mon 15 Aug 2016
at 20:14
  • msg #225

Scene 2b: Portentum

(richard, make an appropriate social roll. You don't necesarilly need to talk but a failed roll might make people question your authority)
Richard Jackson
player, 43 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Mon 15 Aug 2016
at 21:41
  • msg #226

Scene 2b: Portentum

(16:40, Today: Richard Jackson rolled 5 successes using 6d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 with rolls of 7,7,9,8,5,6.  manipulation+subterfuge browbeat our way through.)
Storyteller
GM, 303 posts
Wed 17 Aug 2016
at 00:33
  • msg #227

Scene 2b: Portentum

Richard found no resistance manouvering himself and Ai past the gathered crowd and the subway officials. One of them commented:"Well, at least someone is showing up. Where the hell are the cops. You'd expect the place to be swarming with them right about now ... ". Richard of course knew the real reason but he wasn't going to tell them and they didn't seem to be expecting a real answer. Going down the stairs Richard and Ai went down into the subway station where a few stragglers were accompanied upward:"Hey man, don't go down .. oh, sorry sir. Something is going on down there. I think we heard gunfire after the blast earlier".
Ai Fujiwara
Medical Expert, 99 posts
The Progenitor Prodigy
Wed 17 Aug 2016
at 00:44
  • msg #228

Scene 2b: Portentum

Ai didn't speak at first, instead she seemed oddly focused. She walked quietly, avoiding to meet the eyes of anyone else in the crowd.

"+Alpha's emotional state has changed, he's becoming more aggressive. Something must have happened down there to trigger it.+"
Richard Jackson
player, 44 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Wed 17 Aug 2016
at 21:51
  • msg #229

Scene 2b: Portentum

Richard's expression tightened when he heard the stragglers' report.  "Emergency services is on the way," he informed them, calm and composed.  "Stay clear.  This is going to be handled."

A nod to them, and he moved on, touching his earpiece, reporting the slim details to Control.  With his other hand, he drew his sidearm, and continued towards the danger.  "They have to have made contact," Richard said quietly to the Progenitor at his side, not bothering to subvocalize in the relative privacy of the underground.  "Do you carry any weapons?"
Ai Fujiwara
Medical Expert, 104 posts
The Progenitor Prodigy
Wed 17 Aug 2016
at 23:27
  • msg #230

Scene 2b: Portentum

She shook her head. "The closest thing I have to a weapon is a serum I've been testing for use in the field. It should be enough to keep me from getting too injured under enemy fire, but that's about it, I'm afraid."
Storyteller
GM, 313 posts
Thu 18 Aug 2016
at 21:17
  • msg #231

Scene 2b: Portentum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtQpSGyPCBE

Richard and Ai walked down the stairs past the gates onto the subway platform. The platform was abandoned though the next subway train was set to arrive in 7 minutes. A single sportsbag was left on the platform by someone supposedly too spooked to remember their luggage. The only noise right now at the bottom of the stairs was the humming of the airco and Philip Glass' Mad Rush over the intercomm. Three doors were marked accessible for 'authorized personell only'.

(hearing perception rolls please)
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:03, Thu 18 Aug 2016.
Richard Jackson
player, 46 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Thu 18 Aug 2016
at 22:00
  • msg #232

Scene 2b: Portentum

17:00, Today: Richard Jackson rolled 1 success using 2d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 ((4,10)).
Storyteller
GM, 318 posts
Fri 19 Aug 2016
at 17:04
  • msg #233

Scene 2b: Portentum

Richard heard the last moments of the fight, Alpha's growl, from behind one of the doors labeled 'authorized personell only'. As he glanced in the direction of the door Ai immediately surmised Al, James and Vadim were nearby.

(lets head for the Venatus thread since now you can interact without comm systems)
Richard Jackson
player, 47 posts
Spin Doctors
nothing to see here
Sat 20 Aug 2016
at 13:22
  • msg #234

Scene 2b: Portentum

To: Venatus -->
Sign In