There was no need for directions. When Richard opened the door he entered a small office, about 3 by 5 meters. The backwall was entirely covered with one big filing cabinet. In front of it stood a pristine glass desk with a flatscreen computer and several stacks of papers. behind the desk sat mister Gunn, He was probably in his late 50's, balding hair, grey suit. Even though the suit would have suited a gradeschool teacher, including the darkbrown elbow patches but the materials the suit was made from betrayed it being far more expensive than it appeared at first glance. As did the gold watch mister Gunn was wearing on his left wrist, and while the glasses were horn rimmed glasses that appeared to have been left over from the 50's the brand name again labeled it as far more expensive than it appeared at first glance. Mister Gunn didn't look up when Richard walked in, instead extinguishing a sigarette in an ashtray that was overflowing with buds.

"Take a seat agent Jackson, I'm finishing this up .. ", he said as he read through a few pages and eventually signed. Then he looked up and noticed Marcus behind Richard and smiled nodding:"What can I do for you, gentlemen?".

When Richard's eyes caught Sandra, she felt a flood of relief. It appeared that she was not going to face this debriefing alone, though there were still plenty of new, expectant faces that turned her way. To her they seemed to be weighing and judging her as well.

When Richard entered the room, she was not sure if she should follow. Her mind raced. Erin had given her no further instructions. She assumed that she was to wait here until called upon. To do otherwise might irritate the debriefers. But like a woman who had fallen overboard, she watched as a life preserver was quickly floating away.

She swallowed and burried the part of herself that was the frightened little mouse. Just as the door was about to close completely, she caught the end, opened it, and stepped inside.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily Ai," he chuckled quietly, "Mainly cause I don't think I can even sit up straight yet...let alone walk out of here."

Marcus stepped forward and offered his hand to Mr. Gunn, a broad smile upon his lips.

"Greetings sir. It is good to see you again. Agent Smith sends his regards, alongside his gratitude for the quality of the equipment you allocated for his latest assignment, as well the notification that it'll be returned with the usual method, accompanied of course by a video recording of its performance in the field, as per your request, plus a detailed report for your eyes only, as is the understanding.

Now, as to the reason of our visit today, agent Jackson here, as the team leader of an amalgam I've been urgently seconded to, is in need of your unparalleled expertise and invaluable assistance, in terms of proper equipment, to handle an ongoing critical assignment, and I offered to accompany him here and make the introductions. I would be much obliged if you could help him with his requisitions and my appreciation will be expressed in the future as well".

"Thank you for the introduction, Mr. Drake," Richard said with a nod, rising from the seat he'd taken when offered it to offer his hand to Mr. Gunn after Marcus finished speaking.  He became somber swiftly.  "My team -- our team," he corrects himself, noticing Sandra's presence -- "was on what was supposed to be a forensics post-facto.  You may not have heard the details what happened to Delta team?  And it seems that the people responsible for their deaths were looking to double their gains..."

He proceeds to relay an edited-for-time-and-indignity version of their escapades out in the field, emphasizing the action, the danger, the fear that they might not make it all out -- and that some of them didn't -- but that not all hope is lost... "...and in sum, we're likely going to be actively pursued by the Challengers, who count RDs, EDEs, and likely-brainwashed Order personnel among their number," Richard concludes grimly.  "What I'm interested in is low-key firepower that can stymie hardened targets, anything that will help us notice or identify RD activity, and anything that might offer protection against excessive injuries.  Our primary catch is that only one of my team has significant weapons-handling enforcer-related experience; to the best of my understanding, everyone else has enough skill to put several holes in a target down on the firing range, but not much more beyond.  Is there anything you might be able to offer us within those restrictions?"

Buttering Mr. Gunn up with a story, with any luck -- Manipulation + Expression, with the Eloquent specialty.

17:49, Today: Richard Jackson rolled 4 successes using 8d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed, Specialised system with a target of 6, rerolling 10s ((3,6,8,4,8,5,4,9)).  manip+expression to make severity of case.

"Marcus ..", mister Gunn smirked:"If you had your head up my ass any further you could see what I had for breakfast this morning bhahahaha!", he chortled, and then his laughing fit turned into a coughing fit:" .. unparalleled expertise and invaluable assistance, nice one".
He coughed a few more times then shook Richard's hand:"You New World Order types are as slick as greased up priests", he joked.
While he didn't appear to be a bad sort his course personality was probably one of the reasons why he was in Requisitions rather than one of the more glamourous positions within the Syndicate.
He took out a cigarette and offered the package to his visitors.
"To the business at hand", he sat back again.

(i'd like a new tally of the pooled backgrounds of our current team configuration. Everyone please post which backgrounds you've pooled in the OOC thread. After that we'll roll what you get from mister Gunn)

"Now to catch a few winks..." with which he winked at Ai and then closed his eyes to take a nice long nap.  Normally he wouldn't want to stay on these beds but he could barely move so it was better to simply clock out there than try to head elsewhere.



---
ooc: unless dragged off onto action Vadim will sleep off at least the bashing if not the lethal as well.

Sandra stood stiffly with a confused expression on her face. It changed from realization to barely suppressed embarrassment as she realized that this was not really a debriefing.

"Ahh.. If there are any devices that offer mental shielding, one of the deviants I ran in to showed exceptional mind affecting powers..." she said, thinking quickly to offer up a reason for her intrusion.

22:25, Today: Sandra Reyes rolled 1 success using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 with rolls of 5,7,2.  Manipulation + Expression.

I went with manipulation since she's trying to smooth over her entrance.

"Has he been inside your mind, agent Reyes?", mister Gunn asked her, his voice sounded cautious. Erin stiffened:"Was he?".

Sandra's face paled on the realization that careless words like that heard by the wrong set of ears within the Union would doom her. Fear and anger tightened her throat and stomach. Life was so much simpler in a lab. There were no insane idealouges to be found in formulas. No omnipresent overseers in data. No lava monsters jumping out of samples.

There was no getting out of this one. She could either tell an obviously lie or admit the hard truth and hope Gunn wasn't a hardliner.

"Ah. Yes..." She said weakly. Quickly, she added "At least enough to get my name out of me while dominating the minds of two cops on scene. He controlled them like puppets."

Sandra cast an apologetic look at Richard for not telling him or the team before now. "Uh.. It's a long story. Circumstances were that he couldn't do that to me at that moment."

Erin exchanged a glance with mister Gunn and she stepped into Gunn's office, lightly tapping Richard's shoulder:"Richard .. escort agent Reyes to the White Room, Marcus can take over for you here". Erin kept an eye on Sandra all this time:"We need to ascertain you aren't still being mentally coerced or used as a conduit of some sort. Your debriefing can't wait".

Mister Gunn didn't miss a beat. He nodded goodbye to Richard and started addressing Marcus instead:"See, this is the problem. With the cost of the new HQ running in the millions, the cover up procedures we had to pull out of our ass, the payoffs, the equipment each of your workstations have we have far exceeded our allocated budget. . We've had to replace an entire amalgam. We'll also need to account for one total loss van your team lost in the demolishion of the lawfirm that was our former front", mister Gunn explained:"I simply can't justify the costs at the moment", he said. "And .. ", his tone got a little conspiratorial:' .. while one is not wont to shit where one eats to coin a phrase one can imagine the demise of VIGIL Gamma is a costly embarrasment the upper echelons would rather be done with. It may take some time to develop a little goodwill with the topbrass to  .. convince them to grease the squeeky wheel".

He leaned back and finished his cigarette and went for a new one. "What I can do for you right now is to put in an extension on the items you were already assigned by supervisor Light. The weapons, the special ammo, the suits. As well as put in your temporary custody the items mister Ellings found in supervisor Stryker's car. They're currently floating in bueaucratic limbo until such time my report on them reaches the Symposium. We were able to quickly identify a couple of items as they are fairly standard Union staple".

He placed on his desk the skinmask:"Plastiskin capable of closely mimicking a given person. We have identified the face it mimicks as James Taylor Farnsworth, a pharmacist who lives in Anaheim".

He placed the burner phone on the desk:"Call 112 and the phone blankets a cityblock in a mini EMP, shortcircuiting anything electronic. One time use. Centered on its user so if you got a cybernetic heart it may be more trouble than its worth".

"Standard NWO shades, capable of detecting Primal Utility, one pair", he placed a pair of sunglasses on the table.

"ReGen411, increases the healing process, stitches up internal bleeding". He placed a vial of pills on the table.

" .. And one bag of gummie bears".

"Beyond that I'm afraid you are left to your own devices for the time being, mister Drake".
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:12, Mon 26 Sept 2016.

Matthew had stepped into the room and though quite bulky also left again nearly unnoticed when Sandra was send out again like a silent bodyguard. When the mind control thing comes up he mutters something under his breath about cluster fucks and taps his sunglasses as he falls in behind to proceed escorting.

After a few more steps he speaks in a soft tone.

"She is clean. No traces of active mind taps in place or any other advanced tech for that matter."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:56, Tue 27 Sept 2016.

Richard grew very grave when Sandra spoke of what she'd endured -- this was dire seriousness, and Erin suggested they move forward, he simply placed a hand on Sandra's shoulder and nudge-guided them out.

The hand fell to his side as they continued down the way.  "Keep heart, Agent Reyes," he said, a hopeful smile briefly on his face.  "We may find nothing at all.  Even if we do, though, the data we find could be tremendously helpful."

Sandra was let into the white Room. It was a circular concrete room, painted stark white with a metal chair in the middle. It had clamps for arms and legs to restrain the interviewed and what appeared to be a VR helmet hung over it with cables running up to the ceiling, then down the wall and connected to a series of terminals and a single computer screen and keyboard.
A bright white light shone down from the ceiling. The only other light came from a spotlight attached to a camera directed at the chair.

"Please be seated, agent Reyes", Erin said. she let Richard in and nodded to Matthew:"We'll take it from here, thank you. Feel free to make yourself familiar with the facility", she smiled.

The heavy metal door closed, leaving Reyes alone with Richard and Erin in the White Room.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:28, Tue 27 Sept 2016.

Sandra tried to keep her face neutral during Erin's reply. With no real choice in the matter that she could see, she let herself be escorted out the door.

Matthew's announcement that he detected no traces of Mind manipulation on her gave her a sudden sense of relief that she did not realize she needed. In fact, looking back on the events that led her to this situation, she felt a strange sense of pride well up within her. At least my conscience is clear. I did all I could.

Sandra smiled and nodded to Richard in response to his friendly gesture. At least if he was coming along there would be someone else in the room that experienced the debacle first hand.

When she entered the room, her eyes were immediately drawn to the interrogation chair, especially the restraints and gadgets no doubt meant to extract information. "I hope that won't be necessary. I'll tell you everything freely..." she said to Erin. She hesitated on taking a seat as instructed, but ultimately complied. Though she kept her hands folded in her lap and her ankles crossed - and consequently her limbs away from the restraints.

"While you're going to tell us exactly what has happened we're going to run a couple of tests to check whether there are any lingering traces of mental coersion. Personally I would prefer that you are restrained if we do accidentally trigger a posthypnotic suggestion left behind buried deep in your subconcious. Rather than forcing Richard to .. neutralize you if it triggers a violent reaction", Erin smiled somewhat impatiently.
"You are among friends" she reassured Sandra.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:18, Wed 28 Sept 2016.

Matthew looks at the door thats closed before him and then looks around and decides a little wandering is not that bad as he does he finally ends up in the medical facility where there are people not occupied with interrogating their own people like they are the enemy. He looks around the room and addresses no one in particular.

"I been told to familiarize myself with the facility. I am a little unsure about the intent though. I understood you needed a pick up. I delivered your agent so why should i remain? Is a more extended cooperation intended?"
This message was last edited by the player at 21:58, Fri 30 Sept 2016.

Marcus nodded, hiding his slight disappointment beneath the well-trained visage of formality and professionalism.

"I understand Mister Gunn. There is no need to attract unwanted attention through requests that do not have a chance of being accepted by the higher echelons. Not while situations are in the current troubled state, as per your accurate description.

Nevertheless, thank you for pushing the limits of red tape and providing us with the aforementioned gear. It will hopefully be put to good use and contribute to the turning of the tables, regarding what transpired during the last few days.

Thank you again. Looking forward to our next meeting".

Sandra glanced at Richard when Erin suggested that he might be forced to 'neutralize' her. She frowned, then took a deep breath. "Very well."

She closed her eyes, placed her wrists and ankles in the restraints, and tried to focus on her breathing. After a few moments of relaxing, she began.

"It started when I was Jumped to the Reagan Presidential Library to assist the police on scene and to make sure the targets did not escape through the Umbra. I landed very unceremoniously - I can go into more details if you want, but I'd rather not...

By the time I recovered, the Deviants were already upon me. I didn't immediately realize it at that moment, but they fit the description of the Challengers of the Unknown. One of them, who looked like a twelve year old boy at the time, greeted me by name." Sandra paused a moment and opened her eyes. A distant part of her was aware that her whole body felt cold and numb as she recalled the frightening events.

"Well, confused, I asked who he was, how he knew my name, and what had happened to the cops. He flippantly said that the cops were 'playing in the ballpit', whatever that meant, and that they would return to their old selves after having been" she continued in her best efforts to mimic the boy's menacing tone "'deprogrammed and with no memory of your Union.'

He then threatened me and demanded that I drop the barrier I had constructed."

"And did you do as he demanded?", Erin asked. Erin glanced at Richard, inviting him to participate in questioning Sandra.

"Yes and no," replied Sandra. She paused to gather her thoughts and consider how to best answer that question. "Please, you have to understand what happened. Why I had to do what I did. It was the only way to escape and still be of use to the team..!"

Realizing she was getting ahead of herself, Sandra closed her eyes and took another breath. She returned to where she was in her story. "You see, there were five oddly dressed individuals where there should have been police officers locking down the building. I assumed that they were Deviants of some kind, probably Tradition 'mages'. I couldn't take anything for granted, especially not this twelve year old boy that somehow knew my name and implied that he had control over the cops.

Five against one. The best I could do was stall for time. I tried appealing to reason. I told them that even if I were to bring the barrier down, by the time I did backup would arrive. That they should just run. He didn't like that idea."

"We believe you," Richard said soothingly, circling to where Sandra could clearly see him.  "We're not calling your judgement into question.  Our concern is that we're dealing with a powerful coven of reality deviants, with yet-unknown proficiencies; the restraints are simply there to ensure that you aren't being unknowingly utilized by people who want to hurt you, or others."

He popped a squat, going to eye level, nodding solemnly.  "That said -- can you describe the other four likely reality deviants that were there?  Any details you can recall -- age, sex, clothing, identifying marks..."

 Ai worked diligently, but glanced towards Jackie's form. There was hesitation for a moment before she stood, holding a syringe, whispering softly. "Maybe.... maybe..."

She injected the liquid into her, waiting for a moment before she seemed to focus on the other, staring intently.

11:48, Today: Ai Fujiwara rolled 2 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 5.  We Are One - willpower spent for success, quint spent to lower difficulty by 1.

"One was a blonde woman with glowing red eyes. She wore a blue and white lycra suit with yellow stars on the shoulders. Another woman, dark haired, wore a tight black leather outfit and a red cape. There was a man in a dark blue cloak. I never got a good look at his features. Picture a super hero group and you're not far off...

The kid eventually shape-changed into a bald headed man in his forties wearing a black suit. The best way I can describe it is that I watched the kid grow up in the span of seconds.

All of them were Caucasian. But finally there was... a human brain floating in fluid in a jar which was carried by the dark haired woman. When the bald man spoke, the others responded not to him, but to the brain in the jar." Sandra said, finishing her description. She wanted to rub her temples as she recalled the next events, but instead scowled at the restraints around her wrists.

"Whether it was the man or the brain, I believed him once two cops entered the room, obviously under directed mental control. He threatened to have one of them chew the other's face off. Again, reasoning failed. He cared nothing for the officer's lives. He justified the groups' actions by saying that the Union had 'broken' each of them, that it was 'Dr. Mengele' that freed them, and that they were going to remove Lauren's, my own, and the whole team's 'brainwashing'."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:30, Thu 29 Sept 2016.