++Yeah. I'll just run, uh, quadruple duty compared to everyone else for exactly the same pay. That'll be cool. I mean, it's not like I have any interns or assistants to help me out.++

Devon might be in his office (or cubicle, depending on how one might define small, musty, tightly delineated areas), but he was very practiced at expressing sarcasm across any distance, no Procedures needed.

"You want to swap Devon?" Genial as the reply might be James had no doubt there would be no rush to take the job from him. Taking only amoment to make sure his guns were still secured under his jacket he moved for the door at an idle pace, raising a brief hand, I'd also appreciate it if we can submit a request for some heavier firepower. I've got enough stopping power for ordinary folk but if we're dealing with superheroes, reality deviants and unknown others I might need something in the way of firepower that would drop an angry rhino. No rush but I'm going to need them in before we pick a target and decide on a full frontal assault"

Arthur just raise a slight eyebrow at Devon's rant but kept his mouth shut making a mental note about it.

 Ai nodded. "If there's nothing else, I'll head to the morgue and begin preparing for the autopsies. If nothing else, hopefully I can save Devon a bit of work from having to root around in the Gamma team for some of those cybernetics. I hope everything goes well for the rest of you, but if you feel a need, I'll be available when you get back." She assured them with a smile before looking to Lauren to see if there was anything further needed.

"If you can't handle the work pressure, Devon we can find someone who can. I'm sure we can find something better suited to your .. special needs if you have trouble multitasking", Erin responds to Devon's complaint:"There's always a need for technicians on the assembly line".

From the safety of half an office worth of distance, Devon rolled his eyes. ++First of all, I just pulled off a hack that would've taken a team of top-notch keyboard jockeys a week to pull off, so good luck with that. Further, I'll remind you all we decided I needed to be on site to check the surveillance equipment, unless you can pull the entire building's security gear with your insurance agent cover. I turned down a lot of jobs that would've kept me in a cubicle at much, much better pay to join up here on the premise that I'd be doing field work, thank you.++

He keyed in a few commands, seeing what could be gleaned from the image, cleaning it up as he went, and cross-referenced it with all available employee files, and state and national identity databases for good measure. ++And if we want to go about picking up some new toys and better firepower, I know people... on account, y'know, of already having worked my way up from assembly line work... or programming in Assembly, which, same thing.++

In a way, Ai looked a little relieved. At the very least, Devon's complaints seemed to be bringing the ever-watchful eyes of her superiors away from herself. Even so, she found herself looking towards her ipad for a moment before she looked back to Lauren for confirmation that she could head out and get to work. Those cadavers weren't going to prep themselves, after all.

Arthur looked at his watch, he had no idea where Devon got his training but so far he was acting in a very non professional way. They all were expendable and to think otherwise beside the hubris was a sure way to get redacted.

He glance at the team leader, it was her role to get things in line "While I am sure this is all a fascinating discussion, there are still a group of killers outside that consider attacking our people a valid option. I suggest we delay this discussion to after we have dealt with the current threat."

By the time Lauren had finished handing out assignments, Jacki was already by the door and ready to go. Her knuckles rap against the wall softly. Her body almost vibrating with energy.

"So, we done with the little bitch session, or did this all of a sudden turn into a negotiation?"

++I'm gathering up my gear, but if the boss lady is gonna ignore a primary objective and stick me behind a desk, then I'm already working on that, too.++

Devon sighed. This is why he hated working by committee. ++In case it's not obvious, I can do all the research necessary on the way. But I could maybe go on-site after the primary team does their sweep to gather the data from the equipment. Pose as a repair man or something... but in my opinion, since that requires double the covers, double the time, and potentially double the personnel unless we decide it's better for me to go in alone (which has some problems as well), then I don't think it's ideal when I could just be posing as a damage assessor specializing in electronics on this first op. Just my recommendation, though.++

"OK, let's get to it.  Ai, go get started on those autopsies.  Try and have your initial report by the time we return.

Devon, your hacking has already yielded some extremely valuable intel.  Once you have those credentials ready we can head out.  Please make a cover for every member of the team in case we all deploy to the field at some point.  You can come with if it isn't going to slow you down, but I really need the identity of that eyewitness and you are our best shot at getting that.

OK, folks let's roll.  Devon, get those IDs to the front entrance.  Meet us there if you are heading out with us."

Lauren issued the orders quickly but managed her microexpressions to ensure that she gave off every signal of confidence.  Just because she felt nervous about this assignment didn't mean everyone had to know it.

(Devon, finding out what insurance company the law firm is using is easy peasy since they were originally hired through Citizens working for Vigil. For creating the actual ID's you can choose to wing it which is Intelligence+Subterfuge, difficulty 6 and takes 5 minutes for each ID badge. These will not hold up to close scrutiny. However since most likely the guards never saw ID from the insurance company it will likely not cause much of a fuss. Alternatively for more perfect ID's you'd need to hack the insurance company, download their specific template for ID passes and then you can make a perfect copy. But obviously that takes more time and may not be needed since you're not trying to use them to bypass electronics)

(I'll toss that one back to Lauren, actually)

<darkblue>++Hey boss lady, how good are we looking for? I can mess around in Photoshop and have this done in half an hour, or have legit scans from their template by like, lunch... If you want us to actually have full covers in their system in case we get scanned, that's another whole job in itself. Your call.++

In any case, he began launching the necessary programs.

"OK, Devon, let's go with both.  I want something quick that will get us on the scene but I want backup documents for a deeper cover in case we are questioned later.  Priority on the initial documents.

If it's going to take you an hour, I am going to get the rest of the team something to eat before Jacki starts chewing on the furniture.  Can we bring you back something?  Ai, you want anything?"

Lauren had remembered that it was the little things from her previous supervisors that had made her like them.  That and always having her back.  She hadn't asked for this job, but she intended to do it well.

++Coding is an engine fueled by grease and caffeine. I prefer my grease to be of the meat-based variety and my caffeine to be accompanied by sugars.++

He fed information into his data-crawlers and found what he could about the previous front's insurance.

Still Int + Sub? Could we get the diceroller set to Whitewolf one of these days? I'll roll it at dif 6 in case that can help move things forward, ignore if it's the wrong thing.

Huh. Forgot a specialty for Int. Oh well: Devon Arc rolled 3 successes using 7d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 6 ((8,6,3,1,7,9,3)).

(if you were going for the quick fix then an intelligence+subterfuge at difficulty 6 yes. You basically do a cut and paste job to make badges with easily available information such as logos, fonts, etc found online and paste photos of the team members in. They won't open electronic locks at the insurance firm's office but then that's not the point, you just need to fool the hired guards at the lawfirm into letting you into Vigil's former front building. Because you got 3 successes instead of 1 you shave off 10 minutes of preptime and finish in 15 minutes)
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:31, Fri 11 Mar 2016.

(Great job so far guys. I'm going to open up two new threads tonight, one for Ai's medical research and one for the group visiting the lawfirm. When you are done with this scene please post End Scene. Everyone can take 3xp).
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:02, Fri 11 Mar 2016.

She blinked, a bit surprised to be offered something. "Oh, well, if you could, by chance bring me something from wherever you end up going? That would be really fantastic." She reasoned with a soft smile before she headed out to the morgue, preparing for the upcoming procedure.

<End Scene for Ai>

What're we looking for from Devon with the second half of Lauren's request? More of the same roll at different time, or something else?

"Got it," Jacki manages a mock military salute, before almost throwing herself from the conference room.

<Fin.>

Devon set to work breaking into the insurance company's systems to better mock up some more authentic IDs.

Cool, moving this procedure right along sounds like the way to go, since it's proven useful. I like what you had for a name ST, but how about Personality Matrix Data Analyzer? Or should it only be good for passwords, no psych profiles or anything?

Need ten successes, I'll just leave the diff at 4 since I don't have a reliable source of Primium batteries or the training to refine my own yet.

1: Devon Arc rolled 3 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 4 ((7,5,10))
2: Devon Arc failed (no successes) using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 4 ((1,2,6)) (iirc, I can keep going... I don't think I need to spend a point of Willpower to do so, but if I do, consider it spent)
3: Devon Arc failed (no successes) using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 4 ((2,1,5)) (Ones cancel rule, you are the first thing I houserule out of every game I run. How I hate thee.)
4: Devon Arc rolled 3 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 4 ((9,7,8)).
5: Devon Arc failed (1 failure) using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 4 ((7,1,1)). (and this is where I am reasonably sure I absolutely have to spend a point of Willpower. Sheesh, at least I quoted a few more hours for this project)
6: Devon Arc rolled 3 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 4 ((4,10,5)).

There we go. If I was wrong and any of the no successes or full failures screwed the whole project, then ignore all of this and the team can just deal with the IDs we've already got, if not, it's one willpower spent (and I think one paradox?) and an hour and a half of work with +1 success for a little polish. There was another step to this project I think? If not: END.

(well Devon, some good news and some bad news. According to M20 the maximum number of dice you are allowed to roll in an extended magic rol is equal to arete/genius+willpower. Hadn't read that but technically that means you can't roll those 10 successes needed.
To which i say bullocks. One of the fun thing about mages is that their reach can exceed their grasp and that the lure of power sometimes pushes them over their limits with disastrous results. So now for the bad news :).

The bad news is your Procedure goes tits up this time. The compiler starts spitting out the wrong information and threatens to create a programming paradox.
Spending that willpower point (you may spend 1/round) means you avoid the botch.
Now you need to decide whether you want to break off the Procedure here and fail .. or continue.

If you break off the Procedure obviously you have failed in your hacking attempt. Your program couldn't put together the proper password and you don't get into the system. Flunked.

If you continue you lose 1 previous success and your difficulty goes up by +1, so to finish you need to roll 2 more successes at difficulty 5. And if you botch again .. well i'd hate to be you.)
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:48, Mon 14 Mar 2016.

That's interesting, and I clearly missed that section, could I get a page number to see what else I've missed? I blush to admit, but I have fallen to skimming the 800 pages of the new core book despite an adoration of the game.

And as to continuing... Devon is Nature: Hacker. Do I think that means the cautious kind...

Nah. Now he's pissed. He'll press on and since he's getting emotional about it, he'll burn out a Primium capacitor on his motherboard for the first roll, and toss another willpower into it t'boot. Even if we don't need the IDs by the end of this, he need proof o concept (and to not look bad after his grandiose speech earlier.

Devon Arc rolled 1 success using 3d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 4 ((1,6,4)).

PHEW. Aight, with that willpower and quintessence, scraped by. /shakes fist at ones.

Devo was deep in it. Sweat poured from his brows as visualization analogues streamed bright light across his screen.

But finally, the hack was complete. He would need that lunch, though, and the greasier the better.

End of scene.

OC And since I was just waiting to make sure we were all wrapped up :)

End of scene