"That sounds pretty much how I'd view things." She agreed with Divine on her view of the written law, "And yes, that plan seems to be reasonable."

Walking with the other hero, talking to people on other boats they finally get to the Shadowhawk.  At the gangway the somewhat imposing figure of the past heavyweight champion stops them.  In a cheery voice Lite Star starts off.

"Hello...oh, Mr Miaksen.  Pleased to meet you, I am Lite Star, She offered a hand in cordial greeting, "My data banks recognize you from your previous professional athletic endeavors and success.  We are making inquires as to an ongoing investigation and were wondering if you have a moment to possible assist?"

Turning her head slightly to Divine so she can start with the questions and apply her abilities.

Justicar already having done his patrol down the marina was now at the far end and continued on out if sight landed a mile down the shore on top of a building out of sight and pauses still in radio range.

'Doesn't seem the team wants my input anymore...', he pondered... 'though I never suggested a forced entry to the Shadowhawk ~ it seems they all believe that was what I was suggesting. Guess its just easy to dismiss a teen's ideas... just have to get use to it as long as I'm on the team...'


He sighed but decided to try again.

[Private to group LESPradio: "Justicar here, Oni? How is that data search on this St. Sebastian Isle going?  Is it 'officially' in Spain's territorial waters? Yeah, it's in the Caribbean but are we allowed to just go there and snoop around without search warrants? Do we even have the time to visit it? I don't think the bomb would there its somewhere on the east coast, we might find supplemental leads there but do we have the time to chase them down? What's your angle on that?"]
This message was last edited by the player at 09:21, Fri 30 Apr 2021.

In reply to Chimp Man Z (msg # 219):


Derek cocks his head, curiously, listening to Jacob.  "Uh, Jake?", he asks. "Who are Ray and Barracuda?  We going fishing, or something?"

Divine flashes both her LESP ID and a winning smile, unleashing her mystically-augmented force of personality on the man to help ease his suspicions.

"We are investigating a rash of thefts committed by non-conventional means, and evidence leads us to look for a subaquatic lair somewhere along this shoreline," she explains smoothly, the previous couple of runs at unimportant vessels having been good practice.  "Have you or any of the rest of the crew seen anything suspicious in the area?"

It doesn't take a supernatural sense to know that Miaksen was a criminal; he was, after all, a convicted felon.  Hopefully she will be able to get a sense if he's currently involved in something a little more...serious.


OOC: Trust/Intimidate: 88%. – 44
Seeing what Criminal Intuition says about what sort of criminal Miaksen might currently be.

In reply to Nimbus (msg # 224):

Riptide and Baraccuda.  They are old friend s of mine who work for the Coastguard and the Port Authority respectively, Jacob responds.  But, the others seem to have another plan that might work.

In reply to JUSTICAR (msg # 223):

[Private to group LESPradio: This is Oni. I don't have much information beyond my previous findings. It is a quite leap of logic but my suspicion is that artificial structure I've detected on the island is a secret base of some sort. Water is perfect for avoiding various scanning technologies.

Let's see if Divine and Lite Star can get something from the boat. If not, that island is our only lead, and in that case I suggest we kindly violate the territorial integrity of Spain"]

The ex-boxer shows he's had experience with being recognized, with a huge grin he says,
"Ladies! How do you do? I'm sorry to hear about the thefts, as I'm in the process of distancing myself from the indiscretions of my youth. Unfortunately, I find there's nowhere you can go to completely avoid the criminal element."
"Father Kinkaid has helped. He's allowing me to provide security for his boat, and when we make the run to the island it really does feel like I'm getting away from it all. Have you met him?"
"He's not here. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you came aboard and looked around. They have a very good radar thing, maybe that could help with your search."
"Try not to disrupt the loading too awful much, we're scheduled to return to the island, and need to get the supplies aboard."

[Private to Divine: Despite his past, Mr. Miaksen doesn't appear to be doing anything illegal at the moment.]
This message was last edited by the player at 03:01, Wed 21 Apr 2021.

Tyger strained to catch the gist of the exchange between Miaksen and her LESP compatriots, but it was difficult from her vantage point.  Still, she seemed to get the gist of it - at least she thought she did from the body language.  The lithe army veteran was pretty sure that you didn't need a warrant with invitation.

But, that wasn't her primary concern yet.  There was plenty of cargo movement on to the boat - and likely just routine supplies.

But, it still needed surveillance.  That was here current goal even if there didn't seem to be much else unusual happening on the boat.

---

[OOC:  Anything else to overhear?

  10:30, Today: Tyger rolled 91 using 1d100.  Surveillance Systems  [TN 71%]: Anything else to observe that might be interesting? – [roll=1618767030.62551.315641]
Not much there that she could see, I guess...]
[Private to GM: not much to see, but 25 experience points for taking a look]
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:00, Wed 21 Apr 2021.

Lite Star gave a nod to Ty, and a slight head tilt.

"That would be very good if we could have a little chat with some of the crew, though as you say, we'll avoid causing disruption.  And if I could see any radar or sensor logs that are available it would be a great help."

She now was sure that the boat had nothing to hide physically, else they would not be allowed on, but Divine might pick something up, and getting a view at their sensory gear and logs might give more information about the capabilities of the vessel.

"I am glad father Kinkaid has been able to assist you personally Mr Miaksen."

Tyler steps aside, leaving the gangplank clear, and calls out "two to come aboard, captain!"
The crew member that isn't carrying things comes to the gangplank, smiles, and nods as he gives a 'come ahead' wave with his hand.
Tyler chuckles, and says, "the captain appears to be a man of few words, till you get tired of the soccer matches on the lounge tv and call it a puh, uh, weakling sport."
"Go on aboard, and if you need anything about the boat, itself, you should ask the captain. Most of the crew are actually unskilled labor. Father Kinkaid takes them on and gives them room and board while they learn to handle themselves on a boat, then they go to work on other vessels and the only thing the Father asks is that they tell the people they meet about the church."

Jacob does not bother to make the call, listening to what is happening over the radio.  Remember that we have no authority in Spanish territorial waters, or in international waters, either.   Anyone foing to that island is going to require a liaison from whatever agency holds authority over it.

Divine smiles her appreciation to the invitation and follows Lite Star aboard.

"It’s always good to discover when someone can overcome their past and legitimately be on the straight and narrow," she agrees, meeting her companion’s gaze and giving her a nod.  One down, a number to go; but if she doesn’t get any hits from her preternatural senses, they may have to write this off as a dead end and start from square one trying to figure out the meaning of the words of a dying man.

She makes a point of speaking to everyone they encounter, even if briefly, to get a sense of the sort of people that make up the ship’s crew.  A much more thorough inspection of the vessel from its own deck is also certainly what is needed to turn up any sort of evidence of illegal doings, if there are any.

The ShadowHawk is a fairly well-run ship, and most of the crew are happy to share. The Captain actually tells you that you have 'the run of the ship' while he attends to other duties. What can be learned in a search of the ship and speaking with the crew?

• The boat is usually moored at San Sebastian Island
• San Sebastian is in the northern part of the Caribbean and appears to be one of the American protectorates, however, there is no native population to the small island so there's not really anything there to govern.
• Father Kinkaid entertains numerous celebrities on his island. In just the last year, they've had Billy Klang, Rachelle Yu, and Tyler Miaksen (rock star, action movie star, boxing star).
• They're due to leave tomorrow and return to the island

[Private to Lite Star: You're pretty sure you could pilot this ship, and are slightly tempted to do so just to see what the hydrofoils are like. Oh, did I mention that before? This is a hydrofoil yacht, top speed about 60 nm.]
[Private to Divine: None of the crew appear to be involved in criminal activity.]
[Private to Tyger: You observe the captain speaking with someone, and writing in his notebook "transmit signal at ETA minus ten"]

In reply to Chimp Man Z (msg # 232):

Derek turns to Jacob.  "If we're not going to do much good here, do you want to regroup?  Either head to the docks with the rest, or back to headquarters?"

In a few moments, he says to Nimbus.  He turns back to Lt Broyko.  Has anyone been in touch with Interpol?  To see what information they might have.  Chances are that any group capable of fielding a diety bomb ir any other kind of nuke is going to be international.

Divine’s vague feeling of frustration grows as she sees more of the vessel and speaks to members of the crew.  It’s becoming more and more clear that their assumptions were off.

"I think we’ve taken up enough of these people’s time; let’s move on," she says to Lite Star, giving the other woman a faint shake of her head.  Upon disembarking, she immediately contacts the rest of her team.

[Language unknown: "Art ut t te, korwhienteve vertedted n moleal ha rovir ad listwaes ine lowiwh noare essforsomres m toadca ck eehaar aretinith,"] she reports curtly.  [Language unknown: "U ho ie lait, a nd en ro iveureard tedndesanmenmen ompari llom ‘Terillnottedout’ we ardresderera io conntiate rutsanhat ro’ie ssteol u traaveall ngeswh mo meel adlolo m nce iostel."]

Dammit!  All that time a waste, and now back to square one with the threat of a terror attack looming even closer.

Jacob responds over the radio.
[Private to group LESPradio: Has anyone run sensor scans while aboard the boat?  Like for radiation.]

Just doin' his job.
[Private to group LESPradio: Heads up. We just got word the location and deactivation codes delivered at the actual ransom pickup were legit. Seal team twelve picked up the device and tried the codes in a secure space. Bomb is deactivated and the active portions are being destroyed.]

Having examined the sensor equipment and any logs from them she could, Lite Star did indeed do a sweep with her radiation detection system, as well as use the advanced audio system on the suit to listen out for anything irregular.

Leaving her radio active to answer Jacobs question as well as seeming to speak with Divine when the other hero indicated it was time to go. "Yes.  Everyone here has been very co operative, but we should move on."

Moving with Divine to leave the boat she looked back over it.  It would have been fun to take it for a spin, after all speed was something she enjoyed.

Justicar, holds his position monitoring Lite Star and Divine from long distant until they Actually leave the boat.  He waits just a minute or two monitoring the 'Shadowhawk', just to be certain before taking off to head for LESP Base.

Then detective Broyko's call on the LESP Channel frustrates and infuriates him!

[Private to group LESPradio: "SO, we weren't needed at all?  Next time your just going to pay the terrorists anyways... might want to include that note in your First memo to us.  Save us a lot of time and effort."]
This message was last edited by the player at 09:20, Fri 30 Apr 2021.

Jacob looks at Lt Broyko with an inscrutable expression.  Let's go, Nimbus.  Our work here is done.  He turns to leave, heading out to the parking garage and his pre-owned Prius 1.
Reaching for the door, it unlocks as soon as he tugs on the handle.  He slips into the driver seat, unlocking the other doors.  Closing the door and buckling his seat belt, he presses the brake, then the start button at the base of the steering column.
When he grips the wheel, he sits quietly, staring off into space.  There is a cracking sound, the sound of wrenching metal.  When he releases the wheel, the foam-covered resin breaks away from the bent metal skeleton in small, powdery pieces.  Damn.  Third one this year.

In reply to Chimp Man Z (msg # 242):


Derek looks at the steering wheel, sips his coffee, and then gives Jacob a half-amused, half sympathetic glance.

"So . . . " he says, breaking the tense silence.  "We're flying then?"

Divine snorts, glancing aside at Lite Star.  "Typical.  Politics," she adds with a shrug.  It’s always frustrating when the critical mission suddenly goes away though less direct means, but it happens.

[Language unknown: "Ic ndeta esssompro'ionthu ad om olisha roistr, Nc’u la niure er wa pa,"] she gently reminds some of her team that how the situation was resolved was less important than the fact that it had been.

"I’d offer you a ride, but I imagine you’ll have no problem getting back on your own?" she asks her fellow hero, her own persona of Divine washing away to reveal her more mundane self.  Could probably shoehorn that armour into her Jeep, but she didn’t think it likely she’d be taken up on her offer.

Oni felt a rush relief.

[Language unknown: "Om ma Lable. Ousle o hou tifo nt peadla m wh stac, str m o hoich m ssthu somoerven. Evmaen evtole le ati me fi mo anpre lar antstaugh u thu ainiv. Ta her ec inendi bepro diilss. Et ivnd romeraart weieretr ourerslesstr, artsanave was ineich'romiou of ureta latncerea. La laich ca"]

Listening to the radio she gave a sigh, shoulders slumping a little.  Lite Star looked over at Divine and shrugged.

"Actually I think I'll take that offer.  I think the company will be good.  Once we get back I'll download my logs and then.... I don't know, look to do something to let off stress I think.  Need a bit of a positive adrenaline hit, maybe a few laps of a track on my bike."

The armoured suit would fit into most vehicles well enough if the seat was angled back a bit to give the six and half foot head clearance, sensory antenna could be folded back easily enough and the weight was carriable.