"The Porte will vanish ten seconds after we or Talion's children pass through.  It will re-open if the ring is closed and then re-opened by one of us, no others.  The rings will function in this way for approximately twenty-two more hours."

Mistral considered the second question for a moment then answered, "Unless activated within another mage's Ward, the Porte will function anywhere within this realm or Twilight.  Other realms beyond these, I can make no guarantee."  (OOC: in other words, GM call on any weird cases!)

---

Mistral inclined her head to the emaciated woman in the wheelchair, "Je suis content de t'avoir rencontré, Madame Ghost."  Looking at the assembled men she said, "I will go to the location guarded by un sorcier.  I am equipped to deal with the defenses.  I intend to extract the children quietly, as much as is possible.  Any who accompany moi must be willing to hold their fire."  She looked to her companions and asked, "Who will join my mission furtive?  Noah, I am afraid you do not qualify.  I would judge this form best suited to facing le loup-garou."

Mistral opted not to weigh in on the matter of the mecha-dragon.  She'd come to more or less accept Noah's flair for overbearing, flashy magic.  Both men had valid concerns, and in this case they would need whatever tools would get the mission done.

A rather menacing flock of rage spirits gathered at Argentus's call, and Mistral did her best not to look as concerned as she actually was as she looked up at them.  To Argentus she asked quietly, "Are you certain you have this in hand, mon ami?"  In answer to his question on whether she had the mastery to create a spirit-fetish, she begrudgingly shook her head and said, "Non, I have not attained such mastery, but I will help as I may."  Mistral did her best to mimic Argentus's intonations in the High Speech, though she did not fully comprehend the formulations, much to her annoyance.  When the call came for weapons she took her sheathed blade in hand and said, "If you've a limited number of enchantements then grant them to others first.  Défaiseur carries its own weight, in this respect."  If there was enchantment to spare, Mistral unsheathed the blackened blade of perfected meteoric iron, twirling it between her fingers before holding it out, point downward.

Argentus shook his head and waved Mistral off.  "Not sure I have it under control, but it's a better option than trying to fight them or risking them following us into the combat zone and hoping they don't accidentally kill some kids.  Thanks for being willing, but let's not risk bungling this."

He adjusted the circle a bit, placed the marbles and began chanting over whatever weapons were placed within it.  He let the spirits eyeing him know that only the  strongest third of them would be able to come and vent on the kidnappers today.  The rest of them would have to wait for a portal.  He intentionally broadcast his next speech to Mistral, "Mistral, once you clear the kids out of your jump point, feel free to call whichever of these guys stay here and don't attack now to come help with clean-up."

 Ghost inclined her head. "I don't know what you just said, but I'm sure it was a greeting of some kind."

 She waits patiently to see who is going with who... though time is of the essence and you don't have much time to spare.

 Strangely, she does not react at all to Mecha-Noah.

Prometheus nods in thanks to Mistral, satisfied that he has the information he needs.

---

Prometheus adds his machine Pistol to the pile of weapons that is going to be...enchanted. Its clearly not a tool he likes using, just by the way he is handling it, and clearly its a weapon of last resort.

Still, life has a habbit of going pearshapped.

At Mistral's question he does add, "I can come with you Mistral. While rescue is not usually my forte, I shouldn't slow you down too much."

He paused, considering what he had heard on the recording Sal had played for him, and then added, "If you trust 'me' that is..." He wasn't sure he completely believed it, and at this stage he wasn't sure which thoughts were really his, and which were this Lonely Mage characters...

So he would definitely understand if she said no.

Mistral realized she’d slipped into French without noticing, as she often did.  She clarified, “Oui, that was ‘Good to meet you’ in French.”  It had been a little sarcastic, but Mist imagined this Ghost picked up on that.  As much as she misliked having to work with these suits who might turn on them when all was said and done, she had to admit that Ghost seemed capable and quick-minded, and she appreciated that.  She asked the sickly woman, “Have you means of transport to the other two locations, or do you wish for a quicker way?”


Mistral nodded once in acknowledgment to Argentus, then looked up again at the ominous swarm of spirits.  She would certainly not mind giving these spirits the elemental vengeance that birthed them into being.


Mistral replied, “Très bien.  I welcome your expertise, and I know you have discretion... despite le manteau flamboyant.”  Her delivery was even and dry as usual, but there was a hint of a smirk at the corner of her mouth as she finished that sentence.

Prometheus then expressed an uncertainty over her trusting him, alluding to their curious earlier ‘disagreement’ while he was under hypnosis and implying that she might refuse his company.  Mistral looked away, a crease forming on her pale brow as she considered this, then glanced back to Prometheus and said quietly, “We should discuss that matter, but later.  As of now I mistrust you in equal measure to the others, but far less than these.”  She nudged her head subtly in the direction of the Men in Black, then added, “That is more than most.  I trust you to carry out the mission.”

Turning to the others of their group Mistral asked, “Will Monsieurs Argentus et Ralph go together to catch up whilst sauver le monde?  That would leave Monsieurs Noah et Sal, for a third team.  Three of our nouveaux amis to each.  Bien?”

 Ghost nodded her head. "We are not so dissimilar, you and I. I will be opening portals for your transportation, reinforcement, recovery, and escape while maintaining the arcane jamming signals."

 She wheels over to a nondescript van nearby. One of the other men opens the door for her and pulls down the ramps inside so she can get inside. Inside is a MIB armory. "I will be monitoring your progress from here. If any of you would like access to the Armory, I would ask that you allow me to establish telepathic contact so you can make requisitions.

 Keep in mind that we will be requiring the return of anything we lend you. These items are not normally allowed for civilian use outside of 'end of the world scenarios'."


 Looking inside, you can see the weapons and armor that the MIB seem to be using, complete with some heavier ordinance that none of them seem to be carrying. The main weapon looks to be a silenced pistol with the bore of a rifle, jacked into an optical overlay fitted over the ear that can see in x-ray and night vision.

 There were all kinds of bullets and darts of a similar caliber to the pistol. All of the bullets are stamped with the Synthos Inc. logo... meaning that these were made by Talion.

Sal understood why the team didn't trust the MIB to tackle a location on their own. He said, "My limited understanding of werewolves is that they tend to abhor killing each other. Argentus... do you believe you and Ralph can handle a supernatural threat of unknown nature? If so, I will go with Noah after the group headed by the werewolf. In that case, I will need silver bullets."

Now that agents and such seemed to be in range Noah sat down and turned on the speaker in the helmet. The voice was modulated to come off like Ed 209's big brother. "It is encouraged the team's arm with the silver rounds in the armory, as well blessed water just to cover the unknown."

"Unit has been advised, just getting the kids out will be sufficient. Sites will be destroyed by a third party the moment all children are evacuated from the area. Third-party has indicated in person that he wishes to visit his wrath on the deviants."

"Combat D on stand by."

Sal assembled his rifle, and placed it in the circle for Argentus to enchant it. He then inserted one of the magazines Noah had given him, and strapped the other to his vest within easy reach. Afterward, he slung the rifle over his back. "I would like to borrow two of your pistols, if possible, with silver bullets. Better not to have to reload when facing an angry werewolf," he said to Ghost.

Noah sent Sal a text message to the slate he was given without so much as moving. ~The darts are some kind of supernatural tranq darts. May be handy. The pistols are designed to give visual through a wall and puncture most walls.~
This message was last edited by the player at 02:58, Thu 14 Nov 2019.

 Ghost handed Sal a pistol with two clips. "The darts inside the first clip will lock a werewolf into a human form after ten seconds. The other is a silver coated flechette round. Please use them sparingly because our supplier currently cannot make more."

In reply to Mistral (msg # 16):

Prometheus returned her smirk, after spending a few seconds trying to figure out the French, then said, "Well of course. I'll have to leave Charlotte behind for this. I can manage to be sneaky in something this good looking...

But sadly right now she isn't equip for such a thing."

He makes a mental note to ask Noah latter about a dog stealth suit. That seems possible, surely. And invisible attack dog is also a good call.

Still, her trust does turn his smirk into a genuine smile, "Thank you. And Latter. For what its worth, I am sorry for...." He stopped. They had both agreed latter, so that was enough for now.

After that, Prometheus looks over the weapons. The toxin darts would be useful in quite a few situations, although on a stealth mission, against a mage and his minions he could grab any of them and it would do the job.

Mages, assuring they weren't Life Mages, were still only human.

Still for the benefit of everyone else, for they could be useful against the Werewolf or the unknown supernatural he asked, "So what do each of the colors stand for? Different type of toxin or what target they are designed to be used on?"

In addition, while his Life sight covered the ammo, their was something odd among the armory that he didn't recognize. "Ummm, excuse me...but what are those?"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:07, Thu 14 Nov 2019.

 Ghost nodded and pointed to each of the dart colors in turn.

Blue
"Mages"

Green
"Changelings"

Yellow
"Werewolves"

Red
"Vampires"

Black
"Demons"

White
"Ghosts"


 "Each one is designed to halt the functions of a single type of supernatural, making them much easier to capture or kill as circumstances dictate.

 As an aside, we generally prefer to capture, educate, and relocate supernaturals rather than kill them unless they pose a clear danger to themselves or others. In this instance, we have been cleared to use lethal force if necessary... but we would rather avoid it if at all possible."

 She pulls out several small silver canisters. "Our plan is to introduce this into the central heating and air of each complex, rendering all humans unconscious as we go in and neutralize the supernatural and rescue the children. When the kids wake up, they'll all be home in their own beds and this will be nothing more than a very bad dream."

Argentus agreed to go after the unknown with Ralph, Jitters, and 3 of the boogey monsters.  "I'd like a clip of each, please, as we're going in at the unknown target."  He requested.

Mistral cocked an eyebrow to hear that this Ghost was at least an adept in the Space Arcanum and utilized familiar means to conceal her will-working.  She shared a look with the emaciated woman and gave a nod of shared understanding of the implications.  This woman was an incalculable danger, and special precautions against her would be required in the future.  Mistral doubted this cabal knew half the range of horrors that could be visited via Sympathy, but she knew because she herself was author to such horrors.

To the condition of a telepathic link in order access the anti-supernatural armory, Mistral shook her head once and answered simply, “Non, merci.  I do not require additional equipment to carry out this mission, and spécialement not under that condition.”


Mistral nodded in confirmation that Charlotte could not come and seemed to regret that as she answered, “A shame.  I should like to see la canine work, whether it be of this grim sort or some other.”  When Prometheus began to venture an apology she cut him off, “You needn’t apologize, for it was not you.  Later.”  Mistral appeared bothered by this subject, but her impassive demeanor made it difficult to interpret.


Mistral did not take part in the examination of this armory, which was more than a bit terrifying in its deadly comprehensiveness.  She did listen in closely, however, and missed nothing.  Upon hearing Ghost’s request to neutralize rather than kill the supernatural foes and her plan for the children, Mistral asked, “What is to be done with the neutralized supernaturals and humans, then?  Where will they be taken, and where will the children go?”

 "The supernaturals will be taken into custody and questioned. The humans will be handed over to the proper authorities and charged with kidnapping. The children will be returned home..."

 She then eyed Mistral with a very slight smile. "... and all of you will be free to leave as soon as you return anything you've borrowed from us."

In reply to Mistral (msg # 26):

"Latter." He said with a smile, "With what you gave me earlier, I should be able to show the full range of her trained abilities. Its just guard dogs aren't exactly stealthy. If it gets hot, perhaps we can summon her?"

It seemed unlikely that either would want that, but the possibility was there.


He likewise rejects the armory supplies. He has no idea who or what is in his head, so he had no idea what a Telepathic link would do. Best to not risk it.

Sal checked the gun and each clip, loaded the first clip, and attached the earpiece. "Thank you. I shall be careful with this," he said as he holstered it.

Noah had taken his time to scan most of the bits and bobs they had therein. It would be soon time to upgrade everyone's stuff. "Are we good to go?"

 One of the MIB walked up to Ghost while she was busy handing out gear and whispered into her ear. "Alright everyone, sorry to spring this on you, but my associates here want to stick together, so they'll take one location and you can take two. One agent will go along with each of you to knock out the non-supernaturals and serve as a lookout."

Argentus rolled his eyes.  "Of course they do.  Do you want to tell us which they're asking to go to before we rearrange our plans only to be informed that one of the ones we plan to deal with is the only one they'll attack, as well?"

 Ghost looked at them for a moment before the man whispers to her again. "Seems they're up for any of the three, so they'll take the one you don't want to deal with."

Mistral gave Prometheus a subtly quizzical look and asked, "Were I to open a Porte on the ship, would Charlotte enter it?"


Mistral maintained her level stare as she answered with dry sarcasm, "Très généreux of you to permit our freedom, Madame Ghost.  Let us get on with this, then."  She thought she did a fair job disguising her disquietude, but there could be no certainties when dealing with one such as this.


This change of plans suited Mistral, because the less reliance on these Men-in-Black, the better.  She agreed, "D'accord."  She then conferred with the others and said, "I believe we've two approaches to this mission.  Let us call them 'Subtle'--"  She gave a small mock-curtsey to claim this adjective for herself, including Prometheus with a gesture.  She went on, "--and 'Unsubtle'."  Mistral patted mecha-Noah on a gunmetal robotic-dragon haunch and inclined her head toward Ralph.  She then went on, "So, let us divide as such.  Prometheus, you are with me still, non?  Who else among you will take the subtle approach?"

Once the split was decided Mistral announced, "This team shall take le Sorcier.  The Mage.  I am equipped to deal with the defenses we will encounter."  She turned a questioning look to 'Team Unsubtle,' curious as to whether they would decide to take the werewolf or the unknown supernatural.

---

Correct me if I'm wrong, but feels to me like Mist and Prom are clearly for Team Subtle, while Mecha-Noah and Ralph are shoe-ins for Team Unsubtle.  That leaves Sal and Argie who might swing either way.  What'll it be, lads? :)

Prometheus' lack of magic knowledge outside his specific Arcanum was clearly showing here, "If I call her. If sound won't go through then no, probably not."

As to her other question, he nodded, <Coral>"I don't exactly have the weapon accuracy for Team Unsubtle."<Coral>

 As the group discussed which people were going where, they noticed a distinct change in the weather. The temperature dropped by a good ten degrees and the clouds had begun to roll in closer. They began to smell the scent of ozone in the air and the ocean itself began to boil. Puddles gathered near street corners likewise began to boil away, despite producing no heat, only adding to the scent of ozone in the air.

 Even mages untrained in the sensing of Prime could now feel mana sticking to their skin like 100% humidity as the mana storm roiled around them. Thunder cracked nearby as lightning streaked throughout the clouds. Time was running out...