NEOHUMAN

They'd been following that guy for two nights now. He was good, but not that good. The Luminous Path - biggest of Sunken Chinatown's local Tongs - used him as their main hitman. A regular thing down here.

But this guy, this guy's fast. I mean, really fast. So fast they call him Cautious Hare.

Tonight, the Hare needs to recharge. AHAB and Flea realized a while ago he needs a fix for his powers, or else he looses them. Someone's feeding him - and odds are he's not the only one on the juice.

The Hare reaches a seafood restaurant by the eastern wall of Sunken Chinatown. Saluting security at the entrance - a double door by the end of a transparent corridor - he moves inside the place. Security looks tight around here - and the size of the man at the door doesn't exactly inspire boldness. AHAB and Flea catch a glimpse of the Hare as he moves inside the transparent restaurant, beyond the flowing sea waters outside: he salutes everyone and goes through a second door behind the bar.

They could follow him... But they must get inside first.


[Welcome to Sunken Chinatown! Be cautious: it's no welcoming place, and metas have been known to flock around - especially in these times of war. What's your move?]

The Indefatigable floated in the water outside the restaurant, it's wings moved down the side of its hull in plesiosaur mode, paddling lazily to keep the vessel in place. Sitting comfortably inside the motorcycle sized vehicle, Montgomery passed a tiny cup of tea to AHAB and took a sip of his own.

Turning a dial next to a small round screen, he aimed a pulse from his aetheric sonar device at the restaurant. "The aether waves should pass through the walls and give us a view of the inside, unless the building is shielded against them." He told his guest. "Then we but need to find a suitable place for out little infiltratrion."


OOC: the Indefatigable has Extended Vision that Penetrates Concealment. Then we can use it's Line Area of Affect Permeate to pass through a suitable wall to get inside.

At least that's my plan. I have no idea what AHAB can do, so if you have a better idea, that would be great.

AHAB had come to City Nouveau to be a tourist, but after hearing the information F. Lee had given her, she'd supposed she could get involved. She'd helped with the stakeout as necessary, boring though it was; she didn't need to eat or sleep, and while she wasn't exactly made for keeping hidden, her stature certainly helped with it. She found F. Lee to be polite, pleasant company when they were working together directly, and tried to return the favor, though she tended toward reticence about herself and rarely passed surface-level pleasantries or discussion of the job ahead of them.

"Thank you," AHAB said as she took the cup of tea from F. Lee. She took a breath of the steam wafting from it, then took a small sip and let it sit in her mouth for a little while before disguising returning it to her cup as another sip. While she couldn't actually ingest or digest anything, she enjoyed getting to taste things. "That sounds like a solid plan to me. What will we do when we actually manage to corner the man? I'm not used to fighting people." F. Lee would likely pick up that her emphasis was on people, not fighting - she had some experience fighting monsters, but didn't want to simply hunt and bring down human being in the same fashion.

The Indefatigable does its job, displaying a complete image of the building. Inside, three stores spread below. The first one - where the Hare's saluted - serves as a private room complex, with a large kitchen in the middle. Below, a series of offices, deposit rooms and frying tanks compose the second floor; the third one glitches as the Indefatigable struggles to draw it, but a series of corridors and room complexes can be seen.

F. Lee also identifies possible entrances: any deposit room on the second floor would do. Several booths and now empty offices would do the job on the first floor as well. The third one's the risky area: little can be seen down there. Also, there are two physical entrances: an exhaustion duct coming from the kitchen and ending up above and a cargo bay, pressurized but working constantly. A u-boat arrives this minute, probably bringing supplies to the restaurant.

The professor brought a notepad and a fine quill pen from inside his suit jacket. He sketches a map of the building from the scans, indicating  the Hare's position and other points of interest. He makes careful note of the building's ventilation system.

He made and 'X' at a point where the ventilation duct runs along an outside wall. "If we enter here, we could follow this path to the Hare's location." he frowned for a moment, "I trust you are capable of functioning aquatically? I must confess I can only swim if you count rapidly sinking as such. A function of my density being increased in inverse proportion to my height, I'm afraid."

Within, the Hare's movement becomes more apparent. He descends to the second floor. Inside, he meets someone with a suitcase, guarded carefully by two large... creatures. F. Lee and Ahab watch, but they can't quite define what are those. Bulky, apparently brutal, unclothed... Wait, do they have tails???

[Ok, I'm profiting from the extra time to enhance the description, hehehe]

It was curious that F. Lee had no comment on how they would handle potential violence. Maybe he just intended to handle it himself? AHAB was fine with that if so. "Indeed I am," she answered his question. "I can carry you if it comes to that, but I can't move through things like the Indefatigable." She took a closer look at his notes. "Yes, I think that should work. I'm ready when you are."

Moving the Indefatigable through, F. Lee establishes the optimal course towards the man under watch.

[Please, roll Insight or Perception - the highest one - against DC 15; this can be a group effort if you choose]

The entrance point seems to be a large freezer right at the second floor - the floor where the Hare's currently located. Around the Indefatigable, big, black bags hang from beams on the roof, along with massive pieces of meat. Shelves hold all sorts of food - many of which are certainly imported from the Atlantic Rise.

The door suddenly opens. A pair of ichtid workers come inside, pushing a metal cart filled with fish meat. They moan something in their native language, a gurgled, aggressive mass of acoustic signs, accompanied by gestures more natural to bodies submerged.


[Careful, least they locate you! What do you do?] 

"I believe our surveillance of the Hare is over." F. Lee said, "He's both led us to the next rung in the supply ladder, and apparently to suitable monsters for you to fight. Unless I'm mistaken, these seem to have a touch of Lemurian in their blood."

Montgomery pulled the Indefatible up to the chosen entrance point and moved a control to aim a beam at the wall. "The Aetheric projector will lubricate the molecules of the wall, allowing our own forms to slide through them." He led AHAB to the airlock, which quickly filled with water. Once the hatchway opened, he tipped his hat and leaped at the wall. As good as his word, he passed through, with a slight ripple which quickly subsided.

Once inside, he quickly moved to hide behind a shelf, concealing himself from the fishy workmen.

OOC:
19:59, Today: Professor Flea rolled 11 using 1d20+6.  Insight.
20:07, Today: Professor Flea rolled 22 using 1d20+14.  stealth.

03:05, Today: AHAB rolled 13 using 1d20+2.  Perception.

"Very well," AHAB said placidly when the idea of fighting sea monsters came up. That was, after all, what she was built for. She reached an articulated hand back into the pack mounted to her back, and came out with what seemed to be a very small cooking torch, proportionate to her own size. Her posture shifted as her wings silently activated, giving no other sign that she was now suspended in midair rather than resting on her feet.

"Remarkable," she observed quietly as F. Lee started to walk right through the wall. She followed suit, then hid on a shelf opposite F. Lee. If one of them were to be discovered, it wouldn't necessarily be good to expose the other. Once she was in position, she went inhumanly still save for her five "eyes" blinking erratically. She was curious about the contents of those bags... as well as the quality of the ingredients in here, since she was here anyways.

03:12, Today: AHAB rolled 15 using 1d20+12.  Stealth.

The duo manages to evade any unwanted attention. The Ichtids finish their job, unloading the thick fillets by the middle of the room, upon a counter. They linger, study the food, steal away a few slices and leave, as they 're finally beaten by the cold air - even Ichtids would rather be warm.

The room's silent... Mostly. As soon as they leave, one of the black bags begin to swing around, as if something alive's trying to break free.

(You can follow the ichtids, attack them, wait and go for the bags, your call!)
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:56, Fri 11 Oct 2019.

The professor signaled to AHAB to keep hidden as he approached the swinging bag. From beneath, he leaped onto the beam from which it suspended. With casual ease, he tore the ropes apart, dropping it to the cold floor.

The bag spreads down on the floor, heavily. Something moans from inside, struggling to gather itself. Kicking and rolling, the someone inside finally manages to get out, spreading the zipper and jumping out of the bag, gasping as crazy.

"Geeee... What's happening here?" - the thin, black man rubs his mangled head. He bled - at least the red on his shirt says so. He scans the room, looking for the cause of his sudden escape. He's completely lost. Clearly.

AHAB nodded when F. Lee signaled for silence, then watched as he climbed up to investigate the moving bag. She was taken by surprise when she realized he intended to just drop it rather than lowering it to the ground, and started to reach for a different tool but didn't make it in time. She watched as the man emerged from it, taking particular note of his injuries.

"You were carried into this meat locker we're investigating," she answered the man's question matter-of-factly as she floated out from her shelf. "Also, you're injured. Please hold still and I'll see if I can help." She tucked her cooking torch back into her pack, and pulled out a similarly tiny but more complicated-looking tool that resembled a cross between a multitool and a first aid kit. She quickly began to clean and disinfect the wound before closing it up and applying quick-healing medicines, assuming the man didn't fight her off.

09:57, Today: AHAB rolled 21 using 1d20+3.  Healing.

The man's jumpy as can be at first. It's the medical aid that makes him docile, in a sense.

"What on earth are you? A toddler's fairy doll with a wicked sens'a humour, ya're!" - the man bends forward as the bruises close down. He's not a hundred percent, but it should be enough for now.

"Thanks, doll. Damn, I'm cold! Can we get out of this vault? Are the fish'eads out there yet?" - he looks around, as if trying to uncover his whereabouts. Glancing up, he sees the tore rope.

[Is F. Lee trying to hide from the guy?]

"I'm Stanley. Stanley Quaid. Everyone calls me Slim Quaid. You know... Cause of this - 'knightly poise' - he presents his own slim body by a hand gesture. "Why are you here, anyway?" - his light-hearted, comedic voice suggests a careless posture, even before danger. It doesn't go with his lightly mangled head.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:14, Sun 13 Oct 2019.

Montgomery stood perched on the edge of the beam, looking down on the former captive. "Do you have any idea, Mr. Quaid," he asked, "Why a gentleman such as yourself would be hanging in the freezer of a restaurant in Sunken Chinatown?" The man seemed calm enough about the situation that the professor deemed it unlikely he was just some random person abducted of the street.

OOC:
Is Slim anyone I've heard about?
17:58, Today: Professor Flea rolled 23 using 1d20+10.  Well informed for Slim Quaid.

The name 'Quaid' is well known: Little Quaid - not this one, surely - plays the bass around the city, and he's quite good, too; but the most famous is Little Quaid's cousin, Misty Quaid - she's a radio star, and a reclusive one at that. Stanley's one of Misty's brothers, the other one being some Douglas Quaid, university bigshot and famous psychologist.

"Well... I have a few ideas, sure. Pardon me, but I'm not just gonna share..." - he second glances F. Lee, raises an eyebrow and smiles. "Heeeey! You're the Flea doctor, aren't you? The guy who canned Lemuria! Yeees, yes, you are! Hey, man, sorry to hear they let that scum go... Figures, though, huh? They'd never keep him in, 'diplomatic immunity' and all..."

He seems to loosen up a bit.

"Maybe you guys can help me, you and your partner here. Although... You do know where you are, don't you? The Luminous Path isn't exactly kind to invaders..."

"This is all about a debt, as far as I know. Someone has been cruising around town, trying to put their hands on anyone even remotely related to us. It has something to do with Doug's last trip - Doug's manias always led us into trouble, you know... But still, blood's thicker than water, I guess. I believe they're after Doug, and they think we can help bring him back, or maybe contact him."

The professor flinched visibly when referred to as 'the Flea doctor'. "Please!" he cried, holding up his hand, "Mr. Quaid, it is F. Lee, not Flea. Or professor Montgomery, or even just Montgomery, but not Flea, if you please."

He paced along the beam in thought, "But putting aside the eternal damnation of careless reporters, I believe it would be simplicity itself to affect your escape and see you safely away from here." He leaped from his perch, landing far more heavily on the floor than his stature would lead someone to expect. The diminutive doctor looked up at the man who now towered over him. "But perhaps we could put a more permanent end to your family troubles if you could help lead us to the source of the problem."

AHAB floated in a wide orbit around Stanley's head, so that she could get a polite distance away after his treatment while also getting in his visual range. "I am an autonomous assistant, my name is AHAB Fowler," AHAB answered Stanley's question primly. "You're welcome for the assistance, but you should seek further medical attention." She nodded in agreement with F. Lee's assessment, and waited to see what Stanley would say about it.

"Thanks, miss Fowler.... And-ehrrr... Sorry Doc. It's just in the back of everyone's minds by now..." - he rubs his head and looks around, taking a piece of frozen meat to reduce the swollen state of his temple.

"Well, yeah, I guess... We're in the same spot, so we might end up being able to help each other... Right? Well... My problem, right now, is this guy named Shangguan. He's somewhere down this complex. The guy's surely to have ordered me being brought here. It's his joint, after all. As I said, though, I'm not the target. Doug's the man. Fo-sho. And I gotta tell ya, Shangguan ain't the only one after..."

At this very moment, the door bursts open, to see four ichtids enter! They're anything but careless: certainly the sounds of bodies dropping down have alerted them to Quaid's freedom!

[Ok, roll perception, please, against DC 10, to see if you're surprised. Also, this is a complication: each of you gets 1 hero point beyond the starting one. After that, you can roll initiative as well!]

07:46, Today: AHAB rolled 19 using 1d20+2.  Perception.
07:46, Today: AHAB rolled 12 using 1d20+2.  Initiative.

"Please take cover, Mr. Quaid," AHAB said softly when she heard the door, before turning in place in midair to face the newest arrivals. Her voice was still mild as she addressed them. "How do you do? You or your employers seem to have violently kidnapped this man, so we would be grateful if you turned around and left as a sign of good faith."

OOC: Just Delaying for now.

"The effrontery!" Montgomery declared, "You had best not offer any violence, or I shall see you get your comeuppance for abducting this gentleman!"




21:34, Mon 21 Oct: Professor Flea rolled 9 using 1d20+5.  Perception.
21:35, Mon 21 Oct: Professor Flea rolled 4 using 1d20+2.  Initiative.

Rolled pretty bad for initiative. If they attack either of the others, I'll use Interpose to take the  hit, then give the attacker a smack.
Parry 9
Dodge 9
18:11, Today: Professor Flea rolled 29 using 1d20+10.  Punch!
Toughness DC 29

"What's going on in... Gadoj... I see small fairies in here. Do you see them also?" - the strongest, tallest of the ichtids say, pointing towards Lee and Ahab.

"I see them as well, Hala... We all see them..." - the response looks strangely legitimate, as if tall Hala was actually seeking confirmation, instead of a simple mockery of the couple's size.

"Aaaahh" - a third one, a female, lowers her body, showing the sharp fangs of a lemurian... "I know this one... The small man that had Lemuria arrested, he is. The other one... I want her for myself...." - her predatory manners suggest terrible playing ideas...

"Crush them" - Hala's final words fall heavy as the other three advance towards the heroes.

[Rapture rolled 14 using 1d20+2.  Ichtid initiative.]

Hala, the tall one, grabs the first bag of meat in front of himself with ease, jumping forward to use it as an improvised club! The massive hunk of meat and bone descends upon the good doctor, but it's easily sidestepped, given Lee's size above all. A second attack comes from the ichtid woman: she leaps forward, pulling a pair of metal claws from her belt and trying to impale the diminutive man. One, two, three strikes in vain, clashing the claws against the metal floor, producing a hollow noise and dulling the blades!

[Rapture rolled 18 using 1d20+6.  Hala - Attack!]
[Rapture rolled 11 using 1d20+5. Woman - Attack!]

Gadoj runs through the side, reaching out for two knives upon a counter and advancing against AHAB, ready to stab her - if he can hit her, that is. The blades spin in his hand with great dexterity. The blades spin as AHAB dances around them. Even Gadoj's skill isn't enough to hit the small machine. Seeing Gadoj's difficulty, the last ichtid takes up a meat hammer and tries to smash it against the doll. His strikes are elegant and have reach, but fall into the void air around. Both Gadoj and his companion fight as if in a street brawl. This isn't the case with Hala and the woman. Those two have been trained, clearly...

[Rapture rolled 8 using 1d20+6.  Gadoj - Attack!]
[Rapture rolled 21 using 1d20+5.  Last Ichtid - Attack!]

[Ok, your actions, please!]

"My apologies, Miss Fowler," the professor said, "It appears violence will be necessary if we do not wish to be manhandled by these ruffians." He balled up a tiny fist and smashed it down on Hala's foot.

Lifting both fists before him, he took a boxers stance in front of the giants that faced him. "Now you shall see how a Montgomery deals with hooligans such as yourselves, whether they be pickpockets or kidnappers bent on world domination!"




Here's the roll I made for my last post.
18:11, Today: Professor Flea rolled 29 using 1d20+10.  Punch!
Toughness DC 29
This message was last edited by the player at 18:41, Sat 09 Nov 2019.

"Indeed it does, good luck to you," AHAB replied to Montgomery. While the words might have sounded sarcastic under other circumstances, AHAB was sincere despite her mild tone. She'd already told Quaid to take cover, so hopefully he would take that instruction to heart. Rather than urging him again, she opted to address the ichtids even as she danced wildly around their incoming blows. "You smell quite like fish. I wonder which type you'll cook most similarly to?"

She had swapped out her tiny repair kit for her tiny cooking torch as she evaded in midair, and now that she had a spare moment between incoming attacks, she pointed it at the ichtid with the hammer and pulled the trigger. A thin, but intensely hot line of fire erupted from the device, aiming straight for the fishy creature at point-blank range.

AHAB saw no reason to just hang around in striking range of them, though, so she quickly floated away as she clicked her torch back off. She flitted between two shelves as she ascended toward the ceiling, aiming to put both horizontal and vertical distance between her and her opponents.

23:01, Today: AHAB rolled 20 using 1d20+12.  Cooking tool attack (DC 27, fire descriptor).
AHAB flies at a speed of 3 for purposes of getting away afterwards, although I imagine the quarters are too close to need all of it, so she'll just go as far as she can unless I misread and this is actually a huge warehouse or something :)