"He wasn't a good person. He won't be missed. At least his soul found peace. And he now serves a higher purpose." he says as if it wasn't important.

In reply to Lucien MacGregor (msg # 29):

"Come now. It's story time. You've put some time into this & we're all interested." The cloaked figure jesters to everyone watching in the room. "Even the physician pretending to pack in the back. So, who's the dead guy?" The blue smoke fades to wisps at her feet.

Her tone is upbeat & encouraging. The gore does not seem to be noted or objected to. It is the tone of an interested audience participant hopping to hear a tale.

  "In my primary line of work it helps to infiltrate criminals by being one of them. So I ask Luna to show me which one is the best for my needs and I spend a portion of my time observing and learning as much as I can about my subject before I retire him. This formerly young man was known as Cut. He is able to pass between a few territories and since I took over his identity three weeks ago he is able to broker peace between these street gangs in Meru. It was almost time to dispose of his body so I used the chance to gain entry. His "death" will be the first in a string of "murders". This way it unsettles folks and makes my life less dangerous."

"NOT pretending! No, wrap that properly..." Could be heard from the back, trailing off as they return to directing assistants.

In reply to Lucien MacGregor (msg # 31):

"Oh. Wow. An impressive strategy. & I like how you've maximize your use of him to also instill terror among their ranks. Ha, ha!"

"Yes. Very good. Now, why did we come here again? Were we here to help Aeryn move? I got all turned around."

"Oh! Dramatic entrance!"

The cloaked figure pulls out several sparklers from her pockets that somehow auto-ignite. "Woah! Almost burned my pockets." She holds them up absently, apparently not sure what to do with them now, before deciding to place them in the corpse' hands until they fizzle out. "Would you kindly hold these, Sunny Jim? That's a good lad."

[Private to Lucien MacGregor: Wow. Three weeks dead.

Just curious, but does the body look that decomposed, or refrigerated?]

"Ah. So you still need for his body to be found?"

"I was going to ask to use his biomass for a demonstration to our physician, but I'm sure there will be plenty of corpses to utilize in a short order."

The tall woman straightens up & gives a small curtsy bow to Mr. MacGregor.

"I am Dr. Cale. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am CEO & owner of K Corp, & I, too, am impressed with your efficiency."

"Tee hee! Hi, Doctor Aeryn! My favorite family doctor. Look! I am dead, but walk! Thanks to you!" K waves her arms while doing a small hop. She seems to be keeping a mindful distance from the physician with his guard watching. "Can I come over & give you a huge before I disappear, like the..."

She pulls over her cloak dramatically over her lover face. "fade away like the ghost I ammmmmmmmmmmm..." She makes mock ghostly 'woes.'

"Given your lack of the most common symptoms, I believe the diagnosis of your death is erroneous, recommend getting your death certificate rescinded lest the authorities come down on your head for tax evasion. If there are 'hugs' to be given, give them to Bart, he is a good proxy."

Dead people weren't supposed to make dramatic entrances, talk, hug, or give thanks, they were supposed to decompose or serve as organ donors or scientific subjects. The "legally dead" K seemed to be playing with fire in more ways than one, and that combined with the two new individuals' sudden and near simultaneous appearance was making the Doctor worry that the packing may be interrupted by more hostile guests searching for any one of the four of them.

The Paranoia that had kept them going for a while was starting to pick up again.

"If the Fates are to continue disturbing my post-business musings and relaxation, I fear that they shall run out of benign ideas and begin dipping into the more malignant pool."

A pile of packed boxes was slowly beginning to build, each one numbered and sealed with some of that newfangled rubber-tape that had been all over the adverts.

Weapons were readied as helmets blinked on with information and targeting displays in the smoked black face visors. As the collective two dozen armed agents of Erembour prepared themselves inside the set of APCs, one of them in particular, her body armor marked with red stripes to denote her as in command, would tap her helmet to activate the unit battle-net communications line. "We make this fast, and if at all possible, leave no evidence of Council involvement. The story will be that a gang war broke out, so leave all signs to enforce that." A pause as she allowed herself a vicious smirk. "There is supposedly a beastmen lab on site. Make sure to trash it."

"UNDERSTOOD, MA'AM! FOR THE COUNCIL!"

A huff as she smiled, and the officer grabbed her own rifle and readied it as they pulled up to the reported zone. "Alpha and Bravo teams...execute."

Seconds later, all weapons were trained at the clinic.


[Okay, initiative, y'all! Get ready for your first run in with Erembour!]

In reply to K the Jester (msg # 35):

Dr. Cale folds her arms & gives a steely squint at the jester as she caries on with the physician.

After Aeryn has there say, and after any possible hug giving, she unfolds her arms and steps toward the fool. "You vanished. You abandoned your workers. You didn't even SEND. ME. A. MEMO. You... deplorable, legally dead deadbeat." The Dr.'s left eye twitches visibly. She then straightens up and glares down at her short, former business partner.

"You're behavior is strikingly..." the Doctor takes a big breath in...

"...unprofessional..."

Her eyes widen. "Where you even going to acknowledge me?"

---

[I'm going to use the 2nd Awareness Excellency, spending 6 for 3 Successes, then add the successes from the Initiative Roll.

18:21, Today: Doctor Cale rolled 1 success using 6d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 ((2,5,5,6,1,7)).]
This message was last edited by the player at 00:33, Sun 14 Mar 2021.

In reply to Aeryn (msg # 36):

"My dear physician, as always, I appreciate your advice & concerns. But, Hoe Boy! Tax evasion is the last of my worries."

"People in power wanted me dead. I am a people pleaser. So I am dead. Everyone is happy."

K salutes to Aeryn's redirection to hug proxy Bart. "Well, you heard the man. Doctor's orders!" She holds out her arms & heads toward Bart.

---

In reply to Doctor Cale (msg # 38):

After delivering her hugs, K steps back several places as her long suffering acquaintance verbally reams her a new one.

"Uh, listen. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I kept my real state of being a big old secret, but you need to trust me I'm doing it to protect our goals. I was a big, fat target, & I will be again, soon. I'm sorry I have to do all this cloak and dagger stuff, but I don't see another choice right now."

"I don't want to lie & disguise myself, and all this other... stuff. But I have no reason to not assume I am being spied on all the time. Not until I work out a way to talk & not get caught."

"Speaking of which, I should just leave before  the smell of my rote attracts a bad element." K makes toward the door to leave.

((OOC: Initiative: [Private to GM: Same as Dr. Cale. ;) ]))

  Lucien looks at K as she is trying make her escape. He chuckles at her. He feels a familiar itch so he draws his moonsilver shellcaster.

OOC: Spending one mote so they can't get the "drop" on me. No successes on Join Battle. And I swear I hate the internet right now. Keeps eating my posts.

OOC: sorry for delays, life = busy busy.

There was a series of cocking clicks as the combat squad readied just before their commanding member gave a nod of her head and the hand gesture to go. One of the larger Erembour troopers took a breath, braced, then kicked hard at the door, smashing it out of the frame and slamming to the ground. A dozen agents swarmed in, weapons aimed at whomever they could see, and only one vocal warning to "submit!" given.

 "The facility is now under the authority of Erembour, under code seven seven one of the municipal council! All occupants are to submit, or be regarded as insurgents against the Meruvian Nation!"


One turn warning given. What do you do?

  "Ha fat chance. I am a member of the Hunt. At least two of them are informants. If you want treason against Meru you can help me break a couple of doors down and round up a couple of dozen suspected terrorists. Your call." he says as he conceals his shellcaster behind his back.

OOC: Lucien would use the correct term for the Wyld Hunt I'm just not remembering it right now.

The officer bit her tongue at the response she received. She ran the feed on her helmet camera back through the central database. A few silent moments, and confirmation. "Apologies, sir. We were sent in to deal with an illegal chimerazation lab, and insurgents. No one told me an agent was already going to be onsite."

Yet her troops didn't exactly stand down. Confirmed Agent of the hunt or not, they were on location with their orders. "The aid would be appreciated, I will admit."

"I will need a moment with my informants." he walks over to the girls and says "I can't save everyone here. They flat out won't let me, but I will save as many as I can."

 "I know you have your orders. I also know they would prefer if we brought in actual terrorists. I have been infiltrating a gang for the last several weeks. The idea was to start a turf war and bring them all in for suspicion of terrorism and treason against Meru. At least one of the gangs is connected to a Threshold power I just haven't had time to find out which one. The doctor has patched me up several times. She and her assiociates are not running an illegal chimera shop. An underground hospital sure to help the poor in the area as well as to keep the violence to a minimum. Her business associates were wondering if they could help her charitable works in any way. We were actually in the process of seeing what they could do for my investigation when you all busted in the door. Congrats on screwing up a five month operation."

"IS THERE ANYONE IN THIS GODSFORSAKEN WORLD WHO RESPECTS BUSINESS HOURS, PRIVATE PROPERTY, OR THE LOCAL CHAIN OF COMMAND? I paid the damn fees, if there's any issues they need to be taken up with local enforcement first."

Bellowing out from the back, voice cracking a little bit at the end of the first sentence, Aeryn would begin approaching the waiting room, hand on holster and eyes carrying the glint of cold steel, the doctor was very irate.

[ooc: 05:43, Today: Aeryn failed (no successes) using 3d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7.  the join battle initiative thingy. – failed (no successes); kinda fitting, considering that they ain't in the room yet.]

K gives a deep sigh upon spotting the paramilitary assemble outside the clinic.

"Oh dear. I knew I should not have come here. Wait. I feel they would be more... direct if they knew I was here. It must be for another reason."

She walks causally over to the soldiers & holds up a hand in welcome before addressing them. "Hello, boys. You look pretty damn tough. I was wondering, did any of you hear about who might have killed a young man in the streets a few months ago? He was very tall. Athletic build. Local celebrity named Grendel. He was the son of another local celeb named K. I hear he was trapped in a building & burned to death."

Her hair stood on the back of her neck. Her head swam with rage & giddiness.

In reply to Aeryn (msg # 45):

The Doctor steps to the corner, out of sight to all but Aeryn. She pulls out a makeup compact. Dr. Cale waves her hand over the lovely blue jewel on it's cover, & whispers "Sun. Prism. Power!"

Golden light brightly flashes, then solidifies into translucent bands that wrap around her form. They flow & expand as they en-wrap her entire body. Suddenly they solidify, relieving a tall female form, covered head to toe in a dark suite of leather & metal.

A long, flowing blue scarf around her neck. Her head has a dark helmet with a blank mask plate over her face. Two large, iron horns grow from the helmet. The gauntlets on her arms are cover in black, iron blades. Similar spikes adorn her knee high boots & knee pads.

She approaches the Physician while facing the entryway, never taking her focus off the threat outside.

"I hate to bear bad news, but I think those paramilitary soldiers are here to kill everyone in this building, no matter if they've been playing by the rules or not."

"What do you say to a preemptive strike? We need not show mercy to such unprofessional scum."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:20, Thu 06 May 2021.

The Erembour officer tilted her head as one of her troops would shift and whisper in their intercoms. A snarl as she readied her rifle, and gave the Hunt agent before her a glare. "Sir, I need you to stand aside and let us follow our orders. Council directive overrides the Hunt, and our Intel is without question." A pause was her only sign of giving him warning.  "You of all people know how this needs to go down."

A pair of her subordinates moved over in clear sign to escort Lucien out, with it being heavily implied by their actions that this was his only chance to step down and let them do their jobs.

In reply to The Golden Sea of Chaos (msg # 48):

K gives Lucien a knowing, cocky smile.

“Better listen to the butchers, police man. They are the real face of the world’s authority.”

Lucien just shakes his head at her. "Yeah yeah juris-my-diction is always what gets called." he says as he allows the half dozen officers holding weapons on him lead him out the door. He still has his shellcaster at his side waiting.

In reply to Lucien MacGregor (msg # 50):

The Doctor gives a brief glance to Aeryn.

"Get ready, physician. An opening is about the present itself..."

In reply to Lucien MacGregor (msg # 50):

Once Lucien is out of range, K quietly presses the trigger perfectly disguised in her glove.
The explosive blast unleashes a hellish conflagration & engulfs most of the street.

"Son of a...!"

Dr. Cale rushes out to strike any remaining soldiers, hopping the physician, Aeryn, covers her back.

[Private to GM: Do I do a roll for this?]
This message was last edited by the player at 14:15, Mon 16 Aug 2021.