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Post by Wheels on Jul 9, 2006 22:53:30 GMT -5
Bobby stalked out of the lair, the steam hot under his collar. He headed off towards the Siren's call thinking about all he had done and still had to do...
Damn kid thinks he can just get me to do his damn work for him. It's not like I don't have enough drek to to. Replace my gear, babysit the Decker, Find some new vehicles for the team. Update the security at Ace. The damn list goes on and on... Bobby was muttering as he went past the guards outside the parkade and they looked at each other over his head and smiled slightly and shrugged at each other. At least I got some drek done yesterday...
After leaving the Siren's Call yesterday, Bobby had headed down to his chummer Buddy's place in Puyallup. Buddy was the best electronic hardware guy that Wheels had ever seen. He was pretty good with cars too, but Bobby was pretty sure he was better. Buddy had been angry as a bear when he'd heard about the Wasp getting firebombed, as he'd helped Bobby build the thing. Buddy had raged around his shop throwing stuff, swearing, yelling and screaming, chewing Wheel's butt like a drill sargent. He'd gotten only a little bit angrier after Bobby told him about the Chrysler Nissan after that. Buddy had hooked him up with that too, and had helped install the remote rigging gear.
Finally after Buddy had wound down somewhat, he let it slip that he'd already known about the heli being toast, as a bunch of the incident at the Jack-O-Lantern had made the Tri-D news. It was always like Buddy to bug Wheels like that and they'd ended up laughing about it after, though Wheel's temper had flared briefly. After they'd both cooled off, they got down to business...
"Well, I dunno where to start. I lost that sweet little ATT Spinne that you hooked me up with, and the Roto-Drone. I'll need a replacement. Can you get me another Roto-Drone? How about another crawler? Another Spinne if you can get it."
Etiquette test to locate Roto-Drone (Availability 2/24 hours): [dice=6][dice=6][dice=6][dice=6]
Etiquette test to locate Shaiwase Kanmushi Mechanical Crawler or equivalent (Availability 2/24 hours): [dice=6][dice=6][dice=6][dice=6] Rule of six: [dice=6]
"I lost my shooter in that explosion and a bunch of other gear as well. Next thing I need to replace is my tool kit."
Etiquette roll to locate a Tool kit Dwarf modified(availability 5/48 hours): [dice=6][dice=6][dice=6][dice=6]
"No can do chummer. I don't carry that kind of drek in shop. I'll look around and keep my eyes open. Maybe take me a couple days to track that kind of specialty items down. IF I can find them." Bobby had sighed, those tools had almost been a part of him, and replacing them looked like it was going to be a problem.
"Next I'll need another car. Something discrete...Something to replace the Chrysler...And we'll need to modify it again...With the whole rig, remote controllable and all..."
Etiquette test for finding a Ford Americar (or equivalent) (Availability 2/24 hours):
[dice=6] [dice=6][dice=6][dice=6]
"Again, not a problem...just take a call, be here in a five or six hours. We'll have to modify it after that...I might have the stuff around here for that...The car and the remote gear is gonna cost you around 35000. And the vehicle control gear will be on top of that, another 5000. I can get it all, but it'll be 3-4 days before its rigged the way you want it..."
Etiquette test for finding Remote Conrol Gear (Availability 4/72 hours):
[dice=6][dice=6][dice=6][dice=6]
Etiquette test for finding Vehicle control gear (Availability 4/7 days):
[dice=6][dice=6][dice=6][dice=6]
"Next, I need a shooter. Mine was in the Wasp. I know I won't be able to get an Antioch, like I had, but I need a shotgun at least. Can you hook me up?"
Etiquette test for finding a Enfield AS-7(Availability 8/8 days): [dice=6][dice=6][dice=6][dice=6] Rule of six:[dice=6][dice=6]
"Actually, I figured that might have happened chummer, I called a friend of mine who's got one and who'd be willing to part with it. He also said he had a Defiance T-250 for sale. A short-barreled one that you can hide under your coat...Lemme make a call..."
Etiquette test for finding a Defiance T-250 (Availability 3/24hours):
[dice=6][dice=6][dice=6][dice=6]
"Yah, he's got both. The Defiance is a sweet little number. Its even got a top mounted laser sight on it for yah...Cost ya 1050 for that, and 1100 for the Enfield.and I'll have the Defiance for ya tomorrow. The Enfield in a couple days when you pick up the car. What else?"
"Yah, I'll take them both. And some spare ammo too if your chummer has got some..." Bobby paused thinking about it I am going to start shooting back at these fraggers... Bobby continued his shopping list. "I'm tired of my vehicles getting blown to bits. I need a maglock passkey, good enough to bypass most common locks in under 10 seconds. I know you got something lying around her that you can hook me up with....I'm gonna start using other people's..." he'd said.
Etiquette test for finding a Rating 4 Maglock Passkey (Availability 8/10 days):
[dice=6][dice=6][dice=6][dice=6] Rule of six: [dice=6]
Buddy had then gone digging. He'd found an old P-Sec that was in working order and the two of them has spent several hours trying to modify it to get it to work the way they wanted...But it had come down to them not having the right chip, a chip that was both hard to get and expensive. Bobby grimaced at the price that Buddy had quoted him but had handed over the satchel of UniOil script that JJ had given him as he'd left the Siren's call. The car and the gun and the other gear came to somewhere in the 110k range anyways...But the earliest any of it would be available would be the next day.
OOC actual costs are 35000(remote control Americar equivalent) + 5000(vehicle control rig) + 1100(Shotgun) +1050(Shotgun) + 50000(maglock passkey) + 9000(RotoDrone) + 9350 (Crawler drone)= 110500 nuyen
Buddy had been as good as his word though. There was a slightly used Honda Accord parked in his driveway not more than 6 hours later, and the two of them had started to modify it for use by a dwarf, installing the rigging system and the remote control gear. But it was going to take a while...In the mean time, Bobby had other things to do. And so he'd found himself back at the Lair at Ace Tomato. Now his work load was piling up again...
Foot padding his way towards the Siren's call, trying to make it in time for the meeting, Bobby thought about what JJ had tracked down for him...Hmm...If we get both, then the Decker and I can stay outta the line of fire while I control the other vehicle remotely...Save me getting blown to Drek...Yah, that sounds like a good plan... Bobby arrived at the Siren at least 10 minutes early and passed thru the security with little trouble...I wonder if the drekheads will be on time... he thought to himself as he was entering the Siren, then stopped short.
Drek!! They probably don't know about the damn meeting... Turning back, Bobby started running the three blocks back to the lair, and arrived breathing heavily. Again the two guards looked at each other over his head and shrugged at each other...Bobby entered the Lair and breathing heavily, burst into the Lair.
"Hey you DREKHEADS. Get your gear and your hoops in order and LETS GO. Widow called a meeting and now we are already LATE!!" Bobby picked up a handy broomstick and started chasing the two loungers towards the door swinging the broomhandle wildly.[rand=31323591253001715776726319978557852639320440599543414754889051581]
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Post by Pelch Gobwit on Jul 10, 2006 5:33:51 GMT -5
OOC: Pelch, "It looks like Wheels is doing well on his resupply. I see no need to get involved there. He has it well in hand. Nothing from Mao yet. I'll give him some more time. Looks like Quick and Gremlin need a bit more as well. Let's continue with Freddy and the Widow."
Widow stopped suddenly and turned to look at Freddy as he followed her. She looked at him suspiciously. "You seem to be awfully concerned with Ace Tomato. Do you know something I don't? Let me break a few things down for a moment. Slash is ready for a meet. JJ can send someone else to that now that Tony is gone from the Holloweeners. I see no need to continue to pursue that cause since we already got paid. It's old business and it's over once we got paid. Until we get a new contract and more NuYen I see no need to be concerned with Tony at the present time, do you? Sit down a minute we need to talk."
She motioned towards a table and sat down. Freddy did as well. Widow used the table top menu to order drinks and shortly two beers popped up from the middle of the table. Widow took hers and sipped it a moment then spoke again. "I want you to think carefully and then tell me what you think. This isn't going to be organized but is a gut feeling that I have."
"We are a new team, but chasing what we are not getting paid for is not a 'good' thing. Now Dom Haseltorn may think he has bought himself a group but we don't get a weekly salary when we aren't on the contract. We are getting paid right now just like any normal runners. So until we are full time employee's we are just contracted specialists and right now we don't have a job. Haseltorn can't have it both ways. If he assigns Quick and Wheels privately and they are not under my control, then that means I can act unilaterally with the people under MY control when we are not performing a service. Right now that is BB, Pelch, Mao, and myself. As I recall you were hired by JJ and so was Gremlin I am unsure of your status or your loyalties. Quick is definitely under Dom and Wheels works for Quick. The lines are clear there."
"Now we know that Ace is a Nan operation, but they pay for our building, the Lair. So far that has been gratis. They also seem to send us people on a regular basis. They don't ask for payment so why would they do that? As far as we are aware they have yet to make any demands for service or rent. Until they do I am inclined to leave them alone. Why should we stir them up until we discover more?"
Widow leaned forward and spoke softly, "The big question that confronts us is do we really want to take the next job from Haseltorn? Look at the fallout from the last mission? As leader I have to look at the problems for the whole group. We have a divided leadership problem. We have two groups that have a hold on us for different reasons. The expenses and equipment losses were EXTREME in the last run. Several of our people came close to being killed and we still have no idea why. We know an insect Shaman is involved. Do you feel like this group is ready to take on something of that magnitude?"
"I don't. Considering that we have already been rushed through two missions with no recovery or down time and now they are ready to slam us into a third, I am not feeling comfortable about what is happening here."
"Now you're second in command after me. You need to look at this from more than one perspective. Where do 'OUR' loyalties lay? Personally, my opinion right now is that we are pawns. Dom has implied that we MIGHT become a permanent part of his team but then will we be under Quick? What are his plans for us and are they the way we really want to go? Under the current set up we have no real loyalty. We have Ace on one side with a hold on us. We have Dom on another. So what are WE getting out of all this?"
"I for one, am not comfortable about taking a job to body guard Devlin Krass. We are not set up for bodyguard work. If Krass needs body guards let him go hire the Four Aces. They can do it much better than we can. Our job has been investigation and Intelligence, but if we continue on with this the next step is INFILTRATION! Spying, and we are nowhere near ready for that. We are too well known right now and proof of that is someone has us in their gun sights. The last run proved that. I think if we accept that next run some of us will end up very dead due to lack of preparation and that will be my fault. I'm ready to take risks but I'm not going to shovel my assets into a fire just to keep Krass from getting burnt!"
"Now I think I can refuse the run but what will the consequences be for any of us? Who will stay and who will go? I've heard tell of a lot of teams being started but many have not stayed together as long as ours. Another worry is that when they offer us the run and briefing they will expect us to immediately make a decision. Can you see people like Mao, BB, Wheels, Quick or Pelch stopping to think what earning all the NuYen really means in job difficulty? I think not. So I want your assessment now, do you think given what we know and our current state that we are ready to take on a new run like this one, now?" Widow looked at Freddy.
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Post by wolflet59 on Jul 10, 2006 11:01:51 GMT -5
Plus side... We stop an assassination - and its a cool Mill from Krass - we got leads to follow up, we got a reasonable idea of what were up against.... anything from Dom would be just extra small change, kind of keeping us ticking over unless he wants to pay us properly... JJ's been good for expensive expenses. Weve got a competent team, were all still alive.
Pelch an Mao seem sort of organised together, and have got their jobs done, adapting to the situation. Wheels is solid running shotgun, and now we got a decker, they make good backup. Quick has shown he is the backstop, independent but available to step in when needed. Me an Henri can provide magic support against insect spirits - Together we should be able to take on a cybermonster or two
So there is a job waiting for us, if we decide to take it on, even if Dom does not hire us to do it.
Minus side ... Tony the insect shaman knows a lot about some of us,
as a group we are fragmented and youre right, I think we would get wasted but only because we are not working together, or go off alone.
High spec mil grade weaponry should worry everyone, so security and covering our asses should start to become much more important, because it is lax now - we are waiting to be snipered.
Insect spirits - we need to know more about them.. We can call on assault backup once we collect enough information - we do not need to clobber a nest of cybered up spirits...!
NAN wants to know whats going on as well - as you said, we are currently independent, and if we dont keep them at least a little sweet, we will lose future employment, or even earn ourselves an enemy.
I'm in for chasing Tony - but everyone has to be aware that we work together, synergy an all that. Quick an Wheels are putting the effort in - and our goals will all be the same.
Lack of preparation will kill us, so lets get busy in finding out what we are up against.. chase down some leads, avoid getting ambushed and make some real cash!
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Post by Pelch Gobwit on Jul 11, 2006 5:00:44 GMT -5
Widow listened carefully to Freddy. She then spoke quietly, "I had hoped you weren't going to be blinded by that million NuYen."
She looked tired and Freddy realized that they hadn't rested for some time. "You say we know what we are up against. I'm not so sure of that. For instance one thing you mentioned is that you seem to think Tony is the insect shaman. I have seen absolutely nothing factually to back that up. Did I miss something? Why would he give Mao a message to deliver or even let him walk away and then try to fire bomb him? You see? We don't even know if the insect Shaman and Tony are on the same team because they seem to have a different goal in mind."
She leaned forward and Freddy noted that she seemed to be worried. "You say that we are not working together as a group. Why should that suddenly change? This group has not yet LEARNED how to work together. They certainly won't under the pressure of the next run. You say that we do not cover each other, in your words, we are 'lax'. Can you see this changing without a rebuilding period?"
Widow steepled her hands in front of herself as she relentlessly continued to make her point, "We don't know enough about insect spirits. You say lack of preparation will kill us. How much time do we have to prepare? How much time have we had as we get ready to enter the next run? I think this assessment is more realistic. You see the same thing I do. We are NOT ready for a run with a million NuYen bonus payoff. Krass is not going to pay a million NuYen for something anyone can do. We are going to have to be really good to earn it. I don't think we are that good yet! We aren't ready and aren't likely TO be ready in the short time frame we have to get prepared. On our first run we could pick and chose. No one knew about us. The second run was a disaster. Sure we got paid, but we almost lost people several times due to being unprepared and walking in blind. I don't want a repeat of that in the third run."
"Now you gave me what should be a positive assessment of our group. It does not tally with mine." Widow's large eyes looked deeply into Freddy's eyes.
"Pelch is illiterate. He is almost always out of the communication links. He lacks mobility because he can't drive. Ninety percent of the time we have no clue what he is doing. What good is the information he gets if we can't take advantage of it?"
"Mao is almost always separated from Pelch in some way. They do this to cover more ground or because of necessity, but then Mao usually loses the 'drive' that Pelch puts in him. He coasts. He lacks INITIATIVE! He has the mobility and communication that Pelch lacks but separated they are both largely useless to the group. Sure they have been LUCKY getting the jobs done but luck is a fickle mistress."
"Wheels is solid but overworked. He hasn't had time to do the work he was hired for. He goes off half cocked. As a result the things we need to get done to get prepared are NOT getting done. Now you have to add an unknown decker, that has an aversion to violence and you want them as backup? We won't have time to get them used to BEING a team and we don't know how long it will take. This is a big gamble and I would rather we didn't count on either as a condition of last resort."
"Quick is reliable, but will tend to be unpredictable. He is not under my direct control and may be under orders contrary to those that I feel necessary to give. His orders come from Dom, who I remind you, is several orders removed from the direct consequences of our actions. We could end up paying for that. What if he and Wheels, who he controls, pull out on one of their Dom crusades at the WRONG time? Unless we nail this down and prepare we definitely cannot enter the next run."
"You and Henri say you can supply support against insect spirits. How many? What type? Are we dealing with another frag up like Chicago? Knight Errant with a full corporate army heavy on magical power and armed with specialized spells and tactics couldn't handle that mess. Do you know of anything that tells you we are not dealing with something similar? You two may be good, I don't think you're that good." Widow smiled brightly for a moment then became serious again, "I think your assessment without real fact is overly optimistic. Our guns and grenades are going to be little good against a horde of insects. Do we even know the type of insect shaman and what his capabilities might be from his totem? Are we really sure we don't need an assault team? Let's face it we just don't KNOW enough. Nor are we likely to know enough before we have to get in and go ferret it out. We will NOT have time to go back over all the leads in the last run as we scramble against an unknown group who obviously do have a time table and the organization to launch MULTIPLE attacks with very little notice. We can't even be sure WHY we were attacked at this point. The fact that the UNKNOWN DID REACT and with lethal force not once but three times shows we do NOT know what we are up against."
"Now you want to take this rag tag bunch of runners, each with his own way of doing things and with serious liabilities in operational tactics, and shovel them into a hornet's nest with little to NO preparation? You really don't think this is a recipe for disaster? Shadow Running is an accurate assessment of the odds. We take risks, but they are calculated risks. Some runs should be refused. We are not here to commit suicide. I think this is one of those runs. I want the group behind me if I do refuse it. So if you like the money more, what hope do I have of making any of the team seeing it? I don't want to waste a good beginning team by dropping them into some cannibals stew-pot!" Widow finished forcefully. She then spoke quietly, "I'm asking you to trust me. Trust my judgment on this. If you can't then I'm not going to be any good as a leader. This group is not ready."
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Post by wolflet59 on Jul 11, 2006 6:49:29 GMT -5
We understand each other - I put two sides out, my choice would be to go for the job... your are correct in everything youve said, we are not meshing and that will kill us all.
Henri sems to know a lot about the spirits - and may well know something more about this mosquito strain, is it a hive, a loner ? - hopefully if he knows the exact type, then he can tell us more about what to expect.
- and I am sorry, but you dont get proof about the spirit world - it is like proof of colour to the blind
Fair enough we are too unfocussed, little self-rstraint, and dont know what the left hand is doing. So taking on a whole contract is out.
How about taking on parts of it though.. you got me thinking - I jumped to the assumption that Tony should be the insect shaman, they could well be different groups
- we could instead, follow up single lines of investigation, all together, get a thorough job done on each section.
Everyone pitches in on the same task.. by doing this, we stick together rather than fragmenting off on tangents.. we may well find that each of us an help out a little - learn how each of us work- or take some of the strain off the others. Build up rather than break down. Stop spreading thin.
Small single jobs - theres enough leads here for half a dozen jobs, let's settle on one at a time and do each one well.. should put your mind at rest, keep us in one piece, and give us time to learn..
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Post by gremlin on Jul 11, 2006 21:03:12 GMT -5
OOC: Pelch, I'm gonna roll Loxosceles' Ettiquette as I write this. I'll be using the standard talisomnger from SR3 & I'm guessing it's street etiquette I need to roll.
Henri listens to Loxosceles rant for a while. half impressed that he wasn't swayed by the promise of a certified credstick (That showed good sense), but also half frustrated. Had Loxosceles been impressed by the money, it may have been an angle for Henri to exploit at a later date. As for the lack of first class service straight away, that was another sign of Loxosceles' good sense. You didn't show a new face everything, you had to wait until you were positive they weren't a narc with good credentials.
Eventually, "The word I got is you ain't no DIPS or Star. Now just what is it you want?" "I'll start with this." replies Henri, picking a mortar & pestle off the shelf next to him.
Loxosceles etiquette, Conjuring library - 3: [dice=6][dice=6][dice=6][dice=6] Rule of 6:[dice=6]
Loxosceles etiquete, Water elemental summoning materials - 3:[dice=6][dice=6][dice=6][dice=6]
As Henri walks around the shop, he pulls various pastes, incenses and powders off the shelves and stacks them up in his arms. "Guess it was too good to be true", he thinks to himself, seeing that not everything he was looking for is in stock. Turning to Loxosceles he asks "Is this everything?" "What're you lookin' for?" the orc replies. "You got anythin' I can write on?" The orc leads Henri over to the counter, where Henri unloads his arms. Taking the pocket secretary offered by Loxosceles, Henri makes a list of several texts and periodicals along with the remainder of the conjuring materials he needs. "How about these?", he asks as he hands the pocket secretary back to the orc.[rand=9802262550333362982027085756900256428849412765748771944363550256]
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Post by Wheels on Jul 11, 2006 22:10:51 GMT -5
The two loungers are a bit slow to move at first, but the flailing Broomstick finds its way to a backside or two gets them moving with a yelp. Both Mao and Pelch grab their coats and guns and head for the door, and Bobby follows muttering "...fraggin babysitter...drekking Quick...and that fraggin Wid..." as he closes the lair behind them. Moving outside, Bobby sees the pair standing on the sidewalk with large smirks on their faces, and he can see them say something to each other as he walks up.
Glancing at his chronometer, Bobby shakes his head and steps onto the street, whistling for a cab. "Alright you fraggers, now we are 25 minutes late. Thank you very much!!" The two exchange another big grin behind Bobby's back as he climbs into the cab that pulls up, and the other two pile into the back. "The Eager Beav...Err, The Siren's call. Step on it."
The ride is only 3 blocks but takes five minutes due to traffic. Tossing the cabbie a five nuyen note, Bobby and the other climb out and walk towards the front entrance.
"Pelch, we need to work a trade. But it'll have to wait until after this meeting...It's kind of a skills trade. You up for it?"
"Depends what you're talking about..." Pelch says with a huge mischeivious grin which makes him look somewhat like a freakish clown with his newly shaven face. The little patch of hair beneath his chin, and the small thin mustache were the only remains of his luxurious beard that he'd sported up til yesterday...
The three amigoes hustle up the stairs to the nearly completed main entrance to the rapidly being finished Siren's Call, and pass thru security with not much more than a pat down and a word to the guard that they were here for a meeting with JJ. A quick call and they were led into one of the meeting rooms thru the hotel, the same meeting room they'd been in the day before.
JJ and Widow and the others are there and it looks like they'd been talking. The three of them didnt get any friendly looks as they entered and took seats. "Sorry, the children weren't ready to go..." Bobby says, waving a hand towards Pelch and Mao. Quick throws Bobby a wicked grin, and Bobby tosses him back a rude jesture. Hiding his smirk behind a hand, Quicksilver turns his attention back to the meeting.
"Now that we are all HERE, lets get down to business..." Widow starts, standing at the end of the table, near JJ....
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Post by Pelch Gobwit on Jul 12, 2006 4:30:06 GMT -5
OOC: "Boombaby and Gremlin, you're both doing just fine. We seem to be ready to move on but I want to give Mao, and Quick one more day before I start to take my own actions on their behalf.
Wheels, Henri, is not there yet. JJ will not start the briefing until he does make it.
Freddy you might consider talking with the others as they arrive and let them know what Widow is planning. It's time this group learns to communicate to members who have been 'out of the loop'. Tomorrow night I get into the next Chapter, hopefully.
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Post by wolflet59 on Jul 12, 2006 8:04:21 GMT -5
As people arrive, looking like the weight of the world is on her shoulders, Widow fills everyone in while they wait for JJ. A primer for the biz-meet ....
There is a Million available to foil any attempt on Krass' life, whatever Dom is willing to pay on top.
We have preliminary information that there is Tony, an accomplished adept, and Dom's brother, out to kill Krass and then Dom.
Another insect shaman connected to high spec mil grade equipment and cybered help.
We have security leaks
And as yet we dont gel as a team.
If we take this on as a full contract, we are setting ourselves up to fail, so in my judgement, we cannot take on the contract.
However, there are individual elements to this that we could handle, and give ourselves some time and experience with working closely with each other, all together rather than everyone hareing off on their own.
I think that this will allow us to hit very specific targets successfully - rather than trying to cover everything at once and failing.
Problem is that the money cant be as good.
What's your thoughts ? - I need to know what you think before I speak for us all
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Post by emyaj on Jul 12, 2006 10:37:12 GMT -5
While out back in the managers room behind the bar area Quick puts away his work on the inventory and grabs an unmarked bottle of amber liquid and seeing that Freddy and Widow seem to be waiting for everyone decides to head on in.
Upon entering and hearing Freddy talking he sits by Widow and pours a glass from his bottle listening and waiting after a few minutes pass he looks towards Widow " I agree we are not up to this magnitude of a job and as for my loyalty it is to Dom and the Siren ... but at this point Dom is away and J.J. has things in hand with the Siren so I am willing to follow orders from you in these endeavors as long as you remember my position in regards to them. You can count on my word if I give it and trust I won't leave you or the team hanging. I am not sure if that makes you feel any better but I wanted you to know at this point if we go on to do another job you have my support. Now I do think we should do some more group based jobs to feel each other out and get to trust each other but that is your call at this point, I will be at the bar taking care of a few things if you need anything let me know." With that said Quick heads over and begins wiping down the bar and taking inventory.
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Post by wolflet59 on Jul 12, 2006 14:20:51 GMT -5
See Widow - Quick is dead straight, we know he works for Dom, and he is telling you just that - but as long as there are no conflicts - you got yourelf another solid player.. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
Lets see, what have we got-- if Tony can shapeshift, and he is on high alert, then Mao will not have seen his real face, and even hacking Nestle's files (heh!) would not get us much further. He has bragged about being much more powerful now, so we would have great difficulyy in tracing him down.
The insect shaman and his cybered-up oppo would be an easier mark - they may well have been caught on trid security. The fireball in the Lantern can be measured to get an impression of the shaman's power - so he wont have been supporting other spells to hide the chromehead, else he could easily knock himself out with the fireball drain backlash
Henri knows a ruck of stuff about insects - might have a good guess on how dangerous this bunch is. Speaking of Henri - I'll get on the blower and remind him...
They have access to mil-spec equipment as Wheeks testifies, we could try to track the chromehead rather than poking around in a mosquito nest.
Star and Slash will have trid access for the area
Find out who the chromehead is would be a good start - they targeted the two vehicles, so they knew who they belonged to - might solve a problem with leaks as well!
After the meet - I need to pick up Meg from the Doc's - she got into some scramble and has only just returned, injured. Speaking of which, what about a Docwagon contract for us? Or as a stopgap, a retainer on the Doc I know to provide medical support
Docwagon will cost plenty for those of us with a SIN - even more for those without - my Doc could well fill the aftercare role, and I know an excellent magical healer...
Hey - do I get 10 grand back for the cost of the comms? I'v had my eye on a Magbuster for 50 gees...
Freddy uses the comm to hurry Henri along to for their meet with JJ -
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Post by Wheels on Jul 12, 2006 22:23:46 GMT -5
OOC Yah Pelch, I know not everyone is caught up in game time...i was just putting Mao, you and me there at the approximately appointed hour so that I had a day or two in RL to take care of some stuff hehehe. Far as I know, Henri is still on the day before...
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Post by Pelch Gobwit on Jul 13, 2006 5:06:47 GMT -5
OOC: Pelch, "Thanks Wheels, I suspected that is what you were doing, but wanted to make sure everyone was aware in case they had other things to do. Tonight seems like a good time to bring Pelch and Mao back up to date and give Henri a little more time."
"Also Thanks to Freddy and Quick for moving the storyline right to the point I needed it to be tonight."
The group, except for Henri were all at the conference table. It had been explained that Henri had been unavoidably detained but Widow had deemed this as 'not a show stopper'. JJ was also delayed as her previous schedule of meetings was running over long. For the first time in a long while the group actually had some time to sit and make plans. Widow started by handing Mao and Pelch their cred sticks and Pelch with a shrug tossed his to Mao. Mao smiled and placed them safely away. Then Widow introduced BB to the group as the new decker and doctor. Wheels handed the small girl her new access cards and sat next to her. Widow then informed the group of the team changes. Freddy then took over and explained the current plans and the tactical situation. Mao was the first to comment. He looked at Freddy politely and adjusted his hat.
"So you are saying that when our Control comes in to give us this assignment to protect Krass, in essence we are going to refuse to do the Johnson's job? Doesn't that seem to be a little, foolish?" He looked at the group then back to Freddy again as he adjusted his hat. "Now correct me if I'm wrong but Dom put us together as a team to work for him. He's the Boss. So what are we doing, going on strike for better wages? I don't agree that we should go in that direction. If you want me to change my mind you are going to have to be a LOT more convincing than just saying 'you guys can't cut it'."
Pelch looked at Freddy, "I have to side with my partner on this one, even if he can't leave that stupid hat alone. Besides we are looking at not only a good paycheck but a possible 1 mil bonus to split among us. That is a very large payday. Enough to get me off the concrete bed with devil rat bedmates and actually make a score. No way I want to turn my back on that!"
Quick also looked at Freddy, "Dom may decide to pull Wheels and I back if we don't do the work he wants us to do. Perhaps before we refuse we need to learn all the reasons why we should not take this on. We know DOM wants us to find out about the plot to kill Krass by Tony. I had a thought that maybe whoever tried to kill us using the insect Shaman, might be AGAINST Tony and doesn't WANT him to kill Krass so they came after us? If that is true then we now have five sides all working at cross purposes here. Here is the way I read this mess, tactically."
Quick went up to a large touch screen a turned it on and quickly highlighted some Icons. "We have Dom and Krass. We work for Dom but KD&A also has irons in the fire. Nominally we would be working together but given corp in fighting we may not be. How many people in KD&A would like Krass moved out so they could move in? We can all suspect Eon would. That's two sides right there. Then we have Tony and Nestles. Now Nestles has a beef with us over a possible future contract against them. You have Tony who also has a personal beef against Dom. That's another two sides that may or may NOT be at cross purposes. Right now we just don't know. Then we have our unknown attacker. Where in the frag does he fit in and what is it he wants? Lastly what of the sides we have been dealing with almost since the beginning? The Star, Slash and the Weeners, Vankler and the ork underground. Sure most are low profile but we don't know any of them are out of this clean. So what makes anyone think any of these jokers will stop even if we tell them all we are just walking away?"
Widow spoke quietly, "All of you have made good comments but what makes any of you think we can pull this off? Quick, you showed a lot of sides and given the levels of operation I have seen this group put out what makes you so certain we can handle this many sides anyway? This level of opposition forces us on the defensive. Dom wants us for intelligence but that takes time and we don't have time on this. The others have excellent intelligence on us though and they have sent in the hard boys. We are not set up for that kind of operation. We are going to HAVE to take the time to 'Fort UP', get equipped, get trained and get hard enough to go out and kick some hoop. If we go to soon with no intelligence, unequipped and untrained as we are now we are going to die for nothing! Your Boss, Quick has to understand that and if he doesn't we have to make it clear to him. We can't just look at the NuYen and go out an die. The cred won't do us any good if we aren't around to spend it! Now I'm your leader. I looked at the odds. They are way against us. I looked at the tactics and so did Freddy. Tactically we are not positioned or ready logistically enough to handle a job of this size. Eventually we will be but you don't use a screwdriver when you need a saw or hammer! We were put together to be an intelligence and infiltration unit. Not BODYGUARDS AND NOT WARRIORS OR HIT-MEN!"
Quick looked at Wheels, "What do you think chummer?"
"She's making sense. Look at the equipment lost in the last mess. We went in with no plan, leadership changed, comm was the pits, we're bugged, and shucked. We had bombs and hit-men out for our hides. Tony knew more about our situation than we did and he only sent some Spiked Wheels at us." Wheels shook his head negatively, "We are down a lot of equipment, we are again walking in blind as a bat. I say we fort up, clean the problems out and then go out. So maybe a compromise is what we need here. Tell Dom we take the job but on OUR terms. No time limits. We get ready, and when we FEEL we are ready then we move."
"If they get to Krass before we are ready?" asked Freddy.
"Then they got to Krass before we're ready!" stated Widow bluntly "Even if we went in full bore right now we don't know that they won't get Krass in the next sixty seconds! It happens. Some things it is just to late. WE have more chance if we go into this prepared than if we go in blind. Why shovel our people into a furnace if everything is going to be burnt up anyway! Will us dying bring Krass back? I think not. Krass has his own teams and security and some high powered defenses. Let's see some of that in action while we get ourselves situated."
Freddy nodded, "Then we need a vote here. It is imperative that we all speak with one voice so even if you lose on the vote, you still back your team mates. The first vote is do we accept the job as long as there is no time limit for us to prepare and we are not held accountable for failure? OR do we just accept immediately and do our best?"
Pelch looked at the group, "You convinced me. I go with the first statement, we go when we are ready."
Mao nodded, "I'm with my partner."
BB smiled, "Do I get a vote?"
Wheels smiled back , "Of course, partner, you're part of the team ain't you?"
BB clapped her hands, "Then I'll vote they way my partner votes!" She smiled brightly at Wheels.
Freddy shook his head in mock despair, "OK time to get off the fence cast your votes now."
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Post by wolflet59 on Jul 13, 2006 7:58:19 GMT -5
Quick an me are for taking on more bitesized jobs - the intent is the same - they will give us time to gel as a team and fill in the gaps, when we all concentrate on one thing at a time, backing each other up an learning from it.
Looks like a concensus Widow - we agree we cannot take on the whole thing at once, but we can take it on piece by piece.. concentrate our efforts and make a good job of each piece.
Hell - we could complete enough slices to earn that Mill - but all in good time. Slow and steady wins the race.
We go when Widow thinks we are ready
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Post by gremlin on Jul 13, 2006 12:05:50 GMT -5
After returning from the hush phone again, Loxosceles says "Three, maybe four days and I can have everythin' on your list. The texts'll be on chip. Interested?" Henri nods "How much?"
Loxosceles Negotiate, TN5: [dice=6][dice=6][dice=6][dice=6][dice=6][dice=6]
The orc looks thoughtful for a moment, then replies "Most places would charge 12,000 and a look at your magical licence...I'll skip the licence check for an extra 600". Henri defaults to Charisma, TN4+4: [dice=6][dice=6][dice=6][dice=6][dice=6]
"I don't suppose there's any chance of a goodwill discount for a first time customer?" he asks, already knowing the answer. Loxosceles looks at Henri, his expression flat. "Didn't think so, here's the half up front you're about to ask for" Henri says as he hands over the certified credstick. Loxosceles slots the stick into a reader, then deducts the appropriate amount.
The thought of taking a little extra had crossed Loxosceles' mind, but it made more sense to return the show of faith this newbie had given. Besides, once the guy realised what had happened, he'd bleat about it to all and sundry and Loxosceles wasn't about to risk having his rep trashed for a few thousand NuYen. "Three days, no sooner" he repeats to Henri. "Fine", Henri replies.
After leaving Puyallup, Henri heads north again, catching a bus into Renton as soon as he is able. Once off the bus, he carries out a pre-planned surveillance detection route making use of several of the area's malls and quieter neighbourhoods.
Perception: [dice=6][dice=6][dice=6][dice=6][dice=6]
Satisfied that he isn't being followed, he returns to his apartment in the Christopher neighbourhood and retires for the night. The following morning he hops another bus Downtown and makes his way to the Siren. Walking over to the bar, Henri notices Quick wiping down the bar and heads over to him. "Go on up, the others are already here" Quick says quietly.
A few moments later, Henri finds himself once again outside one of the Siren's private rooms awaiting an answer to his knock on the door.[rand=51076233128760218101540773480822844686157853737028017502664473337]
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