Blood in the Water: IC Thread, Fun on the High Seas! Options

[Marwynn]

Iago nods his head towards John, waiting for the captain to answer first. "I was thinking of summoning it beforehand and having it Conceal us on the way in. Then once we're aboard, send it to the Bridge and have it use its own Influence power to... predispose the officers to say panic or dismiss the alarm as a mistake." Iago pauses for a moment. "Hmm, they must be pretty edgy. The slave trade's gotta be competitive right? So they must always be on the lookout for say mutineers? My spirit could plant suggestions that a particular group is cooperating with us. Maximizes confusion and preys upon whatever insecurities they may have."

"It can be sent when we need it. But this is all dependent on the astral situation... wards or mana barriers, which by the by I should get started on the ward for our fine yacht." He glances around, as if recalculating measurements in his head. "Anyway, if the bridge is protected the officers will be harder to target--assuming they're inside at the time. Worse comes to worse, I'll summon one that knows Stunball and have it go nuts."

[Knight Saber]

Rusty turns to each of her crew in turn, watching and appraising as they speak.

Alexander shrugs at Iago,

" I am not counting on stealth to last beyond our initial assault on the bridge. To an extent, I am hoping that it does not. The more the enemy comes to us, the less of them we will have to hunt down. If we can bunk down into defensive positions in the cargo hold, they will be forced to dislodge us, and--in combat--the first advantage always goes to the entrenched defender. My plan relies on speed and surprise to secure the bridge, and then a combination of manuver tactics and... as they call 'turtle-ing' to clear the rest of the ship."

"Not the best idea in this case. The cargo hold will likely to be secured to keep people from escaping. They could pump the gas in or the air out... or worse." She thinks back to the dumping of slaves during the Atlantic slave trade and shivers inwardly. "Any of them not in control of the bridge or engineering are a secondary concern once we take those areas."

"Iago, I like the idea about influencing the commanding officers. Since influencing them before we board the ship might tip them, it would probably best to influence them once they're aware of us or the fighting starts. Can you time one of your Spirits of Man actions?"

"Besides that I think the plan we have is solid. So, are we going to put this to a vote or go by good old military hierarchy?" John looks in Captain Rusty's direction.

"I'm willing to entertain suggestions, but I am the captain... I take the credit and the blame." [color="cyan"] She snorts at the irony of that notion... She was always bitching about that back in the day.

Iago nods his head towards John, waiting for the captain to answer first. [color="#00FFFF"]"I was thinking of summoning it beforehand and having it Conceal us on the way in. Then once we're aboard, send it to the Bridge and have it use its own Influence power to... predispose the officers to say panic or dismiss the alarm as a mistake." Iago pauses for a moment. "Hmm, they must be pretty edgy. The slave trade's gotta be competitive right? So they must always be on the lookout for say mutineers? My spirit could plant suggestions that a particular group is cooperating with us. Maximizes confusion and preys upon whatever insecurities they may have."

"It can be sent when we need it. But this is all dependent on the astral situation... wards or mana barriers, which by the by I should get started on the ward for our fine yacht." He glances around, as if recalculating measurements in his head. "Anyway, if the bridge is protected the officers will be harder to target--assuming they're inside at the time. Worse comes to worse, I'll summon one that knows Stunball and have it go nuts."

Rusty rubs her chin again. "A corporate crew would not mutiny out of the blue... They have to be screened and bonded. What would they be most worried about? Their 'cargo' getting lose and cutting all of their throats. If you can present that idea to them, they'd move to secure the areas that we aren't in. We'll go with Alexander's plan, with securing the engine room after the bridge."

She shoots look to Zalermo for confirmation or denial of her opinion... She knows that everything looks like a target when you're a team shooter.

[CollateralDynamo]

[ Spoiler ]

Miami: 11 June 2072, 1200 EDT[/size]
[Robert "Zalermo" Bennicimo as Willard Dermott, PI - Hidden]
Cape May
Zalermo had spent his shore leave calling up old friends. During his conversations with them he accidentally 'let slip' that he was now working with a private company as 2nd in command of a small boat out in the Atlantic. After his contacts pried enough he revealed to them that he was out there letting rich kids live out their dreams of playing glitzy glamorous shadowrunner. It was embarrassing work, but somebody had to fleece these rich kids out of money. After feeding even his closest friends and confidants this line of drek, he mentioned the ports of harbor he was most likely to call home (UCAS and Carib. League areas mostly) and mentioned that if any of his connections needed help on that coast they should give him a call. Zalermo strongly implied the ability to move people or things from one port to another, all they had to do was ask.

Once Zalermo was confident enough that he was being believed he would mention that he was looking to assemble a good crew and was having difficulty finding a few old friends from his more rowdy days. He mentioned a few names from long past, acting as though he wished to call them up for a job offer. Nestled in amongst these names he mentioned Takeshi Nobunaga, or "Beat" Takeshi as he was known. He doubted he would get too many hits, but Zalermo asked his organized crime and smuggler contacts to keep an ear to the ground. If they could come up with any information, Bennicimo promised it would be worth their while.

Miami: 12 June 2072, 0830 EDT
[Robert "Zalermo" Bennicimo as Willard Dermott, PI - Hidden]
MY Fedallah: Conference Room

Zalermo listened to his crew come up with an attack plan. It seemed like they knew what they were doing. When Rusty turned to him for support he knew he could no longer sit on the sidelines of this conversation, "Snagging the bridge and the engine rooms first while under stealth is a good call. They likely have a means at either of these locations to control everything via a wired connection. Lets not forget, however, that the boat is likely capable of wireless action. We have a pretty good jammer that we should hopefully be able to set remotely. Once activated this should be able to eliminate all communication and wireless accessing between the ship. Only skin links and face to face (or wire to wire) communication would work. Of course, this would also render our communication to nil. As a back-up plan I recommend our second Zodiac be out drifting in the water with a drone and the directional jammer. Should our matrix support see chatter going up implying that the alarms are about to sound, we fire it off. Once communication is jammed, we each know our missions and where to attack.

"This then leads us to what our exact actions are. For the most part I agree with the plan Alexander proposed. With one minor change. Once we manage a stealthy approach (assuming this can be done with the matrix and magic resources at our disposal) I strongly suggest we immediately move into two teams. One team, including our most stealthy moving across the upper decks toward the bridge. Securing it as quickly, quietly, and bloodlessly as possible. The second team, which should include our rigger and our magic support, heads below decks to secure the engine room. The engine room should have a bypass for any bridge controls anyway, so it is the best place to take control of the ship. Also, the reason for our magic support below is that it is impossible to sneak past someone in a hall that tight without some form of magical aid.

"Once these two locations are bloodlessly and quietly secured, Jane should be able to seal up the bridge, and seal herself into the engine room via the shipboard computer. She should also likely seal shut every door not required for us to do the second part of our job, checking the cargo. The team below heads aft, the team above heads fore, and we visually check cargo, using Jane on overwatch to help out.

"To sum up, we don't kill anyone, ideally we don't even engage people who aren't stationed in the bridge, or engine room. There will be a few incidentals in the hall when the doors are sealed, they should be easy to handle. If they become aware of our presence too early, communications are jammed, and mission continues as normal. We each secure our primary objectives (bridge and engine room) at this point Jane should be able to wire herself to the ship, and get security under control and un-jam communication. Once communication is re-established, we continue to the secondary objectives. If communication is unable to be established, and the heat is on high, we need to decide, do we hole up below decks and take the fight to them? Or do we withdraw to the extraction point and try again at a later date against their vastly increased security."

Zalermo was proud of his team, this plan was basically theirs, just brought together. He would leave exact team designations to the Cap or the Boarding Officer, but Zalermo knew no force on this Earth would keep him back shipside while the others were launching the assault. But some support would likely be necessary, perhaps Melisandre? She seems a good choice for remote support, he'd hate to bring a girl that...dainty...into a firefight.

[MusicMan]

Alexander shook his head at the Captain,

"While taking the engine room seems like a high priority, if they are carrying live cargo and we attack without securing the cargo hold, then there comes the risk that they may dump their cargo causing a loss of life that would be unacceptable. Furthermore, once we hit a major station on their ship, there is no reason to expect to maintain any amount to stealth. If you want us to take both the bridge and the engineering bay while maintain stealth, both actions will have to happen concurrently. Furthermore, the engine room will be buried in the depths of the ship and we will--most likely--end up being forced to fight our way to it.

"If you insist on taking both the bridge and the engine room... I suggest we split our boarding action into two teams and take both targets at the same time. However, we will need to make dynamic entries into the area to secure them... using 'excessive' or 'disproportionate' force.

"It was my conclusion that the engine room would not be a priority. If our rigger can secure the ship's systems, she can lock access to the engine room. I would be more worried about our opponents dumping the cargo than anything else. With out rigger in control of the ship, she should be able to shut down any containment systems covering the cargo bay, allowing us to determine the nature of the cargo and prevent its destruction. I cannot think of a reason they would go through the trouble to install manual overrides in another part of the ship... and--while I am not a mechanic--I cannot really see how they would go about installing competent manual controls on their ship. If this is a slave ship, containment of their slaves would be their first priority... and the 'loss' of incriminating cargo."

[budoka05]

"Um, if we assume human cargo, how would one dump human cargo without dumping the whole container? Unmodified human bodies float so they have to be weighed down. If they have the cargo in the bowls of the ship, I shouldn't think there would be enough time to haul it up to dump it all over board."

[Marwynn]

"Perhaps not mutiny. But a double-cross? That's gotta be a possibility." Iago insists, not letting go of the idea easily even though it's slipping through.

"Anyway, if we make the bridge our primary target, the Spirit of Man can influence the officers there to do some things that'd benefit us. Starboard aft is our spot right? Why not have those guarding in that area be ordered forward? Or someplace else we can lock them down?"

"It'll have to be something plausible, so you guys with the nautical experience feel free to chime in. Then when things start turning against us, the Spirit there can start Stunballing the bridge crew removing cohesiveness." Iago pauses. "If there was only some kind of emergency they would all have to check and respond to, letting us get aboard and having them all confined to one area... or several areas. Grab the bridge, lock them down, and deal with anyone loose."

Iago nods at the comments about the cargo. "Well, we don't know if they have some sort of, pardon the term 'kill-switch' to make this all go away in a flash. But a reasonable distraction would have them move away from their cargo, or at least not make them immediately think they'll need to pay particular attention to any slaves. I don't know... hull breaches? Unscheduled surprise drills for maintenance?" He looks around. "We have the specs right? We can reasonably predict where they can be at if they're drilling for something or other.

"But again," Iago sighs heavily, "this is all contingent on the magical situation aboard. I'm assuming a relatively free pass. So this is all speculation at this point, our plans shouldn't be based on what we hope."

[Knight Saber]

Alexander shook his head at the Captain,

"While taking the engine room seems like a high priority, if they are carrying live cargo and we attack without securing the cargo hold, then there comes the risk that they may dump their cargo causing a loss of life that would be unacceptable. Furthermore, once we hit a major station on their ship, there is no reason to expect to maintain any amount to stealth. If you want us to take both the bridge and the engineering bay while maintain stealth, both actions will have to happen concurrently. Furthermore, the engine room will be buried in the depths of the ship and we will--most likely--end up being forced to fight our way to it.

"If you insist on taking both the bridge and the engine room... I suggest we split our boarding action into two teams and take both targets at the same time. However, we will need to make dynamic entries into the area to secure them... using 'excessive' or 'disproportionate' force.

"It was my conclusion that the engine room would not be a priority. If our rigger can secure the ship's systems, she can lock access to the engine room. I would be more worried about our opponents dumping the cargo than anything else. With out rigger in control of the ship, she should be able to shut down any containment systems covering the cargo bay, allowing us to determine the nature of the cargo and prevent its destruction. I cannot think of a reason they would go through the trouble to install manual overrides in another part of the ship... and--while I am not a mechanic--I cannot really see how they would go about installing competent manual controls on their ship. If this is a slave ship, containment of their slaves would be their first priority... and the 'loss' of incriminating cargo."

"Piracy is a lot more common than slaving" Rusty says. "There will be more extensive safeguards against the ship being taken over than against getting caught with the "cargo," things like a panic button to lock the ship on its course and burn out the controls, say. They'll have a way to drop their cargo, shoving the modules out a side hatch probably, but it won't be on the same hair trigger as normal anti-hijacking measures. If they get hailed by the coast guard, they'll have a lot of time to drop their cargo. They won't be expecting a commando raid. That's why our Uncle has set this operation up."

"That proves your point though. We'll need to hit both places at once, that means timing and more things to go wrong. That's why we get paid the big bucks." She looks to Zalermo. "You're in charge of the engine room team. You'll have to watch over our specialists." She nods at Alexander. "The tactical situation will be more complicated down there, I'd like you to be the shooter for his team. John, Iago, you're with me, you have the highest scores for infiltration.

"Perhaps not mutiny. But a double-cross? That's gotta be a possibility." Iago insists, not letting go of the idea easily even though it's slipping through.

"Anyway, if we make the bridge our primary target, the Spirit of Man can influence the officers there to do some things that'd benefit us. Starboard aft is our spot right? Why not have those guarding in that area be ordered forward? Or someplace else we can lock them down?"

"It'll have to be something plausible, so you guys with the nautical experience feel free to chime in. Then when things start turning against us, the Spirit there can start Stunballing the bridge crew removing cohesiveness." Iago pauses. "If there was only some kind of emergency they would all have to check and respond to, letting us get aboard and having them all confined to one area... or several areas. Grab the bridge, lock them down, and deal with anyone loose."

Iago nods at the comments about the cargo. "Well, we don't know if they have some sort of, pardon the term 'kill-switch' to make this all go away in a flash. But a reasonable distraction would have them move away from their cargo, or at least not make them immediately think they'll need to pay particular attention to any slaves. I don't know... hull breaches? Unscheduled surprise drills for maintenance?" He looks around. "We have the specs right? We can reasonably predict where they can be at if they're drilling for something or other.

"But again," Iago sighs heavily, "this is all contingent on the magical situation aboard. I'm assuming a relatively free pass. So this is all speculation at this point, our plans shouldn't be based on what we hope."

"You should always try to get lucky on shore leave, because you never will during a mission" Rusty says with an ironic snort. "Now, what's your plan for when there's a lot of magical hitters on board? Spirits, mages, wards, the works. Work that up too." A moment's pause for thought on her part. "Here's a plan B. There's nothing that gets your attention on a ship better than a fire. Can you have an elemental make it look like the ship is burning where we're not going to be... say, the port bow? When our stealth gets blown, it'll divert attention from where we're headed and gather up the crew so we can put them out."

"I'd like to do this with no casualties. But if anyone's going to have to take a bullet, I don't want it to be my crew. Less-than-lethal weapons first, but if things get serious, switch to hardball ammo."

[Marwynn]

"I can make it so that there's an actual fire, and a wary fire elemental, in the port bow. Does that count?" Iago smiles innocently.

He laughs a little, nervously. "I can't rightly convince anyone that there's a fire when the system will tell them there isn't. Influencing someone doesn't work that way. I... never agreed to learn the nastier mental manipulation spells. It makes things easier... too big a risk to keep using it when off the mission. Anyway, we gotta give them a reason, and I can direct their reaction. Say an alarm is triggered, a few people can be predisposed to agree to each other that it is a major fire. If they check the system closely or talk to someone there the influencing stops."

"Lots of magical heavy hitters huh? Hmm..." Iago sits with his hand to his chin. "Bound spirits, wards, trap wards, a few mages... If the opposition is that heavy, I'd use Influence on the boarding party leader to convince them to abort. We'll need total surprise to neutralize the levels of magic I'm fearing. But since that's not gonna fly, and we'll eventually have to take another crack at it... Hmm, I still say misdirection's our best weapon right behind surprise. I can engage in endless speculation right now, lay out some potential points. Like bring Stick-n-Shock ammunition, not for the crew but for enemy spirits. And not all Mages wear flowy robes so if I call out a target please put it down with extreme prejudice."

"Let me think on this some more..."

[CollateralDynamo]

"That proves your point though. We'll need to hit both places at once, that means timing and more things to go wrong. That's why we get paid the big bucks." She looks to Zalermo. "You're in charge of the engine room team. You'll have to watch over our specialists." She nods at Alexander. "The tactical situation will be more complicated down there, I'd like you to be the shooter for his team. John, Iago, you're with me, you have the highest scores for infiltration.

Zalermo nodded to Rusty at his assignment, "Should be easily done, Captain. So my team is Jane and Alexander? We would likely do well with a Spirit of Man concealing our whole bunch. If I was paying enough attention in magic class that means at least force 4. One to cover each of us, plus another to conceal himself. Can you whip one of those up for us and give him to me to command, Iago?

"Your hypnotic suggestions and what not are not a bad plan. Having a fail safe that allows us to start a fire somewhere on the ship, or at least a fire drill, seems like it could be quite useful. I will leave that to the bridge team to discuss."

[budoka05]

One other consideration, in the event that they barricade themselves into one of the ship's rooms, do we have any cutting or explosive entry gear?

[CollateralDynamo]

"Kid, if they barricade themselves into one of the rooms, we seal them in from the outside. Our objective is to secure the cargo and bring these men to justice. If they lock themselves up, they are doing the work for us. We bring them in to UCAS port authority, they'd have to have their heads examined if they still tried to fight their way out. As long as we can control wherever it is they have sealed themselves, I see no reason to risk man-power and resources trying to oust them."

[budoka05]

"That would the most ideal scenario when they lock themselves in. However, I follow the "Hope for the best, plan for the worst." On a run I did, a couple of mages holed themselves up in a secure room to do some ritual mojo. While we were figuring out how to get to them, they summoned a great form spirit. I got some nasty bruises occupying that thing while we broke in.

I doubt there would be that exact scenario or even that many mages on a single boat, but other possibilities exist where they could have holed themselves into their armory and get themselves ready to retake the ship. I don't want to leave that possibility open."

[Marwynn]

"I can slave the Spirit of Man to you, just please remember to phrase your commands properly." Iago smiles. "In any case, it'll be there to back you up. I was hoping for something a tad stronger to Conceal us all on the way in, but to save on services I'll have it Conceal us and those with you primarily. It can have one of my spells too, so that's for you to decide."

"If they lock themselves up in one room I say we chuck in a few grenades through a hole in the wall. Smoke or tear gas. Now if there are Mages in there, note the plural, I'm sending in an Elemental to drown/fire/blast them. No major mojo, please." He holds his hands up in surrender.

"Any astral recon right before the main 'run' will have to be quick and silent. I'll have another Spirit with me on backup, Concealing my astral form as we poke around. I know of a few tricks to get me past barriers or at least let me see through them. That should allay any fears we may have. Still I don't wonder if all those slaves aren't tainting the astral as they go, ward or no ward, they must have pretty strong emotions."

[MusicMan]

"I have a monofilimant chainsaw in my pack, and I remember seeing several more in our cargo hold here."

[budoka05]

"Thanks, I'll put one in my pack too.

[CollateralDynamo]

"Give the Spirit of Man something to help me take out the opposition when the drek overflows and I'm good. Stunball or bolt should be sufficient.

"It sounds like we are ready then team, get your gear together, get some sleep, we'll reach our rendezvous soon enough."

[MusicMan]

Alexander suddenly realised that key component of his plan had been changed:

Captain, will I still be providing aerial cover during the initial insertion? I had planned on doing so and landing after the bridge had been secured, however it will be difficult for me to land in time to take the engine room; if I try to land on the ship while they still have control of the bridge, I will be spotted and shot down.

[Knight Saber]

"I can make it so that there's an actual fire, and a wary fire elemental, in the port bow. Does that count?" Iago smiles innocently.

"As long as you can tell the elemental to put the actual fire out again" Rusty says firmly. "As for the rest, keep thinking about it. Sweat now saves blood later."

Alexander suddenly realised that key component of his plan had been changed:

Captain, will I still be providing aerial cover during the initial insertion? I had planned on doing so and landing after the bridge had been secured, however it will be difficult for me to land in time to take the engine room; if I try to land on the ship while they still have control of the bridge, I will be spotted and shot down.

That's a question that takes Rusty up short. She ponders it a moment, glancing down at the deck. "You'll go in with the rest of the team, on the zodiacs" she declares. "Air support's been my second best friend for a long time, but for this op, your boots on the ground contribute a lot more than being an eye in the sky."

[MusicMan]

Alexander nodded to the captain, "Yes, ma'am.".

[budoka05]

bump

[budoka05]

Miami: 12 June 2072, 1130 EDT
[John Nobunaga, Passive]
John's Quarters

Failing to fall into sleep, John lied awake suddenly struck by the amount of things that could go wrong with this op. Although his team had a good plan, competent commanders, and experience to deal with what they found, going in with very little intel was down right dangerous. Facing hidden great form spirits, paracritters, and other nasty surprises left indelible memories. He knew some good people that bought the farm on those runs.

John sat up and refocused on his breathing. While he stopped his train of thought, John couldn't shake the concern about anything and everything that could be thrown up to repel his team.

To recenter himself, John decided to go to the galley and fix the upcoming menu for the crew. Something about good food shared amongst people was so reassuring and basic. Almost every culture John had encountered had a celebration, tradition, and ritual around food. Certainly most of the modern synth food took a lot of the tradition out of eating, but it still provided the means for basic sustenance and the enjoyment for those who appreciated the taste and nutrition.

John double check the food inventory before making a list of menu items.

[Penta]

18 June 2072: 0400 EDT/0900 Zulu: Caribbean Sea

As MY Fedallah sailed through the predawn mist, sensors on the bridge beeped with urgency. The crewmember on duty would quickly discover the reason: 30 kilometers away, at the very edge of sensor range, sailing at a steady 10 knots, bearing 040, 170 kilometers west of Montserrat, was the ship identified by preloaded sensor data as potentially the MV Chantico's Bounty. The identification was tentative given the range, but it was enough to get the computers to try for the attention of whomever was on watch.
---
OOC Bits:

Okay guys! Apologies for taking so long - I had massive writer's block, plus weeks occupied by Weird Shit Happening. Including a friend who got shot in the events at Ft. Hood this last Thursday (took a round to the arm, and the injuries aren't life-threatening, thank God, but still...it's had me disinclined to writing SR for a day or two).

But the game *is not canceled*, *is not postponed*...None of that shit. No, I'm doing this, however slowly it may go at times.

I basically went for broke (in part cuz I'd forgotten my previous planning!) and skipped up to the finding of the Chantico's Bounty. You can make your decisions as you will - if you decide, for example, that you want to shadow her for however long, I can roll with that. Note the time: It is before dawn - the merest hint of sunrise is not for another 90 minutes, for example. (I'd pull out an almanac and be exact, but it doesn't seem worth it.) You're operating in darkness, with all that implies.

Any questions? Post em to the OOC board.

[budoka05]

18 June 2072: 0400 EDT/0900 Zulu: Caribbean Sea
John, Passive Mode

John awoke when the buzzer on his comm link buzzed. Seeing the ship's alert, he jogged to the bridge where he could get a read on the situation.

While the sensor read wasn't totally positive, John thought going in on the small boat would get them close enough to get a better read. Plus, if it was the ship, they could board right away.

[Knight Saber]

color="orange"]18 June 2072: 0400 EDT/0900 Zulu: Caribbean Sea[/color]
Rusty, Passive Mode

Rusty was standing the bridge watch. She'd been taking a lot of extra shifts, working off of her bioware to let her crew rest and prep for the imminent op as much as possible.

"Good morning... we've got a likely hit on our target. And you miss the special surprise" Rusty said as John came up on the bridge. "I'll want to narrow it down before we go in..." With that, she flipped a switch on the console, sending out a series of loud pot and pan banging noises into each bedroom on board. [color="#00ffff"]"All hands, this is your wakeup call" she adds with faux sweetness. "Our likely target is in sight."

[MusicMan]

Saturday, June 5th 2072 OS
0400EDT/0900
Alexander, Hidden

"All hands this is your wakeup call"

Alexander paused his prayers when he heard the speakers come on, and listened to his captain's notice. He smiled, and finished his prayers. Standing, he kissed each one of his icons, asking each of the saints depicted to pray for his protection. He picked up his sidearm and put it in a IWB holster, and then looped a komboskini around his left arm. With that he wandered up to the bridge.

"Captain, may I have a quick word with you?"