Low-Down in Loveland, IC Thread Options

[Digital Heroin]

Wednesday, 17 February 2071, 2314
The Dive, Low-Down, Seattle Metroplex

Spring in Puyallup was once an idyllic time. The fields were verdant, and the skies would open up to a new year of blue horizons. This is no fairytale springtime, though, and a lot has happened to bring Puyallup screaming into the new world. The fields are largely gone, given over to half finished development and tar choked debris fields. The night sky is think with smog, and and a pallor hangs in the air, as if the world can sense the dark times that Low-Down has fallen upon. Three weeks have passed since Bruno was erased from the face of the Barrens, and though the winter's rain may be letting up, the mood in the air is still oppressive.

The evening pall, and the smell of decay that seems to permeate the Barrens, has The Dive unusually busy. It would seem no one wants to be outside, and few want to be alone just now. Drinks are flowing freely, and conversation is at a pitch which threatens to overwhelm the battered old jukebox, and you could almost swear this was somewhere more upscale, in a neighborhood where to walk unarmed was the norm. Everything comes to a stop, however, save the classic rock of a bygone era, when the door clatters open, and a wiry figure enters. Clutching a thin plastic poncho against his chest, the kind that anywhere else in Seattle would be considered disposable, but has obviously seem many weeks use. The squatter looks around, a fright in his eyes, and he stumbles over to the nearest group of Dozen members.

`Fire,` he gasps. `They set the whole place on fire.` The squatter shudders, and starts to viciously cough.

Anyone outside would need be blind to miss the fires the squatter speaks of. As if a pyre dedicated to some massive deity, the flames are visible even two blocks away, and viscous black smoke plumes up in a column that is inky dark against an already gloom filled night. Whatever they set on fire, and whoever they are, they have done a good job of it.

[BlackHat]

When he heard the word 'Fire', Grim's attention became focused, and almost before the man had finished speaking he was to his feet, and moving towards the door. He paused when the man began coughing, in order to give him a quick once-over and make sure he wasn't in need of immediate first-aid. Seeing a handful of others rising to help (or perhaps just hoping to gawk at a big fire), he pulls his cheap commlink from his coat pocket and mashes a button, gesturing towards the door with the device, while he eyes searched the man for severe burns. "RVs running." he grumbles (barely audible over the energy in the room), "anyone who wants a ride better lend a hand when we get there." His voice carried enough that those nearest the messenger could hear him, but Grim didn't seem to be directing his comment to the Dozen, specifically.

[ Spoiler ]

Roll for first-aid to make sure the messenger is okay before Grim leaves him:
Logic (5) + First Aid (5) = 10 dice
Will buy two hits, if that's okay - otherwise: (1 hit)

[kanislatrans]

At the word" Fire!" Matto's skin began to crawl. For a second he paused, caught in a flashback of several years ago. His mind replayed the smell of burned hair and flesh, the incredible pain on his face and right side as the jelly gas destroyed muscle and skin. He drew in a deep breath and shook his head, chasing away the past and focusing on the present. Pulling his jacket from the chair he muttered " To Rome said Nero: "If to smoke you turn I shall not cease to fiddle while you burn." To Nero Rome replied: "Pray do your worst, ..." .

Jamming his arms into his jacket as he heads for the door, he pauses again as he catches Grim's offer of transportation. Flashing a thumbs up he says "We must make haste then, not only because we are daily nearer to death, but also because the conception of things and the understanding of them cease first." ( Marcus Aurelius) He nods to Grim and pushes a path through the crowd towords the awaiting RV.

[Combat Mage]

Feral quickly rose to his feet with a determined look after he heard the squatter's news. There was no time to waste. If one of the other gangs had broken the peace treaty they needed to be dealt with.

He hurried towards the door while securing the quick-draw holster at his hip. "Ey, Grim, save me a seat. No one sets a frakking fire here without paying for it."

He shot Matto a bewildered glance as the ork uttered one of his usual cryptic phrases. "Whatever, man. Let's roll!"

[Saint Sithney]

"Ahhh, hell."
Exiting from his digital trance, Cosimo rose to his feet reluctantly, his trode band picking up the trigger words from his thoughts.
[Cosimo@Agent: "Vasari. Litmus.]
[Agent@Cosimo: "Fire provokes a primal fear-response. Affect a father-like authority and draw attention away from the fire itself."]

"Hold up! This isn't a fire. This is ARSON. Someone set this fire, and they used a lot of juice to do it. We could be walking into a trap so everyone kit up. Grim, pull your clinic up in front of the door. I don't want anyone getting shot coming out of here. Feral, if you're going with Grim, make like a trid-mage and scout the magespace or whatever for threats first - and survivors second. Matto, I'll follow you guys on foot, and keep you informed. Hold it down out there, brother."
Cozi pauses for a moment to think out some com-texts, then turns to The Squatter, facing him directly.
"Yo! Rain-poncho! Come on over here and tell me what and who you saw. Guests, might be smart to keep away from the windows while we sort this out."

[Cosimo@Bear and Scratch: Message. Bear. Plus. Scratch. Follows- "You're our eyes. Don't be blinded by this fire. Find the source and we'll prevent the next one.']

Leardership test roll for the benefit of the squatters and patrons.

[ Spoiler ]

Reasonable modifiers: +1 for authority figure -1 for not in social strata.

RAW Leadership roll would be this for two hits.

Emotisoft as Teamwork rolls would be this (2 hits from teamwork) and this for a total of 2 hits again.

So, two hits regardless.

[Fenris]

Lucky danced, the heavy thrum of the neo-trance music vibrating through his body as he moved through with the crowd, others pressed in close on every side. The Looking Glass was in full swing now that it was after dark, and spotted skin, tails, fins, and fur filled the Changeling club in a wild display of color. A chaotic fractual display wove it's way through the AR, kept in tune with the shifting music and the swaying crowds by the clubs A.R. jockey. The young man grinned as Izzy bumped into him, the Changeling's oil black skin reflecting light in a rainbow sheen, like oil on water. He was pressed close against another boy with an orange mane of hair and leathery green frills on his head, obviously the boi-toi of the week. Pleasantly buzzed, Lucky wagged his eyebrows at The Looking Glass's young manager, but Izzy's face was grim, and text flashed across Lucky's line of sight now that Izzy had his attention.

<<You're family's burning, omae.>>

Shit.

Lucky turned for the door, spinning on his heel as he realized he didn't have his jacket. Scooping it off a chair, he'd almost made it to the door again through the press of people when he realized that the familiar weight of his keys were missing. He turned, his shouts through the club echo'd in AR with blazing letters that pinged from person to person in his social network.

<<WIDGET, WHERE ARE MY KEYS!?!?!?>>

A few moments later, a thin buzzing cut through the crowd as one of Widget's innumerable micro drones wove through the tight space, dropping the credstick keyed to Lucky's Van in his waiting palm. He could hear Widget's high pitched giggle as he darted out of the club. A few seconds later found him pushing the tweaked van's acceleration, speeding towards Loveland.

[Red-ROM]

This is how it happens. As soon as you start to feel normal again, something blows up.Micky was halfway to home plate with a hot chocolate in a short skirt, and about the time she ran her fingers into his short brown hair, some nut comes in screaming "Fire". The gang seemed to be jumping into action. Grim was already trying to save everyone. Cosimo was trying to take charge while Motto went into book babble mode. Mickey had to admit, it sounded cool, and it usually got him pumped up for this kind of crap.
He took the girl's hand, realizing that he had not gotten her name,"Excuse me love, Friends in need and all that."
The brittish accent was fake, but the girl was looking for something exotic. Micky got up with a wink and turned to catch up with Cosimo,"Anyone else gonna drive? We could use more than one target. "

[Aria]

Scratch had been nursing her synthol and buzzing through the AR feeds for more than half an hour when the squatter burst in. She’d dismissed him as a threat until he started yelling about fire…buunda… where was Summer?

<<Summer, where are you ken? There’s trouble brewing out here.>>

<<I’m getting us a snack at the stuffer…what’s going on?>>

<<I don’t know yet, we’re going to check, just stay put for the moment please. Don’t go home and keep the Cambodian or someone else in sight, ok?>>

<<Will do…>>

She swung out of her seat and headed towards the back door. She checked her pistol was holstered and available, she didn’t like the thing but it was more intimidating than the tiny knives that were her tool of choice. The weather was awful out there but it would keep her hidden from prying eyes, she hoped. Time to go…

“Cosimo, I’ll go on foot too and swing round to get a look from the other side…I’ll keep in touch. Let me know if all hell’s breaking loose!”

The smell of rubbish outside was nauseating and she winced as a pair of devil rats skittered out from an overturned bin and disappeared. The only thing stronger in the air was the smell of smoke…something is definitely burning!

[ Spoiler ]

The language is Or’zet, thanks to the Ancient Files…I’ll make an infiltration roll when we are nearer the scene.

[BlackHat]

Grim nodded at Cosimo, and directed the RV's pilot program to pull the thing up to the door. Grim appreciated that someone was taking the lead, as he expected to be up to his elbows in work soon, but he was a little apprehensive that the Dozen's priorities would be on finding those who started the fire, instead of finding those who were still in it. He could certainly see the logic in that line of thinking - preventing another fire should be top priority - but it didn't mean he would be happy about it if it meant not putting his skills to use where they could do the most good.

Seeing that the squatter's wounds were not life-threatening, and that Cosimo wanted to get more information out of him, Grim motioned to the front door, looking at Cosimo and grumbled, "..bring him along, if you want. He could use a medkit, and you two can chat on the way." He then headed towards the front door, himself, to meet the RV when it pulled up as close as it could. Whether there was an ambush outside, or not, he would be a lot safer in the armored vehicle - and every second they spent looking over their shoulder as they went might be bought with some poor squatter's life.

[Branmac]

Bear was off in his own space at the moment. Physically he was chilling with the rest of the bad boys and girls at The Dive, mentally he was off in the Never-Never trying to wrap his brain around the idea of watchers and how they worked.

Just when he thought they were starting to make sense some squat barges in stinking worse than normal, caughing and screaming fire. In between the first shout and the moment of comprehension was a half second of confusion, then his lanky frame bolted upright!

"What the drek!"

The buzz of his comlink drew his attention for a moment as he caught the incoming text, ::[Cosimo@Bear and Scratch: Message. Bear. Plus. Scratch. Follows- "You're our eyes. Don't be blinded by this fire. Find the source and we'll prevent the next one.']::

Realizing Cosimo and Grim were already in motion he hustled to join them, slipping on his coat and checking his holster as he hit the doorway.

"On it, keeping my eyes peeled. Grim, when we get close you may need to drop me off on foot. Maybe not to. We play by ear, no?"

Grabbing the handle by the rear door of the RV he swun himself aboard.

[Saint Sithney]

Composure test:

[ Spoiler ]

Rolls 2 hits threshold of two. So, he stays on the handle.

"Umnnnhhaa... Right. Okay. Leaving now."

Cosimo's shoulders slumped wearily. They'd have listened to Bruno. Hell, he'd have listened to Bruno, and Cosimo didn't listen to anybody. But it's been three weeks since Bruno disappeared and Cozi knew that it was only a matter of time before someone decided to test the Dozen's boundaries. He also knew that, when that happened, the only correct response was decisive, brutal action. An object lesson. "You do not fuck with us, chummer." He had been relishing the thought for weeks. No, no. He must be honest with himself. He's been thinking about going to war since he joined this gang two years ago... Now. Now he felt the surging energy of it inside of him, the momentum pulling him forward like rushing bullets. Fire! Fire! The taste of war was in the air. But...

"Mickey, could you talk to this guy while I grab our helmets from the garage. An iron lung won't do shit to keep the smoke out our eyes."
He started towards the door, clapping a hand comfortingly on Grim's shoulder as he slipped by and started his sprint to the adjoining warehouse with their gear.

[Cosimo@Dozen] Message. Dozen-all. Follows - "If anyone needs gear from the lockup, ping me quick. I'm in a hurry."]

[kanislatrans]

Stopping just inside the door, Matto pulls his Ingram Smartgun X from beneath his jacket. Snaking the cable from the SMG up his sleeve, he slides the connector into the datajack behind his right ear and boots the chatterguns smartlink. The action clacks as he chambers a round and the display lights up. Ammo count flashes a green 32 and the crosshair pops up in his right eye, along with a friendly note reminding him that his software is 392 days old and "please connect to a MSP for more infromation on how to get more out of your Ingram firearm!". A twitch of his eye closes the annoying window.Another twitch and the semi-darkness of "The Dive"lights up as the low-light cycles on in his cyber-eyes. Leaning against the wall he takes a deep breath and says loudly,
"“The greatest happiness is to scatter your enemy, to drive him before you, to see his cities reduced to ashes, to see those who love him shrouded in tears, and to gather into your bosom his wives and daughters...Genghis Khan.”

Weapon at the ready,he rolls out the door.....

[Red-ROM]

Micky throws an arm over the squatter with a smile, and takes his voice to a soothing decible,"hey, relax padre. sit down catch your breath"
He thinks about the lock up, but since Bruno vanished, Micky had been sleeping in lead pajamas. He had all his armor on, and every twist of the wrist reminded him of the sling in the arm of his jacket that held his dart gun. about the only thing he left behined were his tear gas grenades, and he doubted they needed any more smoke.
Looking over the squatter, he tried to organize his thoughts,"So what'd you see man? Who set what place on fire?"

[ Spoiler ]

judge intentions on squatter[1,3,6,2,4,6,5] = (3)

[Fenris]

<<(Cosimo@Dozen) Message. Dozen-all. Follows - "If anyone needs gear from the lockup, ping me quick. I'm in a hurry.">>

Great, that's perfect. Micky's going to ream my ass for being so far away from The Dive when somebody hit us.

Lucky fought down the rising tide of guilt and centered himself. For a brief moment, he let his eyes unfocus, the road and the various other drivers blurred away. With a SNAP! he felt the magic streak through him, and he stomped on the accelerator, barely even needing to look as he wove in and out of the traffic at otherwise insane speeds.

Still not going to be fast enough

[Digital Heroin]

The scene immediately outside of The Dive is calm, eerily so. It is as if all life had stilled in Low-Down. The few people venturing on the streets at such an hour stand in small clutches, watching the flames and quietly talking amongst themselves, pointing, and shivering at the destruction an unchecked fire could bring to the neighborhood if it spent. This far into Loveland, Franklin was not overly likely to respond. Especially to abandoned property. Cosimo's call to action has spurred the people inside of the bar into a sense of less than chaos, and those people that had been rushing to the single entrance stop, and pull away to clear room for the Dozen that are reacting. While those that are heading to Grim's brightly painted recreational vehicle settle into their positions, and while Scratch prepares to set off on foot, Matto and Grim go for the vehicle, and Cosimo heads one door down to the warehouse lockup, Micky is left to talk to the squatter.

The man is a vaguely familiar face, but such is the case with all squatters. After a certain time living off the grid, people take on similar characteristics. Desperation breeds familiarity. He continues to cough, however Grim is right in leaving him. The squatter has suffered smoke inhalation, but it will not kill him. He slumps into a chair near where Cosimo and Grim had left him sit, and when Micky approaches, he takes a moment to catch his breath. `I didn't see much. Three guys, human or elf I'm not sure.` He pinches at the bridge of his nose, eyes squinting. `They came up on us all friendly-like, and then one of them kicked over one of our fire barrels, and another threw a jerry can onto it. I got clear, and just kept running. No one's gonna respond, no law, no fire patrol, just you guys.`

At the last bit, he starts into a series of racking coughs again. If someone is going to direct him to the RV, he will need a hand.

On the other side of Loveland, Lucky's name proves once again to be true. Despite the fact that Lone Star still tries to maintain a presence on the major roads, and a few gangs claim the turf between the Looking Glass and Low-Down, he manages to get into sight of the ever-growing pyre with no hassle.

[Combat Mage]

Feral was outside the door of the Dive, waiting for the van alongside Grim and Matto. As soon as it pulled up, he hopped inside and secured himself in a seat.

"I'm getting us some spiritual support." the teenager said with a grin as he closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment, opening his eyes to the plane of magic. The first try failed but he kept on and suddenly, it appeared. A big wolf with dark grey fur and glowing yellow eyes, hovering in astral space.

"Thank you for coming, pack-brother. Please wait on the astral plane until I need your help."

The wolf gave an approving growl and vanished. Feral leant back and tried to mentally prepare himself for whatever was awaiting them.

[Branmac]

When Feral joined him in the back of the RV, Bear slid over to give the burly orc a little extra room. Though they were eye to eye in height, his lanky build didn't need quite as much room. When he announced he was summoning up spiritual help, Bear kicked himself mentally for not thinking of that as well.

"Good idea, Omea. Guess I should give it a try as well."

Settling back into his seat, Bear tried to focus on the concept of water. It motion and flow, everchanging and unchanging. The background noise and his own nerves keept breaking into his thoughts but he forced them back out and tried again. WATER, FLOWING. WATER, SHALLOW AND DEEP. WATER! Wrappoing his thoughts and needs in a shield of magic he bound it into a form and set its stability. Looking out with eyes that saw the astral, he realized how tiny and weak his little water spirit was next to the wolf that Feral had asked for help.

"Got one. Not much but it might help. Water and fire you know?"

[Propaganda]

Alex had been spending most of the evening slumped in a corner of The Dive, nursing a glass of what the bartender assured him was vodka, though personally Alex wasn't especially convinced. As the squatter burst into the bar the commotion broke Alex' reverie, though upon hearing the squatters dire announcement he bolted out of his seat.

"Jesus wept" he muttered darkly, grabbing his coat and heading out the door just behind the others, his suspicions about the alcohol completely forgotten as he rummaged in his pockets for the keys to his bike.

[ Spoiler ]

Edited 'cause of a typo

[Fenris]

Lucky's van wobbles a bit as it screeches to a halt, sideways and half across the street, not more than a block away from the blaze. He's out the door immediately, stumbling a bit in his haste to get out of the van and looking for the rest of the Dozen.

[ Spoiler ]

Perception 2 + Intuition 3 + Enhanced Perception 2 = 6,6,6,5,4,4,2
+ Vision Enhancement 3 = 4,3,2
or Audio Enhancement 3 = 6,3,2
Whichever is most appreciate. Scanning around, looking to see what's going on.

[Red-ROM]

Mickey looks around. The whole crew is moving out and he doesn't want to miss the bus. He looks to the squatter again with concern,"That cough sounds bad, lets get you to my friends van, he might have something that can help."
As they get up he continues working for some details,"what did these guys look like that tried to blow you up? you said human or elf, so they were skinny? how were they dressed?"
Moving out to the van, he pulled a cigarette from an inside pocket of his leather jacket. It was laced with Nova coke. He might need a bit of an edge in this situation. He yelled to Grim ,"hey, can I smoke in here?"

[BlackHat]

At first, Grim responds simply by turning around in his seat, and giving Mickey a glare like he should know better. Then, after a moment, he shook his head 'no' and strapped on his helmet (and old military-style helmet, painted white with a red cross on each side). Returning his attention to getting the RV moving, he added, "There will be plenty of smoke where we're headed," without a hint of humor in his voice.

[Propaganda]

As Alex finished shrugging on his jacket, he finally located the elusive maglock key in one of its pockets, and as he strode towards his bike he glanced over his shoulder at the rest of the gang "Anyone feeling brave enough to ride on back? he asks, settling himself in the saddle.

[Red-ROM]

Micky figured as much from Grim. Maybe he should have got some coke in patch form, but hindsight is twenty-twenty. With a flourishing hand gesture, the Cigarette disappeared again,"Understood captain" he said with a salute and a smile. Micky pulled out his commlink and shot off a quick message to Nightsong, a girl he knows in the pirate news bizz;
<<(Micky@Nightsong)Hey grrl, your buddy Micky's got a big BBQ goin in his backyard. You heard anything about it? If not, you might want to get on top of this. Hit me up>>

[Saint Sithney]

[Vasari@Cosimo: Once one has assumed an authority position, performing any subservient role only serves to undermine...]
[Cosimo@Vasari: Vasari. Quiet. Browse Matrix. Target Info - {the address of the burning building}. Find blueprints, maps, external images, digital reconstructions, all visual information about the building. Sort by relevance - Government, corporate, media, personal.]

Cosimo sent his digital key to the fourth storage locker, opened it, and grabbed his rifle, quickly slinging it over his back and stuffing two clips into his pockets. "Hrrrmm... guess everyone likes the idea of breathing burning plastic... Vut. I might as well get this suicidal drek over with." With that, Cosimo grabbed his racing helmet, placing it firmly over his head. The familiar bike start screen popped up on its digital overlay. He wiped the visor clear with a command just as Alex, having proffered the gang an expedited trip to the blaze, strolled in and hopped on his bike with practiced ease.

Seeing Alex distracted Cosimo for a moment.
"Yo, Alex. Stay sharp. There's blood in the water. Chodai?" His voice projected out from the tiny front-mounted speaker.
He glanced over at the old retro-style helmet sitting on Mickey's scooter. It would just as likely trap smoke in than keep it out. Pre-digital fashions...
"Scope you at the party, Al."
And with that, he charged out the open garage door and into the RV.

"Alright, Grim. Let's kick this pig."

[ Spoiler ]

Street Knowledge: Regional (Seattle) - Check to remember details about the burning building.
4 Intuition + 1 Regional Knowledge + 4 Homeground = [3,5,6,6,6,6,2,3,3] = (5)

[Aria]

Scratch set off at a gentle lope, stretching her senses out to encompass the gloom. She’d seen fires before, back in the arc they had been a way of distracting the machines…hopefully this was just a distraction and there was nobody caught inside…she didn’t much fancy the thought of going in there to pull some smelly squatter out. The air tasted of ash and chemicals, her adrenalin was coursing now and the prickle of fear was there. Time to pick up the pace…