IC: Post or Die, Lifelines, and deadlines Options

[Warlordtheft]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:14, Deep inside Annex in Redmond
Zo looks at the tool benches, finding boxes of screws and nails he spreads them around haphazardly. Zo whispers: "Not much glass but screws an nails work just as well. I is goin to move da benches to slow-em down a bit. I'll toss a grenade where deys bunch up." Zo motions an explosion with a big toothy grin.

[Sephiroth]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:14 AM, Deep inside Annex in Redmond

"Well you see, there is a woman who wishes me to find a fellow out in this abandoned wasteland, a troll by the name of Big Daddy Long Legs. Mr. Long Legs apparently vanished in this Cross Town compound relatively recently under odd circumstances. I see you ghouls are here on his self-proclaimed territory now; did you eat him?" He asks the last question neither judgmentally nor critically, but calmly, as if he is not particularly bothered by the thought.

"In any case, this woman apparently has some sort of connection to Johnathan, as he was at her base of operations within the last day or so. I was hoping to speak with Johnathan, or you, about what he knows of the woman and his connection to her. A lady with cybereyes that look very much like ball bearings, so I imagine you would recognize her if you saw her. Do you have any knowledge of this woman, Archer?"

[Sephiroth]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:14 AM, Inside the Flipped Van

"Duly noted. He seems to be willing to talk now, but he is suspicious, and is assuming that the others are coming down from behind. The ghoul ork with the gun is watching the ramp behind the bus. Tell the others to be careful and not to close in until they have to. The ghouls will smell them coming."

[Saint Sithney]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:14 AM, Inside the Flipped Van

"Talking or no, at the end of the day, these guys are between us and something we want. Or, well, the end of the night. Anyway, get what you can from the fools and then give them the bad news about their lives ending. They can smell whatever they like, but that won't change the fact that they're worm food."

[Seth]

Friday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:14, Deep inside Annex in Redmond

<<Has there been any word from Jovan? We are all ready here, so unless I hear otherwise, I'm heading in.>>

Jade checked over her equipment, and put the Mage Goggles away. The time for stealth was nearly past.

[Red-ROM]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:14 AM, Deep inside Annex in Redmond

The mechanical room was fairly large. two long tables were stacked with electronics and miscellaneous parts and pieces. everything from car parts to gutted cyber decks. tool boxes and battery chargers lined the walls. There was a set of cutting torches leaned against the back table and assorted cables running everywhere. There was half of a man servant hung on the back wall and lots of random little lights blinked from the sea of parts and pieces. As Jade put away her goggles and ZO contemplated clearing the table, a cable from the battery charger moved. A robotic dog was walking along the wall behind a tall set of tool boxes. The cable was plugged into its hunches and it's shoulder mounted Ingram smart gun leveled at the intruders.

[pbangarth]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:14, Lusty Wife Bar and Grill, outside Annex in Redmond

Professor adjusted the low-light compensation in his goggles. It seemed to go off on occasion these days. I'm going to have to have this thing checked out, soon, I think. Blindness in a firefight is not a good idea. Wouldn't want to die for not keeping up with things.

[Warlordtheft]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:14 AM, Deep inside Annex in Redmond

"Drek! " Zo yells as he moves his assault rifle to line up his shot, waiting for the smartgun retical to glow green indicating an aligned shot.

[Red-ROM]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:14 AM, Deep inside Annex in Redmond

The second the drone drew down on the two warriors, it was already over. Jade and Zo acted in unison. The were-tiger pounced across the floor, unleashing destructive magics through her fingertips. The robot's shoulder buckled beneath Jade's hand. Zo was firing into the thing with a tight burst from his assault rifle. The bullets tore the drones head to tinsel, but the sound hammered through the room and off into the distance like the hammering of a jackhammer.

Underground

The man with the knife thought about Jovan's words for a moment. Jovan found himself wondering what this man looked like on the Physical plane. He could make out a ponytail, and a large coat over bulky clothes that had melded into his aura through prolonged contact. Archer broke that train of thought."I have the Troll you seek down here somewhere," he said with a grin,"Let me ask you this, if your woman has spoken to Jonathan recently, then why are you asking me about him? As I'm sure you overheard, he has yet to return from his trip to the big ci--"
budaduda dow! His question was cut short by the sound of gunfire up the ramp. The other ghouls began to scatter into the shadows. The armed ones among them took for cover. A couple dogs barked, but Archer heeled them with a word,"Stay!" He yelled out without taking an eye off of Jovan "Fan out! be ready for anything" Now he pointed to Jovan,"You want to chit chat while your crew gets into position? Do I look that Stupid?!"

[Seth]

Friday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:14, Deep inside Annex in Redmond

<<Heads up guys: they probably heard us. Can you put a shot through the window so we can get out that way Oz? You might want to move to a more escapable position Zo>>

The time for waiting was over. Jade flexed her shoulders and arms, checked her magical and mundane defenses, allowed the thought form to fully possess her and made sure the grenade was ready to be thrown.

[Notsoevildm]

Friday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:14, Lusty Wife Bar and Grill, outside Annex in Redmond

Ferret wiped the sweat from his hands, again. He was still pondering what Zo had said about using a 'digital' gun against the axe-wielding troll agent. There was something in what he said that might be the key to why he sucked at cybercombat. Processing chips in his brain began analyzing the possibilities as he returned his attention to the AR feeds.

Frag, the icon in the Annex was a troll valkyrie, not a corp security guard. I know where BDLL is hiding the trucks!

...budda-budda-budda....

[Warlordtheft]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:14 AM, Deep inside Annex in Redmond

"Sounds like a good fragging idea Jade--don't get ya panties shot off...."

Zo moved to the doorway at the top of the stairs leading to the room. He left the door slightly ajar, with just enough visiability to see the stair case, and redied his grenade.

"Hey Ferret, quick question, can ya command or take over any of da drones around me? An extra set of eyes migh be nice an dere was a rail mounted one in the hallway a while back. Zo to Oz..can you cover my backside? And somebody tell Jovie dat um were kinda of knee deep in drek an could use a bit of help."

[Notsoevildm]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:14 AM, Lusty Wife Bar and Grill, outside Annex in Redmond

"Sorry Zo, but the whole system is wired so I can't spoof the drones without being decked into the node. And that means getting past the big troll icon with an axe that damn near cut me in two last time I tried. I suggest a tactical withdrawal so that Oz can take some potshots at them from the blimp."

Oh frag, it's ghoul time!

He grips the gun tighter in his sweaty palms and as the blimp is no longer slaved to it's smartlink, mentally switches it to burst fire mode.

"Get ready Prof. Looks like Zo and Jade stirred up the ghouls."

[Warlordtheft]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:14 AM, Deep inside Annex in Redmond

"I'm in a good ambush spot. After dat I'z is fallin back to my second Ambush spot, and den to da bar for a drink, and more shootin."

[pbangarth]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:14 AM, Lusty Wife Bar and Grill, outside Annex in Redmond

Professor takes aim at the exit from the annex. "I'm ready."

Yeah. Right.

[Saint Sithney]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:14 AM, Inside the Flipped Van

"Aww shitballs. Comm chatter sounds like the party started early. Have they got the news yet as to how outclassed they are?"

<<@Jade: One window opening up. Since surprise is ruined, don't advance until you get the signal.>>

Realizing that combat was on the horizon, Oz dropped into VR.

[Seth]

Friday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:14, Deep inside Annex in Redmond

<<Hey: we never wanted surprise anyway: we are pulling them out, not attacking them in situ. By definition that means giving up surprise.

I think we have gone deep enough into their death trap for now: if they don't come soon, we'll reevaluate. Jovan might still pull off his deal>>

[Saint Sithney]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:15 AM, Inside the Flipped Van


<<I don't think our anti-social butterfly is going to convince them of much when there's bullets flying about. Unless he sells us all out or something... Wait, I'm talking out loud again, aren't I?>>

[Warlordtheft]

Friday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:14, Deep inside Annex in Redmond

Zo takes careful aim, shooting the raildrone with a burst from his Assault rifle.

"So Jovie's some slotting pansied assed pixie or somethin? I can unnerstand why he doesn't want to be seen in da barrens now..."

[Red-ROM]

Friday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:15, Deep inside Annex in Redmond

Archer stands ridged, daring the spirits above him to make a move. He yells to the dogs,"Spook em girls!"
Another round of gunfire echoes through the building as Zo fires on the impotent sentry gun sailing across the hall. He cracked it open and sent sparks flying, but the drone kept moving.

[Warlordtheft]

Friday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:15, Deep inside Annex in Redmond

"One more burst should do it" Zo mutters to himself. He lets rip with his gun again aming at the rail drone.

[Saint Sithney]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:15 AM, Inside the Flipped Van

Oz trained the gun sights on the window, right at the bottom corner. He knew that if it was armored glass, he could still knock it out the frame with a well placed shot. The magnum shells certainly had the force, and the fragmenting rounds would make sure all of that force was delivered to the target.
<<One new exit, coming up.>>

The rifle puffed off in the distance as the bullet sped towards its target, sending a supersonic crack echoing into the night.

[Sephiroth]

Friday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:15, Deep inside Annex in Redmond

Jovan's aura felt rough and pointed with exasperation as the ghoul barked out orders to his dogs and brain-damaged stewards, though Jovan's exasperation seemed not to be directed at Archer himself. "No," he said quickly as the dogs began to focus his way, hackles raised. "They act without my consent. They wish you all dead; I do not." He saw the dog standing besides Archer bare its teeth and begin to bark, the warning signs of an incoming attack; not wishing to waste further time, Jovan thrust himself through the ceiling and safely out of sight of the dogs, elemental spirit close on his tail. "Not yet, not until I can't get him to hold off on the attacks," he thought to the spirit behind him. He flew forward, stopping roughly above the truck one floor below him, and prepared to slip back through the floor.

[Notsoevildm]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:15 AM, Lusty Wife Bar and Grill, outside Annex in Redmond

While Ferret worried about the ghouls, parts of his mind made of gold and silicon were responding to the heightened endorphin levels in his system. Data from his subconscious mind flowed through the logic processors which assigned probabilities to his random thoughts and fed possible ideas and options back to his conscious brain.

// Annex wired / wireless access NO // < 100% ghouls feral / sentient ghouls > 0 // Sentient ghouls / tool use YES // Tool use / commlinks YES // Commlinks / wireless access YES //

"Frag me, I might be on to something." he mumbles more to himself than the Prof.

<<Zo, keep comms chatter down and let me into your 'link {Ferret icon standing on two legs, arms crossed and tapping one foot}. I might not be able to get into the Annex's node, but if the ghoul talking to Joe or or any of the others has a 'link, I may be able to hack those.>>

[Warlordtheft]

Friday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:15, Deep inside Annex in Redmond

"Hey ya remember that I slaved my comm to your comm figuring ya got better protection dan me. So it is all yours."

Zo lets loose with another long burst at the rail drone.