IC: Post or Die, Lifelines, and deadlines Options

[Warlordtheft]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:18 am, Deep inside the Annex in Redmond

"Ferret, Prof, lets go. What's dat trid q-quote. O-oh y-yeah Let's Get movin be-before I-I d-die of ol-old age."

<Team>Oz..could ya relay a message to J-Jovie that we are-are going to the the corner to ch-check it out the trucks. He can me-meet us there-there if he -wa-wants to.

[Saint Sithney]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:16 AM, Crosstown Depths

Jovan saw a large amount of psychic disturbance in the area. The recent slaughter and partial devourment of about a dozen terrified people clouded the whole room. Still, there was a vague glow coming from a few ghouls near the east entranceway, but they faded out as he watched. There were no other life signs in the area, and the shadows of the bus and three trucks looked to be in no different shape than when he was there earlier. The dog was now a score or more meters into the northern passage.

[pbangarth]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:18 am, Deep inside the Annex in Redmond

"Lead on Zo. You know the layout in here."

[Glyph]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 8:12 AM, Void's apartment, outskirts of Loveland, Puyallup Barrens.

A more introspective man might feel a hint of trepidation hearing about the good doctor's state, or might suspect the agent of having a pre-programmed dry wit. Void merely feels a superior smirk stretch across his face - to him, more than half of the fun of being "straight edge" is being smug about it.

Unfortunately, that pleasant feeling is quickly overwhelmed by the familiar, floundering panic that he feels when decisions are forced upon him. But when he is clueless about what to do, he tends to default to action, which he does here.

<<That... sounds acceptable. The doctor and I can work out the details when I meet him in person. Meanwhile, transportation to his location would be ideal, or failing that, at least directions to his present whereabouts. Possibly, some means to identify myself to him, in case you are unable to alert him that I am coming?>>

[Warlordtheft]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:18 am, Deep inside the Annex in Redmond


"Only so far as I-I have been. I waz-z thinking sincece Jade threw da-da-da-da-da-" Zo bangs smacks his rifle but against his helmeted head as if to stop the stutter. "Grenade sparking off ghouls and dog waves 1 and 2. This is how f-far I've been."

Zo moves to the north wall where the tunnel leading to where the ghouls came from. Poking his head around the corner to get a better idea as to what the tunnel looked like, where it turned, and that another wave of ghouls wasn't comming down on them.

[pbangarth]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:18 am, Deep inside the Annex in Redmond

Professor notes the locations of all the various bodies. If they have to run out of here, he wants to know where to step.

[Saint Sithney]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:19 AM, Inside the Flipped Roadmaster

Oswald sent a reply to Zo over the comms. <<Last word was Jove had cleared the place. A dog is there , but he's got it under control some way or other. Least that was his last communication. Careful of it though. He said there was an explosion, so the place may have booby traps. No way for him to tell one way or the other. I'd put my money on this being harder than just picking up the abandoned cargo.>>

[Notsoevildm]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:19 am, Deep inside the Annex in Redmond

Ferret trails after Zo and Prof, slinking along as quietly as his namesake. He checks his gun's status, ensuring that it is still in single shot mode and that the gas-vent is disabled to keep it quiet.

<<Well if the ghouls are gone then at least now we only risk getting blown up by whatever traps they or BDLL left behind.>>

[Saint Sithney]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:16 AM, Crosstown Depths

Following the dog down the hallway led to a corner where the northern tunnel turned right. At the joining of the walls, the gross beast dug at the ground fruitlessly. It seemed plain enough that there was something there, likely a passageway going further underground. Jovan paused at the spot unable to make out what might be entrance and what might be earth.

[Sephiroth]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:16 AM, Inside the Flipped Roadmaster

"Archer and company appear to have fled. I felt an explosion nearby a moment ago, but the trucks appear undamaged so it must have been elsewhere. I am following the dog after him. If the others are coming for the trucks, they need to make haste, as I may require small backup soon. Oh, and tell them to mind where they look when they come down here. There are ghoul bodies and half-eaten metahuman corpses strewn everywhere. Not to mention that I cannot make out tripwires and pressure pads unless Long Legs had a particular emotional attachment to one of them. I can't imagine that to be very likely."

Crosstown Depths

Watch the dog for a moment, please, Jovan mentally communicated to the elemental. Moving in a blur of thought and efficiency, his astral form moved several dozen meters further down the tunnel, to nearly the end of his metaphysical link to the elemental. He looked around and ahead of him to get a sense of what lay ahead in the tunnel as he waited briefly for the dog to locate what he suspected was a concealed doorway of some kind.

[Warlordtheft]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:19 am, Deep inside the Annex in Redmond

Zo looks back for moment at Ferret adjusting his gasvent to the off position. "Ferret, don't even bother--at this point dey know we iz-z here and you'll need ta pump da bullets in to im. Their hides are a bit thick." Zo peers down the hall looking for any trip wires or other traps.

[pbangarth]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:19 am, Deep inside the Annex in Redmond

Professor considers for a moment how he can help down here. Backup with his pistol, sure. But not his bag. He opens his perceptions to the astral. This is something the boys here can't do.

[Notsoevildm]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:19 am, Deep inside the Annex in Redmond

Ferret looks up at the big ork somewhat sheepishly despite the respirator.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Probably best to go to burst fire too."

He looks back down to the gun and mentally triggers the gas vents back open and the fire selector to 'burst'.

Then he follows after Zo, peering into the darkness for any signs of life.

[Saint Sithney]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:17 AM, Crosstown Depths

A bit of poking around at the ground where the beast was scratching led Jovan down to the sub-sub level. The sloped walls immediately identified the place as a sewer. It ran at an angle to the passageway above, but it stopped a short way down to the northwest. It seems the earth had collapsed here, blocking the passage. A short scouting to the south uncovered the aura of a man, Troll actually, imprisoned head-forward in a sewer pipe so that he couldn't crawl back while a thick grate kept him from moving forward. His aura showed him sick and near death.


Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:19 am, Deep inside the Annex in Redmond

Walking down the hallway toward the trucks found no tripwires and not pressure plates. None could have survived the mindless charge of slobbering dogs and brain-damaged ghouls. At the end of the tunnel, the group came out the eastern entrance of the large warehouse. Inside they saw the bus which had entered earlier and three full tractor-trailers. Besides that were tools and such to operate the place as an auto shop. Additionally, there was a floor covered in blood and corpses. There was a garage door to the south, a wider underground passageway to the north and a doorway to the west. Professor couldn't see anything living in the place, but the astral was painful to expose himself to.

[Warlordtheft]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:19 am, Deep inside the Annex in Redmond

Zo checks underneath each of the trucks to see if there are any suprises.

<Oz...just keep yerself alert. Da ghouls abandoned da trucks. Not sure if dey knew what da heck dey had. I woulda been a bit suprised if dey didn't take a few souvineers with dem.>

[Notsoevildm]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:19 am, Deep inside the Annex in Redmond

Ferret touches the closest truck almost as if he needs to convince himself it's real or perhaps just that having finally found them the mere physical contact will make the mission end.

18-wheeler achievement unlocked. You have found the missing trucks

<<Well frag me. They really are here. I was starting to think our J had just sent us in here to get ourselves killed>.

He takes his lead from Zo, scanning the closest truck with his both his eyes and his scan program to make sure the ghouls or BDLL haven't left any surprises.

[Warlordtheft]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:19 am, Deep inside the Annex in Redmond
"Throgg your a fraggin drekhole when your high."

<<Ferret, just a thought. Deyz is going ta be lookin for dese trucks, da vipers, da previous owners and such. Could ya drum up some fake liscenses to show that they are lefitamitely ours or sumpin? Also do we's have some C-12? Some dynomite will do in a pinch tho.>>

[Sephiroth]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:18 AM, Crosstown Depths

That must be our good gentleman Big Daddy Long Legs, Jovan mused to himself. There are few other reasons why a troll would be imprisoned down here and not already eaten.

Jovan paused for a moment to send a message along his spirit-summoner mental link to the watcher serving as company for Oswald before proceeding. He floated smoothly down until he was right alongside the sewer pipe, then he manifested into the physical plane and spoke psychically through the pipe to the caged and sickened troll within.

"Big Daddy Long Legs, I presume. Are you conscious? Can you speak?" Jovan decided that it would be better to be courteous with the troll for now. Terrifying and breaking him could come later, if needed. "Help will be here in a few minutes to get you out of this prison. In the meantime, I need to know where the ghoul Archer fled to. I need to hunt him down before he escapes this ghost town. Do you know where he and his group ran off?"

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:19 AM, Inside the Flipped Roadmaster

The watcher eyeball snapped to attention. "Oswald, get ZO down here immediately. I have located Long Legs stuffed inside a sewer pipe. He is very very ill - I'm spotting respiratory infections and possible signs of ringworm infestation in his aura, among other things. The man is dying. We need to get him out of this sewer so we can get information from him before he dies. That ork boy may not be terribly intelligent, and he has the vocabulary of an 8-year-old, but he is muscular and strong and bigger than the two dwarves. Get him down here to break Long Legs out. Northern tunnel from where the trucks are lying, to the first corner. He can shoot through the wall near the floor to get down into the sewer tunnel, then head down the sewer back in the direction of the trucks to reach my location. Quickly please; I don't know how much time Long Legs has left."

[Warlordtheft]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:19 am, Deep inside the Annex in Redmond


<Oz, did ya fragging hear me or are ya spacin out or somethin?, watch your back cuz da fraggin pasties ran away and we lost contact wit dem.>

[Glyph]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 8:12 AM, Void's apartment, outskirts of Loveland, Puyallup Barrens.

As usual when Void feels spurred into action, he immediately starts second-guessing himself afterwards.

Was that... wise? Committing myself to working with these people? I need them to get to Charles, though, and I might even make some extra money for my troubles. Hrrmmm. Perhaps I should not have asked for transportation. The brutal murdering machine, asking for a ride.

The brief moments that he awaits the agent's reply seem to stretch precipitously.

[pbangarth]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:19 am, Deep inside the Annex in Redmond

As Professor lines himself up to follow the other two into the passage going north, he feels the familiar chill and shrinking feeling, almost like a diabetic reaction. Bad time for the magic to leave me. Better pump up the volume again.

He concentrates, drawing energy from the surroundings, feeling his movements grow smooth and responsive again. Wish I could make this permanent.

[Notsoevildm]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:19 am, Deep inside the Annex in Redmond

Ferret tucks his gun back in his pants as he focuses his attention on the trucks.

Did BDLL disable the wireless on these? I can't seem to find any signals at all.

With a sigh, he sets his scan program to keep looking for hidden nodes in the background. Then he clambers up the side of the nearest truck's cab and reaches for the door handle.

[Warlordtheft]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:19 am, Deep inside the Annex in Redmond

Zo looks at Ferret shoving his gun in his pant. See where dat one goez, da wannabees do it Touristville all da time."Ferret da second thing we iz gonna do when we iz done wit dis job is get ya a holster so ya don't have to shuv it in your pants. Sav ya some cred on penile implants"

[Saint Sithney]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:18 AM, Crosstown Depths

The troll is very much out of it. He keeps repeating some combination of, "Don't know. Don't know. Just kill me. Kill me now. Won't be your vermin. Kill me." He'll likely need some sort of attention before he can be made sensible.

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:19 AM, Inside the Flipped Roadmaster

"Oh yeah. Sorry. I was just trying to get a Matrix signal. I don't remember why..." <<Zo! Jove says there should be a sewer entrance near the corner of the north hallway. Says he found Big Daddy Long Legs, the guy who stole those trucks to start with.>>

[pbangarth]

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2071, 12:19 am, Deep inside the Annex in Redmond

<<Excellent news, Oz. Is Big Daddy in a cooperative mood or is he being combative?>>