[IC] Hijacked - LowInt ops, In Character thread for Low Intensity Options

[Thanee]

When the dirty cops both lie in the dirt, appropriately, Nova drags them to the shadowy side of the Hummer, where she begins to take away any weapons, commlinks and other equipment they are carrying.

Both of them get another smack from her cybered fist, to ensure they keep sleeping for a while.

Then she proceeds to free them of their clothes, leaving them all naked and dirty on the ground.

When that is done, Nova gets back to the car, taking the stuff of the guards with her for now (to drop it somewhere a couple klicks away, unless they had anything useful to keep, though she is wary of possible ways to trace the gear).

Raising her hands in an all-innocent gesture, she turns to her team-mates.

"Hey... not my fault. Should we just leave them here, or put them into their car and get them out of sight? Can someone figure out from their 'links how to get the autopilot active?"

"I can turn myself and them invisible, so I could get them into their car that way; nicely gagged and cuffed - they should have brought their own - and locked-up in the back. Then we could send the car away on a little cruising tour via autopilot."

[phlapjack77]

I think lots of people behind us saw some of what happened. The less permanent the mess the better. Yeah, lemme try to unlock their autopilot. Just gotta get that thumbprint...there. You're set. That gear we could drop in the bay...

[Mach_Ten]

As the flashing lights and the echo of the blaring siren fade into the night, you look around at your surroundings.

Between where you are parked alongside an old docks building and the Ferry offices is a barely used carpark with numbered parking bays,
each bay has a metal barrier onto a quayside road that is used to filter onto the boat.
a simple approach to prevent vehicles that haven't paid getting passage.

Nova's feet kick up dust from the gravel as she stomps over to the office, the bright neon light inside illuminating the outside only partially.

As she passes them, conversations going on around the few vehicles in bays 1-7 hush and the occupants look up briefly then return to their hushed chatting.

walking up into the booth she looks around.

It's a flimsy structure with glass windows all around and faded and cracked paint adorns the woodwork where rot and mould hasn't taken over.
Inside she sees a Cafe bar with a few simple tables, only one of which is occupied, an elderly gent in sea faring gear clutching at a coffee and staring into space.

On the far wall is a booth decorated with ancient maritime goods, plastic sea-gulls and red and white rings,
with a sign above that reads
"Pay the TOLL or Pay the TROLL!"
inside the glass is a robotic Troll Sailor with a broken pipe hanging from it's metallic grimace under faded paint.
Someone at some point has dressed it in a woolen jumper that has torn and looks more like a fishnet than a piece of clothing.

As Nova walks towards it

"AVAST! Yaaaar, Be welcome ye arrrgh tae Pete's Port !"
the torso struggles to raise an arm in salute, whirring crazily as cogs mash and grind inside the robotic simulacrum.
" Deposit yerr pieces o' eight in me bounty and I'll give ye passage to yon' island, but beware ..... beee..... waaaaare....beeeeeee WAAAAARE"
Screaching at a deafening volume and with eyes glowing red and manicaly it halts and eventually dies

The lights on the front of the machine blink and go out and it looks like the payment slot for credsticks is no longer functional

"That's about time that fraggin' monstrosity quit it's yammerin' an' left me in peace!"
The gent at the table behind her mutters gleefully,
"Tired o' fixin' it, tired o' hearin' it ! .. just plain tired, but you missy, well you're a sight fer sore eyes an' no miistake... Names Pete, Ya lookin' ta sail tonight? "

He looks at Nova with genuine interest

[phlapjack77]

Brian, what do you think? She need some backup? Brian? BRIAN? Damn man, you can sleep through anything can't yo...GET BACK ON YOUR SIDE LONGSHOT! Didn't think I'd have to tell you twi...OH YOU JUST MADE A HUGE MISTAKE

Luckily the humvee is soundproofed enough that the sounds of a slight scuffle inside are muffled from the exterior. And even though it's threatened by Crispy, the shock glove he's wearing doesn't get used. This time.

[Raiden]

longshot can't help but chuckle as he pretends to roll over in his sleep right on crispy. After blowing is cover he says.I think she has it under control, if she needs help I am sure she will let us know she needs assistance.

[Thanee]

As she gets inside, Tatjana looks at the weird robotic troll and is quite glad when it finally stops, hopefully for good.

She turns to the table and offers the man a friendly smile.

"Thanks, Pete. Yes, I want to take a trip to the island. Is the fee per car or per person? And, I read it's V.I. property over there, so anything one needs to keep in mind? Apart from not walking onto the lawn and stuff like that? Are there any areas that a visitor is not allowed to drive or walk into?"

[Mach_Ten]

Sunday 00:39:22 @ Ferry port office Tacoma-2-Vashon

Shaking his head as if he anticipated the reply
"Well, with Pirate Pete here on the fritz we got no way to take more tickets see, he's tied into the barrier system directly"
He rubs a gnarled fist on his bearded chin
"Hmmm, not to worry though missy, the morning crew'll be here in at first light, that's about 8am for you land-lubbers.. and I can get him fixed right up!"
He smiles and walks over to the coffee pot for a re-fill
"You fancy a cup while we wait ? The Skipper on the boat'll be happy for the break today when they dock so it's good news all round"
topping his coffee up he enquires
"Vashon Island .. it's just a dirtier version of this place, don't get many tourists and to be fair, you don't get places ya ain't s'posed to cause of the security barriers .. ya can't miss them!"
He sits back on his chair and pulls out a well worn deck of playing cards
"Go Fish?"

[Mach_Ten]

Sunday 00:39:58 @ Ferry port office Tacoma-2-Vashon

Meanwhile out in the park, Crispy and Longshot are arguing like school kids on a field trip.
Friendly banter to ease the stress, boredom and pass the time.

Through the toughened glass a deep rumbling sound permeates their senses and they both halt, instantly switching back into business mode.

Looking down the docks they see the rear of the office bathed in bright LED white light as numerous vehicles pull off the side street and the wrong way into the carpark

"Drek, gangers!" Longshot spots their colours emblazoned on leathers first.

They, about ten of them at a guess, halt in the area behind the office and get off their bikes,
swigging beers and laughing raucously at some unheard joke, a number of them relieving their bladders against the wall while others round the corner to the cafe door.

Inside, Nova hears the laughing and the tinkle of a door bell as it chimes open.

[Thanee]

<< @Team [Nova] Anyone here an engineer or something? The ticket machine is out of order and the ferry is parked in the meantime... >>



As the gangers head to the office, Nova silently curses their luck. What else can possibly go wrong tonight...

She quickly looks for a hiding place, to turn herself invisible, while Pete is distracted.

[phlapjack77]

Drek drek DREK! Seeing as how the police aren't around anymore, Crispy slides the concealed compartment cover back and retrieves his Ares Predator. Securing it to his hip with a nod to Longshot, he reaches back again and retrieves other gear, such as his goggles and grenades of the non-lethal kind. Then he sends out a call to Nova using the secure team frequency that has been set up just for their use.

<<@Team{Crispy}: Gangers headed your way Nova, count about 10. Longshot and I are ready to support on your word. And did I hear that there's a problem with some machinery in there? If the situation allows, I'm whiz with that kind of thing.>>

[Raiden]

Longshot Grabs his Ares HVBR battle rifle and places his hand on the door handle as if to leave the vehicle

<To Team: Prepared to engage hostiles, do I have the green light?>

[Thanee]

Tatjana vanishes into the restroom, where she calls the aid of a spirit and turns herself invisible.

<< @Team [Nova] Hold for now. I will see, if I can scare them away. Maybe that will also get us a free ticket to the island. >>

Then she waits for the gangers to begin causing trouble. In the meantime, she erases the signatures her magic has left in astral space.

[Mach_Ten]

Sunday 00:40:18 @INSIDE Ferry port office Tacoma-2-Vashon

"Heeey ... You guys smell dat ? whooooaa .. smells Fishy in here .. Hey Gramps, you need ta shower old man !"
The Jokes and jibes begin immediately as the FOUR gangers head inside, they swarm around Pete, and Nova can hear scraping furniture on the floor from her bathroom vantage

"Hey man, Free Soy-Kaf!" one of them announces to which Pete calls out "Hey that's not...." But is cut off abruptly "Johnny says it's free old man so siddown an' be a good quiet pirate .. Yaaaaargh!"

The sounds of an in-gang argument ensue over who gets the first cup and the place quietens until Pete breaks the silence
"I Tolds you Blazers, you ain't welcome in here, tearing my place up!"
there's cheering and heckling as the old man stands up to them
"Whhoa old man, we don't want no trouble, we're just law abiding citizens lookin fer a day trip to the island fer some ... fishin' ... that right boys? we all goin' Fishin!"
More cheers erupt from them as the leader, a guy called Johnny, speaks up.

"Yeah well you is Drek outta Luck boys, the TROLL is broken, there ain't no sailin' and no fishin' !"
Nova hears both the fear and the quiet resilience in his voice

"That's bad news old man ... bad news fer you that is!"
Johnny can be heard standing up from his chair and stepping quickly towaards Pete
"You lot, GET OUT! I need to educate the old timer" The leader hisses angrily at his team and they scramble for the exit knocking chairs flying.
"Sec... secu .. Security'll tell you! they comin in on the next boat!" Pete protests, you can hear his voice is muffled, maybe someone has a hold of his throat.
________________________________________
Sunday 00:40:18 @OUTSIDE Ferry port office Tacoma-2-Vashon

Finished urinating the six gangers have moved away from the building and their bikes
and have walked towards the nearest occupied vehicle, dancing drunkenly, laughing and hollering.

The car has wound it's windows and locked the door leaving the occupants huddled inside as the gang begin to rock the vehicle side to side
"TILT WARNING ..!TILT WARNING ..!"TILT WARNING ..!" they chant out as the vehicle lifts onto two side wheels.
Then dropping it onto it's bouncing suspension they move over to the next one, ripping off screen wipers and mirrors and anything else easily to hand.

[phlapjack77]

Crispy mentally triggers his wired reflexes to kick in. This could get ugly really quickly, and he needed to be ready. Taking deep, calming breaths, he focused on what he might do in the ensuing seconds.

<<@Team{Crispy} : Something tells me if we don't stay silent, this mission is all but scrubbed for us. So let's stay silent if we can. But if the drek hits the fan and we go hot, I'll toss a flashbang in the middle of this group out here. Then let's light 'em up.>>

[Thanee]

As the other gangers leave, Tatjana orders her spirit to go outside, find the drunken gangers and materialize nearby but out of sight, conceal its presence and then scare them away, making use of its powers to cause fear and nausiate them.

Then she comes out of the restroom, hidden from sight from her spell, but still careful to not make them aware to her presence.

She quickly approaches the ganger, who is holding poor old Pete, ready to strike him down with her shock glove.

[Mach_Ten]

Sunday 00:40:28 @INSIDE Ferry port office Tacoma-2-Vashon

Johnny holds the old man in a headlock as the last of his compadres leave the door
"Look Johnny, Ya gotta stop bringing them here, your mom'll have our hides and if Vashon finds out, then I'm outta work!"

Pete drags the younger mans arm from round him into a shoulder embrace
"Yeah I knows Dad, but the guys needs ta play and I gotta let 'em or I'm road pizza.. anyways.. can ya just get us on the boat ?"
The aggressive tones all gone from his voice, he's almost pleading like a teenager for the latest 'Action Soldier' ™ toy in a shop
"You know the security guys on-board'll try and stop ya !.. but it's your choice Johnny!....."
the bathroom door squeals as it opens slowly, Johnny drops his fathers arm and goes for his side arm with a look of panic in his eyes
"Who's there? .. come out Mutha-Fragger .. I'll Frag you right up!" he begins shouting loudly enough that those outside can hear
Meanwhile Nova has invisibly and quietly moved behind them both
________________________________________
Sunday 00:40:28 @OUTSIDE Ferry port office Tacoma-2-Vashon

Six men in biker leathers have finished their fun with two vehicles and are kicking something around the carpark and swigging beers and other substances

Swinging into view around the pier, out on the water, the flood-lit ferry begins it's approach, people mill around on the two decks, mere specks in the night from this distance

"Woooow .. Check.. it ... ooout! Heey guys Scan the wheels on this fragger !"
One of the boys kicks the 'ball' in the direction of the Hummer and following it into the gloom spots the vehicle calling his friends over to check it out,
they begin to circle the hummer, appreciating the money spent on improvements..

"Man, those alloys are worth a fraggin fortune man, imagine the amount-a Jazz we can score with those bad boys... come on ... lets' have 'em!"

Four more guys come around the corner from the direction of the office

[Thanee]

<< @Team [Nova] Keep calm. I sent a spirit to scare away the gangers. >>

Well, this is getting interesting...

While Tatjana circles the room, she talks to Johnny from different directions.

"Hey Johnny! ... Don't make promises you cannot keep. ... And keep calm, it will be better for your health, you have my word on that. ... Listen, just listen now, ok? ... You want to visit the island to have some fun. I want on the island as well. We are in the same boat here, actually. And you and your dad don't want this family part here to be known, I guess... maybe we can come to a mutual understanding here?"

[phlapjack77]

Crispy's hand hovers on the window control, waiting to lower the bullet-proof glass if Nova's plan doesn't pan out. His idea, intimidation, could keep things quiet...if it's played the right way. He swallows his unease and waits...

[Mach_Ten]

Sunday 00:40:38 @ Ferry port office Tacoma-2-Vashon

From the office the angry buzz-saw noise of a small calibre automatic weapon sounds,
the four gangers that had just exited reflexively duck down and then look at each other waiting for someone to contradict the orders they got from the Boss

The noise also attracts the attention of the group near the Hummer leaving them confused, as this was supposed to be just a run across the bay to raise some hell on an island where few other gangs have access.

The shout from the office is only barely audible across the carpark but the enhanced sensors pick it up and filter out the important bit

"GET OUT OF MAH HEAD .. SHEEEE DEEEVIIIIL !" as Johnny lets rip, his arm goes wide past Nova the snub barrel almost catching her in the cheek
but she is standing safely out of the line of fire

the full clip empties into the defunct robot, sparks and ricochets fly around and PIRATE PETE the Troll whirs into life as if jolted with a defibrillator,
it's one good arm swings out and flings the pipe across the room and it wails a continuation of it's earlier spiel
"BEEEWAAAARE theeee SEEEeeeEEAAAAAaaAA MM MMM MMM OOOONnnnNSTttEEERRssss!"

and with that it crumples into a useless heap

[Raiden]

Longshot places his battle rifle in his lap and pulls out his Ruger super warhawk making sure it is still loaded with his gel rounds and prepares to lower the window and threaten any gangers with it if they attempt to touch the hummer, he is also prepared to back that threat up. <To team: If they touch the hummer I am going to lower the window and attempt to scare them off, I will try to keep from showing to much of my armor. if it doesn't work I am going to make an example out of the first poor sod to touch the vehicle.>

[Thanee]

He has to go down fast... Tatjana thinks, as her body reflexively sets itself into motion already.

Her fist with the shock glove lashes out in Johnny's direction, aiming to knock him out in one clean strike.

[phlapjack77]

The shots are deafening inside the Humvee, even with his ear buds in. Crispy winces slightly at the quick pops but his training keeps him from flinching too much. The decision has been made. Rolling down the window enough to stick the barrel of the Ares Predator in the direction of the remaining gangers, he says as calmly as he can You ganger-wannabees better slot and run, unless you want to see upclose how quickly you're turned into fishfood.

[Mach_Ten]

Seeing their comrades bolt for the vehicles, one guy drop from a single shot and the glint of an automatic weapon from the open window,
the remaining gangers see the signs written in the stars and make off for safety, though, not without calling Crispy's parentage and sexual orientation and both combined, into question in a massive show of bravado to their running mates as they back pedal away waving pistols in the air (yes, held sideways for extra effect)

seeing their retreating forms out of the shadows at the far end of the carpark, the four gangers at the cafe recover their wits and jump oonto bikes, revving the engines and calling "Heeey Johnny ! .. we gotta Split Maan!" over the noisy bike engines and the long slow blast of the ferry horn as it approaches the landing dock.

[Thanee]

Tatjana's form becomes visible again, as she kneels down next to the wounded Pete.

"No worries, you will be fine," she says, as she puts a hand on his shoulder and begins to concentrate on her healing magic.

The mana flows through her into the wounded body and the wound begins to close.

Her look becomes a little worried, as she hears the ferry horn. No this couldn't be security already, the ferry would take way too long from the other side. It must have been on its way for quite a while already. But there would be security onboard, Pete mentioned them before, and they would surely come to investigate.

"We need to talk!" she finally says to the man, while she switches her senses back to the astral and begins to remove her spell's signature from his aura.

[phlapjack77]

A quick look around shows that the gangers are fleeing, the security guards are nowhere in sight...now's the moment. Crispy gives Longshot a toothy grin. Follow my lead - let's have some fun. Brian, stay with the car would you?

Gathering up the "borrowed" gear that used to belong to the security guards, the merc starts outfitting himself in their clothing while stashing their gear prominently about his person. He also dons his armored jacket and fastens the pistol prominently on his hip. Then Crispy exits the vehicle and struts out to the ferry landing like he owns the place. He begins waving the incoming boat into the dock.

<<@Team {Crispy} : Nova, you ok in there? I'm going to try to make sure this ferry doesn't have any reason to raise an alarms.>>