Nothing's Free in the Free Zone (IC), Adventure 1: Broken Star Options

[Jack VII]

Near the Sacrifice Site, 3:02 PM, August 1st, 2075

Squatting as he examined some of the tracks, Jack grunted at Amy's message.

<<@Squad [JustJack] Well, we were kind of expecting that, but its no bueno that we were right. Doesn't change things though, we're committed to stopping this thing, right?>>

Reaching into his pocket, Jack pulled out one of the FlashBang grenades. Reaching out, he tapped Grease's leg, showed him the grenade, and pointed at the pocket Grease was keeping the other grenade.

<<@Squad [JustJack] Here's what I was thinking... we set a trap with these FlashBangs. If we swing by the lake, we can cover them with a light coat of mud and leaves and place them near the crosses with the help of one of Amy's spirits. We turn their wireless signal on and have Overkill use his skills to keep them hidden. When the crew shows up, we wait until they gather around one of the crosses and blow the grenade. The blast should do a number of some of the mages and maybe a little damage to Truck. We focus on taking the troll down, then mop up the rest.>>

Tugging Grease's sleeve, Jack sent a final message.

<<@Squad [JustJack] Can you send the Fly-Spy up to see if we can find a few ambush points to set-up? Maybe swing the microskimmer over to the crosses so we can get a feel for what these fraggers point of view will be?>>

[DrZaius]

Near the Sacrifice Site, 3:05 PM, August 1st, 2075

Nodding grimly at Jack, Grease sends over a few MARKS on his Fly-Spy, giving Jack control. It takes him a few moments to adjust to the new perspective, but he quickly finds that manuevering it is just like in a video game. He doesn't think he'd like to try and maunever the drone through an obstacle course, but for something as simple as flying around in the open it isn't particularly difficult.

While Jack is busy with the Fly-Spy, Grease sends out another message to the team.

<<@Team [Grease]: Once we set off the ambush, I'll get the rotodrone spooled up to block off their exit. We can try to hide it in some brush, and let Overkill do his magic to keep it hidden as well, although I'll probably keep it online running silent just in case things don't go to plan. I'll plant myself at maximum useful distance; I don't trust myself hiding out here and would prefer I didn't get us in trouble because I step on the wrong branch. I can be deep back up behind the road, if we wanted to have me use my Ingram as a last resort. The rotodrone isn't going to have a suppressor, so it's going to get loud out here pretty fast.>>

[Jack VII]

Near the Sacrifice Site, 3:05 PM, August 1st, 2075

Acknowledging receipt of the message with a nod, Jack took possession of the other FlashBang grenade and walked west to an out of sight shoreline of Upper Derby Lake. Reaching into the lake, he scooped out a bit of mud and slathered a thin, bumpy coating on the grenade. Given the force of the detonation, the mud would do nothing to stop the grenade from working, but should help hide the device. He repeated the process with the other grenade. While he worked, he sent Overkill a message.

<<@Overkill [JustJack] I'm about to send you MARKs invitations for a pair of devices. DO NOT ACTIVATE THEM! Need you to protect these from being spotted as they're part of our trap. Can you make that happen?>>

Once he was satisfied with his work, the ork walked back to the area of the sacrifice. He heard a loud buzzing sound as the FlySpy, apparently now on autopilot, buzzed his head several times. Swatting and cursing at the drone, Jack picked up the pace and headed back to the group. Showing the camouflaged grenades to the others, he sent a message.

<<@Squad [JustJack] If we can get these emplaced by the crosses without walking over there and leave tracks, we should be able to setup a nice little trap. Particularly if we add a few dead leaves from these trees to cover them up, should break up the profile even more. I was thinking maybe a spirit could fly over there and drop them off?>>

Jack set the grenades on the ground and scoured the ground for dead leaves, putting together a small pile in short order.

[Chrome Head]

Near the Sacrifice Site, 3:05 PM, August 1st, 2075

<<@Team [Amy's subvocal] Thinking about it, there's a bigger problem. Ideally, we need to be in cover from the astral as well, since we're possibly dealing with opponents with the sight. This will become a difficult problem if they scout the place as a precaution, just like I did. To fool that is pretty hard no matter what we do. We could try to hide inside a tree or something like that, but otherwise I don't see a way to avoid being seen. >>

[Jack VII]

Near the Sacrifice Site, 3:05 PM, August 1st, 2075

<<@Squad [JustJack] We're just going to have to figure out a way to deal with it. Grab some blankets, cover them with dirt, and hide underneath them or something? Let's do some research when we get back to the safehouse. Other than placing these grenades, does anyone else have anything they need to do? We need to start getting out of here.>>

[Chrome Head]

Near the Sacrifice Site, 3:05 PM, August 1st, 2075

Amy concentrates and immediately finds a suitable spirit for the task at hand. A small, opaque cloud of vapor appears in the astral, ready to serve. "I need you to materialize and listen to the instructions of Jack, this man."

The spirit appears, floating between Amy and Jack, and speaks to the ork. "At your service." Amy smiles. "Jack, you're in charge, you can tell it to place the grenades however you think is best. Be precise in your commands."

[Jack VII]

Near the Sacrifice Site, 3:06 PM, August 1st, 2075

"Uh, hello espíritu" Jack said, thoroughly unfamiliar with dealing with spirits. Apparently today was a day of firsts, drones and spirits. Holding up the camoflauged grenades, he said, "I need you to place one of these devices at the base of each of those structures, preferably against one of the legs. Once they're placed, take these leaves and cover up the devices so that others might not see them."

Jack looked to Amy and shrugged, hoping his orders were specific enough.

[Chrome Head]

Near the Sacrifice Site, 3:06 PM, August 1st, 2075

Amy nods approvingly. "You're doing good, Jack, that's exactly how it's done! In this case, we can make adjustments because he owes me extra services anyway. Let's see if the setup is to your liking."

The spirit was indeed executing the orders as stated. The result seemed satisfactory, and the spirit disappeared back into the astral.

"All right, let's get out of here."

[Always Overkill]

Abandoned house, S. Flanders Ct, 3:06 PM, August 1st, 2075


Tirelessly working on the getting the drones ready, Drave saw the message from Jack pop up in his AR display.

<<@JustJack [Overkill]: "Sicherlich, mein Freund, I will slave them to my Blitzdrive and set them to run silent. What is the ETA for your return?">>

[Chrome Head]

Near the Sacrifice Site, 3:06 PM, August 1st, 2075

<<@Team[Amy's subvocal]: Actually, I just thought of a way to hide from astral sight while we're waiting in ambush. I could have another spirit dig us small holes to fit one person in each, and we could build some kind of roof made of dirt and branches or something. When we're hiding in those, any astral recon would fail to notice us. It would take us a little while to do that though, so what do you think?>>

[Jack VII]

Near the Sacrifice Site, 3:06 PM, August 1st, 2075

Jack nodded and gave Amy a thumb's up after listening to her message. Afterwards, he sent a quick message to Overkill.

<<@Overkill [JustJack] We're about to pack-up here. Should get back to the vehicle within the hour and maybe another thirty minutes to drive back to the safehouse. Grease will get with you about adding a drone we're leaving here to your slave list>>

[Chrome Head]

Near the Sacrifice Site, 3:35 PM, August 1st, 2075

Amy first dismisses the air spirit. "Thank you for your service."

Then she calls out for another ancestral spirit, this time one attuned to the earth. "Hmmmm... yeeeeesssssss, mistresssss?"

"Hi, good to meet you. I need you to dig for me today. I'll show you four emplacements and I'd like you to dig there so that there's enough room to fit one crouching elf or ork. I can tell you when it's big enough. Try to spread the earth that you dig up so that there isn't a visible pile anywhere. Ok?" "I follow your instruuuctionsss."

Then Amy indicates four spots recommended by Jack and Grease as good firing positions, positions that are far enough from the water that there shouldn't be too much flooding either. As the spirit digs these holes, Amy, with the help of Jack, begins to assemble makeshift roofs out of stick, mud and grass, to cover themselves in waiting. After half an hour, hiding spots are complete and Amy makes Grease try his, along with each roof in turn, to double check that they all make him invisible in the astral. Satisfied with her work, Amy leads the way back from where they came.

[Lobo0705]

Abandoned house, Aurora Warrens, 5:15 PM, August 1st, 2075

After a slightly quicker journey back through ground they had already traversed, the team gets into Grease's taxi and heads back to the abandoned house.

By the time they arrive, the sun is slowly moving westward, with nightfall a few hours away. Parking the taxi, they send a quick message to Overkill to let him know they are there, and walk into the house. The decker has just turned on the rotodrone, and is experimenting with sending it flying around the house.

"Good as new, ja?", he says as the trio enters, although the smashed outer casing on the bottom of the drone doesn't lend much credence to his statement.

[DrZaius]

Abandoned house, Aurora Warrens, 5:15 PM, August 1st, 2075

Nodding with appreciation, Grease addresses Overkill. "Yeah; I can't believe you managed to get it working! You'll have to show me how you did that sometime; I can knock the dents out but I'm all thumbs when it comes to repairing damaged firmware."

Grease starts to gather up his tools, putting them away in the small toolkit he brought from his house. "Are we expecting to come back here? If not, we should probably wipe the place down for prints. Amy, if you cast any spells here it'd be a good idea to.. Well, do whatever it is you do to make sure people can't see them."

He looks through the broken blinds to one of the windows, sighing. "There is one more thing I'd like to bring up. We've been in two serious jams so far, and I think things have been more chaotic than necessary. We can take the initiative, if we're willing to have someone as the shot caller." Seeing searching looks from the rest of the group he continues.

"Tonight, I think Amy should run the show." Seeing her eyes go slightly wide at the statement, he continues. "Jack, I know it's your plan. But Amy's got eyes places we can't see, and she's going to know what's going on with their weird mojo better than any of us. Unless anyone has any objections, that's how I'd vote to proceed."

Not to mention I'm not sure I trust Jack yet..

[Chrome Head]

Abandoned house, Aurora Warrens, 5:15 PM, August 1st, 2075

Eyes wide, mouth open, Amy just stood dumbfounded for a few seconds. "But.. you all have more experience than me at this sort of thing. Shouldn't Jack be the leader? Grease, you may not know this, but I'm on my very first run right now."

[Jack VII]

Abandoned house, Aurora Warrens, 5:15 PM, August 1st, 2075

Jack smirked. He found that Grease was pretty reliable for a few terrible ideas here and then. While he wouldn't have put this particular idea into the absolutely terrible category, he really didn't quite understand the rationale. Not to mention the fact that suggested leader herself didn't seem quite sure of herself yet.

"Doesn't bother me, hombre; making a plan and executing a plan are two different things. Although I'd point out that everyone has to be on board with following instructions if it's going to work at all. If people can't do that, it doesn't matter who's leading..."

Turning to the female elf, he said, "You think you're going to be up for it, Amy? You're the only counter we have against these mages. As long as you think you can handle making calls and protecting us from their mojo, we can certainly give it a shot. The plan itself is pretty basic, so it isn't a bad one to get your feet wet. If they're not dead after about fifteen seconds, we run. If they are, we won."

[DrZaius]

Abandoned house, Aurora Warrens, 5:15 PM, August 1st, 2075

Geez, do me a favor here Amy!

Grinning, Grease responds. "I'm positive. You have good instincts, and know the plan as well as anybody. Plus, the rest of us are going to be busy with our own assignments."

Looking over at Jack, he continues. "This way, we won't have any hesitation. I know when we were dealing with those Yaks I was waiting for someone else to speak up. You called up that spirit, and led them on a wild goose chase. Plus, at the rally you made sure to stop the cops, even knowing you would be in danger."

Amy subconsciously rubs her ribs after Grease mentions the rally, but the shakiness in her appears to have calmed down somewhat. "You know what we're up against more than anybody. And you'll make sure things get finished."

[Chrome Head]

Abandoned house, Aurora Warrens, 5:16 PM, August 1st, 2075

Amy takes a slow, deep breath. You have this in you, Amy. You know you do. "All right. I can do this, sure. But like Jack said, there's no point having someone call the shots if no one listens. It means you all trust me when we're in the thick of things. There won't be time for second guessing. Is that okay with everyone?"

[Jack VII]

Abandoned house, Aurora Warrens, 5:16 PM, August 1st, 2075

Jack rolled his eyes when Grease brought up the Yak fiasco. Had they not used Amy's magic distraction, it was entirely possible they would never have been spotted, depending on how perceptive the Yakuza were and certainly wouldn't have called down the horde.

Looking at Grease, Jack said, "Yep, that means if Amy gives instructions on how a retreat is supposed to happen, we all follow them, rather than doing our own thing. I'm in Amy."

Jack wasn't too worried, if things got really bad, he had ways of staying alive. He hoped the others did as well.

[Always Overkill]

Abandoned house, Aurora Warrens, 5:16 PM, August 1st, 2075


Drave was surprised with Grease's suggestion, and heard out his thinking, and Jack and Amy's, before responding. He stood up, and stated plainly to the group. "She is not ready."

He then approached Amy and put a hand on her shoulder "Forgive me, Mein Liebling, but you were forced into a tight spot back at the rally. One you shouldn't have had to been in. You should never have been left alone by that stage, Jack should have been there. But you did what you thought you had to do, and we managed to get Chomsky, Greeley, and ourselves out of there alive. But that wasn't leading, it was reacting. We got lucky."

[DrZaius]

Abandoned house, Aurora Warrens, 5:16 PM, August 1st, 2075

Frowning, Grease shakes his head. "I have to disagree with you. I don't think I am being out of line pointing out the paternal act may be going too far."

Seeing Drave frown, Grease continues unabated. "Amy is her own person, and a member of the team. Frankly, I know her as well as I know you. This being her first run doesn't particularly matter to me. If she has what it takes then that's all that matters. However, if you keep sheltering her she's never going to learn. And what if you aren't around? You can't always protect her."

Grease smiles sympathetically. "Like this afternoon- what if Chapel had turned on us? There's nothing to be done, and Amy can't always be looking to you to figure out what she needs to do."

Grease places his palms down on the table, making eye contact with everyone. "I don't think it's your place to say whether or not she's ready. In my opinion, your vote is worthwhile, but it's only ONE vote. You can't vote for her too. So Amy, it's 2 to 1. You can vote for yourself, or we can go back to square one. However, I'm not going out there tonight before we figure this out. That's how people get killed."

[Jack VII]

Abandoned house, Aurora Warrens, 5:17 PM, August 1st, 2075

"Everyone frio." Jack snapped. The conversation was getting pretty far a field. Grease didn't know Overkill well enoughl to be scoring points off of odd-looking relationships. At the same time, the two male elves were almost talking like Amy wasn't there.

"Look, Amy said she can do it. Either we agree with her or we don't. Here's my suggestion... Amy's team lead on this deal, with one caveat. If the drek really starts flying, any of us are authorized to scratch the mission." Looking at Amy, Jack continued, "That way you don't need to worry about being responsible for getting anyone killed, we're all going to share in that responsibility. Your only objective is to coordinate us to effectively and efficiently kill these fraggers."

[Chrome Head]

Abandoned house, Aurora Warrens, 5:16 PM, August 1st, 2075

Amy gently but decisively pushes Overkill's arm away. Damn straight I'm my own person!

"Yes, I can defend myself, thank you. And yes, I tend to react more than plan in advance. But we're a team and I can count on you 3 to plan things out, you're the smart ones. To execute though, I know I can hold my own."

"I'll gladly take the role of leader for tonight, but only if everyone is comfortable with this, and only if it's clear that I'll be responsible for everything, including when and how to retreat." Amy looks at Jack when saying this.

"I lead or I don't, and I'm comfortable either way. But there's no in between."

Amy looked around at everyone to see who objected to this.

[Jack VII]

Abandoned house, Aurora Warrens, 5:17 PM, August 1st, 2075

Jack shrugged, gave a thumb's up, and thought to himself how no rational thinking person would entrust the safety of a group in combat to someone largely inexperienced with it. Then again, they were taking the advice of an elf junkie.

"Sure," Jack said, pulling up the still image of the sacrifice site in his AR feed and working on possible exfiltration routes for himself.

[Always Overkill]

Abandoned house, Aurora Warrens, 5:17 PM, August 1st, 2075

Taking a step back from Amy, Drave's look was stern in response to Grease's insinuations. "I was in no way implying that my words on this matter spoke for anyone other than ich selbst, nor that it was my place to make the decision for Die Crew..."

Drave stopped himself from possibly escalating the situation by continuing his repudiations against Grease, but took a deep breath before continuing, and reverted to his normally calm demeanor before addressing the group, specifically Amy. "My objections have nothing to do with me wanting to shelter you Amy. It is objective assessment. You all know that I fought with the Anarchist Defense Force in Berlin, but what you don't know is that by the time the Siege ended, I was a Kapitän, serving as a Lead Combat Decker on General Genry von Tresckow's staff. I have led men and women in both the Matrix and the field, and know that being a leader requires far more than just good instincts. It requires vast experience, a working knowledge of tactics, the ability to make critical decisions that could cost the lives of your men. This is no role to step into on a whim."

Drave's look softened as he posed Amy several questions, trying his best not to sound callous. "Before you accept this kind of responsibility, there are things you should ask yourself. Do you know when to call for suppressive fire in order to provide cover for a retreat, how to redeploy to counter an attack on one of our flanks? Consider this; if Grease had not suggested it, would you even be considering stepping up to take the lead on your own?"