Salted Wounds [IC], a Deep Black Sea game Options

[Gilga]

Anna replies "Well I already accurately tossed a grenade today, so I should be able to do so again. I did cheat with magic though I hoped that I was not so obvious. Do you want to give me the grenade?"

[Volker]

"All right. Grenade goes to Anna. Don't kill us. Who's got the zappers? I will bring my rotodrone, but I'll focus on the van. Wraith, Anna, will you go mundane or Perceiving? Nova, Shark, what's your choice of arms in there?"

[Thanee]

Nova shrugged. "Shotgun and the sidearm with Stick'n'Shock for the guy we want alive?"

[SquirrelDude]

"If I bring a weapon, it will be my bow and quiver. Otherwise, I'll just go 'unarmed'."

[Gilga]

Anna replies "I think I'll go mundane, but have a spirit knock down the hounds from the astral. "

[Volker]

"Okay, but keep it far away or on the metas as long as we don't engage.
All right, we ready to go?"

[Gilga]

"Hold on a moment" Anna said and closed her eyes for a brief moment. She took a deep breath and tried not to move her fingers much as she cast a spell to augment her resolve. Conjuring usually works well, but it is unpredictable, and Anna wanted to be ready. Next came the conjuring, a beacon in the void seeking for help. Her spirit was there, he looked like a mage from the trids, and he kind of reminded Anna of Karl Combat mage. Or of the actor that played him, it was nice of the spirit to take homage to a show Anna liked, and so Anna named him Karl.

Anna was proud to have summoned it. "I'll keep Karl in the car with us until we need him, I think that he has a few surprises for us. She says.

[ Spoiler ]

She already has the improve intuition, she will cast the improve willpower to avoid drain.
Improve willpower f6: 17d6t5 6
Drain: 19d6t5 7

Now with willpower and intuition augmented, it is time to approach the summoning.
summoning spirit (Man): 14d6t5 6
resist: 6d6t5 1
drain: 19d6t5 6

F6 spirit of man summoned, 5 services - I am not near books - so I'll pick the optional powers later.
(I am thinking Mana barrier for intersecting with the hounds).

[Luckace]

"Mundane as well, as little astral activity as possible.", Wraith approved while putting on his armor jacket.
He grinned after Anna called her spirit "Karl". "So ka. Having two spirits on our side should be quite a boon. I'll ask this one to help you with the hounds." , and he nodded towards the Spirit of Air he had summoned before she went scouting.
"Actually... perhaps to take out that watcher first. Even if it can't hurt us, it could still assense us."

He nodded at bnc's question.

[Thanee]

Nova smiled. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but we still need to hijack that van first... and get those drivers out."

[Jack_Spade]

[ Spoiler ]

Tell me when you are ready, so I can start the scene with the van arriving

[Gilga]

Anna replies "Let's make a quick plan of our strategy... Worst case it does not play out that way.
First, how do we stop the van? Second, how do we disable the driver and his friend without a warning? Third, perhaps you want me to scout the ambush site as well? I am not sure what I can sense from the astral, but I can feel the place for background counts, or possible witnesses. "

[Thanee]

"Okay, let's go over it again..."

"We prepare the site with our car parked across the street, blocking it, so it looks like the corner was taken too fast and it got out of control. Van has to slow down, anyways, hopefully even more that way. If they don't slow down enough, we have to use the Zapper rounds to kill the engine. You two get your spirits inside and make the drivers come out. Then we overwhelm them, keeping one conscious for Wraith to work his magic and find out about their protocols. In the meantime, bnc watches any transmissions and prevents them from calling for help."

[Gilga]

"Alright, let's do so..." she says.

[SquirrelDude]

"Sounds good.

Before we get to set on our plans, we should see this place for our own eyes and make we can find good places for us to hide before we pearl harbor them."

[Jack_Spade]

The team went to the ambush point. The road was on one side open to fields while on the other side screened by thick woods and underbrush. The narrow tar road had just enough space for two vehicles to pass each other. The sharp bend was screened on both sides with thick vegetation. A traffic sign suggested not to go beyond 30 km/h and warned of the sharp bend as well.

It had begun to snow again and a fine coating had begun to form everywhere but the road, where enough salt had been strewn to prevent freezing.

[Volker]

Anna replies "Let's make a quick plan of our strategy... Worst case it does not play out that way.
First, how do we stop the van? Second, how do we disable the driver and his friend without a warning? Third, perhaps you want me to scout the ambush site as well? I am not sure what I can sense from the astral, but I can feel the place for background counts, or possible witnesses. "

"I'm beginning to think that you're only a chaos mage because you can't remember any plans... Sure, for God's sake, go scout the site."

at the site

bnc lets the team out at a point roughly 500 m from the spot where the ambush is planned lest their footprints on the fresh snow could give them away. When she's the only one in the van - James is with the team, too - she drives down the road, lets the van topple over the edge of the street and kills the engine. The van blocks the whole road as it skidded to a side.

[Gilga]

Anna replies"Nonsense I was like that before I even awakened. I will tell you why I am a chaos mage when we have time and do not need to capture a BTL facility." Once there Anna takes an astral look of the surrounding and asses the magical conditions. When she finishes, she sees the car and suggests "Do you want me to paint one of us as wounded? A damsel in distress perhaps?" she suggests.

[SquirrelDude]

"I wouldn't assumed some distressed person is going to draw heat from this crowd. The van blocking the road should be enough."

Sharkboy put on his full suit and gloves, picked up his bow and quiver and headed out into the snow. "Nova, let's find a spot to hide on the driver's side. If Wraith's spirit and the parked van don't stop him, it will be our job to knock him out and then help get the rest."

[Thanee]

"Shouldn't be a problem. There is plenty of vegetation here," Nova said, agreeing with Sharkboys suggestion.

She was wearing her mask and her other armor pieces over her nice suit and carrying the shotgun (with Zapper rounds loaded) in hand and her sniper rifle on the back, just in case a silenced weapon was required. Her sidearm was resting in her hidden holster (loaded with Stick'n'Shock).

[ Spoiler ]

@bnc: You did not just topple our ride over so it is lying on its side, or did you? We still need that car! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Volker]

"It doesn't need to be that realistic. It's just supposed to make them halt. Once we have them, it'll be quite obvious anyway. We only need five seconds, really."

bnc remains in the car where it's nice and warm while the others stand in the cold of the night, shivering to wind and snowfall. She has her deck running silent but goes full hot-sim VR to react instantaneously at any signs of matrix activity.

[ Spoiler ]

As soon as the van turns around the corner, she'll make a Delayed Action Watchdog at any commlinks popping up. At the end of each Combat turn, she'll additionally make a Matrix Perception roll to spot hidden icons. Her agent, in the meanwhile, performs Matrix Perception rolls non-stop to alert her of hidden icons.

[Gilga]

Anna asks Nova and the Shark "Do you want invisibility?"

[Jack_Spade]

Finally, the sound of a single vehicle could be heard. It whined a bit as the driver shifted down to slow down in the bend, that forced him to make close to a 120° turn. It slowed even sharper as the team's rented car came into view. The driver even activated the emergency lights.
bnc noticed a commlink coming online, but thanks to her being ready for it, she got a MARK and a Squelch out even before the first update prompt had finished playing on the man's display inside the van.
Even better, the passenger side of the van opened and a man in a security service uniform stepped out to take a look at the scene, carrying a first aid kit while his gun was still safely holstered.

[Gilga]

Before Ambush
Anna positioned herself in the bush near the car, invisible and with a bit of mundane disguise to make her blend into the surrounding. Her pistol was loaded with gel rounds, that were not potent enough to damage the car, but could help disable the drivers. If Nova and Shark want to she'll cast the invisibility spell on them and help them assimilate into the ambush.

[ Spoiler ]

disguise: 16d6t5 5
Improve invisibility F4: 13d6t5 3
drain: 19d6t5 8
No drain.

During Ambush
]Anna orders Karl to materialize at 0, and then texts a count down to Wraith. >> Wraith Materialize the spirit on 0. 3...2...1...0!. Once the countdown ends, Karl materializes and influences the driver to: "get out of the car, sneak after your friend, and toss snowballs until you hit his face.

[ Spoiler ]

Influence: 12d6t5 5

[Luckace]

Wraith hid behind a pile of snow that the snow-clearing vehicles had amassed at the side of the road. An amused smile appeared on his face when the goon left his car with a medkit. A helper, eh? How surprisingly good of you... But one act of kindness doesn't outweigh your crimes.

He quickly texted Anna to coordinate who took which goon, then - following Anna's plan of attack - asked his bound Spirit of Guidance to make the man who stepped out of the van comply peacefully:
An angelic apparition materialized above the man in security uniform: its contours where veiled by a constant shift of light and shadow, it raised one arm in a commanding gesture at the goon and issued a telepathic message: Drop your weapons. None can evade what's bound to happen, you're just a gaming piece for the Lord's will. Accept your fate without resistance.

[ Spoiler ]

Can we already use their powers? Don't they have to spend one turn materializing, or can we skip that due to the goon's surprise?
Haruspel (Wraith's bound spirit of guidance) materializes and uses Influence to implant: drop all weapons and resistance.
Influence: 12d6t5 5

[SquirrelDude]

Before Ambush

Sharkboy moved into the bushes with Nova, hunkered down, and waited.

Ambush

As the car could be heard coming around the turn, Sharkboy strung up his bow with a barbed arrow and waited to see if anyone stepped out of the van with bad intentions.