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

[Thanee]

"I don't mind either way, just saying that a mix of abilities will probably be a better choice in the larger picture. If we make two groups like that, we should have one of the mages in each. At least, that's how I think," Nova explained. "You are the experts on the mage-sight, though, and if you think it works better, then we should go with that. However, we really should not be several hundred meters away, if anything happens and we have to react quickly. You would be on your own, otherwise. Unless, of course, we can find a decent spot for overwatch, so there is a way to assist you from range."

"As for myself. Let's say I'm pretty durable, even if I might not quite look the part. Don't judge the book by its cover. That's how you say it, right? I have decent people skills, but my main role would be that of a fighter, yes. I am trained in hand-to-hand and firearms of all sizes and at all ranges. On top of that I'm a highly trained scout, paramedic and dancer, classic and modern, though, I am not quite sure how useful that will be here. Oh, and if you put me in front of a lock, I can probably persuade it to open for us."

When bnc asked about the case, Nova answered: "That's my sniper rifle. Modded to break down easily. Like that Ranger Arms one, just without the fragility. Military-grade, anti-personnel. So, not the cal .50 one, as that is a bit too large and heavy to fit into such a case. It has its uses, but in most situations, I prefer the versatility of the smaller rifle. And the punch it packs isn't that much less, really."

[ Spoiler ]

As for the capital B, I took the liberty to correct that one, already, in case you are wondering. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Gilga]

Anna replied grinning a bit amused from bnc outlash "I may be dumb but I require hair dye to be blonde, perhaps bnc never got passed my chest..." (Anna has brown hair, and green eyes (her natural eyes are brown, but she often wear green contacts.).

As the team discussed the plan she decided to speak up as well.
She said We can do a picnic... but there are drawbacks to this plan, as it is just the two of us, and if you send me with Raph - not the ideal choice for combat.

I see countless other options though.

First, why don't we shoot a wrestling promotional... where Sharkboy spits on the grave of his rival. Or better yet, a promotional where the Shark meets..." she looks at Nova... "The Machine? Atomic blonde? Hydraulica? Limbs of doom?" She pauses and then continues "You two go trash talking each other, bnc will operate the camera, and multiple drones, this would explain her control rig...

When are all eyes on your exciting wrestling promotional.... who would notice me sneaking into the safehouse covered in RP."

Then she said"Another exciting option, me and Raph or Nova for that matter can come at night and kiss heavily... accidentally discover the safehouse as a place to make love. Very difficult just kill us for that - as it'll draw a lot of attention and is clearly not the behavior expected from a professional investigating the place. Again, sex sells and as we neck each other - one of the others could take a look - or even pretend to be a guard and expel us from the cemetery. So a possible ambush has more of us in range."

She paused and then continued.
"Third fun option, is that I and Raph can come at night wearing shaman tuxedos and placing flowers on graveyards. Chanting praises to the dead... Ancestor shamans like graveyards... Conjurers have plenty of oddities.... and ambushing two mages that are supposed to be aligned to the cemetery, and thus unaffected by the background count is a bit risky when you are not even sure - if the two are related to Bean Si."

She then says- moving her hands as she speaks.
"At any case, a diversion that attracts attention - would make it easier to one of us to sneak around unnoticed. Me and Raph are really mages - and you cannot determine our tradition with mage sight. Sharkboy really is a wrestler. So as crazy as these Ideas sound, they are believable... If any, such a behavior would make us seem less like shadowrunners, and less related to Bean Si. Some plans make more of us - at range in case shit does hit the fan. "

[SquirrelDude]

Sharkboy liked the idea of getting out of the van, but Anna's sketch for a wrestling promo had some problems. "Ms. Black, no one who watches wrestling would buy me and Nova being set up for a match. Men and women fight in different divisions. Men fight women, but those are usually as part of mixed-tags announced as a surprise at the start of a show. They tried singles matches back in the 50s, but after a few deaths in the ring because of guys like me reputable companies realized the bad publicity wasn't worth it.

"Second, we'd need a camera crew there or some drones to record the event. With just two wrestlers, we'd also need someone to play a promoter who organized the event in order to sell tickets for our imagined PPV or subscription service"

"Besides we should probably have at least one mage out in the graveyard. Neither Nova and I are that.

A spark of creativity hit sharkboy, and he could barely contain his grin for his mask. "However, promos in a cemetery are a wrestling staple." Sharkboy started looking through his commlink and then put an image up in AR. "Wraith do you have an urn, and want to be my manager? The urn is optional, but having a manager means we can dispense with having a promoter there."

"That's not even the only route we could go." He looked over at the girls. "One of you could also be a manager, but women are usually valets. Same role as a manager, but also there as eye-candy." He put another image up in AR. "I'm helping you get revenge on your drekhead ex in our match, or I could be the rudo who stole you from the tecnico. Same death match or casket match to promote, but the whole thing gets a bit more lurid."

[Gilga]

She asked "Can you have both a manager and an eye candy? "

[SquirrelDude]

Sharkboy moved his head around, thinking of scenarios that would fit that. "You usually don't just, but you could. It makes it more confusing for the wrestler. Managers and valets usually help their client during the match, and if you have two people doing that it can be hard for the person in the ring to know what's they're going to do. It's also harder for them to coordinate and avoid getting spotted by the referee and costing the match on a disqualification."

[Jack_Spade]

Eliza chimed in: "For your information: The temperature in Vienna is currently 5 degrees below zero with heavy snowfall. The cemetary roads are not serviced at the moment"

[ Spoiler ]

@Luckace: You don't have line of sight to the hideout from the church, but yes, it is in reasonable walking distance

@bnc: There is only one central logfile that you'd have to crack and de-bomb. You'd need to analyse the databomb beforehand with at least 5 successes on your Matrix Perception, so you can recreate it.
As for the encryption: This is a file that only the host itself needs to access to change - it writes into file just like a camera can write into a encrypted video file.

[Gilga]

Looking disappointed she said "Darn... what is with this country and winter... can't Kerstain hide in a warmer place. So no picnic or anything, which plans are still feasible?"

[Luckace]

"I guess first step in any plan will be having a drone scout the graveyard for us and, if possible, assensing the area from afar to check for magical presence. Might not just be mages, with that cold they might have deployed a spirit to watch the grave while the mage himself stays in a nearby hotel.
Everyone cool with that?

If the place isn't guarded magically, then... Nova, you said you're a trained scout. Who else is good at being stealthy? Anna?

So how about:
No magical threat: Nova goes with Anna or me. Preferably Anna, as I'm not too good at sneaking and hiding about.
And if there is one... Well, then the plan depends on what we've got. I can probably deal with a spirit."

[Volker]

Towards Wraith: "Then I guess the same goes for me. My augments may not be as vast as theirs, but anyone would see that I'm heavily augmented."
She actually smiles at this. The word Augmentation obviously hasn't lost its original sweet taste to her.
"But then, mages aren't less conspicious. Don't overestimate how consipicous James would be. Once you spot him, yes, that may raise questions. But as long as I'm not doing a particularly bad job, it's nigh impossible to see him from the astral. If I'm not entirely wrong, anything dead will just be a grey blur of nothingness to you, will it not? If I con just roughly conceal his human shape, he'll be invisible to mages.
Not to hackers, though. He has RP armor, by the way. And fins, in case you wanna know." Again, she cracks a broad grin.

"What if we dress Nova up as kind of a cast-out war veteran? You know, the kind that lost limbs and comrades in some mean war, couldn't deal with her PTSD, started beetling or boozing and now visits her comrades in the dark of night, her barret clutched to her chest in tears, while her last caring friend accompanies her? Something along that line."

[Gilga]

Anna replied, "I am comfortable with sneaking."

She replied to bnc "While I like roleplaying. Perhaps we complicate it too much; we go in scout the area once we convinced it is safe. If it is not safe than the drone and astral/matrix recognizes would give us a complete picture. We'll know what kind of resources the adversary have and adapt our plan accordingly."

She winked at Sharkboy "I'll show some legs for you if we need a distraction at a warmer place."

[SquirrelDude]

Sharkboy was slightly crestfallen at the inability to shoot a promo. It was have been good practice if nothing else. "Yeah, it might be a bit chilly for miniskirts. Not like we have a way to warm up afterwards. We probably wouldn't even get good audio with our equipment." (His concern for production quality was admirable).

[Jack_Spade]

As the team began to discuss tactics the van had already crossed the border and was now heading straight towards Vienna. Despite the worsening weather in the Alpine region they made good time while staying within grid guide's speed limit.

At one point Eliza asked: "Have you considered what to do if our opposition has placed something inside the hideout?"

[Thanee]

"Scouting the area with drones and magic first, then sneaking in certainly works for me. All I can do from afar, then, would be watching the place with a scope, but even that might be useful."

"If there is something inside the hideout, we will have to deal with whatever it is, when we are there. Once we are in the area, the mages can scout the hideout, hopefully spotting anything strange before we open the door. Other than that, we just have to be careful. Place could be booby-trapped for all we know."

[Volker]

"Well, fine by me. Then let's do the d-tour over Linz where Wraith can pick up his stuff. Then we'll scout out the area and see what it looks like. If you don't mind, I'll leave meat-space now and infiltrate those fragging forums."

bnc shuts her eyes and leans back, only her eyes are still moving frantically. In a hot rally, first cruises through the forums with a legal account, reading, reading, reading, reading. She takes in all the information about their habits, their structure, their rules of society, anything. Once she feels she's got a grip on it, she moves onwards, still driven by the boost that Golden Mirror gave her. Mind racing, she digs deep into the host until she finds the forum's database, cracks all protection on it and lays several profound misleading hints on different places. Once finished, she makes a perfect copy of the protection that was on the file before she entered it, with one difference: Now she, too, would be accepted as an authorized user. Then, she hurries onwards to the host's log file and infiltrates it in a similar manner, erasing all traces of her activities, before she leaves and turns off her deck.

[ Spoiler ]

I assume that it goes without saying that I'll load Defuse before I attempt to disarm a databomb while in hot-sim.
Matrix perception: Matrix Perception (silent mode): 13d6t5 4
I use edge for this one, as I can then access it again and again, if I'm not mistaken.
Reroll: 9d6t5 4 that's 8 hits in total. I'll make a decent copy now.
Set Databomb: 15d6t5 6 decent indeed (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)
Disarm databomb of log file: Disarm Data Bomb: 13d6t5 5
Analyzing the log file's data bomb: Matrix Perception (silent mode): 13d6t5 6
Crack File: Crack File: 15d6t5 3 (should be enough, shouldn't it?)
Edit File: Edit File: 15d6t5 4
Opposed roll: 13d6t5 2

Uhm ... will I need two more Edit File actions to also create encryptions that whill recognize me and any behavior user as valid?
Or is not not even possible bc I'm not the owner?
Edge left: 4/5

[Jack_Spade]

[ Spoiler ]

No, that's alright.

While the car made the slight detour towards Linz, bnc began reading through the different topics. Beneath the drivel of typical forum fare she found a surprisingly diverse cosmos - people of all straits of society had found there way here after testing one of the BTL chips. Whoever supplied those didn't seem to be too keen on making a huge profit - people traded openly cracked copies of popular products that you'd have to pay a huge markup on the streets.
The combat chips that the chipheads in Munich had used where completely free to use.
The "great hunt" as the forumnites called the search for Kerstin had a lot in common with a bee hive: Positive reinforcement brought more local members to the scene, increasing the validity through potential sightings.
Reading along, bnc felt both disgust but couldn't help but also feel the thrill that even reading about it brought to her. Anyone with a slotted chip could be called up by the hivemind if his location corresponded with a sighting, activating it's abilities and making people drop whatever they were doing to go out on the hunt.

Her false leads were taken up immediately, but after half an hour she noticed that the Forum Score of the account she had attributed the leads to had fallen significantly, indicating that the forum persona had lost credibility. It seemed, the more concrete her lead had been, the less credible it had become after nobody found anything there.
She repeated that a few times, lowering the stolen accounts' credibility more and more - until images came in of a young woman beaten to a pulp. bnc was shocked for a moment until she recognized that it certainly wasn't her sister. Still it was her false lead that had led these guys by pure dumb luck to a girl looking vaguely like her and her sister.
bnc watched as suddenly files were uploaded to her account - the wages of sin - consisting of a new moodchip file. Also her forum score rose again, granting the profile a tag connected to the successful "hunt".

[Luckace]

"I'll have my Suzuki park at the next roadhouse. Let me hop off there, I'll take the detour with the bike. It'll be faster than the van, especially in the city. If you just go on ahead, I'll meet you before you reach Vienna. It's a Suzuki Mirage, it should easily catch up to the van.
That'll save us time, the clock is ticking."

[Gilga]

Anna said "Sure, go for it... Are you any good with the bike?"

[Luckace]

"Aye, I'm a decent driver. Had a bike since I was... 17, I think. So yeah, I'm quite all right with it."

As soon as the van had reached the roadhouse, Wraith grabs his coat and helmet and takes his leave with a nodd towards his coworkers.
"I'll keep you updated."

He heads for a sleek, grey racing bike parked some 15 metres away. With roaring engines, he strarts his bike, flashes his lights as a salute to the team and dashes off into the cold.


* * *

A little over an hour later, he sends the team some coordinates, where he plans to meet up with them: A small gas station and resting point for truckers next to the highway.

[ Spoiler ]

So I assume depending on the traffic in Linz, I might lose some time, but I guess a speed 6 racing bike on the highway will be able recoup that. Or at least most of it.

[Jack_Spade]

Once reunited - for once there were no troubles on the Austrian motorway - the team reached Austria even a little ahead of schedule, despite constantly worsening weather.

Vienna showed typical signs of a metropolis: Grimy snow, vast monuments to money and greatness as well as signs of abject poverty. The Zentral Friedhof was a particularly vast areal, surrounded here and there by small squatter colonies. The southern parking lot was no different and a normal citizen would have hessitated to leave their car here without a very good alarm system.

Still, a bit of calm could be felt coming from the vast areal beyond the small gate and the cemetary hadn't closed yet. Only a few other cars - mostly too old to be of any interest for even the hungriest junky to try and steal some parts - were parked there.

Visibility had fallen to below 50 m and a harsh Eastern wind blew thick snowflakes across the landscape.

Old gravestones were readily visible, casting huge, ominous shadows in the vaning light. When the motor went out for a moment only the howling of the winter wind could be heard...

[Thanee]

"Anyone lurking in this kind of weather for a potential ambush must be pretty nuts," Nova declared when they arrived at the cemetary.

"With visibility this bad, we can probably just go there as a group, what do you think? Once the drone and magic scouting has been done, of course."

[Gilga]

"Well, the place could still be trapped, even without human surveillance... So let's not be the same target. But, let me see what I can sense from the astral." She said and triggered her astral sight if conditions allow it she'd make a sweep of the graveyard.

[ Spoiler ]

Up to 3 BGC lose 1 hit, up to 6 BGC lose 2.

Astral sight: 12d6t5 4

[Jack_Spade]

Stepping outside the van, Anna felt the harsh wind on her skin as she opened her astral sight. Only a few steps into the graveyard she could feel the mana becoming sluggish - a green tinge of decay and rot filled the cemetary. The gravestones were still mostly gray although some where tinged with the emotions of the mourners making it harder to distinguish any living auras from the background.
Still, as far as she could sense unobstructed, there didn't seem to be any kind of life outside the snow - not even spirits, although she couldn't help but feel like this place might be a feasting ground for certain shadow spirits...

[Gilga]

Anna found it strange to see no life at all, but there was little about that right now. "Graveyard seem strange, no life... " She said to Raph, "I am going all the way to the location now..."

Her next move was to investigate all the way to the safe house and search for something emotionally significant. She returned to the car, and projected her mind out, trying to suppress the funny face she makes as the tingling sensation gets too much for her, right before her mind disengages her body. She scanned the safehouse and its surrounding for auras, or emotionally significant items.

[ Spoiler ]

Astral sight: 12d6t5 6 -oh it's just 5 hits due to BGC.

[SquirrelDude]

"Welp, time to get dressed again." Sharkboy considered just changing into FBAA, but instead changed back into his full suit and pulled out his bow and quiver. He only offered a wry comment to Raph and Anna's analysis over team comms. "So ya'll can't see dead people? That's a bit disappointing."

[Thanee]

Nova opened her black case and pulled out various gun pieces to assemble. Once she was finished, which only really took a couple seconds, she held her sniper rifle in her hands.

"Yeah, I know what you think. Sniper Rifle. Heavy Snow. But this also works well at shorter ranges. And it has a silencer! And if its too unwieldy, I still have my sidearm."

She also pulled out her ballistic mask and a few extra armor pieces from another case and put them on. Better be prepared for whatever might be out there.