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

[Gilga]

Anna pushes forward through the ward to have a peek inside.

[ Spoiler ]

Way in:
Intuition + sneaking: 16d6t5 5 unnoticed.
Magic + Charisma: 12d6t5 2 arg!
passing(res): 12d6t5 1 - passed successfully. (F6 barrier)

Way out:
sneaking + intuition: 16d6t5 3 unnoticed
passing: 12d6t5 3
passing(res): 12d6t5 2 - passed successfully.

[Jack_Spade]

It's hard to make out details in the grey of the lifeless machines inside the warehouse: From bottom to ceiling there are servers stacked on metal hi-rise racks. An equal amount of space is taken by the airconditioning, pumping relentless out the heat of the computers.
There is a larger free space in the middle where crates are ready packed, waiting for their export. An assembly line is dropping bit by bit BTL chips into a bin. Two people mill about the machine, feeding it more chips and monitoring the production.
The northern third of the warehouse is made up of a contained space with offices. One of them has been converted into barracks where currently two people sleep on cots. In the next room there are two people sitting around a table, eating. Another figure is lying in a reclined seat.

[Gilga]

Anna progresses slowly, so that not to pass through any of the people. She watches them carefully, sizing up their physical and mental capabilities, or how developed their talent was (if they are awakened).

[ Spoiler ]

I rolled assensing for all seven men in there:
Assensing: 7#18d6t5 6 10 8 6 9 8 7

Anna's mental limit is 7

To make it easier, I used the order Jack introduced the people:

A. Two people mill about the machine, feeding it more chips and monitoring the production.

6, and 10 hits: (6, 7 hits after mental limit.)


B. ... where currently two people sleep on cots. (in the barracks)
8, and 6 hits. (7, and 6 hits after mental limit)

C. In the next room, there are two people sitting around a table, eating.
9 and 8 hits. (7 and 7 hits)

D. Another figure is lying in a reclined seat - 7 hits.


Note that Anna has the Astral Bouncer quality:

A character with this quality has astral sight
that is so keen that they’ve developed new
ways of sizing up everyone they meet. Along
with the normal results, every two net hits on
an Assensing skill test can also be used to reveal
one of the following about a living being:
all positive qualities, all negative qualities,
physical attribute ratings, mental attribute ratings,
initiate grade, an initiate power, an adept
power, or Edge rating.

She will size up: (in addition to normal assensing).
Non awakened: Physicals, mentals, positive qualities.
Awakened: Mentals, Initiate grade, positive qualities.

I do not need a list of charsheets, Anna's intention is to asses the threat there as much as possible.
Which of these people seems like a good combatant - who is just average joe's doing his work.
Which ones are the most/least perceptive - stuff like that.

[Jack_Spade]

The two people at the machine are easy to dismiss: They don't carry augmentations beyond a datajack and don't show any traits of combat training.

The people eating and sleeping had to be soldiers or mercenaries: All of them had some kind of augmentation and were very fit, possessing specialized training with firearms in close quarters

The figure in the reclined seat had to be the target: He was fit too, but also had an intellect so sparkling it could be felt in the astral. Interestingly, he sported extensive biological implants, similar to those of Nacl. He seemed to have a murderous streek as well as the hand to hand training to get some use out of it.

[ Spoiler ]

The first two are Non-combatants, 3 in all physical stats
The four mercenaries have physical stats between 5 and 6, thanks to Cyber- and Bioware, as well as Intuition 5 and Reaction 7 They also have all the same Martial Arts Training (Fire Fight)
The target person has B5 R8 A9 S5, C4 I7 L5 W5, Revels in Murder, Prototype Transhuman, and Biocompatibility (Bioware). He is trained in MA as well: Muay Thay and Arnis de Mano.

[Gilga]

Anna became increasingly alarmed as she observed the quality of their opposition. They seemed like a well paid and well-coordinated mercenary unit. The last one has her a bit worried some of his augmentations seemed so natural to his aura that she could swear that he was born with them. She heard rumors of such things but never encountered such a person. It was not going to be easy, and the only bright side was that none of them is awakened. Anna returns carefully to the team, sneaking through the ward a second time, and bolting. Once back at her body she explains. "I confirm hell-hounds and a single watcher as magical security. A reasonable ward protects the place, and I could not identify other magical security."

She continues " There are many servers and a sophisticated cooling system. These, occupying about two-thirds of the warehouse, in the middle, there are two employees - clearly, noncombatants that operates the machines. Our foe lies in the northern part of the warehouse that looks like offices; there are five combatants in total. Think four soldiers and a commander as a metaphore. The four soldiers are high quality, very fit and lightly augmented perhaps to improve their reaction time. They are all trained in firearms and martial arts. Highly capable and likely very expensive. Two of them are sleeping, and the other two are alert. Perhaps they are on guard duty, and this is their routine. The fifth person is likely their commander, he is about as professional as they get. I'd assume nearly as capable as the people we tackled earlier. There were a few things that got my attention.

First, he is extensively augmented with high-quality Bioware. Some of his implants fit him so well that it is like he was born with them. I have never seen anything quite like that. His other implants are similar to those of Mr. Nacl - so super advanced. Nevermind, lets stick to facts. His agility and reaction times are augmented and well developed. The man is very healthy, and his strength is within human norms. Now his mental capacities are surprisingly good; he is very intuitive and highly rational, and strong-willed. There was something more profound to him — a hint of death and killing. The taint is subtle but is there, and by its location, it feels like he profoundly enjoys killing people. His aura shows the patterns that are common to people trained in martial arts. Dicipline leaves a mark, but he has different patterns than the rest. I guess that he is also a martial artist, but follows a different discipline than the rest. "

[Thanee]

Nova smiled. "Damn, girl. I thought those trid shows are exaggerating like there is no tomorrow, but you really can see a lot from there... good job!"

"So, essentially, it is one opponent, and a bunch of cannon fodder. Should be a cake walk, right?" she added with a slight wink.

[Gilga]

Anna smiles, she has spent her adult life assensing people for money. "Well...you and Shark are badass. There is also security outside, right? It was more difficult to scout unnoticed because of the hellhounds and watcher though.

She seems hesitant "If we can somehow work the ventilation system in our favor, then there is no need to fight. In case of a fight, Gas grenades and aura spirts would perhaps prevent them from getting close enough to grab and disable us. I am not proficient in combat magic, so I just hope that my pistol is good enough for their armor. "

[Volker]

"How on fragging Gaia can you determine by a brief look at their aura that they are trained in fragging martial arts? Or that he enjoys killing? There's no way you can tell this from an aura!", bnc exclaims. And then, a bit less secure, she adds "can you?"

[SquirrelDude]

"We got pretty badly beat up by two mercenaries and their badass mage friend. Maybe we should try to find a way to not get in a fight here.

"Or at least, we shouldn't try to get into a fair fight."

[Luckace]

Wraith nods at bnc's remark about changing shape, but then turns towards the discussion about Anna's report.
He shoots an impressed look at Anna.
"That's quite a feat!
Now... first step: Stopping the van. Force the drivers to leave, then question them about identification protocol and knock them out.
Next: Passing the hellhounds inside the van, imitating whatever protocol they have. If necessary, we might have to take one driver with us, kept under mind-control. We all wanna go inside, right? Or does someone want to stand watch outside?
Third... Well, that's gonna be a bloody mess. Keep in mind that we need the commander alive. Are we all eqipped to use non-lethal force on him?", and he loads his Ares Predator with gel ammo.
"That cool with everyone, or did I get something wrong?"

"Are you any good witht those grenades?", he asks Anna after she suggested using them.

He thinks a moment about Sharkboy's comment, before he replies with a stern and sceptical face:
"Only way to avoid a fight that I can think of is using the drivers as hostages or meatshields. No, I don't like that."

[Volker]

"We got pretty badly beat up by two mercenaries and their badass mage friend. Maybe we should try to find a way to not get in a fight here.

"Or at least, we shouldn't try to get into a fair fight."

"Who got beat up? Nova had some scratches we had to tend to ... and I believe everyone else came out unharmed, didn't they?"

[Gilga]

"How on fragging Gaia can you determine by a brief look at their aura that they are trained in fragging martial arts? Or that he enjoys killing? There's no way you can tell this from an aura!", bnc exclaims. And then, a bit less secure, she adds "can you?"

Anna answered "Doctors can diagnose the exact condition of their patients just by looking at them. The aura contains all the information, but you need a lot of training and even with magically augmented senses it is not trivial. Moreso, you need to understand what you see, so I am actually limited by my lack of understanding about medicine and Bioware and martial arts, otherwise, I could be even more detailed."


A bit later she replies to Wraith "I still don't completely understand why we need the van. Let's say we do nothing... What happens when the van arrives at the warehouse? Sorry to be slow, but my attention was not entirely on the details when we negotiated. My point is, we are going to be discovered one way or the other."

[Thanee]

Nova nodded. "Correct, and it is much better to be discovered, when we are inside, already. Which is exactly what the van offers us."

"We need to subdue the boss and then get out, while keeping the rest of his goons from keeping us from getting to him... or out... depending on how soon they are on to us."

"Subduing him won't be a simple task, however, if he is as fit and well-equipped as Anna found out. Hopefully not quite as bad as Assault, but still... he probably won't drop from a single bullet or two, especially the lower powered ones you need for, well, subduing."

The russian woman then looked to Wraith.

"Can you keep the drivers under mental control? That could be helpful..."

[ Spoiler ]

OOC: I don't think you can! At least, I do not see any spells in your list, like Control Thoughts. The Influence power from a spirit doesn't go that far. Making them get out of the van... sure. But, letting them do whatever you want requires a bit more than that.

[Gilga]

She challenged "But we will need to get out after we made the boom. Then we'll need to handle with the outside security one way or the other.

Let's think of what happens when the van arrives there, my guess is that the security guards will secure the transfer and loading to the van. I can use the physical mask spell to make one of us look like the driver. As long as that person sticks inside the van and the windows are closed, the spell would not be visible from outside the van.

So physical mask and some acting should get us undetected by the gate, providing the hellhounds/watcher do not detect the spell. We can also do mundane disguises providing the driver is somewhat similar to Wraith, or if he has gills. Since they have magic security, less magic is safer."

[Luckace]

Towards Nov:
"Well, I can try, but there's never a guarantee with these kind of spells. It's not the puppeteer-kind of mind-control, though. More like hynosis. Pretty shortlived, but should be enough to have him do a simple task like inserting some code for us.
But let's find out how they do it first. I'd rather not have a conscious enemy with us inside the van if it's not necessary.

Let's not forget, though, that we also have to get the chip's schematics. Hopping out, grabbing the man and hopping back in might not do the trick. bnc, guess this is your metier. What do we need for that? Do you have to plug into their computer, or do you just need a single chip to... extract the data, or whatever?"

Towards Anna:
"Yeah, but controlling the van will make getting out - especially getting past those hellhounds - a lot easier as well."
His face brightens as Anna mentions the Physical Mask. "Oh man, I always wanted to know that trick. That's perfect for this kind of job! I agree, as little magic as possible. Where did you spot the Watcher? Outside of the building and the ward, right?"

[Thanee]

"You are totally right. The schematics will require some time on the inside. So, we likely need to completely pacify the place," Nova figured.

"Also, I believe the Abdecker said, that the perimeter guards come inside when the van arrives? They might bring the hellhounds, too."

[SquirrelDude]

"Who got beat up? Nova had some scratches we had to tend to ... and I believe everyone else came out unharmed, didn't they?"

"I'd rather we not try to test how well her arms and legs can survive a point blank grenade explosion again. That's all I'm saying."

[Gilga]

"Okay, I have a nice plan I think. We hack the van and load stun grenades at the bottom of it. We do all that while the drivers are distracted, ideally without their knowledge. Or alternatively, we knock them off and do it at our leisure, replacing them with the physical mask spell.

After the van has entered, all the guards are securing it, we allow it to be loaded with BTL and then open up the stun grenades knock everyone out. Next, bnc remotes control the van away from the warehouse, the remaining guards will assume that they are being robbed and would go after the van.

This gives us an opportunity to sneak into the facility, or if we replaced the guards - two of us are already inside, and as they knew about the gas, they were at the toilets or something when it all happened. "

[Volker]

"Bad plan", bnc replies dryly.
"First, we can't hack the van without taking out the drivers. Second, whole groups of guards don't take a piss when there's a critical moment - which our van is. Third, we might not even be bale to pass the ward with at least two active spells, will we? I'm not that good in everything beyond magic theory, but I assume that you will have to be on the astral as well to bring spells through the ward, and therefore expose yourself to the watcher and the hell hounds, wouldn't you?
I do like the idea of planting stun or... do we have gas grenades? That would be amazing. Gas grenades on the bottom of the van. We enter, let the grenades explode and then attack. Although, to be honest, recently the efficiency of grenades against armored targets didn't quite impress me. Didn't two grenades detonate virtually in the hands of Nova and this slick bastard Anna loves so dearly? Both came out unharmed. That's why I'd favor gas grenades. Unless they're protected or have some neaty-neaty augs, that might do way more than stun."

[Gilga]

Anna replies taking no offense at bnc's assertion "Physical mask would work until the warehouse itself. Just the building is warded. So as long as the van is outside, which I think it should be there is no ward problem. Hounds and watcher, and natural resistance to illusions are the risks... The mercenaries mental ability means that at least one of them would see through the illusion, I am can fool the average joe reliably - but sharp minds are more difficult. Perhaps our best bet is to set the skin shade right and hide as much of the face with winter gear. Old school disguise, no sophistication... driver has a cold. It may be more reliable than the mask spell, which would not hold once we enter the warehouse anyhow."

She paused and then continue "There is a single gas grenade if I recall correctly that we looted from the mercenaries"

[Volker]

"True, but we have to get into the warehouse itself. Where did you think the chips get unloaded?
I'd favor the other approach. We kidnap the van, use the Wraith's mojo to find out how they authenticate themselves and use whatever means necessary to pass the controls. Once inside, we detonate the grenade and unleash hell."

[Thanee]

"Yes, we should use the van to get inside." Nova was still certain, that this was the best approach.

"About the disguise. They won't be able to see into the van, unless the driver allows them to, so getting past the ward should be no problem, and you can fire up your magical disguises afterwards, or not? Knowing the procedure from the drivers will help us a lot there. Also, the Abdecker mentioned sensors and thermal images. Was this from their security system? In other words, will they be able to verify, how many people are inside the van?"

"And one more thing, that gas grenade. Once we trigger that, we really have to move out of that area, because it is some nasty stuff. It will probably knock you out immediately, if you get in contact with it."

[Luckace]

Wraith bit his lip when Nova reminded them of the thermal sensors. "Drek. That could be a problem. But it was right above the entrance, right? Once we're underneath - assumed they don't reach too far - they won't be able to stop the van anyways, but they might keep they're distance. Might be better not to install the grenade underneath the van, but simply toss it at them. Solves the problem of not getting hit by it as well.
Aside from that, the plan sounds solid to me."
He looked at Sharkboy and Nova. "You look like you got quite the throwing arm. Or... Anna, your spell can move objects, right? Can you throw a grenade?"

[SquirrelDude]

"Let me check my bag of gimmicked arrows to see if I have anything that could help here." Sharkboy rummaged through his bag, doing an extra check on his inventory. "Sorry, no canister tips with me. Just some explosives, standard barbs and shockers, and a couple screamers. Screamers could be a way to send a signal, at least."

"Assuming no one here brought a launcher, it does look like me or Nova are just gonna have to chuck it. I've got a decent arm, but I'm more used to throwing chairs at people than grenades. Is there a way we could set up the grenade to go off on a timer or a remote detonate, so that we can be real sneaky about putting it out there and then make sure we're clear of it before it clears the room?"

[Volker]

"Don't forget about the arrows you bought from the maneater. They can take out sensors, too. They're not online either, so if we take care of their spider or whoever monitors the system, it won't even raise an alarm."