The Found Arcana - Chapter 8 [IC], Begins with a bang Options

[Tecumseh]

<<Sunday Morning - February 5, 2079 - Touristville, Redmond>>

No attack comes Wednesday night. In fact, Imbolc doesn't really seem to happen at all. Perhaps the weather dampened the festivities, or maybe the Halloweeners did something in private, but Lysander's concerns about a city-wide campaign of arson and destruction are unfounded.

Thursday is tense, as it is also technically part of Imbolc, but nothing happens. Maybe Urubia interrupted things.

Nothing happens Friday. Nor Saturday. You can almost imagine things returning to normal.

It's a sleepy Sunday morning as Mato returns from The Wild Orc Recreation Ranch, looking and feeling much more like an outdoorsman. His new Globetrotter clothing from the Ares Victory line is now suitably wrinkled and muddy. He has a backpack slung over his shoulder as he walks back to SIS headquarters. It's still lightly raining.

<<Almost back. There's a small package on our doorstep. Millimeter wave detector says something electronic, probably a commlink. Did someone order a new one? Plus there's a gel of some sort. Olfactory sensors...>> He sniffs. <<... say ammonium nitrate, sodium nitrate, methylammonium nitrate, oh drek...>>

He throws an arm up, either an instant too early or an moment too late. The package detonates and the shock wave launches Mato off his feet, propelling him backward into a sedan parked along the sidewalk. Mato slams into the front hood, shattering the windshield. His biomonitor screams to the SIS home node:

<<WARNING! Subdural hematoma detected!>>
<<WARNING! Multiple fractures detected!>>
<<WARNING! Blood loss in progress!>>
<<WARNING! Hearing dampers triggered! Permanent hearing loss possible!>>
<<WARNING! Severe organ failure possible! Please seek immediate medical attention!>>
<<Thank you for using CrashCart's DocDiagnosis^TM! To help us continuously improve our products, would you be willing to participate in a short customer satisfaction survey? Y/N>>

The front door of SIS is blasted into splinters and the windows along the street are all obliterated. The sound is horrendous and your head rings with concussive waves.

[Gilga]

AM does her shifts and studies otherwise a bit of sorcery, a bit of literature trying to expand her horizons and escape the grim reality of waiting for something bad to happen. Being the paranoid one, she always thinks that doom is just around the corner, but having the rest of SIS agreeing with her elevates her stress, and classic literature balances her out a bit. Trouble is emphatic but does not fully grasp what fear is. He is not afraid but is worried for his humans. Bless Iktomi for inspiring her to create a more durable creation than a baby and her admiration for all mothers that manage to raise babies in places like Redmond.

When the explosion hits, she is ripped from a dream. Everything is so loud, and there are glasses pieces from the window everywhere. Her ears ringing, she hears nothing. The entire building shakes. She screams in panic, still in her bed, unable to get her thoughts straight. Uncertain if it is still real or a dream, she reaches for her Erika, and there is something wet over her fingers. The Erika is tainted with blood... Her hand is red, likely cut from the glass shreds. She holds the deck, and then a wave of pain, anxiety, and confusion strikes her. Her mind is clouded, and she has no idea what is going on. "Bobby? Jawsey? Trouble? Anyone alive?" she cries in panic, almost certain that they are all dead. Iktomi has taken yet another thing she liked, she is again all alone in the world. Her worst fears manifest.

[ Spoiler ]

I rolled composure, and I assumed that her threshold should be higher than one considering her background.
Composure: 10d6t5 1

There is something screaming in her mind, but she is too overwhelmed to recognize it. The terrible voice does not stop and repeats louder and louder. It is Trouble that identified quickly that Mato is injured and is calling for her to help. Use the healing spell, or the medic kit possibly both. He expects AM to be rational and logical like she always is, he can see that she is only scratched, but his mother is not answering. She just stands in the room, carrying her deck, and screaming looking lost and disoriented. The cat materializes next to Mato and tries to assess Mato's situation to the best of his ability. He is coolheaded but is not familiar with first-aid.

[ Spoiler ]

Perception/Assensing: 2#10d6t5 4 2

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby had stayed in the garage in his meditative state - slow breathing, slow heartbeat, slow thoughts - for a full 48 hours.

During that time, he drew on the lessons that he had learned during his first initiation in the wild, opening himself up for the flow and ebb of mana, streching and expanding his astral vessel. It was both hard and easy for him as the self imposed vigil took away all distractions.
On Friday, he took a break to shower again, recharge the batteries of his goggles, eat for two and taking a nap, despite not actually needing one. After that he went back to the empty garage, resuming the meditation, this time without being transformed, but keeping the armor nearby.

The explosion tore him from his meditation more effective than the smell of bacon could have. Instinctively, he changed form. Not the clumsy panda though. He needed better hand/claw-eye-control.

[ Spoiler ]

Shapechange F7: 15d6t5 7
Drain resist: 15d6t5 4

No Drain
B10 A8 R7(10) S8

Adjusting the armor was easier as the black bear had less bulk than the panda, meanwhile his trode patch allowed him to activate the garage door. It moved - madeningly slow and with a screetch that indicated that something had warped and was soon going to break.
Bobby didn't wait. As soon as there was enough space to fit his paws under, he ripped the whole construct upwards to storm outside.
The smell of blood and smoke lay heavy in the air and Bobby instinctively homed in on the limp form that had caved in a parked cars side. With a jolt, Bobby recognized Mato. Not his face, but his distinct smell. His friend was badly hurt. And all he could do was hurt someone. There was a moment of something like panic - more like the rage of an animal that has been hurt and doesn't know where from.

[ Spoiler ]

Composure: Composure: 9d6t5 3

But Bobby's meditiations had not been in vain. He recognized the feeling that threatened to overwhelm his thinking and surpressed it - hard.
<<Jawsey, AM, they got Mato. He is bleeding and needs help immediately. It doesn't look like there is anyone else around.>>

[Tecumseh]

AM feels tightness in her chest. She's on the verge of having a panic attack and needs something to center herself in the present.

Trouble finds Mato not really dead but not totally alive either. Mato has always looked pretty weird to Trouble, walking around on dead legs and swinging around dead arms. Mato's arms and legs are still attached as best as Trouble can tell, but his living parts are jumbled and scrambled and don't make much sense.

In fairness, Trouble could be having some additional challenges because the astral space has been tainted by the violence of the blast.

Neighborhood residents are beginning to peek out to see what happened. The car alarm for the Chrysler-Nissan Jackrabbit that Mato hit is going off, a shrill-sounding siren amid an otherwise quiet Sunday morning.

Bobby sees Mato, who appears to be in one piece. Or maybe his armored clothing is just keeping his body together. But, there, he's still breathing. He's made a severe imprint on the C-N Jackrabbit: not only has he shattered the windshield with his back, but his legs look practically embedded in the hood of the vehicle.

[Beta]

Maybe Jawsey had been expected that they'd be bombed, or maybe something in the astral had already moved his sleeping thoughts that way, but when he was woken by the shock of the explosion he was certain of what had happened. He reached for his cane while making sure that the building wasn't collapsing on him just yet, then slipped out of his body and then out of the building.

Step one: make sure they were not under astral attack. No wave of fire spirits attacking, good
Step two: see if they were under further physical attack. The only forms he saw on the astral were Trouble, and ...
Step three: check for casualties, and Mato certainly qualified

He quickly asked Trouble "Until AM asks you to do something else, could you guard Mato from further harm?" Then he raced back to his body.

He opened his eyes, and was relieved to see that their room was still intact. Better yet, AM was still in it. She had some blood on her, but she didn't look badly wounded, although he had some idea that damage from explosions was not always visible. Still, she looked in better shape than Mato, so the priority was clear "Ana Maka, Mato needs your help urgently. He is just outside our front door, and needs healing magic. I have not spotted other attackers so far. Trouble is there, and needs your direction. I'll make sure that Bobby is heading out too, and I'll be following quickly. Please say back to me what I just said to you, so that I know you can hear me."

Once he had AM's response, he went back to the astral, finding Bobby already outside. Jawsey manifested, and told Bobby "AM is on her way. I don't think any of us are good enough at first aid that we should delay healing magic to apply that first."

[Gilga]

Jawsey has a way with words, she nods in agreement still a bit too overwhelmed to speak, but she is moving carefully toward the entrance to help Mato. Once she arrives she says "Medic kit first magic second - Mato keeps it in the gym. She'll wait for Bobby to grab the kit, and prays to the Destroyer to guide her hands in what to come. Looking at Mato she says "The Wakan Tanaka would heal you, you would be laughing with us in no time." She says, trying to get some consciousness from Mato, and is praying because she is afraid, and cold and in her PJ, and bleeding, and miserable. Yet, she is functioning, and by praying and chanting she gains some resolve.

She leans on her Trouble, and her Totem for guidance to help her channel the wisdom of the ages, and would bless herself unless somebody else volunteers to use the medic kit, and otherwise would bless Jawsey or Bobby. AM would only cast the heal spell, once science has finished doing what it can for Mato.

She feels terrible for studying literature and sorcery when she should have been studying first aid. She feels the burden and stressed that SIS expects her to know everything. Or is it Iktomi rather than SIS? or herself? Too clouded to tell. By the time she gets to the heal spell, she is not Shaman Maka, she is a vessel to channel energies that are not her own - a tool of restoration and healing and she gives the spell her entire emotions, and senses, and dedication. She chants a soothing tone, as places her hand on Mato, and as she did not bring her reagents the spell is the most powerful she can conjure. Drain does what it can to her, but she does not care at the moment - she is all compassion.

[ Spoiler ]

I did not know about conditions, so I'll let you guys figure out the negatives.
Improve logic + Troublehelp: 16d6t5 7
drain: 10d6t5 1
She takes one drain.
stabalize (+6 for good medkit -2 for conditions): 11d6t5 5
if it does not work she'll edge it.


heal spell: 16d6t5 5 and as I imagine she is very well emotionally involved she'll edge that one too. I was uncertain how Mato's low essence effects the spell, or what the BGC is.
heal spell(reroll): 11d6t5 4
drain: 10d6t5 4
She'll cast it at force 10, taking 2 physical drain.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby moved impatiently from one paw to the other. He sniffed the air. The smell of blood was intermingled with the harsh smell of the burned remains of the bomb. Fixing the smell into memory, he looked around for the remains of the bomb. He wanted to find the bastard who had blown up his friend and tear him limb from limb.
To Jawsey he sent: <<Secure the remains of the bomb. They have fused with our door mat. I'm going to carry Mato to his street doc. Huxley or something. I fetched Mato from there some while ago when he went there for his immuno suppressives. Better call up one of your stronger spirit friends. The front door is damaged and doesn't close well anymore. Garage door too.>>

[ Spoiler ]

Assensing: 12d6t5 4

With a bit of relief he saw that AM's efforts had been somewhat successful. Switching to astral sight, he could sense that Mato was stable, albeit not conscious.

<<AM, I'm taking him to his streedoc now. Get him over my back and secure him with the towing rope from the garage. His augments make him so heavy you'll need to use your telekinesis to move him.>>

[Gilga]

She gets it together, the medicines of the medical stop the internal bleeding, and supports the internal organs. He looks so broken - Mato is perhaps the most resilient person around a transhumanist. She is shaken to the core to realize that there was nothing to salvage has it been her exploding. Iktomi comes true for her, and while she knows nothing about first aid between his wisdom and the medic kit the result is as good as can be expected. The heal spell further closes some of the wounds, but the cyber limbs are clearly damaged, and while the Blood pressure seems to go through to what the device decides is normal, there are still proteins in the blood signaling possible organ damage. The device is not sophisticated enough to attribute if it is normal or not after a heal spell - but Mato does not wake up or smile. She overpromised, believing that everything can be willed if she wanted it enough. Sometimes, even the Wakan Tanaka is not enough, sometimes the grand plan requires her friend to suffer physical pain, and loss - and it requires her to change and become something else. Something darker and stronger.

Mato stirs a little bit, but then he is out again. Clearly, something is still very wrong with him. AM is exhausted from the emotional effort she leans on the wall, but then Bobby wants help and she makes a great effort to move her body again. She admires Bobby, and Jawsey for their ability to remain clear-headed. When AM reassures herself that she is bad news to anyone around her. Iktomi's attention is never nice, and she wants to collapse somewhere, and cry.

Instead of falling apart, AM goes to the garage to get the towing rope, and then she levitates Mato with a single-finger movement. So easy to do considering how much he weighs, but to be honest it is not the augmentations, she would not even lift Bobby or Jawsey with her muscle power. Feeling mechanical she ties the Mato to Bobby's bear back, feeling like it is someone else that does it. Then she watches Bobby get far. AM then turns her back to Bobby, and looks at SIS, and realizes that this is goodbye. No more Redmond, no more gangs, no more physical danger. They got the income for something better, and no client would want to come to this place - Urubia is incompetent and there is no future in her Redmond. AM could almost feel the disappointment as she truly wanted to see the Dragon rise up and stick it to the UCAS.

With the cash flow from the hacker club they could, and likely should find a better arrangement outside the influence of deviant chaos clowns and impotent dragons. Somewhere safer, where clients would go. Then again, if she is the problem then perhaps she should just find a place where there is nobody around her. Lonely are the life when she is the Destroyer. Though, before she is rational it is time for vindictiveness. AM follows the teaching of Iktomi - and whoever planted a bomb at SIS got the wrong impression. He made a grave mistake of leaving her, and Bobby alive.
Jawsey may want out and play pacificist, and turn the other cheek - but the Destroyer destroys - and AM wants to see some very public humiliation of whoever did it to them. Killing them is not enough, she wants to completely destroy Carn-Evil and wipe out his entire branch of Haloweeners. Do they think they are dark and chaotic and scary? Iktomi can be darker than all of them, she can be darker than all of them. The chains of civilization are off, and it is time for the Destroyer to flex its muscles. AM's mortal self is a terrified woman, horrified at waking up to an explosion, and watching Mato like that - but the most terrifying thing is that despite the way she feels, and despite wanting to cry and run away and hide and never form any meaningful social relationship ever again. Something dark in her essence forces her to curl her lips and smile. Nothing of it is chaos, nothing of it is meaningless. If she needed to die she would have been dead, and if she lives it is because there is still a role in the plan for her. Carn-evil needs to be made an example. He is very foolish of leaving her alive. She whispers in a voice that feels not entirely herself "Nothing escapes the spiderweb.".

Then she notices Trouble, and she lifts him and hugs him closely. "I love you so much" she says, and her voice trembles. She entered the destroyed house, and grabs her bag, visiting the magical lodge she takes what remains of her reagents. She takes both her guns, and when she encounters Jawsey she says "I don't want to be here anymore, let's go. "

[Tecumseh]

Jawsey's words get through to AM and she responds admirably.

AM does a grabs the medkit and rushes out to Mato. She glances at the remains of the front door and the damage pattern as she runs through it. Something tickles her mind but she can't put her finger on it; she'll revisit it once Mato isn't a bump of burned bacon.

Mato's positioning is convenient in the sense that he's elevated and AM doesn't have to get on the ground. The hood of the C-N Jackrabbit is a flat place to work. She opens up the suitcase-sized medkit and quickly applies trodes and patches to Mato.

Up close, he actually doesn't look as bad as AM might have feared. His face is intact; it looks like he got an arm up in time to protect his face. His left arm from the looks of things, as it is kinda mangled. His nose is broken, perhaps from when the blast made Mato's cyberhand punch himself in the face. He doesn't smell that great but he did just spend a week in the woods.

Once the medkit is up and running, it gives AM a similar series of warnings as what the biomonitor had reported. It requests that AM conduct an IV insertion. Luckily the medkit is good enough that it realizes Mato is missing his arms and legs and so most of the standard IV locations aren't applicable. It recommends applying the IV to the subclavian vein running through Mato's upper pectoral. It notes that it is preferable for a critical care specialist to apply this but, given the patient's status, expedience is the higher priority. AM follows the on-screen instructions and inserts the IV.

The medkit pumps and whirrs and whizzes while administering medications. It provides antibiotic sprays for AM to apply to any topical burns.

Mato's Globetrotter clothing is shredded. However, it seems to have done its job: Mato's skin is badly abraided but still largely intact. It actually doesn't look or smell burnt, at least not to the degree you would expect.

The medkit reports progress in stabilizing Mato's vital signs. It lists him as in critical condition but stable. AM takes this as her cue to channel her healing magics, her mana helping to mend Mato's skin and repair his nose. The medkit screeches in alarm at the sudden change in his condition, although settles down as it evaluates the situation and finds the patient better off than he was before. The warnings update accordingly:

<<WARNING! Foreign material identified in spinal column, possibly cybernetic residue.>>
<<WARNING! Hearing dampers inoperable. Hearing loss probable.>>
<<WARNING! Cyberlimb safety limits disabled; performance overclocked beyond manufacturer's recommended guidelines. Cybernetic interface(s) in jeopardy. Please consult a licensed cybertechnician.>>
<<Thank you for using CrashCart's CrashDoc^TM! On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the least likely and 10 being the most likely, how likely would you be to recommend CrashDoc^TM to a friend? 1-10>>

The neighborhood is starting to gather. While the situation is dangerous, it's obviously quite interesting too.

One guy seems to be taking offense though. He's a larger human with darker skin; he looks like one of the local blue-collar laborers.

"Hey," he says, his voice alarmed. "Hey, that's my car! What did you do to my car?!"

[Jack_Spade]

AM has just finished binding Mato to his back when the - probably totally justified - enraged former car now mangled piece of trash owner starts to bellow. Tunnel vision was a curious thing, Bobby mused. It let you ignore a basketball playing gorilla as well as an uparmored black bear.
But Bobby didn't have time for this drek right now - and he still was keyed up enough to do something really violent. The people were a problem. He wanted them gone, all of them.
Planting his front paws on what was left of the J-R's hood he roared. A deep, rolling sound that promised evisceration and mutilation in equal proportions.

[ Spoiler ]

Using my Kiai ability for the first time:

KIAI
COST: 0.25PP PER LEVEL (MAX 6)
The adept summons up their qi to let out a terrifying battle cry that can send their foes fleeing. This power affects everyone who hears it, whether friend or foe, within a radius of (Magic) meters. The adept makes an Opposed Test using its Magic + Kiai Rating against the target’s Logic + Willpower. Any bonuses against fear, such as the Guts quality, are added to the target’s Opposed Test. If the target wins, they suffer no ill effects. If the adept wins, the victim takes a –2 penalty to all actions for a number of Combat Turns equal to the net hits. If the adept’s net hits exceed the target’s Willpower, the victim flees in terror until they are safely away and out of sight of the adept. Even once the fear fades, the target must succeed in a Willpower + Logic (adept’s net hits) Test to gather the nerve to face the adept again. At the end of the Combat Turn, the adept takes Drain equal to the level of this power. They may attempt to soak the drain with Body + Willpower.

Kiai: 10d6t5 3
Drain resist: 15d6t5 5
no drain

And with that, he took off toward the street doc, asserting his right to be an armed bear.

[Beta]

By the time that Jawsey had found his gun and his medkit and made it downstairs, AM was already working with a much better kit, and it seemed to be going well, judging by Mato's aura. Jawsey briefly kicked himself for forgetting that they'd bought a top of the line kit, but as Bobby pointed out, there were things to do, he could handle self-recriminations later.

Before worrying about securing the building, or even going to help with Mato, he stepped back inside the door to compose a message. He coded it "high priority", for whatever that was worth <<Adeline? It it Jawsey. I know that your specialty is astral forensics, but you have training broader than that. Someone just set up a substantial bomb on our front door, nearly killing one of my team and possibly driving us out of our home. I know that Redmond isn't on your patch for official investigation, but if you could either lean on your colleagues in Redmond to actually come and investigate, or better yet head over to Touristville for a greasy breakfast and happen to bring your kit and happen to come by our way and offer some help, I'd very much appreciate you having my back.>> No need to mention the times that he'd provided unofficial astral support to her so that she could do her job in better security, she'd understand what he meant.

Then he messaged Zwipe <<Chummer, someone just tried to blow up one of my team-mates, and did half blow in our front door. Your lot was playing around with bombs, could you come by and give me a more informed opinion on what happened here? And on anything I should be looking for in terms of evidence?>>

He heard an awful yell from outside that nearly sent him running for cover, before he recognized it as Bobby. He looked outside again to see what was happening now, but all he saw was scattering bystanders, without even anyone mauled by a bear. Well, people would be back, so he assured the other two "I'll watch the place, I'm waiting for some people to come help figure out what happened in more detail. Go do what you need to do."

Then he uses something he'd learned while on his spirit quest, and turns his astral vision internally. It was amazing the depth in any one aura, each like a tiny earth on its own. Within his own aura he reached out to the spirit realms and reached out to one of the Hunter Brothers, allowing it into Jawsey's own being, without giving himself over to the spirit. The summoning went well, but the wrench of the spirit taking up its place would have made Jawsey stagger, had the spirit's strength not already been infusing Jawsey.

As he focused his attention back to the street, an observer would have seen a stylized raven on one cheek and an eagle on the other, while a more careful observer would see that those were on a second set of cheeks, overlayed on Jawsey's own.

[Tecumseh]

The owner of the C-N Jackrabbit blanches and takes off running. Unfortunately he's going the same direction as Bobby is running with Mato, giving the man the impression he is being chased. He screams bloody murder as if a barghest is chasing him:

"AAAAAAAAAH!"

Bobby smells something that suggests the man has soiled himself.

Bobby reaches the street doc's office. It looks like the type of place that has a modest clinic on the ground floor and then an apartment above. Bobby isn't sure that the doc lives in the apartment but odds are good that she does. The clinic isn't open this early on a Sunday. The painted sign in the window might be encouraging or discouraging, depending on your perspective:

DOC PAINLESS
Medical
Dental
Vision
Veterinarian

Perhaps Bobby can get his checkup there too.

----

Back at the headquarter, Jawsey starts making some calls. Luckily he has a lot of loyal friends who are willing to pick up the comm on a Sunday morning.

Adeline: <<No drek, a bomb you say? And not just like kids goofing off? No, doesn't sound like it. Well in theory my esteemed colleagues of the Redmond precinct should respond under their own volition, especially in Touristville, but I can't guarantee how quickly they will arrive or how much time and attention it will get. I can lean on them but I don't have a lot of weight, know what I mean? If you're willing to, ah, underwrite some soykaf and donuts I might be able to get the ball rolling. ¥200 will usually get them out of bed but I can't guarantee it will make them care. If you want to, ah, inspire them, a couple grand might get you an attentive audience. You could work that out with them in person.>>

<<But, look, you're essentially the first responder. Here's what you need to do:

1. Identify scene hazards, such as structural collapse, bloodborne pathogens, hazardous chemicals, and secondary explosive devices.
2. Identify witnesses, victims, and the presence of evidence.
3. Preserve potentially transient physical evidence, like evidence present on victims, evidence that may be compromised by weather conditions.>>

<<Beware of secondary devices! The scene may contain secondary explosive devices designed specifically to kill or maim public safety responders. Do not touch any suspicious items. If a suspected secondary device is located, immediately evacuate the area.>>

<<It's raining here so it's probably raining there. Try to keep the detonation site as dry as you can.>>

Zwipe takes Jawsey's call too, although the reluctance in his voice is clear.

Zwipe: <<Ah, hey, uh, man. Long time, yeah.>>

<<Look, we were basically just small timing it, neh? Pipe bombs, maybe a Molotov, right? Nothing that could blow in your front door.>>

<<I'd like to help, I really would, especially after you bailed me out a while back... thanks again, man... but it's basically a death sentence if I show my face in Touristville. The Crimson Crush will have me for lunch and wash me down with hurlg.>>

<<Is there any way you could, you know, make me not look like me? Or, you know, invisible? Something like that? Because otherwise, man, I don't know...>>

---

AM sees Bobby run off. His terrifying roar doesn't bother her in the least, but the cold February rain does so she decides to go inside. Retracing her steps, she crosses the threshold where the front door used to be. The blast pattern look curious to her so she studies it for a moment. All the windows on the street side of headquarters got blasted out but... the facade of the building is pretty much intact. The garage door took a knock but is still functional. Something in AM's head said that the garage door and the brickwork should have been peeled like an orange.

She steps inside the entryway and looks at the remains of the front door, which looks like a train hit it. Sorting through the debris, she sees a bajillion holes opposite the door, rounder and deeper than what splinters of wood would be expected to produce. It looks like... an improvised Claymore mine? A "directional anti-personnel mine" in the parlance. Very large and very loud, but also shaped and targeted toward the front door. Mato, coming up front behind, wasn't in the cone of the blast otherwise he'd be chunky salsa. He took the shockwave, but not the shrapnel. She'd be sure to tell him the good news if he survived.

[Gilga]

Trouble has a soothing effect, and things begin to clear—rationalism, not that mambo jumbo emotional crap.
"It was a landmine, targeted at the front door. An attempted murder rather than a warning." She made it a rule that explosives are Jhonney's department. She is uncertain if he is genuinely ex-Mossad, and there is probably no way to verify, but the dude knows a lot about explosives.

>> Jhonny, some asshole tried to assassinate one of us using some Claymore targetted at our door. I guess he did not care which one but wanted to spill blood. A large explosion but very directional and the door was filled with holes. The garage door next to it was barely affected. I can take some pictures, but I need some guidance and information, perhaps advice. I want to figure out where this bomb came from and who wants us dead.

She then texts Andrew >> Musai San, this explosion was right next to our front door. I am okay, but Mato is hurt. I am looking for more wounded, and help whom I can but if you would be kind enough to look into the situation I would forever be grateful. Best regards, Amy-Chan. She wants to preserve the relationship, and as he'll already know about it it is best that it comes from her.

They could perhaps not use their contacts for Carn-evil but the explosion would draw a lot of attention one way or the other and it is important to play ball and still be cooperative and useful to the local powers. She speaks up as loud as she can "Does anyone need help?" and tries to make sense of the scene. Where did the explosion happen, how did it reach their door? Was it a mysterious package? Was it hidden in a garbage can? she'll collect remnants of the bomb, and of the flechette used and then would go actively look for wounded to help and for witnesses to question, and for audio-visual devices that might have some hint as to what exactly happened.


Feeling a bit socially awkward with her PJ's and guns, and bug-out bag, no make-up her hair is a mess, and her pocket has pebbles and feathers and twigs. Yet, she does not have to look like this, a single fashion spell and her PJ's become presentable, and she can use the makeover spell to look perfect instantly. Though, she feels that looking like that people would be more cooperative. Seeing that for the second time she drops anything and tries to help her neighbors. Perhaps it is time to collect on some favors owed from the after match of the gang-war? Perhaps someone has seen something. Whoever did that to them might have left some hints that she can figure out. She uses her round, to seek cameras and possible devices that can shed light. She also looks for witnesses. As she walks through her neighbors' houses, offering to heal - she looks around and asks if anyone has noticed anything unusual, or delivered a package to SIS. She'll take notice of any camera that can possibly be hacked or other devices of interest.

[ Spoiler ]

Time to use her Forensic skill.
Forensics: 11d6t5 3
perception: 10d6t5 3
Matrix perception: 11d6t5 5

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby looked around for a bell or an ARO to get the attention of the Doc.
Just to be sure, he also looked up contacts on the matrix and sent her a message directly:
<<Emergency: My buddy Mato was hit by an IED. We got him stabilized, but he is not waking up. I'm outside your door. Don't be alarmed, I'm carrying him on my back looking like a bear (me, not him)>>

Almost immediately after that, he also began knocking on the door.

[Beta]

Jawsey acknowledges Adeline's advice, the asks the team <<I have a contact on KE, downtown. She says for a couple of hundred nuyen we might get the local detachment to show up here, but to get them to put in a real effort it would cost at least ten times that much. I can't see paying them a couple of grand when we are likely better detectives, but maybe a couple of hundred to get them to show up? Make us look important enough and all that, unless you you all think it would backfire with the locals?>>

To Zwipe he responds <<Now that I think about it more, by the time you got here, half the evidence would probably be washed away by rain or pilfered by the locals. But could you stay on-line for a bit and I set my camera to transmit to you, and you can maybe give me some guidance on what I'm seeing and what I should be looking for? I'll owe you the full story when this is done, plus I'm buying the food and drink next time we manage to meet up. One of my colleagues thinks that it was an improvised Claymore mine, aimed at the front door, but it went off when another colleague was coming home. Could it have had a proximity trigger? Or was there likely somebody watching?>> He gets some good shots of the front steps and remains of the front door for Zwipe to look at.

And then, keeping in mind Adeline's advice he starts looking around to make sure that there is not a secondary explosive device waiting to cause further mayem.

[Gilga]

AM comments >> No police please, we all have some skeletons in the closet and do not need their scrutiny. The Crimson Crush and the other gangs would not want us to call the police, and go figure if they don't just arrest the nearest ganger for doing something completely unrelated and everybody blames us. I mean, if they poke around half the cars are stolen, all weapons are illegal, and so forth. I really don't want to be blamed for every misfortune the KE inflict. She would pay to avoid the police, and growing up as she did AM is certain that nothing good can ever come up out of a police investigation. They would likely not figure out the bomb thing, but they can figure out that AM is SINless, or that SIS has done something illegal, and involving these guys just seemed like a very bad idea. Not to mention that the Crimson Crush and Andrew and Urubia would probably not want police detectives poking in their turf.

[Beta]

<<Fair enough, AM. I grew up just not interacting with the police and hearing how useless they are, but I didn't really have an opinion on them. Now I do (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) >>

<<The other thing that my contact mentioned is that we should check for secondary explosives, apparently it is a classic tactic, set off one bomb, then wait for people to gather around the aftermath and set off a second device. I'm starting to look around. Also I'm not clear if that bomb had a proximity sensor of some sort, or if it was triggered remotely. So there could be someone lurking around who set that off, another thing to keep an eye out for.>>

Jawsey does as he said, starts looking around. But he's not entirely sure what he'd be looking for, and is also trying to keep an eye on the crowd and nearby windows, so he's not sure that he's as focused on the search as he probably should be, given the seriousness.

[Jack_Spade]

<<Yeah, keep out the pigs. We are detectives, we can do a better job any day of the week - especially since we are highly motivated right now.>>

Bobby managed to send while waiting to be let in.

[Tecumseh]

Nothing jumps out - literally or metaphorically - at AM and Jawsey as they look around for suspicious or out-of-place items.

Zwipe seems to warm to the idea of a remote consultation. Jawsey shares some pics and some video feed. <<Woah, yeah, that's definitely more than a Claymore mine. Those things just throw shrapnel. And they're loud, right, but not that loud? A real Claymore is more like a grenade blast; it'll get your attention but it's not going to shake your building. It's not going to rattle your teeth unless your head is right next to it.>>

<<But it's possible that the bombmaker, you know, upsized things? Like, you can add stuff to make it loud, or really showy, if you want to scare people or draw a lot of attention. So the shrapnel bits are for the killing and maiming and the BIG BANG is the warning to others.>>

<<Triggers? Could have been lots of things. Could be proximity, but that's risky because maybe then you're just blowing up a package thief or a curious pigeon. A remote trigger is easy enough, simple as sending a text message. Could have been on a timer, but then how do you know actually hurt anyone? Unless, of course, the goal wasn't to hurt you but just to scare you. That's worth thinking about. We were punks but we didn't want to kill people. Might take a baseball bat to their noggin, or make them drek themselves with a flash-bang, but we didn't want to blow off your hands with a pipe bomb. Maybe this was, like, a "frag you" aimed more at your building than at you.>>

---

Andrew does not respond immediately to AM. She's unsure if he's intentionally ignoring her or just otherwise occupied at the moment.

There aren't many public cameras available. AM sees a doorbell camera on the door of the apartment building across the street that might have had a good angle, but it's unclear if it would have been recording at the time or if it's only triggered when someone tries to buzz one of the apartment residents.

AM does not have much success with witnesses. Most of them were sleeping or minding their own business - it is early on a Sunday, after all - but nobody seems inclined to talk. She gets the feeling that maybe someone saw something, but nobody wants to say drek about it. Some of her assensing suggests that one or two folks aren't being totally forthcoming. It might be better to talk to people one-on-one, or in private where they won't be seen talking to you. Or maybe that's just Iktomi stirring up trouble via misdirected gut feelings.

---

At the clinic, Bobby's message does nothing.

Nor does his knocking.

He gets more insistent and keeps knocking. Eventually the urgent knocking turns into pounding. There's a fine line between making a lot of noise and actually bashing down the door, which would be quite easy for Bobby to do.

Finally, he makes enough commotion for the window in the unit above to be opened angrily and with a fair amount of force.

"WHAT?!" a woman screams, leaning out the window. "WHAT IS IT?!"

She's a human female and her blonde shoulder-length hair is totally askew. It goes in every direction in a rather dramatic example of bed-head. It's clear she just woke up.

Her eyes start to focus on the maimed Mato strapped to a bear's back. "Oh frag me," she says, exasperated. "I'm still tripping on Aisa."

[Beta]

Jawsey asks Zwipe <<Maybe it is just a trid thing, but could whatever-they-used to trigger it have been ejected in the explosion? or is that part usually totally destroyed? I'd guess that with a directed charge like this you'd want that positioned more behind the charge, so if anything it would have probably been shot out in the other direction? Does that make sense?>> Even as he's working through that thought he starts looking out onto the street, or even the wall across the street, to see if there is anything that looks like it might have been ejected from the explosion.

<<Or is there anything else that might help identify how the bomb was made, that I should be looking for? Anything that might help us figure out for sure who might have done this? We have suspicions, but we don't want to be the suckers who get lured into taking out the wrong foe.>>

[Gilga]

AM makes mental notes to the people she believes are untruthful, and would probably pay them a visit later in private. Having nobody to speak to her is a bit disappointing to her when she feels like a good member of the community but perhaps the other dudes are scarier than the small elf lady in her now wet PJs.

Once done with her round, she uses what remains of her resolve to hack anything she can figure out may have some clue about the bomb at their doorstep. She'll use the basic permission to see if anything has recording ability and if so she would dig deeper -otherwise, she would move on.

Andrew occupied may be understandable providing he has not shown his face in a while. She assumes he has taken some other position in Urubia's organization considering how eager the man was to see the union succeeding. She does not believe that he is ghosting her, perhaps but she expects better from him even if he is the one ordering the bomb. If he wants her dead, he can do so with his polite style. It does not bother her too much, because they are detectives. For her next meeting, she definitely needs a place to get dressed, and possibly shower and a large cup of coffee but it is okay as Big Stank would likely not wake up so early on a Sunday morning. Having no response from Andrew, she'll pay a visit at noon, perhaps later.

[ Spoiler ]

a few hacking rolls if need to.
Hacking (AR): 3#15d6t5 6 4 6

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby realized that this part might need a delicate touch. Now that he could see her, he was able to connect via commlink to her persona

[ Spoiler ]

Mindlink F2: 18d6t5 8

Resist Drain: 14d6t5 6

'No, you are not tripping, I really am a bear calling your commlink.
Now open the fragging door, my friend is in bad shape.

I'm a shapeshifter, my car was unavailable and Mato is fragging heavy, so get a move on. I need access to the data on his olfactory sensors to help us find who created the bomb.'

Bobby sent impatiently through his link.

[Tecumseh]

Zwipe responds to Jawsey: <<This looks like a pretty big blast; whatever trigger they used is probably dust. I mean, if they used a commlink then maaaaybe it got blasted away? But even then you have to realize that it's going to be flying away at high speed, the detonation velocity of the explosive used. Even if it went straight up in the air, it would be coming back down to Earth at, what? 100kph? 200kph? I don't know many consumer electronics that can survive that. Maybe, if you're lucky, you get bits and pieces of it to know what was used, but certainly nothing functional that you could, you know, hack and trace.>>

-----

Jhonney responds to AM after a few minutes. Evidently Sunday morning is a good time to reach people.

<<That sounds like a rough way to wake up.>> Jhonney sounds sympathetic.

<<I sell the product; I don't use the product. I can't give you an expert forensics opinion on something that's already been blown up.>>

<<If you can get a sample of the explosives used, we might be able to trace it. Little known fact, but the UCAS actually introduces chemical markers into all explosives manufactured or sold in the UCAS. The purpose, of course, is to aid law enforcement officials in tracking down criminal violations, including stolen product and researching the movement of an explosive. Technically the database is only available to law enforcement, but we might be able to negotiate our way around that with a little nuyen. 300 or so should do it; the UCAS doesn't pay that well.>>

<<I'm not saying it will work for sure. It might not be marked if it's from a megacorp, and if it's homebrew then it probably won't have any markers either. Won't know until we check. But try to get some clean swabs if you can before they wash away or are irreversibly polluted with whatever passes for air in Redmond.>>

-----

AM slices through the protection of the doorbell camera and hacks it within seconds.

She actually lucks out that there's some video feed from the morning, but the problem is that it's out-of-focus, well beyond the distance that the camera is intended to work. She seems some... vertical motion? It looks like maybe the package came from above, rather than being delivered along the ground. There's a blur that looks like maybe something flying off but she can't tell what. A drone? A spirit? A bird? She'll need to get more details from someone else. This happened just a couple minutes before Mato arrived.

AM has two primary suspects in the "probably saw something but ain't saying drek" category:

1) The first is a young, blue-collar family. An ork father, a human mother, and a young human boy somewhere between 8 and 10 years old. They all appear to be of Aztec origin.
2) The second is an middle-aged male ork, a blue-collar type with a bulging belly and a well-known drinking habit. He's reputed to be belligerent when he's drunk, although at this hour he's probably hung over. (Although his aura is dirty enough to suggest he might be drinking already this morning, or could still be running on fumes from Saturday night.) He's of Anglo descent.

[Tecumseh]

The window at the clinic slams shut. Bobby is waiting for 10 or 15 seconds, wondering if he'll need to bash the door in. Finally the doctor appears at the door in dirty jeans and a baggy blouse that's untucked. Her hair is still a mess. She unlocks it and pushes it open.

"Go down the hallway to the left. Go to the first door on the right," she instructs. She's holding her head.

Bobby follows her instructions, walking past a lobby area where people presumably wait for treatment. He turns down a hallway which is cold and antiseptic. There's a raised bed in the room to the right where the doctor said to deposit Mato. Bobby does so.

The doctor staggers in a moment later, unsteady on her feet.

"I'm sorry," she apologies to Bobby, speaking slowly and holding a hand out for balance. "I'm still hallucinating. You look like a bear.

"Will you go get me a cup of soykaf? No creamer or sucrose, just black. The machine is back down the hallway. You have opposable thumbs, right? Yes, of course you do."

She begins to work on Mato, attaching him to a medical station that's basically a large autodoc. Luckily this part seems to be muscle memory and she completes the process quickly. The machine beeps and buzzes as it comes online and begins scanning Mato's vital signs.

[Beta]

Jawsey replies to Zwipe <<As you like to point out, I may be smart about people but some day I should learn something about how 'things' work. OK, I'll give up on the triggering device. What about identifying the actual exploding stuff, know any way that we can tell what that was? That might tell us something about who was behind this too.>>

To AM he asks <<How has your questioning gone? Want me to circle back on any of them, and if so am I the good cop or the bad cop?>>

And finally to Bobby <<Did you find the Doc? How are things? Anything we can do to help?>>