IC: Striding the Soul's Edge Options

[Joker9125]

Once back at Iblis's house Diesel asks Jake

"So boss man whats the plan? Is this gonna be a stealth mission or should I bring my rocket launcher? Cause if were goinin all stealthy like my grenade and rocket launchers are out and the assault cannon might not be to good an idea either espically if were gonna try to save the ship. So all that really leaves is my chain. I do got some concussion grenades but they arnt to stealthy."

[WinterRat1]

Nameless crashes on a couch, pulling a hat over his eyes. They'd get around to planning sooner or later. May as well get some rest until the later. Soon, he was out like a light...

[Panzergeist]

"You can probably forget the rocket launcher," Loki says. "Even if this isn't a stealth mission, the combat will be at close range for the most part."

[BishopMcQ]

With a towel wrapped around his waist, Jake begins the long process of drying off his hair, beads of water clinging to his washboard abs.

"The highlights are like this. Iblis is going to pull the vessel out of the primary shipping lanes. We're going to attempt a stealth job, getting the gas into the ventilation system. Once that is done, break into 2 teams. Loki, Moe and Iblis go to the bridge to take command of the boat. Nameless, Diesel and I take the engine room. Diesel, I want you to bring the rocket launcher loaded with concussion, assault cannon and the chain. You are going to basically hunker down in the Engine room and not let anything survive the trip down the hallway. I'll go astral to take out any mages in astral combat. Loki I'm going to need a few watchers to go with me, and a spirit to cancel out their's with the movement power."

With his hair as dry as it will get from the towel, Jake pulls it back into a loose braid and heads for his nap.

"I'll have a more complete plan once Iblis is done with her matrix search and Loki has finished the wards."

That said, he walks down the hall to Iblis' room and collapses on the bed, still wrapped in the towel.

[Panzergeist]

"You mean, I summon a spirit to use movement on the ship, while you kill their spirit?" Loki asks. "I'll need your help on the wards.

[Joker9125]

"Right boss man except I dont have any concission rounds for my rocket launcher I do got em for my grenade launcher tho. Are ya sure the halls are goin ta be big enough fer me ta get through."

[WinterRat1]

Nameless looks at Jake and cocks his head slightly to the left as he listens.

"OK then, a few questions. First, how are we getting on the ship? Second, how are we applying the gas? Third, is this an 'infiltrate and keep it quiet so they don't even know we're on board' thing or a 'walk on and kill everything that moves' sorta thing? I figure that's a pretty good list for starters."

[Buddha72]

A white furry hand shoots up and begins waving back and forth. "Oooh! Oooh! Pick me!! Pick me!!" Jake's voice drifts from the back of the house. "Go for it."

Iblis cocks her head in a mirror of Nameless's head. "Didn't Vinnie say we have access to a rigger by the name of Schnell? That sounds like that covers the 'getting to the boat part' of the plan. As to the application of the gas, I'll need to run out and see what technical info I can find on the boat's specs and see if we can use the boat's air ventilation system to do the work for us. Just give me a few hours to dig up the information. If not, then we do it the old fashioned way and sweep the boat from one end to the next. The trick will be getting control of the key systems ASAP. We'll need a jammer to make sure they don't call for help until we have everything under our collective thumb."

[WinterRat1]

Nameless cocks his head the opposite way of Iblis, forming an opposite image of her.

"You're so cute when you do this." He grins at her. " I should do it more often, maybe you'll copy it and I can see it on a regular basis."

Nodding in remembrance, he adds "I forgot about that guy. OK so that's one. Sweeping the boat from one end to the other?" He raises an eyebrow. "That could get interesting. And by the way, can you jam them, World's Greatest Action Decker," he chuckles at her playful frown, "or are we going to need someone else to do it?"

[Buddha72]

Iblis cracks a grin and pats her mobile decking pack. "Nah, Bessy here can handle the task just fine. Also with the specs you tactical types can find all the choke points to bottle up the crew pretty easy on board. I think we'll probably have to do the whole 'commando' thing and hit them hard and fast. I think most of our stuff can't take a prolonged dip in the ocean, unless we luck out and this rigger has a sub or something but I am not holding my breath on that one." She flops onto a fur-covered bean bag and begins setting up her deck for business. "The snag will be the mage talent on-board. They will have be taken out quick so they can't zip to shore and call for help as it were."

[Medesha]

Steel leans against a wall, apparently lost in thought. "Am I going in with you, Jake? Assuming I'm part of it, I like the plan...sweet and neat."

[WinterRat1]

Nameless winks at Steel.

"Leave you out of this? A kill them all and take no prisoners gig? Heck no. I'm going to enjoy watching you go to work."

He leans back in one of Iblis's many interesting pieces of furniture. "So Steel, since we're just sitting around waiting to hear the plan in all its glory, tell me something. Why do you like killing people and blowing stuff up so much anyway? I remember you always being a real classy type of girl, but this penchant for mass destruction...Either I missed it back in the day, or it was an add on I wasn't around for. Since we're just killing time, why don't you tell me a story?"

[Medesha]

"A story," Steel repeats, and runs one hand through her dark hair. She sighs, then gives a lopsided grin and slides to the floor, settling her back against the wall and drawing her knees up. "You sure you want me to tell you a bedtime story? Might give you nightmares..."

She shrugs off her duster and stretches her arms out until her shoulders pop. "Having your own family put a hit on you does strange things to you. Before, you were part of an organization, part of a group. You were on the right side of things, and everyone else was on the wrong side. Then, in just one night, you find yourself on the wrong side of the line, and you haven't a clue how you got there..."

She trails off, then shakes her head. "Getting hunted by the Yaks strips you of any lingering morals you might have. You can either choose to show compassion, and mercy, and try to minimize the damage whenever you can, or you can live. Those are your choices, and I chose to live."

"Listen to me," she adds with a laugh, "I sound like a philosopher or something. If you want to get specific, I shot a truck driver once and killed whatever humanity I had left. Sorry, Nameless, I don't mean to get all maudlin on you." She rubs her eyes. "Just been a long day, I guess."

[WinterRat1]

Nameless shakes his head.

"Don't sweat it girl. You and I go back a ways. Heck, I was the one that gave you the 411 on that little...'conversation' the yaks were looking to have with you, remember?"

He pauses, not sure what to say next. "I'm sorry. It sucks that sometimes that's the best you can say, but...I'm sorry."

After a moment's reflection, he says in a softer tone, "Why did you kill the truck driver?"

[Medesha]

Steel tilts her head back, resting it against the wall and staring at the ceiling. "You probably know exactly what I'm talking about, hey Nameless? You know what it's like to be part of something, and then have to leave it behind."

She smiles a bit. "You know the little guy who owns the building I live in - Frell? He's sort of my landlord, and he knows a few tricks. If I'm in a pinch, I can call him to back me up. Vinnie set the two of us up on a run once, me and Frell and a rigger named Fleet. Make sure a Yak shipment didn't get where it was going. There was the three of us against an eighteen-wheeler full of guns, two cars, and four bikes full of Yaks."

"Talk about mass destruction." Steel grins suddenly, openly. "Frell got us a Grey Dragon from somewhere, I don't know where. Probably through Vinnie. We blew up some trees to block the road, Frell manned the Dragon and fired rockets into the cars, Fleet had drones firing paintball guns at the truck's windshield to blind the driver...it was glorious. I think it's the second-most explosive run I've ever been on."

"And when the Yaks were dead, we filled the truck's engine full of lead and killed it, too. I ran over and opened up the door, expecting to find a Jap in a suit behind the wheel. Instead there was a fat guy in a t-shirt and a baseball cap, scared out of his mind. He threw up his hands and said something." Steel frowns. "I can't remember what. 'Don't kill me' or 'I surrender' or something like that."

Her voice is calm, cool. "I remember what I said, though. I said, 'You picked bad friends', and I shot him twice, in the head. Because, what the hell, I don't want any witnesses, right? Goddam truck driver telling Lonestar about the jap chick with machine guns who blew the freeway up then told him to beat it. Maybe he didn't know what he was carrying in his truck, maybe he did, but hell, it's not my problem if he didn't ask the right questions."

"It still makes sense, when I think about it. I just don't know why I keep thinking about it." She smiles at Nameless. "Aren't you glad you asked?"

[Buddha72]

Iblis sets everithing up and gives a quick comment. "I am checking out for awhile all, going to research the boat specs and the satellite systems for the hack if we need it." With that she nestles deeper into the bean bag and plugs in. She finds herself in the virtual world of the deck, just before the doorway to the LTG.

With a thought and a gesture a small ripple forms in the air before her. A series of images pass through the distortion, finally settling on an image of a man in his 60s.

New message

Mr. Pennyworth,
I hope this finds you well. I have a new idea to run past you. I need my skates modified to accomandate a foot anchor. Please wire it through the same DNI the skates use. Please inform me of the needed funds to make a new pair with the modification. I, as always, am open to trade and getting you any needed supplies or data to further your work.

Sincerely,
Iblis

With a wave the small bundle of energy that has formed in her cupped hands zips out through the doorway into the LTG. Her icon takes a moment to concentrate and begins to fade till nearly invisible and slips out into the LTG. She flys effortlessly into the matrix. She pauses and begins to concentrate. Energy builds up around her and begins to thread out from her, weaving itself into the flows of data moving past her.

The search begins.....

[WinterRat1]

Nameless smiles back. Surprisingly enough, it isn’t a cold, cynical smile like the ones he’s used to sending. Instead it’s a warm, caring smile. I wonder if she noticed that, he immediately thinks to himself. It's kind of hard not to care. Not just in a detached, intellecutal sort of way either. Really care. I guess we have been through a lot together, and we have more in common than I really thought about before.

He sighs softly, and closes his eyes before responding. "Yeah...yeah I do know what you're talking about. All my friends, my family..." the tone in his voice makes it unmistakable which family he is talking about, family...like Steel's family.

Bringing himself back to the conversation at hand, he continues, "I chose my path. You were forced onto yours. There's one hell of a difference." He smiles at her. Again, a warm, caring smile. "I haven't forgotten my promise. I'll help you get to the bottom of this. We'll find out who's responsible and make them pay."

He chuckles. "And in response to your question. Yeah, I'm glad I asked. I gotta ask though. What you did, it made sense. Hell, we've both done worse. A lot worse. So if you had to guess, why do you think that you keep thinking about it?"

He pauses and looks at her expectantly.

[Medesha]

Steel glances at Iblis as she skips by, and smiles. "Good luck, Ibs," she calls before Iblis goes off into her own little world.

Steel turns her attention back to Nameless. "You didn't choose your family's death, and that's what started you on your path. In a sense, you were forced as much as I. There was no other choice for an honorable man to take."

"As for why I keep thinking about it..." She shrugs. "I'm no shrink. It's just one of those things that sticks with you, I guess. I have done worse." She grins. "And I will do worse, and hopefully soon. When are we taking this boat on, anyway?"

[WinterRat1]

Nameless motions towards the bedroom door with his head. "When the man with the plan decides it's time to get down to business and fill us in on what's what. In the meantime, I guess we're just killing time."

He grins, and this time it is his usual cynical and dark smile. "That'll have to do, at least until we can get down to killling something else."

[Joker9125]

Diesel's brow furrows as he is carefully considering what to say.

"Humanity..............according to the rest of the world me and my kind never had it to begin with. Sometimes I want to agree with them, but if i ever had it I lost it a long time ago she took it with her when she left. And I do know what its like to be part of a team, to belong to something."

"At first I joined the destroyers to get of the street but after awhile it seemed like they were the only family I ever had AND DAMNIT THEY KILLED THEM Diesel yells as he slams his fist into the nearest decorative table smashing it into a million pices. The Yak's killed almost all of us so we went into hiding and split up from their."

"My humanity is one thing im not worried about bringing with me for this mission espically if the Yaks are involved."

Taking a few breaths and cooling down Diesel says "Sorry about the table Ill pay ya back for it."

[WinterRat1]

Nameless raises an eyebrow. "Don't look at me big guy." He gestures to Iblis, who is jacked into her deck. "It's her table. But I'm sure she'll appreciate you paying her back." He grins.

Casually, he picks up a piece of the former table and toys with it, spinning it through his fingers. "So if you don't mind me asking, and if you can answer without destroying more of the furniture" he glances meaningfully at the spot where the table used to be, "two questions for ya."

He looks over at Diesel. "Feel free not to answer though."

Clearing his throat, he resumes looking at the piece of table he's playing with. "First, who is this 'she' who took your humanity with her? Second, what's up with this Yaks killing all your friends thing? Was that shortly before we met?"

He chuckles, and with a quick apologetic glance towards Steel, continues, "I remember you having a serious mad on towards the yaks that time we hooked up." Nameless shakes his head, remembering the event.

"I asked you to distract the guards. You blew them all into next year. I shoulda just let you finish the hit for me."

Yeah, I was gonna sneak by in the confusion and lay a nice little 24 hour delayed death on Mr. Hotshot yak boss. But hell, after a few rockets hit the limo with the guards and the remaining goons were turned into pretty streaks on the surrounding landscape courtesy of Mr. Assault Cannon, who the hell was going to care about the Browning Max Power round through his head? Ah well, whatever works.

Bringing himself back to the present, he looks over at Diesel. "So what's the story Big D?"

[Medesha]

"Yeah, tell us your story," Steel says, "I don't want to be the only one spilling my guts here. Figuratively speaking." She gives Nameless a look. "And don't worry about sparing what feelings I have left. The Yaks have absolutely no problem with killing me now, and I'd do the same to them."

[Buddha72]

"No biggie on the table Big Daddy D." Her voice comes from a small speaker on the deck next to her body. "Just clean up is all that I ask."

[Joker9125]

As Diesel bends down and picks up the shards of the table he says

"She was my mother. After she left the kong destroyers took me in when I was ten. It was origionally to get in off the street but they became my family. The only realy family I had ever had. After a few years we finally got our big break and were able to score a big BTL deal with the yaks."

"The job was supposed to set us up for a long time. I shoulda seen it comming; It turns out thast the cops had been tailing us and were planning on making a bust when the deal went down. So when we got to the warehouse for the meet for whatever reason it could haven been because we were trolls or they could have thought we ratted them out to the cops either way the yaks opened fire almost as soon as we got in the door."

"Of course the cops who were monitoring the whole deal decided to make the bust before everyone was dead and in the confusion I was able to escape with A briefcase or 2 and went into hiding. I dont really know what happened to the others"

Finishing up his story he goes and dumps the table pices in the trash.

"So anyone got any bright ideas on how to take the ship without sinking it? I know we got the gas but how are we going to get the gas into the boat?"

[Panzergeist]

Loki and Katie get working on the ward.