IC: Vein of Truth, An adventure into the wilds Options

[A Rodent of Unus...]

While sitting casually on the deck, Belfast just watches the patrol boat wander by. Despite being under Sejal protection, he waits until its definitely out of earshot before singing an off-key and Irish cover of Sinatra's Luck Be a Lady Tonight. Not knowing half the words, naturally, most of it is just hummed anyway.

[Beast of Revolut...]

The gridguide transponder is deactivated. After finding a nice secluded spot on the beach, Thor activates the enviroseal and air tanks, and gently nudges the van into the water. Driving along the bottom of the bay, he heads for a secluded beach outside Vancouver. As soon as the van is safely under the water, he switches the photovoltaic chameleon paint to a dark green and blue camoflague pattern, and has his morphing liscense plate change to a Vancouver plate.

Thor turns on the van's trideo unit and starts playing an obscure low-budget action flick for his passengers to watch. "We may be under water for as long as 10 hours. Hope you all used the restroom, and don't drink anything."

[JaronK]

Paris smirks, takes his kit back out, and cleans and tunes his sniper rifle. He somewhat scoffingly watches the movie, but he's got a half grin on his face again, and stops what he's doing to watch every time something good happens on the trid.

[crechebaby]

You hear a light snoring sound coming from Brand's direction.

[Shadow]

The patrol boat came close. Too close for Raven’s taste. It was obvious at a hundred meters that the patrol wasn't coming at them. Good thing, too. She didn’t think anyone here had a real SIN to fall back on, or enough money to bribe their way out. Just in case though, she slipped her Five-seveN out of the holster and held it discreetly at her side.

When the boat pasted harmlessly by, she slid the long barreled pistol back into the nylon holster. When the patrol finally vanished on the horizon she let out a breath.

“Well, that was certainly close. Hey, Sed. Let’s get this bad boy back up to speed and get where we're going, soka? Gonna die of old age before we get there.”

Raven grabbed both of the stair rails. She propped her boots up and slid quickly to the bottom, landing with a thump.

”I’m gonna get some sack time,” she said to Irishman. “Wake me when we get there, or sooner if need be.”

She tossed her hair and ducked down into the cabin, muttering under her breath. “Damn sea air, it’s going to kill my guns.”

[JaronK]

After having replaced his weapons in their various carrying places, and cleaning up his kit, Paris sits back a bit and reviews his plans for the mission so far. A while later, still having time to kill, he moves over and sits next to Evans.

Good a time as any to get to know the medic.

"Hi. If you don't mind me asking, what did you mean by spray weapons? What exactly have you got available?" He asks quietly, being careful not to wake Brand.

[FXcalibur]

Evans had been sitting quitely in a shady corner of the vehicle, away from Brand so that he wouldn't wake her up. His assault rifle lay beside him, and he was in the process of sorting through his medkit supplies when Paris walked over. Evans smiles slightly, in greeting, as he approaches, and lays down the medkit by his side. New groups never suited him well, always the more flamboyant would get noticed. In his experience it was best to just shut up and duck down until somebody got hurt.

Paris was walking over. Don't tell me somebody was injured already?

"Spray w- Oh. Well, think flamethrowers. Brought one along since Fredrick mentioned something about bugs, but it seems my fears were unfounded."

Evans pulls out the compact Shiawase Blazer from under his overcoat and handed the SMG-sized flamethrower to Paris.

"Careful with that. It's a sturdy little piece of hardware, but it's still flammable. Bit of a liability if it's not needed, but you never know, aye? Besides that...well, that's about it. I'm sure whatever else I can shoot someone else can do too."

[JaronK]

"Hmm" says Paris, considering. "Somehow I didn't take his little warning that way. You never know though, you may be right." After a short inspection, he hands back the flamer. "I wasn't sure when you said spray weapons, thought it might be some medic drug deal."

After a bit, he asks "so where were you trained? Medically, I mean."

[FXcalibur]

"DocWagon HTR unit. Not very many places else you can get good experience in the field, or so I hear. What about you, if you don't mind me asking? Where does one get training as a special ops accountant?" Evans smirks.

[JaronK]

Paris grins. "Well said. I was studying macroeconomics, but got found out there was more money in this sort of number." He takes his slivergun out for a moment and twirls it. "Got tapped for it, too, the found I had an aptitude. 'Moral Flexibility' I think was the line. Charming. Rest is history." The slivergun disappears into his shoulder holster. "But if all goes poorly, I can always fall back as a wage slave." A half grin appears a moment on Paris's face, with a quiet exhalation of air that is his usual laugh. "Don't mind me being so nosey, but one of the things they told us was to always know your medic. Better learn a thing or two about him before he's opening up your guts, you know? Too many guys just ignore the less flashy types, medics and riggers, and then have no idea who's got their back in the end." He smirks.

[FXcalibur]

Evans gives a somewhat consoling smile and pats Paris on the back.

"Well, thanks for giving a damn. I need to sort my medical and rifle kits a bit more though, so let me know if you need anything else."

[JaronK]

Paris nods, moves back over near his equipment, and lies down for a nap.

[tisoz]

Skeeter had long since stowed his fishing gear, failing to get even a nibble in over an hour of drowning worms. He watched, fascinated as the corvette heading their way had magically turned into a smaller craft and went skimming on past them. It had taken a lot of self control not to call out to see if anyone else had seen the transformation. They'd probably just tell him he was imagining things, so Skeeter kept his mouth shut.

He went to the bow and supressed the urge to make a grand proclamation like he was king of the hill. Skeeter wished he had brought some stones with him to skip across the surface of the water.

He wondered if Sedryk would like some company as he piloted the boat or if he might as well take a little nap. Skeeter decided to offer to get him a cup of soycaf from a thermos he had seen. If he seemed to want some company, he'd visit. If not, he'd nap.

[TinkerGnome]

The section of Snohomish where the meet was held is one of hte most rural parts of the Seattle 'plex, but it doesn't compare to the verdant hillsides which stretch away along the sides of Vancouver Island. The stories about how the SSC has vast tracts of woodlands might seem strange to a dedicated city dweller, but here it is obvious In the night, the boat team made their way up the coastline to a previously selected rivulet.

Here and there along the coastline, the winking lights log small communities could just be seen. Past the edges of the Vancouver sprawl, most of the lights were small fishing villages. While rumors held that many, if not all, of those communities also smugglers, logging operations, or both, the darkness made it impossible to tell. The only indication at all was the number of boats moored at the docks of each little town.

Before the sun could rise, the team made their way inland a half kilometer or so to a small natural lagoon. The water was only a couple of meters deep, but the broad, shallow basin marked the last navigable point on the waterway. The team disembarked and managed to get the boat into a safe harbor away from prying eyes shortly before the sun rose.

Meanwhile, farther away, the van forged out of the sea and onto the roadway. Using GPS and the coordinates that the Johnson provided, Thor was able to locate the equipment cache with little trouble shortly after midnight. Hidden under camo netting, there are five large crates. One contains breathing gear suitable for mine exploration, one contains a number of small drones, two contain the components of the driller, and the last contains the base stations for the drones. It doesn't prove hard to get them all into the van, though it would be difficult to fit the entire team inside with them.

[Shadow]

Vancouver. At one time the island was populated and thriving. Now, to Raven’s eyes, it was a wasteland. Tree’s were great and all, but not if no one could see them.

She leaned against the side of the boat, pulling her coat close around her to fight off the chill. Her enhanced vision zeroed in on the lights. The Nav-Dat in her head marked them on the GPS map she was building.

They probably hate living here. Hate it as much as I hated living in the Tir.

When the boat coasted a shore, Raven got to work. She dug out her duffle and changed her clothes. She made sure she had some privacy before changing into her cammo outfit and boots. Once in her working gear, she strapped on her thigh holster for her main pistol. She secured four magazines along her belt, and dropped another two in the camouflaged secure coats deep pockets.

Next she un-packed the Walther, carefully putting it all together. Once it was ready, she loaded a 10 round mag of APDS into it. She used the sling to secure the long sniper rifle to her back, barrel down.

When everything was ready she freed her bike. She stashed another five mags for her pistol, and five for her rifle, along with her spare pistol, in the seat compartment. She moved the light dirt bike of the deck and on to the soggy ground.

“I am on,” she glanced down to the radio at her belt, “137.5,,” she said as she clipped the sub dermal to her throat.

“I figured I would go scout ahead, make sure the mine was free and see about a path. Any objections,” she stated as she fired up the electric motor of the Opel.

[Misfit Toy]

Not having much to unpack from the boat, Belfast basically just helps out where he can. When Raven mentions that she's going to scout out the mine, he decides to pipe up.

"Sounds good. Mind if I tag along? Might help to have some ethereal eyes checking out the mojo of the place for anything out of the ordinary, if you know what I mean."

[Shadow]

"Sure, an extra pair of eyes never hurt. The Opel isn't really a two seater so hang on tight."

[Misfit Toy]

"Oh, twist my arm."

Kicking a leg over the back of the Opel, Belfast turns to address his familiar just as it materializes on his shoulder. The leprechaun looks as if he were just waking up from a nap as his body finished creating itself.

"Wot wot wot," Red Tom mutters as he rubs his eyes a bit. "I was just gettin' to a good part, ya wee bastard. I hope it's feckin' important..."

Bel simply rolls his eyes. "I'm going to scout ahead with the Ke... with Raven but I want you and Elizabeth to stick around and keep an eye on my friends here in case they need any help. Remember the talk last time -- try to at least be a little civil with them, a'right?"

The leprechaun waves a dismissive hand at his master. "Yes yes, run off with your little friend and I'll babysit these wankers and Little Miss Muffit. Feh. I'll be lettin' ya know if anything comes up. Now get." He continues with the dismissive gesture as he adds a bit of cursing under his breath, something along the lines of always bossing him around or some such. It only causes Bel to smile lightly as he wraps his hands around Raven's hips.

"I'm ready when you are, lass."

[Shadow]

"Watch the hands," she replies. Her right hand lets the clutch go as she stomps on the gas with her booted foot. eerily silent the Opel's back tire spins out spitting gravel and dirt. Once the tire gets a grip the bike takes off.

[Beast of Revolut...]

Thor drives along the bottom of the bay to the southern tip of the island. Upon nearing it, he heads west along the coastal shelf, heading towards the area along the coast nearest the target zone. He keeps the van at a level where the water is about 25 meters deep; shallow enough that he can quickly get to shore, but deep enough that no boats will run into the van. Once the van has been under water for 9 hours, Thor starts watching for a nice flat beach, and checking the maps for secluded surfacing areas. He brings the van closer to shore, to a depth of 15 meters, in order to allow himself a better visual.

[Chance359]

Sedryk looked as the cup of coffee that Skeeter was offering. "Thanks, say could you go down below and grab my bags, gotta get ready for when we break land?"

After Skeeter returns with the bags, Sedryk begins assembling his harness and checking his weapons. Seeing that Skeeter wasn't packing any ammo, he made sure not to offer him any guns. Someone must not want him to play with them.

Once the boat was anchored, Sedryk cursed himself for not having camo netting for it. Note to self, get camo netting and a small rubber raft. And take scuba lessons. Before the sun rises Sedryk beings digging a shelter for himself. Looking over at Red Tom, "Say care to whip up some mojo to help with this?"

[Misfit Toy]

Red Tom was just about to find a nice tree to lounge under when Sedryk decided to hassle him with some menial labor. "Feck me in the goat arse," he thought to himself. "Cannae get a moment's rest around 'ere."

Pushing his little green derby higher on his head with his shilelagh, the leprechaun turns and looks the ork up and down as if appraising him. "Now that depends, lad. Do y'got a spot of whiskey for me in return? 'Sides, why in the bloody 'ell are yae diggin' a hole for? Got a pot o' gold you wanna bury or something, do yae?" His head bobs around both of Sedryk's sides looking for one. "'Cause I certainly don't be seein' one."

[JaronK]

Paris sits in the now cramped van, doing his best to stretch when he can to avoid getting too cramped, and possibly sleep.

Depressing down here, isn't it? A little sun light wouldn't hurt now and again...

[TinkerGnome]

The bike's electrical engine purrs as Raven and Belfast wind their way up the twisty forested trails toward the mine. There is no real path, and only Raven's GPS keeps the pair from getting lost. It rapidly becomes apparent that much of the 8 kilometer stretch between the landing area and the mine is largely impassable to the van. Getting the large vehicle up the slope will require a painstaking process of roundabout paths and minor tree removal.

As the two wind farther up the gentle slope, Raven comes to a sudden halt causing Belfast to slide into her, his grip slipping into places best left unsaid. However, Raven has more immediate concerns as she narrowly avoids sliding the bike over a pitfall. There is a scrambling sound and a pair of rifle barrels appear from the brush, each accompanied by a pair of eyes.

One of the sets of eyes has a voice attached, "What the frag you two want?"

Meanwhile, back at the campsite, the brush rumbles as well. This time, however, the sound is accompanied by a low growling noise. An instant later, a hunking ursine form bursts from the brush and rises to stand on its hind paws. It is covered with alternating patches of shaggy brown fur and hornlike coatings including a pair of troll-like horns near its skull. It growls and holds both forepaws in the air in a threatening guesture.

[crechebaby]

Brand, who has napped off and on during the trip, shifts in her seat a bit, humming what sounds like "Yellow Submarine", although off-key enough to be debatable.