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

[JaronK]

Raven chuckles slightly.

Well this is interesting. Looks like my name is already taken. Perhaps I should try to make the group call her "other Raven" for the rest of the trip. No... another is needed I suppose? Hmm... Morlorg, Destroyer of Worlds He chuckles lightly again, then his face returns to its usual nuetral demenor.

"Well" he says "it's a pleasure to meet you, Belfast. Sedryk, Raven, Brand. I am also called Raven." He grins a moment at the other of his name, a lopsided grin that belies his normally serious demeanor. "But I suppose that would lead to some confusion, yes? Call me Paris for the rest of this run. A much older Nom de Guere, but it will have to do." He nods a bit, thoughtfully. "I too specialize in rifles and pistols, though more sniper rifles. I am also proficient with an assault rifle. I am well versed in Special Ops actions... tactics, stealth, etc. I am also a proficient accountant." He says the last matter of factly, though it's a subtle joke.

"I believe our Johnson said knowsofts would be provided. Does that chip double as a knowsoft with relevent information?"

Paris, now what made me remember that old name? No matter, it will have to do on the fly.

[Beast of Revolut...]

"My name is Thor, says the surly dwarf with the black tubble all over his face. "I'm a rigger, so I'll be the one getting us there and back. I have several drones which can be used for both reconaissance, guarding, and fire support, and a large van. The van may or may not be enough to carry all of us and our gear, but it can at least carry all the really important an/or illegal gear. It has sophisticated electronic systems for evading detection, and it's submersible, with 50 man-hours of oxygen storage, meaning we could just drive along the bottom of the bay to the island if we have to."

[Panzergeist]

"My name is Swift Eagle, says the Amerind orc. "I'm skilled in archery, swordsmanship, stealth, reconaissance, and wilderness survival. I'll be our scout and survival expert for this camping trip. I also speak Salish, and have some familiarity with the council lands."

[tisoz]

Skeeter looked at the first map displayed and the cold, icy colors. It almost looked 3D. Then he saw the other map. It looked like someone had built a golf course in the middle of a desert. He should have brought some golf clubs, and balls, and tees, and those funny little pencils they had at the putter-putt course. All I brought was my baseball stuff. Maybe they rented golf equipment at the course. He wondered if it was a public course or if he would have to sneak in, hit his ball, and keep out of sight. That always made it harder.

Then that leprechaun appeared! Dragons and leprechauns? This is going to be great! Skeeter started to jump for the leprechaun, then halted as everyone hardly seemed to notice. Didn't they want to catch it? Didn't they see it? Skeeter looked around to see if anyone was looking at it. Then he rubbed his eyes and when he blinked them open it was gone. He looked under the magic table, but no leprechaun. It had been there, right?

He listened to Bell, and saw him show off his gun, then heard Sed-reek talk about damp work and port towns. He must drive a boat. wait a sec, whose Murphy? Who is Murphy? Whatever. Maybe Murphy knows the ferry schedule.

Then the mean lady, Raven, talked. You old crow. But she didn't really look that old. Oh! She's letting people play with her gun! Then she put it away without letting Skeeter see it. She is mean, probably just trying to impress her new boyfriend.

Now Brand, she was pretty. And she wasn't mean either, like crow-face. She didn't even try to impress people with a bunch of fancy clothes and ten layers of make-up. Skeeter suppressed a blush as he thought of those wet lips giving him a kiss on the cheek. And she liked to blow stuff up. Skeeter liked breaking stuff, too.

He listened as another Raven introduces himself. Maybe he'll beat the other Raven up for using his name. I wonder if they have last names he thought as he remembered the two Toms he knew. But no, he said call him On-nicks so there wasn't going to be a fight over names. Maybe I should say my name is Raven, too. No, Fred-rick already told mean lady his name. As he thought about this, he somehow got On-nicks confused with Paris. Yep, I'm calling him Paris.

Was it the smile that crossed his face that made everyone look at him? Better say something or they'll think you're stupid. "Sammy calls me Skeeter and so do a lot of other people. Uh, I'm real good at hitting things, and I can carry stuff. I'm good at climbing and running and jumping and sneaking."

Hearing Thor brag about his car, he adds, "I have a motorcycle. WITH a Sidecaaar." Skeeter brags, himself. Maybe Brandie will go for a ride with me.

ALL RIGHT! The other ork IS taking us camping. Should I tell him I brought a frying pan?

"And, uhm, I like to play baseball," spurts out of his mouth. Well, he is good at it. So good, Sammy says if they let his kind play, he'd have it made.

Skeeter goes quiet as he sees peoples reactions.

[JaronK]

Paris considers the big Ork.

Baseball? Is this guy for real? Or is he just trying to get us to underestimate him? There's no way he could be... hmm. He must be DAMN good at something to be hired for this run.

"I haven't got any decent transportation, personally. I'll need to come along with someone. And I'd rather not have my bag here searched, if you don't mind." He nudges the olive green duffle bag on the floor next to him.

"Sedryk, what all is on that chip?"

[A Rodent of Unus...]

Belfast simply stares blankly at the idiotic ork on the other side of the table. "Who knew first impressions could be so accurate? And more importantly, what kind of a fixer did Boggs hook me up with that would hire a dimwitted imbecile in this line of work? I knew I never should have left Boston..."

[crechebaby]

Brand regards Skeeter mildly during his outpouring, what might have been a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. She props her boots back up on the table and surveys the rest of the room.

This ought to be good.

[tisoz]

Thinking about what Swift Eagle said, Skeeter proudly adds, "I speak some Polish."

[Panzergeist]

Thaat would be a good excuse to send him off to Poland, Swift Eagle thinks.

[JaronK]

"If we need someone to speak Sperenthiel, I can do that. And I can use knowsofts. Oh, by the way, who all here is military trained?" Asks Paris.

[FXcalibur]

Evans simply smiles throughout the introduction, a calm sort of smile, taking in carefully what everyone has said. What an interesting, colourful crew Fredrick has rounded up. This should be a fun one. Well, better introduce himself too.

"Well, fellas, I'm Evans. I'm one of the best field medics in the business. I'm also a great shot with assault rifles, handguns and a few, more unorthodox spray weapons."

Then he turned to face Thor.

"Speaking of which, I've got loads of gear that I could potentially bring over. How much space will we have for that?"

[Chance359]

Sedryk pops the chip out of his jack, sliding it across the table. "Not much on the chip in the way of sea charts. But it does have basic road layout from here to Vancouver. It also show rest stops, tourists sites, and an ad for six months free of the Atlantian Network. On the plus side we're only about two hundred miles from the target."

"Skeeter, I like baseball too."

[Shadow]

Raven nods to Paris.

"Well, haven't had that happen before, thanks for changing your handle”

She turned to Thor, “if Mjolnir has the room, I could accompany you. I’ve got a dirt bike that I could ride most of the way. Run point for you. It’s good on most any terrain, including water. It runs on suncell so it stays charged pretty much no matter the weather.”

She looked up for a moment accessing her internal GPS and the stock maps of the northwest.

“Freddie said come ready so I have all the gear I need. I would just need to trade my car for my bike. Take maybe a half hour.”

[Number 6]

Hellcow stood up and leaned against his chair. He casually placed his right thumb in his belt, in the process exposing the fine lines of the custom Hammerli pistol tucked behind his suit coat.

"They call me Hellcow. You may have heard of me. I uh, well I do a little of everything. Interrogation, infiltration, assassination." Not that i've ever done any of that stuff, but I do have the extended warranty on those softs. "For the right price I can do anything. Er. Wait, that didn't come out right. I mean literally, not in the mercenary sense. Though I guess that's what we do in essence. So, yeah, I did mean that. The mercenary thing."

OK, stumbled a little there, now skip past that with a dazzling smile. Hellcow smiles dazzlingly. Aaaaaand changing the subject...

"I feel I must apologize for the 'deal' I worked out with the Johnson. I dunno, he must be on a tight budget. Regarding transport, I have a fast bike. Seats only 1 i'm afraid. If we're looking at an amphibious landing, i've captained the odd yacht, rather well if I may say so. Languages. Um, English, Sperethial rather badly, and French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Chinese, Sign Language, and Sioux. Like a native, you might say." Hellcow smiles at a private joke. "I'm also near-expert in most modern hand-held weapons, unarmed too of course. I posess doctorate-level study in chemistry, forensic medicine and paranormal zoology. I'm also well innundated with the motivations, goals and methods of elven, tribal and organized crime groups. Evening's i'm pursuing a double degree in Finance and Sociopolitics, with a minor in cybertech theory and how it relates to both. Crap that reminds me. I hope we get paid before tuition is due.

The elf frowns, staring at a point on the corner of the room, lost in his own thoughts....

[JaronK]

"Well, better than nothing" says Paris. "Toss me the chip, Sed? And sure thing... Raven."

That's going to take a moment to get used to. She's Raven, I'm Paris. Right.

"I think I've got everything I'm going to need. Basic survival kit, nothing special there, but it should be enough. Does everybody here have appropriate communications gear? And who all would understand military sign language in a pinch?"

[Number 6]

Snapping out of his revire, the elf looks about sharply. "Has this place been swept for bugs?"

ASSUMING I RECIEVE AN AFFIRMATION:

"Frankly, the lack of banter on the fee worries me. From the estimated amounts we've been given, another 100% should have been nothing. To me this indicates we might not even be dealing with a megacorp, who could easily afford a larger downpayment. Maybe a smaller corp, or a......" The elf scratches his head. Who was it in 'Yakuza Deathtrap'? Great tri-vid. Ah yes, how did McBain put it? "...splinter group of managers. Normally I respect the clients privacy, but this just slots wrong."

Hellcow looks around at the large group.

"I think we have plenty of manpower to do some stealth mining. Since time is an issue i'm going to suggest we do something a little unconventional. Lets leave a small team of information gatherers here in Seattle, to find the flaw in the chip, as it were. We can maintain contact, and maybe outflank a nasty surprise."

[A Rodent of Unus...]

"Rule number one of shadowrunning: Do not taunt the employer. He gave us no solid reason to suspect anything foul was afoot, and I'm not about to assume it just so a few of you can lounge around here while the rest of us our out earning the cash. If you think something's fishy about it, feel free to step out but I'm not going to let you jeopardize our reputations or our fee on a weak hunch.

"That said, it's a pleasure meeting all of you..." Bel faulters a bit as he catches Skeeter out of the corner of his eye "...well, most of you anyway."

"Now that the obligatory introductions have been taken care of, let's get cracking on what we need to get this job done. Transportation seems to be covered for the most part, and the specialty equipment we need for the acquisition process is waiting for us. Food and water won't be an issue as I can supply that on demand, so is there anything else we need?"

[Shadow]

Raven listened intently as her eye’s swept the room. She wasn’t to worried about camera’s or listening devices. But it never hurt to take a look. Then her eyes roamed across the desk.

Briefcase.

The Johnson left his briefcase.

She was up in an instant and behind the desk in an eye blink. She examined it closely, but did not touch it. Once she was sure it wasn't a trap, she opened it.

She turned her head to Belfast.

"Sounds good to me, splitting up the team is rarely a good idea." She gave a sympathetic smile to Hellcow with her last statement.

[TinkerGnome]

Inside the briefcase is the advance cash, mostly in UCAS dollars and Salish-Sidhe Council hard currency. There are also a couple of certified credsticks to make up the balance.

A small hard case is also included which holds three chips. They are labeled:

• Manual
• Survey KS
• Survey AS

[Panzergeist]

"Cash?" Swift Eagle muses. "Are we dealing with a banker here? Perhaps he merely intends to buy the land, prove that it has mineral resources, and then resell it? That would explain how he can know how much money he'll get for it so quickly."

[A Rodent of Unus...]

"..." Bel is left speachless by not-so-Swift Eagle's last comment, especially since the Johnson already explained how they acquried the initial estimate and that we were simply going in to confirm its existance. "I'm definitely going to have to hook up with a more competent fixer if I'm going to work this city."

Sliding the briefcase over from Raven, Belfast proceeds to count out the money and split it ten ways. Before too long, he has it all sorted out and starts handing out bundles equalling 2,200¥ in either cash or credsticks as requested. His own personal share consists of 2,000¥ UCAS and 200¥ Salish. When he's done, he picks up the case containing the skillsofts. "Which one of you had the 'wires again?" After receiving comformation, he slides the case in their direction.

Bel then proceeds to place his bundle of cash into his peacoat and resumes a comfortable position in his chair. "So again, is there anything else that needs to be taken care of before we get started?"

[crechebaby]

Brand accepts her cash and slides it into the pocket of her trench, right next to the lump that was her pistol. She then leans forward in her chair toward Belfast.

"A couple things. First, despite the much talking, I didn't hear a consensus on how we're crossing the border. Are we traveling together? If so, whose rig are we taking?

"Also, how quickly are we getting underway? I could use a couple of hours to pull together a few necessary items. I've got a shotgun and a toothbrush, which I'd usually say is all you need, but I wouldn't mind rounding up a sleeping bag."

[A Rodent of Unus...]

"Good points, Brand," Bel begins. "Before we figure out how much time we have to score the equipment we need, we need to find out how long it's going to take to get whatever we need to get across the border. Thor, Sedryk, you two hash out how we're going to do that since you seem to be the most experienced in that field. Once you have a plan of attack, feel free to interupt the rest of us.

"Everyone else, let's start putting a list of equipment we're going to need. Then we can let... Hellcow was it?... go about securing it. I have a feeling we can get most of it through the smugglers operating upstairs and in the building across the street.

"While he's busy doing that, the rest of us can get started on either setting up whatever it is we need to get on and off the island or plan how we want to go about acquiring the survey equipment and getting those core samples while keeping a low profile.

"Unless anyone else has anything else to add, let's get started..." At that, Belfast pulls out a notepad and a mechanical pencil and looks ready to start jotting down a list of equipment.

[JaronK]

Paris takes the various chips and downloads any knowsoft information from them, as well as data, into memory. He then takes his share of the starting cash.

"Well the first thing is going to be to make sure we've got appropriate communications gear. I don't want to be running around out there not knowing what everybody's doing and not able to find out. This includes you Skeeter... have you got a radio or something? Because we're going to all need some.

Personally, I wouldn't mind getting a decent sleeping bag, a one man tent, a pair of canteens, some trail rations, a mess kit, and a good pair of binoculars. Actually, a pair of one meter squares of camoflague netting wouldn't hurt either, in case sniping becomes required... plus I could throw it over the tent at night. Hellcow, if you'll be doing the shopping, just let me know how much you'll need for those."

[tisoz]

Skeeter pulls a microtransceiver from his cot pocket. "Sammy says it has 'cryption for. I don't really know for what.

"And I've got Strawberry tasting ration bars. And a sleeping bag and tent. And water jug, a frying pan, my baseball stuff. I wish I'd brought golf stuff after looking at the map though."

He looks at Belfast with a look that says I came ready to camp out, did you?

"Oh, and I brought a few cans of bug repellant."