IC: Chasing the Prize, We always get our mark Options

[Ecclesiastes]

Bishop nods, then asks Tigger, "You got a comm unit? Better yet, do you have a datajack installed someplace I can't see the thing?"

[Johnson]

What seemed to be days, now is 2 hours. The excitement in Tinys face starts to climb.
" 2 hours thats great..."
Seeing that the end is near, on the chase, it just the return trip now.

[Bastard]

"Awefuckingsome. We better start planning on how to take him down. Normally I would say we go at night, but since we believe him to be dual natured, do you think the darkness would assist him more than us?

"Tigger, or Edena, did either of you get a reading on how many he has with him? We have eleven, including Kane and Herne, so we should have the upperhand. Of course, nothing ever goes down that easy, and I am sure this bastard is full of surprises."

[Buddha72]

Tigger chuckles. "I have some comm gear in my bags, no datajacks here. Trying to keep it natural. Less trouble from the powers that be." He listens to the questions thrown out. "I only saw a single body guard at the airport when he arrived but I have no idea how the security is set up where he's going. I got the impression from the locals that this place was by invitation only so they will probably have some sort of on-site set up we'll need to contend with."

[Ecclesiastes]

Bishop replies back to Tiger, "Let me take a look at your comms real quick if you don't mind. I've got a full BattleTac rig and need to plug you into it. Unfortunately without a datajack you won't gets the heads-up display, but I can at least issue verbal commands your way when need be."

He then turns to the rest of the group, "Once we get there, let me do some recon of the area. I'll compile a map of the area and tag their security messures. From there I can run the plan through my TacCom and see what a best plan of action would be."

As he speaks, Bishop reaches into his pack and pulls out what looks like a full suit of grey security armor. As he finishes speaking, he clamps the helmet down and an instant later completely disappears from veiw. A few seconds later he turns the Rutheniums back off and gives the group a nod that he is set and ready.

[Buddha72]

Tigger takes a moment to sort through his bags. Pulling out a slim case, he hands it over to Bishop. "It's a personal comm unit. Pretty basic I'm sorry to say. I usually work solo so never really had the need for something more complicated." He shrugs, looking slightly embarrassed.

[Ecclesiastes]

Bishop smiles, "Don't worry about it, totally understandable. I'd do what I can for ya."

He takes the comm and digs throguh his own bag, pulling out one of this spare BattleTac Recievers and connects the two together.

[BishopMcQ]

Passing down the highway, stopping every fifteen to twenty minutes to pay a small toll, the team quickly becomes used to the "alien" concept of having to pay to drive on a public thoroughfare. Most of the signs are in English and French with graffiti defacing the former and obvious efforts to preserve the minimums of legibility rather than replace the marred signs.

A quiet shiver runs down Gonzales' spine, a brief twitch of chemical alertness. The dwarf blinks a few times as sun light flares through the windshield of the van and then he goes back to staring at the long road ahead.

Soft snores come from the back of the van as Charlie rolls his head back on the bench and falls into an even deeper sleep. Always rest when you can, he remembered, just in case there's not a chance to later.

[Bastard]

"When we get to the chateaux, we may need to split up, to cover all ends. I would think we should divide into 3 or 4 small teams, each with some combat, magic and a battletach."

[BishopMcQ]

The drive is tedious, but you go without any breaks not wanting to lose the trail. Soon you are heading on a course south-southeast and you begin climbing back into the mountains that you had only left this morning.

Sunset raises the hairs on the back of your neck as the team drives with the radio turned on, more for noise than anything else. Those of you who speak French hear ghost stories about hunters vanishing into the northern mists, some dying as soon as the mist fills their lungs, others coming back with huge cauldrons filled with precious metals that vanish with the dawn.

Winding through the mountains, the trail turns down a small road off the main autoroute. Well-manicured hedges and evergreen trees that seem to be perfectly formed by a touch finer than that of mere mortal-kin frame the path just wide enough for a single vehicle. About a hundred meters further up, your headlights barely illuminate the gilded decoration of a wrought-iron fence.

[Johnson]

Tiny checks the time. This trip has taken much of a toll now, with the sight or the wrought iron fence in view.

" Well is this the place we are supposed to be at? Or am expecting to much? This road trip has been a little long."

The meandering of the road seems to have taken its toll on the troll.

[Buddha72]

"He's inside there deeper in the compound or at least his trail leads that way." Tigger moves into the back space of the van and begins to disrobe and switch over to his working gear. He pauses to give Edena a wink and a playful smile. He quickly dons a set of body amor, bracers and a long coat. Grabbing a small satchel, he quickly scans the contents and secures the bag to his person. "So we wait here for some recon and intell?"

[Bastard]

"So the compound is just ahead? I am going to find a nice set of trees or something to park the van in. Everyone set? Bishop go ahead and hop out, get yourself a head start while we park."

JT kills the lights as they close in on the chateaux, slowly coming to a stop to let Invisable Bishop do his thing.

[Ecclesiastes]

At JT's suggestion, Bishop activates his Rutheniums.

He transduces over the comms, "Roger", and hops out from the rear hatch. Slowly, he makes his way towards the front gate to get a feel for the area. He scans the area with all his vision mods and runs the data through his Orientation System and GPS Unit, then finally feeds it into the BattleTac Network.

[BishopMcQ]

Bishop:
The plants on either side of the driveway are very tightly woven together, thick hedges that under closer examination have some sort of heavy thorn weave grown into them. The gate is heavy iron with gilding, motorized. You see 2 clusters one on either side of the gate that are most likely sensor packs. They could be tied into a CCSS network but only closer examination could tell. Backing down the path, you scan the treeline and spot sensor packs nestled up in the trees at each end, both at the autoroute and near the fence.

"JT get the van out of here, go about 2 klicks down the road and wait for my signal."

You stop in the middle of the path, as far from any of the sensor bundles as you can get. Kneeling down, you fold your body over your back pack in an attempt to minimize its appearance since the inside is not coated in ruthenium. The zipper sticks a little in the cold but you are soon able to pull out the grapple gun with stealth line and re-situate the backpack. Your scanner registers comm traffic in the surrounding environs, most likely the security force in the chateau judging by the encryption.

*SSSSS--Thunk*

The grapple line hisses out and the hook digs deep into the frozen bark of the tree. With the line secured through the harness on your armor, you begin the climb into the perfectly formed fir tree. Feet scramble for a purchase in the hedges as sharp thorns glisten and drag across the heavy plating on your boots. Glad for the sealed armor, as you imagine how easily cloth and leather would snag and tear, you drop down on the back side of the hedge work and move towards the imposing stone wall that traces along the border of the posh ski resort.

Each step is carefully placed to minimize the amount of noise you make. Several times you stop as patrols trudge heavily past you on the other side of the wall. Single guards with a four legged companion panting lightly. A drop of sweat builds up on your spine and slowly works its treacherous path down bringing a quiet shiver with it. Almost ten minutes later, you reach the end of the stonework. The GPS mapping system shows that you are nearly a kilometer from the gate. Here a short rail-wood fence takes over the task of delienating what is public land and what is clearly the private reserve of nobility and the playground of Europe's elite.

"This may take awhile."

Hunkering down next to the stone wall, you watch the movements of each patrol. With the Battletac system, you tag each pair and map the path that they walk. A glance behind you reveals a clear trail of footsteps in the soft snow. Watching the sky you mutter a quiet prayer.

"Looks like dawn will be the best time to hit the compound. It should start snowing and help to cover our tracks."

The light from the chateau in the distance is muted and the patrols are reduced to the bobbing of flashlights and brief muddled flares. You place one hand on the railing and step over the wooden fence. Mixing your tracks with those of the patrols to confuse efforts to track you until the encroaching snowfall comes with the dawn. Ice crystals have formed in a slick furrow through some of the tracks. Kneeling you lay your hand across the broad paw print. Larger paws, melted snow, used as upscale security--you shake your head in the bitter cold and darkness.

"Hellhounds." Comes the whispered call over the comm unit.

With a dark chuckle, you realize that your ruthenium will be next to useless against the awakened dogs. Plotting a course of action through the Tac-Comp system you lay out the best path to take to keep maximum distance from the supposed path that the patrols are taking. Cutting through the woods to keep solid objects between you and the hounds, you duck and move from tree to tree blending your astral signature in with that of the trees and undergrowth as best you can.

There is a limo parked in front of the main manor house. Several smaller buildings surround the main building, your mind starts taking inventory of the maximum number of guests that could be here. Then you reassign security to two of the smaller houses and renegotiate numbers, planning out contingencies.

You feel the land around you ripple, the trees closing in on you, a wave of dizziness hits but you shake it off...you almost forget why you are here...shouldn't you be in Rome...no, that part of your life is behind you...you are here to find someone else...

Nestled in the canopy above you, a swarm of small fairies jumps from tree to tree. It's hard to focus on anything specific but you still have your free will...

"... Fairies... under mental attack..."

They seem to be following behind you, bouncing and giggling from one tree to another. Glancing around panic rising in your gut, you think one of the patrols is moving in your direction.

"Spirit attack... send help now..."

Team:
You watch Bishop's form vanish in a trick of refracted light, his movements all but impossible to track except through the astral plane where his life force glows clearly. A video signal starts feeding clearly over the Battle Tac system flooding into image links. A rough map starts building itself even as you have the disorienting view of a camera placed in the first-person view of a sim-sense shooter.

Occasional bits of sounds come over the comms.

[toturi]

"Edana and JT, you two are with me. Edana, have your ally spirit guard the van, he'll be our backup communications with the rest of the team through your psychic link with him, and whistle up a nature spirit to cover our asses. Gonzales, get a map and find us a safe place to hide. The rest of you cover fire in case we need it and get ready to evac. We got a guy in there, let's move out."

As the team receives Bishop's call, a flood of memories enter Graves' head. Not now, got a job to do. Graves grits his teeth and forces the flashbacks away. He triggers the day-snow camo on his jumpsuit, his weapon at the ready. He waves Edana and JT forward with his free hand.

[BishopMcQ]

Charlie jerks to alertness pulling his crowbar up at the sudden shift in mood in the van.

A quick twitch from Gonzales snatches the map up from the floor where it had been discarded during the long wait. He begins tracing his finger along different routes trying to find the best possible place to hide the van and a team of bounty hunters.

[Buddha72]

Tigger nods as the orders are given, suppressing the urge to fight for the alpha spot. "FYI, no guns here. Call out if you're coming in with company." He moves to a better position to see outside the van.

[Ecclesiastes]

It takes Bishop a moment to realize what Graves is saying, then he replies over the comms, "Send Astral Support ASAP. Nothing Physical yet. Get the spirits off me and I can get out ok, just be ready as backup if needed, I don't want to set-off every alarm they have and spoil our mission."

[toturi]

"Edana, you heard him, send the spirit ahead."

[BishopMcQ]

Herne stretches and almost growls with anticipation, as Edana gets out of the van. Wild green, verdant features mask her own as she bends her will towards the wild countryside around her. Lightning crackles in her eyes and her skin takes on a violent tempestous nature as the storms rage beneath her flesh.

A huntsman comes walking out of the woods, his flesh made of bark and hair long strands of a weeping willow. A bow is slung across his back.

No words pass between them but the huntsman turns and sprints away, a massive hound bounding at his side. Herne and the spirit vanish into the qoods almost before you can convince yourself that you ever saw them.

[Bastard]

JT is already moving toward his fallen comrade before Graves can give the command. His bulky shotgun/launcher shouldered at the ready, as he silently marches on. Kane follows, close beside his master, nose in the air seeking out the enemy.


After Bishop's next message, and the spirits flashing past them, Kane and JT hold and realize they are jumping the gun a bit. A bad habit of JT's, rushing in when his friend's are in trouble, and of course Kane follows. The two watch the spirits pass, then look back at the team. Maybe she could teach me how to conjure up spirits someday.



Tigger's words are duely noted, but JT doesn't like to rely only on magic in a fight. Once the enemies know who is casting, they become as much of a target as the guy with the BFG, and JT hasn't developed the art of subtle magic. At least no one knows his abilities while he isnt active.


"Ok Graves, Kane and I are ready to move," Taggart's weapon still at the ready, aimed down range.

[HMHVV Hunter]

Helios "awakens" as the team's van comes to a stop at their destination. Satisfied that the redness in his eyes from his long-overdue grieving has cleared, he stands up and gets ready to cover the recon man as he does his work.

You better not take this guy, Bishop, Helios thinks to himself. This Infected freak is mine.

Hearing the message about being under attack from Bishop, Helios pulls out his Colt SMG and readies the first round. He also slaps on his combat vest under his armored trenchcoat. Holstering his trusty Manhunter, he hears Bishop's caveat about not sending physical help yet. The vampire hunter obeys, but still slips on the 12 ammo pouches his combat vest can hold, readying his katana in its back sheath as well.

Minutes later, Helios is loaded for war. 6 clips each of pistol and SMG ammo hang from his vest under his coat, while 4 clips each (2 pistol, 2 SMG) of oak-jacketed, silver, and iron-jacketed ammo hang alongside them on the vest.

Just try something, Balfour, Helios thinks, a slightly maniacal grin appearing on his face.

Soon, the battle would be joined.

[Johnson]

Tiny Grab his bag pulls out his winter wood camo suit as he prepares to get dressed. Extracting his spurs to check that the cold as not settled in the retractable devices. Realising the pain is going to come when he has to retact the cold pieces of metal. With his With the camo full suit covering his personal body armor.

The agressive crackle of electricity from the stun baton, just reminds Tiny that it is still fully charged. Attaching the Baton to the Molded plastic holster on his leg. Pulling out his Browning he converts the Quick draw concealed holster, to a converted concealed ankle holster, fastened to his pants on the inside.

After rigging his personal Comms unit, the browning is cocked and ready 3 Clips are put in to seperate concealed poskets, Tiny is now ready to go.

[toturi]

Graves moves quickly and surely through the snow, leaving no footprints to announce his presence. He was trained by the Trans-Polar Aleut Peace Force in artic warfare, a little snow and cold isn't going to stop him. He is careful to control his breathing, a conscious effort to avoid dehydration and to avoid misting his breath and giving himself away.