Infiltration Challenge, Examining situation variables Options

[Siege]

Mental note: micro vidcamera with short range transmitter for scenarios like this.

At any rate, I think Ghost needs to limit her instincts and operate on intel --we already know some form of artificial emotional stimuli is in play.


A shame we didn't load her up with chill pills.

After two minutes, she needs to take a whiff of the air -- no new scents and she can proceed checking the doors.

-Siege

[Shanshu Freeman]

[Siege]

Actually, it was directed at you.

My interpretation of your last post seemed to convey a less than pleased tone with my general commentary on Wu-jen's posts.

If that was in error, I apologize.

-Siege

[Shanshu Freeman]

[Talia Invierno]

Are you two finished kicking a person when he's down?

(Which is probably the death-knell for this thread.)

[Siege]

We were hardly kicking anyone -- simply clarifying several misunderstandings.

-Siege

[Shanshu Freeman]

[Crusher Bob]

I'd just put it down to the fact that we are at the point where a 'coulda been' might turn out to be lethal rather than just a last minute scramble. This makes everyone a bit edgy, you get the same effect during games to. Managing it well is one of those GM experience thingys.

[Raiko]

Sorry I've not been around for a while, I thought that I'd have missed loads, but this doesn't seem the case.

I vote for trying to open the door, and pressing on. I definitely don't want to go back to the nasty magicy room.

[Crusher Bob]

Just as long as she dosn't switch off her targeting computer...

[Talia Invierno]

Sorry, I've been caught up in a cumulative multitude of RL crises this past month and change: one reason I was too slow on the catch earlier. Wu Jen: my sincere apologies. Application of GM experience in managing in-game edginess tends to be a bit less effective in a time-delayed on-line v. here-and-now face-to-face.

Track 1:

After the two minutes of waiting - nothing happens. The sense of someone coming has been moved to the back burner. Cautiously Ghost glances outside: nothing. She quickly slips down the corridor to the door at the end. Oiled and locked padlock on the outside of the door. There is a faint trace of ashes in the air thisaway as well, and yes, female, most definitely female, and probably here by the strength. She starts (cautiously!) working on the padlock - and suddenly she's absolutely sure that someone's coming now.

Track 2:

On hold, pending interest. This needs to be an interactive exchange rather than simple dropping of information. Mace, kevyn668: are you still around?

[Shanshu Freeman]

[Mace]

Oh yeah, I'm still about. Much like yourself Talia, RL has a way of claiming my attention at times.

Track 1 - Things have been screwy from the get go and things are getting screwier. IMHO - Ghost knows there's something screwy going on. Based on environemental information, get the door open and get on with it and ignore the 'instinctual' level for now - something is playing around with that. React to what she can see, hear and smell - and be ready to run like hell. Get the door open.
Dissension expected but that's why the IMHO tag.

Track 2 - Diamond to Galina - "Actually, she's not exactly AWOL but she's not at the Spy right now - unscheduled holiday? In any event, that's not where we're headed. As near as we have it figured, an old friend of hers from her past has cropped up and she's hanging with for the moment.."

((Rule #1 - never lay all your cards on the table unless you need to. Giving her some information without really telling her all that much - and I'd rather 'abort' this line than give too much away. While we might learn something without giving too much away then Diamond can 'work' Galina and see what we glean.))

[Talia Invierno]

Track 2:

(Unless anyone says any other ideas, in the interests of time I'm letting this one be Mace's show - what [he?] says Diamond says, goes.)

First, reiterating the Diamond-Galina discussion to date to have it all in one place.

"Meet" between Diamond and Galina is by phone.

DIAMOND: Setting up for a run and one of the people we may have to deal with is someone I think you might know. Appreciate it if you could tell me what you know of her ...?

GALINA [curious]: Oh? Who?

DIAMOND [watching for reaction]: Juliana.

GALINA [suddenly very closed]: "May have to deal with"?

DIAMOND: She's in the target zone of the job we're about to undertake and we'd really rather not have to kill anyone - hell, we'd rather get out without any noise at all. Given she is on site though, neutralizing her so she's no longer a threat to us may well be something we'll have to do. We've found out a couple of small things that leave us wondering if standard techniques would be any damn good - couple funky rumours flying around about her.

GALINA [startled]: That kind of run against Seattle Spy? So the shit did hit the fan ...

DIAMOND: Actually, she's not exactly AWOL but she's not at the Spy right now - unscheduled holiday? In any event, that's not where we're headed. As near as we have it figured, an old friend of hers from her past has cropped up and she's hanging with for the moment.

GALINA [suddenly very relieved]: She's all right, then. I warned her about following up that story, and then when she went suddenly missing ...

[Mace]

Here goes...and yes Talia, I'm definitly male.

Risk vs Reward - Given that Go Time is pretty damn imminent (unless I'm screwing up somewhere, whatever Galina does after this convo can't happen fast enough to screw us over - IMHO - go with a little risk.)

Diamond - *pause for moment* - "Actually, my best guess is she's probably laying low. She's on site so we did some checking. She got in a screaming match with her producer a couple days ago - and he was found unconcious in his office a half hour later. Last I heard, serious but stable - Star has an APB on her for it. No idea if it was her or not - she ain't been back to work for three days though. Maybe connected to that story - what the hell would be big enough for that though? About my original question too..."

((Right now, glad that he went with phone, staying 'casual' about it and letting slip what anyone who bothered to look around could find out by asking - we did easy enough after all. Lets see how Galina reacts and make decisions on the fly about how much we tell her...))

If anyone disagree's with Diamond continuing to work it or this approach - speak up - please. Otherwise, given everything, Diamonds going to continue to pump while giving away as little as he can about what we're really up to.

[Crusher Bob]

Now that I've had time to consider the matter with Galina, I'd rather start from a truthful (but info limited) position as possible. Changing the 'story' several times during the conversation is is an obviious attempt at manipulation.

Starting with a very limited version of the actual truth, and then telling more in quid qou pro with Galina would probably come off much better. This is also likely to get the most information out of her. Assuming that Galina would be hostile to the package (what our inital information would indicate), she would probably has no real problem with telling us a little bit about the target. But changing the story to get more information is likely to irritate her.

The tack I'd prefer would begin with 'we are investigating a corporation in Seattle, the package may be involved with said corp either in her professional or a personal capacity. Since we know she has outed teams in the past, we would like to know more aobut her. (ask questions about magic rumors, etc).

So the fact that the package is in the area (true) is already on the table, the fact that the package is the objective is not stated, but could be 'added' to the story without contradicting earlier elements.

[Mace]

Crusher Bob: Given what we started with if you review Talia's putting the conversation together post - Diamond's put the 'unscheduled holiday' line to her - and in the follow up to that, gives a probable reason for it. He's not changing the story - at least, that's the way I'm following it. If you're reaching a different conclusion then evidently I need to go back to working on my composition skills.

He's gone with this line of approach and is going to stick with it - unless and until something said causes him to level with Galina - but for a simple contact, you don't lay your cards down unless you need to - Level 3's you're up front and honest from the get go (normally anyway) but for a 1? Keep it simple and don't spill the beans.

On review - do the conversation differently? Possibly - but you don't get to review them once underway (Oh man, how much easier life would be if that was the case). Sorry - we've got this one going and we're stuck with it. Seems Galina is quite freindly with Juliana - but that we didn't know before he put the call to her.

[Crusher Bob]

Yes, I might just be the slightly different ways everyone constructs sentences (even if they are natice speakers), this has bitten me more than once. It can be very difficult to get across to someone that plenty of people 'talk different' (not only in how they sound, but in their word choice, etc) to someone who has lived their whole life in one place. Add people who speak Enligh as one of many languages and you get room for all sorts of 'undertone' problems.

[Talia Invierno]

Yeesh, do I know about second-language being bitten. And despite the assumed truism of the Internet, I figured for once I would not take it as a given, Mace ;)

Since Track 1 is the talk-over/consensus one, I'm just letting it slip pending another post or two on it. If it's all right with you, Crusher Bob: I'm going with Mace's take on this one, since the way yours rang to me would require that significant back-to-the-beginning rewrite that Siege had problems with earlier.

Track 2:

DIAMOND [pause for moment]: Actually, my best guess is she's probably laying low. She's on site so we did some checking.

GALINA: "She's on site"? You know where she is??

DIAMOND: Well, she got in a screaming match with her producer a couple days ago - and he was found unconcious in his office a half hour later. Last I heard, serious but stable - Star has an APB on her for it. No idea if it was her or not - she ain't been back to work for three days though. Maybe connected to that story - what the hell would be big enough for that though? About my original question too...

GALINA [walking right over Diamond's last hinted question]: An established extraterritorial corporation set up as frontage for a people-trafficking operation would be big enough by itself, even if her suspicions weren't accurate. ... Wait a second - she didn't go in, did she? That crazy, impulsive, headstrong, impetuous, irresponsible, [much more along the same lines, and progressively less printable]

[Crusher Bob]

Now that Mace's intent has been explained, I won't quibble with the words. We can assume that the characters are able to communicate their intents to each other well enough... :)

Sigh, sounds like we shoulda broken in to her house and gone through her desk... Not following up on the story she might have been persuing was a mistake.

[Mace]

*smiles and bows to Talia*

Track 2

Diamond: *listens appreciatively and takes mental notes for a few moments*

Diamond: *COUGHS* - "Uh, Galina - we don't have much time here. We're headed in soon. What suspicions? And..if we can do so, we'll bring her out - assuming she's co-operative and it doesn't present a risk that jeapordizes our objective. Would using your name get us co-operation - and are you willing to let us use it?

[Siege]

Edit: Removed from contention.

-Siege

[Talia Invierno]

Again, please sort it out before Galina answers? Those two approaches don't quite mesh.

[kevyn668]

[Siege]