I Am the Law
Prelude

Sunday April 15, 2070. 1900hrs The Redwater Café

The Redwater Café is a high end restaurant in downtown Seattle. It’s far beyond anything you could normally hope to afford, and you are gathered with Alpha and Beta team along with Captain Holstine and several of the other support members that make up the whole of Seattle Firewatch. The food is excellent, Pacific King Crab, Lobster, AAA Steak, 25 year old double malt scotch, you name it Redwater has it and best of all everything is on KE’s tab. Perhaps best of all this is all for you, or at least Charley team, welcoming you as Firewatch Seattle’s newest members. Everyone is in full dress uniform and the conversation flows freely as you become better acquainted with the people you’ll be working with. Captain Holstine dominates the conversation with an easy charisma, his slightly aristocratic Prussian accent and neatly trimmed salt and pepper hair give him an aura of authority and command rarely seen. The other Firewatch members banter back and forth, exchanging war stories, bits of advice and jokes.

Towards the end of the meal Captain Holstine stands up and clears his throat, the conversation quickly dies and everyones attention focus’ on him.

“Ladies and Gentlemen of Charley Team. I’m glad to have had this opportunity to welcome you to Firewatch Seattle. You’re all here because you are the best that Knight Errant and Ares have to offer, and while you come from different backgrounds, be they police, or military, and whatever your specialization may be, you are now a single unit working cohesively to bring law and order to this chaotic world that we live in. Riggers, hackers, mages, detectives and yes more than a little muscle” he says nodding towards Bang with a grin and drawing a laugh from the rest of the table. “all help make Firewatch what it is. The best trained, the best equipped, and the most professional security force on the planet. All this however, is not what makes Firewatch great. What makes us great, what makes us the most feared force in the streets, is teamwork, and intelligence and that is the one thing that you have yet to prove. In the coming weeks and months you will be called upon again and again to prove just that, prove, that you are willing and able to wear the black beret of Firewatch.

As I’m sure you well know Lone Star’s grip on the contract for Seattle is slipping. Two months ago the Metroplex council voted 6-5 in favor of retaining the contract. This means that in four months the contract comes up for review again. Needless to say, we want that contract. That’s why head office authorized the creation of a third Firewatch team. Needless to say, we have high hopes, not to mention high expectations of you. But enough of that, this is a celebration! There is one thing left before you’re officially members of Firewatch Mantis Company.”

At that Captain Holstine reaches into a bag beside the table and pulls six black berets out of the bag and hands them to each of you. The logo looks like a stylized Preying Mantis sewn in red and each beret is fitted to you individually. At this the rest of the table applauds as the berets are handed out. It’s official now, you’re Firewatch members.

Casey

Upon receiving her beret, the woman promptly places it upon her head, covering the plain brown hair done up in a tight french braid. Those making note will recall that her nameplate reads only:
Casey
131823

Once the official ceremonies are complete, she stands, and takes a moment to congratulate each of her team-mates. The words she speaks blur in with the rest of the party's din, but it seems salutary and inoffensive enough that the loss bears little weight.

Those glancing at her, and taking stock will find that most notable of all is how this new officer looks like she stepped right out of a recruiting catalogue in her dress uniform, complete with the optional skirt that is a barely practical holdover from military dress almost a century ago.

While the conversations continue, she mingles among the crowd, stopping most often around larger groups, contributing a little, but not too much, before moving to a different conversational group.

As the night proceeds, few seem to return to her, though she doesn't hesitate to rejoin a group previously visited.

Why is it, though, that her eyes, bland though they are, don't seem to match her face?

Edit: Moved OOC fragment to other thread -SyberCat

Walker is keeping pretty sober or at least trying to - the scotch is making it hard. He seems uncharacterically relaxed even without drinking much. As the evening goes on, he'll try to get to know the rest of the people in the room, focusing on the ones on his team he doesn't know. He doesn't seem to be interested in Bang tho.

You could see that he put the beret on with practiced precision. When he got back to his chair, he could feel a strong pat on his back, seemingly out of nowhere. He was puzzled for a moment, but then realized, that it had to have been Cross, staying out of his head since it was Walkers day off, but wanting to congratulate.

Eleanor took the beret eagerly, noting the snug, tailored fit. While the veterans applauded, she relaxed into her chair and closed her eyes. A soft voice entered directly into her mind "Congratulations, my friend, you've come a long way." "Thanks, Feathers," she replied, her lips moving slightly.

Opening her eyes, she turned to the other members of her new squad. She reached up to give the big troll on her right a congratulatory pat on the back, but stopped herself mid-way. Realizing Bang might be inclined to return the favor, she opted instead for a smile and a heartfelt congratulations.

Then she turned to survey the crowd, fixing her gaze briefly on Walker and calling out, "What do you know, Sharp, it almost makes him look respectable." . After the drinks she'd bought him the other night, he was due for a little teasing. She hadn't had a hang-over like that since graduation. Of course, Feathers would flay her if she woke up on her first official day with a headache, so tonight it was light cocktails and lighter conversation. Opportunities to talk with her teammates on a personal level might be rare, and she wasn't the type to squander them.

Sharp that hasn't been around (you could see him in the astral if you checked tho) makes an appearance (as an eagle) when called, appearing on Elanors shoulder saying "Going to take more then a hat for that." loud enough for Walker to hear it too. Then more softly, almost to himself "First time seeing a real smile on his face in two years without a bottle or two.". And then softly, but addressing Eleanor "You are looking good too by the way. Too bad I can't join the party. My uniform is a bit .. worn for here. Have fun!" and goes back to astral. He will stay to chat if you keep talking tho.

Walker comes to congratulate when he hears you. Not saying anything about the comment.

Bang grins his usual snaggle toothed smile, as he looks down at Owl Eyes
"Tanks Ellie, you leave da rough stuff ta me, an' we'll do fine"
Looking around and noticing the immense buffet Bang realizes something is missing
Where's da ice cream
He decides to go look for some.

Anyone who actually strikes up or joins in a conversation with Captain Holstine will find this out.

By far the most interesting conversation of the night was the 15 minutes or so you spent talking quietly with Captain Holstine. You discover that he's divorced with 3 children one of whom has goblinized. He seems to be quite accepting of his metahuman daughter however, apparently she works as an unarmed combat instructor for Knight Errant. He served with distinction during the Euro-War and was awarded an Iron Cross second class by the German government. He moved to Detroit after the war and joined Knight Errant shortly afterwards. He was still on KE's SWAT team during the Chicago crisis but he quickly volunteered to join the new Firewatch force soon afterwards. Since then he's simply be rising though the ranks, until 8 years ago he commanded a team in Wasp (the Detroit company) before he was promoted to command of Mantis company.

@Casey


@Bang
You leave the private dining room that Firewatch has commandeered and enter the dining room, looking for a waiter to find you some ice cream. The atmosphere in the main dining room is hushed, dimly lit and subdued, the murmur of the wealthy clientele can scarcely be heard over the clink of cutlery. After a few seconds you realize that other than a handful of elves, (most of whom look like high end escorts or trophy girlfriends) and a single dwarf you are the only metahuman in the place and a fair number of the people are staring at you with thinly veiled distain. You think you hear someone mutter "Goodness, can you believe that they’re letting them work here these days. You remembered to arm the cars security system didn't you?"

After a few more seconds the matrade appears in front of you. “I’m sorry monsieur, you must have gotten lost, the dining room reserved for Mr. Holstine’s party is right this way.” He begins walking back towards the dining room, glancing over his shoulder to make sure you are following. When you ask about the ice cream he nodds hurriedly and says. “Oh yes, of course. I’ll get one of the busboys to run to the store and purchase some for you. Now if you’ll just follow me back to your party we’ll bring it right to you.

Re-entering the dining room Bang shrugs unhappily at the clear racial discrimination
What yah expect yah doof, dey's not all gonna be like the Boss Man, I hope da boy gets back soon
Finding a comfy chair to support his weight Bang looks around the room for a friendly face to take the bitter taste of racism out of his mouth.

Shortly after Bang returns to the dining room Elfin-Face steers Casey towards you and strikes up a conversation. Upon hearing about your treatment in the dining room Elfin-Face nods sympathetically. “Yeah, I know how you feel. Glad you kept yer cool though. This’d be a bad place to start a scrap.”. Elfin-Face then explains some of his history to you. Turns out he was one of the last trolls to actually goblinize back in the late 20’s. He was born the son of a minor Renraku exec. Once he goblinized he was turned out on the streets and lived there actually working as a shadowrunner for several years before he realized that with the valid SIN that he’d had from Renraku he could possibly find more legitimate work. He joined the Ares military and served for several years in the Desert Wars before joining KE. He transferred into Firewatch and although he hasn’t ever risen particularly high in the ranks he has managed to put together a considerable pension and will be retiring next year.

Bang nods knowingly through most of Elfin-Face's history "I hear yah Elfin-Face, I guess I jest keep hopin' is all. Be sorry to see yah go thou'. What yah say, you an me get some workout time in, before yah take off."
Turning to Casey, Bang offers a meaty paw "Call me Bang, howzit goin' "

Before dinner:

Raleigh Alice Haeffner enters the well-into-hoity-toity restaurant with an air of authority. She takes a moment to allow her eyes to adjust to the dim interior and take stock of the room. The deep red wool and black silk of her floor-length mess dress uniform sets off her pale eyes and well-tanned skin. A knee-length cape folded back at the shoulders reveals a silver satin lining. Rank insignia and a myriad of commendations glitter and sparkle on the high collar and double breasted front of the impressive and entirely impractical uniform. Less impractical, a ceremonial short sword of ancient Greek design meant for quick one-handed thrusts and cuts sits at her hip, its black leather scabbard tooled with the Ares Macrotechnology logo, its hilt wrapped with crimson cord. A strange shimmering creature perches alertly on her shoulder - it is a drone, but of a strange design and cloaked in its entirety in a holo-aura that makes it appear like a large and threatening insect. Periodically the drone's mandibles will reach out and caress her neck, using a skinlink to feed her updates of the cyberware and various chemical and spectral analyses of the patrons and staff in range of its sensors. It notes persons of interest, and, as she has taught it, begins threat analysis and rough contingency scenarios should Something Bad happen. The maitre d' approaches and with a murmur and body language indicates that she is to follow him.

Affronted restaurant patrons see a broad-shouldered ork (must be a female, with the long skirt, but you never know with those types), armed, wearing formal Firewatch reds with a strange and vicious and quite-unappetizing-thank-you insect on the verge of sinking dangerous looking mandibles into the vulnerable skin of her neck saunter threateningly past the various dining rooms.

She moves steadily across the room, aware of the stares and discomfort of the patrons as she is escorted by a sensitive and efficient maitre d' whose neck she would like to sensitively and efficiently snap. Though, to be fair, she's not mad at him, precisely. More at the reactions of the patrons whose delicate sensibilities he reflects. A simple command to the drone and it emits a sharp buzzing sound, rattling its folded-back rotors cloaked in the image translucent insectile wing membranes. Her expression doesn't change, but without quite being able to help it, she is more than a little satisfied at the scattered yelps her companion's sudden adjustment elicits.

She and the maitre d' arrive at the well-appointed banquet room. He stops just short of the doorway indicating with a graceful sweep of his arm and a slight and smart bow that they have arrived. She pauses and looks at him impassively until he senses that she is not moving and then he nods once, turns on his heel and glides away - his duties done now that his charge has been sensitively and efficiently shepherded to her place. Her anger with him dissipates as she considers the unpleasant people-wrangling tasks she's been called on to do over the years. And he does this every night. Poor bastard. Though, looking at that commlink he was sporting, maybe 'poor' isn't terribly accurate. So maybe he's not got it so bad. She glances over her shoulder at the room full of Seattle's elite, some still sporting their haughty 'what-on-earth-is-that-smell?' faces. Then again...

An off-duty soldier and peace officer, she instinctively makes straight for the kind-eyed tuxedoed man in the corner, the one standing by that most magical, mystical of holy fonts - the Open Bar. She peruses the labels of the bottles and doesn't know any of them, or knows of them only by reputation. "I'll have whatever the Captain's having..." The kind-eyed tuxedoed man nods and pours several fingers of a jewel-like brown liquid that smells like her great uncle's library. And lighter fluid. And rubber. And licorice.

In her ear a modulated mechanical voice - the voice of her companion - scrolls off a list of contents, the chemical components of the scotch, its alcohol content, and a chart graphing the approximate volume - modified by speed - that she will be able to consume and remain both legally and factually sober based on her weight, percent body fat and average liver function. She smiles at the kind-eyed man and tips him what she hopes is generously. The transaction is refused, but he smiles appreciatively and nods. She turns to survey the room, several of the Alpha and Bravo team are already here. She had learned some of the names of the other Firewatch hopefuls and tried to learn more as she and the others arrived in Seattle for the final rounds of interviews and tests around a week ago, but she and the other prospective members of Charlie team had been quarantined until this evening. Raleigh is terribly curious to see who else made the cut and is gratified to see a number of others faces that she recognizes from their profiles that she hoped would make it. She smiles into the glass. This is going to be a very intersting year.


Dinner:

Dinner is a masterpiece. One for the books. Each new offering tempts her away from getting seconds and leaves her wanting more of everything. Finally, she sits back into her chair with a satisfied, wine-and-scotch-fueled afterglow. Her happy glaze vanishes when Captain Holstine begins to speak. She positively holds her breath as the berets are distributed. She accepts her beret with due solemnity and puts it on with hands shaking, not from the superconductive nerve matter in her sinews, but from anticipation and reward. This is the moment she's been waiting for, working toward, for years.

She can't help but smile happily like the total rookie she is for the rest of the evening. She lets herself have the moment. Tomorrow would come soon enough and the serious duties with it. For now she's happy to revel in the uncomfortable lop-sided weight of the beret.


After dinner:

The large group breaks into small conversations, here and there, a knot of people. She finds and shakes the hands of all her new teammates, introducing herself where she suspects she isn't known. Conversation and comraderie loosen Raleigh's tongue as she starts to creep from the "Caution" section of her drone companion's chart toward the "Warning" section.

She has a colorful family. Yes, she's related to that Haeffner. No, not her grandfather, her grandfather's brother. Yes, he was human. Yes, she's not. And neither were her parents. No, she never met Dunkelzahn. Though she did see him once. Born in Chicago. No, she moved out of Chicago well in advance of the bomb, the hive, and the subsequent quarantining. No they weren't tipped off by the government to do so. Her father's health had further deteriorated and they'd needed to relocate. It wasn't a good time. She changes the subject.

She's had a colorful past. Youngest winner of the then-popular Blood Race and one of the few contestants to achieve a 'No Kills' victory, though she was unable to claim the associated purse after a death that she in fact labored (to her detrement) to prevent was, through a loophole in the rules, attributed to her. Aggressively recruited after that victory by a number of companies who wanted to leverage her brief fame for PR purposes. Her great uncle, late President Kyle Haeffner, nudged her to consider Ares. Nudges from her great uncle were not really suggestions. But she went into service rather than become a PR flak. And after a couple of tours earned a full ride to KE's Academy with the goal of joining the Firewatch. As the relative of a president and a minor - if past - celebrity, she's been collared to do PR whenever she couldn't wriggle out of it and in fact DID step out of that recruiting ARO, though the massive Ares-make sniper rifle and full combat armor obscured her more recognizable features.

She and the other Charlie company rookies - though it's hard to call the lethal pack of them rookies with a straight face - seem to gravitate toward one another, converging at last in a group around Bang. "Yeah, don't sweat that crowd in there. They don't appreciate that people like us, make people like them safe in places like this. Man, that dinner was... it was amazing." She raises her glass, "Here's to Delta company, I hope they commission it soon." She grins, tusks showing prominently.

Bang regards the pretty Ork woman, finally the smile returns to his craggy face "Fraggin' A dey don't, an I hope dey don' set it up too soon, we just be gettin' started" Bang begins to make introductions "Dis ere's Elfin-Face 'es on Alpha, and de uuuhh... lady is Casey right? She's one o' ours"

Casey accepts Bang's meaty hand, and shakes it firmly, clasping his wrist in a friendly manner before speaking.

"Pleasure to see you again, Bang. I hope you've had as good time of this party as I have, though I do have to agree with you, it'll be rough to see Elfin-Face go." Her words have the mild tone of a practiced speaker, but as she tightens the clasp on Bang's arm, he feels a slight tug, nothing threatening, just enough to hint at him to draw close enough for Casey to whisper to him:



When Haeffner comes in for the toast, Casey happily joins in, crying "Here's to seeing Delta, and to making Charlie the new Alpha!" she winks briefly at Elfin-Face, hoping he takes no affront from her half-serious jest.

While he's deciding on his response, Casey takes a quick moment to send a Comms message to one of her teammates.

"Ellie - Charlie seems to be gathering. Love to see you here, too!"

Turning directly to Haeffner, Casey smiles and offers her hand. As the two women shake, what comes from Casey's mouth isn't english, but fluent, unaccented Or'zet!



She returns to English rather quickly, though. "Casey it is, and I'm pleased to have made the team. I hope I won't let anyone down. That said - being Charlie's rather ... plain, isn't it? At some point, we should grab Walker and figure that out. What else did you wind up calling Alpha, Elfin-Face?"

Eleanor uses the signal of her comm as an excuse to politely extract herself from a conversation with several of the beta team members. She sends a brief wave of acknowledgement toward Casey and then heads toward the bar for a refill. Motioning to walker with a slight nod, she walks toward the group surrounding Bang. As she weaves through the crowd one can see she is carrying a small tray with a half a dozen blue shots.

"Mage's fire. I assume everyone can handle the heat?".

OOC @ Everyone:


Monday April 16, 2070. 00:30 hrs, The Redwater Café

It's late by the time the party finally winds down. Captain Holstine puts an official end to it by announcing that he needs to get home and get some sleep, he has a mountain of paperwork to deal with tomorrow making sure that the new team is integrated smoothly. You realize that all of Beta team has already excused themselves and much of the support staff has as well. Perhaps it is time to call it a night, after all starting tomorrow, or rather later today you’re officially on the job. Before leaving Captain Holstine reminds everyone that the use of Taxi’s is strongly encouraged and also mentions that if you bring your bill in KE will pay your taxi fare. At that he wishes everyone a good evening and leaves. Tinman has disappeared as well, though anyone making a trip to the bathroom will notice him in the bar continuing to nurse yet another bottle of vodka while silently watching a Desert Wars battle on the bar’s trid. It’s rather unsettling, it doesn’t appear he’s remembering to blink and there is a wide gap around the table that he has chosen for himself.

Bang releases Casey's hand with firm smile and slight grunt.
Tough lady, maybe she'd like ta hit da gym sometime
Leaning over to Casey he whispers defiantly

Watching Ellie come over with the drinks he muses
Boss Man says I's too young but one won't hurt
Knocking the drink back with easy abandon Bang winces at the sheer power of the beverage. The room spins as his body attempts to deal with the alcohol.

Taking her cue from Captain Holstine, Eleanor gives a friendly goodbye to those few hardy souls remaining. She asks the maitre d' to call her a cab and steps out onto the street. Momnentarily alone, she instinctively shifts her perception and sends a mental whistle across the planes, summoning a watcher spirit.

Watchers weren't like other spirits. They came from the same planes, contrary to what some might think, but they can't manipulate mana like other spirits; which means the summoner has to use her energy to keep them here. One hour ought to do it. Just enough to keep me company during the cab ride and check the house before I go in. I won't be up any later than that.

It would be an early day tomorrow, and if things worked out right, a long one. She had been neglecting her spirits -- Cloudwing needed an invocation. Maybe she should put in a requisition for a summoning room if things were slow tomorrow. Technically, she was allowed to do re-binding rituals at home, and it was nice to have her bed right there, because they could be pretty draining. On the other hand, there might be an eager apprentice who would want to watch the ritual, and would be willing to fetch her some food afterward. So that settled it. She would put in a requisition for a ritual room tomorrow evening, unless of course, Captain Holstine made other plans for her and Charlie team.

Walker wanders around the room trying to talk to at least all the teams and the charlie support team and then coming to hover around the rest of his new team. He mainly listens, but keeps commenting enough to remind them that he is still there.

When Bang brings up the topic of mottos and his vote, he says: "Hit 'em hard isn't something you put into latin. I don't really like it in english either tho. Unfortunately I'm not really good at making names so I don't have a good alternative. 'Never outgunned' perhaps? And what's wrong with charlie? It's short, to the point and informative. I mean I guess we could be The Scepter of Unyielding Justice or something, but why? The nicknames will come on their own when we fuck up."

Well when the captain says it's time to go, Walker goes. He asks if anyone has an early morning and wants magic to lessen their need to sleep and asks the loa for crank for those that ask (getting one on himself first tho if there more then a couple). After that he takes a cab home, says good night to Sharp and goes to bed. Setting the alarm for 0500.

Casey's reply to Bang is quite simple. A winning, even knowing, smile, and no more than that.

She ponders the mage's fire a mere moment, whispering mostly to herself, "I suppose one wouldn't hurt.", and then saying out loud, "To Charlie! May we be the newest Pride of Firewatch!". For those who remember her journey through the crowd, it is a little suprising how stable she is, despite having a fairly fresh, half-full drink in one hand at all times.

As far as Walker's questions go, though, she has an interesting response.

"Well, it'll all come out in time, Walker, and sure enough, there'll be names a-plenty. The only thing wrong with "Charley" is that it's merely the third of something, and if we want to take a good dose of pride in our work, we should be proud of the group we're a part of. Having a good name helps with that. But you're right - it'll come out in the wash." The smile that accompanies her shrug appears to indicate a lack of any heat over the issue, just some long thinking.

While the night winds down, Casey and Bang are seen leaving together, though if anyone is keeping an eye on her, Casey takes a moment to get the bartender to leave a bottle of the Redwater's best Vodka for Tinman along with a message:



Casey and her companion leave, being driven to their next destination in a black Nightsky.

Monday April 16, 2070. 10:30 hrs, Firewatch Gym

As Bang enters the gym his ears are assaulted by the unmistakable sound of Troll Thrash Metal* blaring though the speakers, it only takes a second for him to realize that it isn't doing his head any good. He quickly recognizes the one of the gyms occpants as Elfin-Face who sparring against an attractive human woman you recognize as a member of Beta Team from last night, you can’t seem to remember her name though. They are both wearing black Krav-Maga gi's, the woman has two tassels hanging from her black belt while Elfin-Face has six. Despite the apparent difference in size, strength and experience however the human appears to be winning, using her small size and speed to her advantage however avoiding Elfin-Face’s swings and placing a number of solid punches into Elfin-Face’s kidneys and ribs before ducking under a swing and sweeping the trolls legs out from under him. Elfin-Face recovers from the fall but in the process of rolling to his feet the woman connects with a devastating kick to the side of his head stunning the big troll.

"Ok! This one's yours! Christ, who taught you to kick like that?"
the woman laughs and extends her hand to help Elfin-Face to his feet.

"You did, remember? This means I get to put some decent music on right?"

Elfin-Face nodds, rubbing his head.
"Those was the stakes, you get to play your elf-hippy crap, no complaints for a week." At this Elfin-Face seems to notice you for the first time. "Oh, hey Bang. Sorry didn't notice you come in. Not sure if you remember Alandra, she's from Beta. Say, you're supposed to be good in a scrap, don't suppose you care to try and restore some troll pride do you? I wore her out for you." He says gestureing at Alandra who laughs good naturedly as she picks up a towel off the floor and wipes the sweat from her face winking at you.

"Face you couldn't wear me out if you had a week. I'd be happy to see what the new blood has though if you're up for it. Oh, and call me Lady everyone else does."

After the sparing Elfin-Face leads anyone who's interested though forms and explains some of the fundamentals of Krav-Maga to anyone who's never had any formal unarmed combat training.

*I am listening to some (kid you not) scandinavian death metal (Finntroll to be specific) for inspiration for Elfin-Face's taste in music

Monday April 16, 2070, Walker's aparment

Walker wakes up at 0500 (as always), gets his fatigues and goes running. He runs for 40 minutes, gets back, takes a fast cold shower and settles to eat some breakfast. Nothing fancy - coffee, some bread, juice and the morning newspaper. It's the real thing by the way. It costs much more then just checking the news on the trid, but he finds it somehow relaxing and since it's one of the few luxuries he has, he can afford it.

After that he gets into a comfy position, eases out of his shoes and heads into the land beneath the sea. For a few moments he haggles with Legba to give him audience with Ogoun to negotiate an agreement to loan two of his warriors that he has worked before with, Wall and Owen, for a more permanent contract. After some heated negotiation, Cross steps in to mediate and an agreement is made. Walker asks Owen to join him and heads to the firewatch building and there to the gym.

Since he's seeing some action soon, Cross agrees, that he should train like he would propably be in real combat. If anyone sees him sparring with Sharp, he seems exceedingly fast even compared to the fast spirit. Almost blurring. He doesn't work out as long as usual, heading out in 30 minutes. He goes to get some snacks from a vending machine and then he goes to one of the ritual rooms and puts the "do not disturb" sign on the door.

The ritual is long and he almost misses one of the patterns he has to form for the link needed to keep the spirits here, but after 10 straight hours of work, he has 3 allies for the first job. Naturally he'd have to keep reinforcing the link on the last one, but he's pleased. Even Cross didn't have anything too serious to complain about the ritual.

It's 1655 when he's done and having missed lunch, he is absolutely starving. He goes to the cafeteria and eats way more then he should. Afterwards he becomes tired as he was afraid of and goes to sleep a bit.

1830 he's up again and goes to the shooting range to train some spirit and magic assisted shooting. The range is pretty empty and he just starts shooting, only stopping to get some more bullets. He makes big pile of shell casings before 1900, when he stops firing, gets out of the range and starts discussing with Cross what he should do with the rest of the evening.

Monday April 16, 2070, 0800h, Not Bang's room
Rolling over in the luxiurious bed, Bang finally gets up. Stumbling out of the room he moves as though in a trance. And walks straight into a wall. "oof" he mutters. "Bathroom's on the right" a quiet female voice seems to tell him. Bang grunts affirmitively. After his morning shower he is almost but not quite awake. As he exits the bathroom he could almost swear he hears a throaty feminine giggle. Assuming it's only his imagination he proceeds to the kitchen. Standing in front of the fridge he roots through it, "Where da drek d'I put it" he mumbles. "There's orange juice in the big pitcher" the same female voice intones gently. "Tanks" Grabbing the indicated pitcher the troll drains it in a single gulp. Sitting on a smaller than his normal breakfast chair, he gently scratches his belly while trying to determine what to do today. "So did you have fun last night, big fella?"says the gentle female voice. Bang's eyes fly open in an instant to reveal he has been sitting at Casey's kitchen table, naked. "ummm... uh, uh, uh, gotta go" he grunts out. Moving supprisingly quickly for a troll, he finds the bathroom dresses in record time, and without saying anything more runs for the door. Standing in the elevator he wonders What da drek d'I DO last night. He heads to his room full of confusion and embarassment. After changing Bob's (who is clearly pissed at him) food and water, he heads to the Unarmed Combat training facility.

Bang who would normally love the chance to listen to Face talk about Krav-Maga and spar against Lady is distant and clearly does not have his head in the game. If asked he mumbles some thing about not wanting to talk about it.

As the first rays of sunlight danced through her window, Eleanor awoke with a start. 0620 hours. Looks like I forgot to set my alarm; it’s a good thing I took it easy last night, and that I’m nervous about today, or I might not have gotten up at all.

She languished in bed for just a moment, concentrating on the warmth of the sun. Slowly she shifted her perception, focusing instead on the mana flowing around her. She felt it tingling her left hand and concentrated on the sensation, pulling the mana through her body and then releasing it. With a sigh, she sat up and headed to the kitchen for a nutrisoy complete breakfast bar.

“Well done,” came the voice of Feathers. “You’re getting better. You should have taken sorcery classes after you came back from Australia.”

She shot back, “I tried, remember? The professor called me a groggy, and I blocked his spells for the rest of the class. Then I dropped the class. I’m close now, I just need a little more time. Then you can guide me the rest of the way.”

She wanted to make Headquarters by 0700, so it looks like she’ll have to skip a morning jog in favor of some cardio at the Firewatch gym. It wouldn’t hurt to throw him some light muscle conditioning as well. On her way to headquarters, she calls out to Cloudwing, bringing him to this world. As one might predict, Cloudwing looked exactly as he was named, like a cumulous cloud in the shape of a giant wing. He wasn’t a very threatening sight for a spirit, until he turned dark and angry and lightning flashed through his form.

“Heya, Cloudwing.” Eleanor exchanged pleasantries while explaining her plan to try an invoking, allowing Cloudwing to bring more of his form to our world and strengthening the link that would allow him to stay. She was still talking when she entered Firewatch Headquarters, drawing a rather unpleasant look from the receptionist. The look became noticeably more sociable when Eleanor asked for a ritual room. Since the rooms were available, she checked in with the Captain, discovered she was currently unassigned, and decided to book a room for 0800, which would giver her just enough time to finish her workout and shower. “Would you do me one more favor? See if there’s any trainees that want to watch a ritual and don’t mind being a gopher for the opportunity.”

I am the Law
Episode 1 What Would Freud Have to Say About This?

Monday April 16, 2070. 19:35 hrs. Knight Errant Complex Seattle

Shortly after dinner your work commlinks all buzz simultaneously.
<< Code 10-54* possible dead body in Pinnacle suites 1443 Rayson Ave. Charley Team report to equipment room, ASAP. Patrol uniforms only. Further briefing will take place en route>>

* see ooc

The equipment room is adjacent to the Firewatch garage. It contains your personal locker as well as the firearms and armour lockup. Patrol uniforms refers to the red fatigues and black armoured vests* that is considered “normal” wear for a Firewatch officer. The Alphas are also un-nessesary and should be kept in the citymaster.

*Use the stats for an Armoured Jacket. Firewatch vests are made from a new carbon fiber material making them significantly tougher than common ones

Several minutes later you are all crowded into the armoured crew compartment of a midnight black citymaster. As it pulls from the garage into the rainy April evening the driver* turns on the siren and the APC accelerates as traffic pulls to the side clearing a path down the busy downtown streets. As the citymaster weaves though traffic Captain Holstine’s face appears in your ARO.

<<Ladies and Gentlemen. Approximately one hour ago a professor at the University of Washington named Dr. Jason Briggs was found murdered in his apartment by one of his graduate students after he failed to show up for work today.

Normally this wouldn’t concern Firewatch but the dean of the psychology department Dr. Vincent Walker specifically requested your involvement and as the University has Knight Errant’s platinum coverage we are contractually bound to send you.

Initial investigations suggest that the murder coincided with a datatheft where the perpetrator or perpetrators made off with much of Dr. Briggs research. It seems that this theft is the primary concern of the University, apparently the subject of Dr. Briggs research was rather sensitive. Unfortunately Dr. Walker was unable to elaborate since he wasn’t attached to the project himself but he suggested talking to Eva Kalany the graduate student who discovered Dr. Briggs body. She’s been a part of his research team since the project began.

There is not much else I can tell you at this point. I’m going to keep in touch with Dr. Walker and let you know if anything comes up. Please keep me informed of your progress and don’t be shy about asking for help.

Oh, and the coroner is en route. ETA about 20:30 hours. Try not to handle the body till he gets there.>>

Approximately 35 minutes later the citymaster pulls up to the curb by the Pinnacle Suites along side two other marked Knight Errant cruisers, a Lone Star marked car and a ghost car. A KE detective is talking to the Star officer both of them huddling under the building’s vestibule, scant shelter from the pervasive rain.

The Pinnacle Suites itself is a fairly pedestrian apartment complex, at a glance it looks to be about ten or eleven stories high, painted white with a south facing entrance. The slightly shabby landscaping, uninspired architecture and brick stucco exterior that could certainly use a cleaning place it firmly in the low end of middle class. A 24 hour stuffer shack across the street and a row of small townhouses are the blocks only other occupants. An empty NERPS wrapper swirls by your feet as you step out of the citymaster and the rain begins to beat down on your beret.

@Raleigh:


*driver can be one of you or a driver provided by KE. I’m assuming he’s provided, if one of you wants to drive let me know

Casey curses mildly as the chiming of her comm sends her rounds way off target. She puts the Alpha down, secures the safety, and rushes over to return the weapon to the rangemaster.

"Never a good time..." she mumbles to herself as she races to the equipment room.

Her teammates, being the most familiar with Casey, barely recognise the almost unisex body that reports to the call, but the comms confirm that it is her, despite appearances.

She gears up, but astute observers will note she takes extra care in donning her uniform, as well as an occasional press to a spot just behind her back. Before departing, she secures a bracer to her wrist, grabbing a small duffle before jumping into the Citymaster.

"I guess I'll have to kit up en-route." she sighs, barely loud enough to be heard.

Once Holstine has completed his brief, Casey sends a comm his way, but leaves it open for the team to witness.

<<Captain, before we go in hot, I'm going to need a rough profile of Briggs, Dr. Walker, Kalany, and any officers on scene. I need to know if there are any special preparations that need to be made prior to speaking to them.

<<Has Tolstov been able to get into their wireless yet, or are we going to need him front and centre? He's been quiet out here, so I was hoping he'd reported some progress your way.

<<I hope we've already been cleared to view the crime scene? I'd really like to get a quick look before the coroner gets in.>>

When the comms close, she gives a winning smile to the rest of the team, which looks a little incongruous with her undistinguished features.

"Looks like it's almost go time... ", she mentions, pulling a mirror from her duffel.

Eleanor wakes up, feeling almost better. She knew exactly what had gone wrong. She tried to show off, make it a good show for the trainee. She should have known better; Cloudwing was a powerful spirit and it took a lot of energy to create a permanent link for him. Next time she was working in the safety of her lodge, where there would be no distractions.

The buzz of the commlink brought her out of her private revelry. "Crap, the Captain's going to have my badge.". Her job on the line, she sprang into action.

The commlink's insistent buzz, came as Bang was just finishing his third set on the Smith machine. Looking over at Face who had been spotting him he grinned "Always sumting ain't it" Rushing to the equipment room, he managed to get dressed with little trouble. Seating the beret on his large head, he climbed into his usual spot near the back of the Citymaster. He winces visably at Casey's smile and seems to have trouble meeting his fellow adept's eyes.

Walker was just looking for Eleanor, when the call came and he instantly found out why his watcher hadn't been successful in finding her as she emerged from one of the warded ritual rooms. He runs a bit to catch up to her and greets saying he has looked for her for a bit. Then he immediately looks distracted when Cross starts to yell in his ear: "Yeah - a massive suprise that she was in one of the warded places. I was wondering why you summoned a watcher and started walking around aimlessly when I suggested that you should ask your teammates what they can do. How many times do I have to tell you to use your brain before doing anything? You listening to anything I say?" He tells her that it can wait, if she asks why he was looking for her.

He jogs to the equipment room, gets his vest, glasses, a predator with a few clips of stick and shock, some flasbangs and gas grenades and his Alpha with some ADPS ammo. And then heads to the citymaster.

He stows the grenades and the Alpha into the back of the citymaster. He is first in the citymaster and silent having a look of deep consentration. Then he warns his loa that he may need them soon and tries to go through what he knows of crimescenes in his mind, consentrating on the briefing when it starts. He starts to ask the loa to speed his reactions, but decides against it - it doesn't seem like there will be combat and sitting the entire way with the trick with nothing to do would be hell.

He waits for the captain to finish and then messages: <<Captain, Walker: Can you patch us to the CSI people? I'd like to see what they have found out as soon as they do. >> Then he says to the team that he's mainly muscle so he's just supporting here and unless someone has something smarter for him to do, he's going to go check the crimescene and then go see if he can find a camera the CSI people have missed, asking everyone who doesn't have something better to do to join him. He also asks Casey to let him know if he finds a good witness who can give them a description of the suspect if they don't have one already.

When they arrive, he goes first to see the crimescene, telling Sharp to stay outside just in case there are some magical evidence, starting by listening to the CSI people's version of what they think happened and then mulling it over a bit to see if he agrees.

Then he goes camera hunting. *check OOC thread how*

Casey's features lighten up a little as she hears the news over the comm.

<<Thanks, guys. Please keep us posted with any new info. And Tolstov?>> She smiles brightly into the comm, <<Consider my fingers and toes crossed.>>

Now that the comms have been completed, Casey ponders a moment in the handheld mirror she drew out earlier, brows furrowed. Then, she reaches into the duffel with her left (bracered) hand, grabbing a few items blindly as she rushes into motion.

Hairs raise slightly on the back of each team member's neck, although Walker and Owl Eyes are most likely to understand the source of it. Bang is likely to feel some affinity for what he's encountering, even if he doesn't understand.

She pokes two fingers into one of the withdrawn items, a case of some sort, and then into her eyes. She keeps them closed a moment, but as she opens them, you see a pair of rich green eyes, instead of Casey's usual brown. She smiles a moment into the mirror, then moves her fingers over her face, pressing different parts of her features as she proceeds. The changes are small, and barely register until she finishes her "work", then the result is clear.

Casey's face is now fairly attractive, but not gorgeous, and has that friendly look to it, that in 2D's past would have been called the "small town girl" look.

When she looks in the mirror again, a brief frown graces her features before she removes her beret. Most of the assorted cases go into her lap, while she pulls out an odd-looking hairbrush, blindly adjusting what must be buttons along the handle. The brush goes along her long hair, and the plain brown lightens a bit, gaining a little lustre as she does. She looks again, nodding, then moves the brush over her eyebrows before putting it back in the duffle.

After a few moments of fiddling along her arms, legs, and waist, she gives that "winning smile" one more time. The changes this time are far more subtle, but do her muscles seem much less defined than they were originally?

She winks a moment at Bang as her tan deepens slightly. "I think I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. Bang."

The remainder of the items are returned to the duffle, along with the mirror.

A gesture made to the full team seems to imply query as she states in a higher voice than they've become accustomed to:

"Casey Evans of Firewatch at your service, Citizen. How may we assist?"

Edit: Added section after this point

"Which reminds me." she says, turning to Ellie. "Do you prefer Ellie, or Owl Eyes when on mission?"

Eleanor hardly noticed the changes overcoming Casey. She was lost in her thoughts after hearing the details of their mission. A UW professor - murdered? Spirits, if Magic students weren't excused from the general ed requirements I could have had him as a professor.

Casey's question brought her back to reality. After a momentary surprise at Casey's appearance, she responds "Normally I would say Owl Eyes, just to keep that extra layer of anonymity; but this UW, I went to school here. Some of the student witnesses might be more willing to talk to an alumnus than a cop, so there is no reason for anonymity here."

Bang realizing that the rest of the team is getting ready for action decides to do the same. "Boss said it was a stiff, right?" He receives affirmative nods from his teammates, although Walker's nod ends with a look of professional dissaproval. Bang checks his Pred to make sure it has gel rounds in it, he also makes sure he has a backup magazine of stick and shock. After checking his sidearm, he closes his eyes briefly, and begins to mumble, Opening his eyes those sitting across from him notice that his dark brown eyes now radiate focus and confidence. Addressing the team he says,"Where d'yah guys need me? Cause widout nuting ta fight I'm at loose ends."

Casey (in the guise of Casey Evans, trustworthy cop) considers Bang's concern, and comes out with a ready answer.

"I'm thinking our first priority is to view the scene, for which we may need to liase with the locals enforcement representatives. So brief 'hellos' and then off we go to work. I'm thinking I can manage for the mundane inspection though I wouldn't be averse to having your eyes too, Walker. We'll want some mystic eyes, so that's probably Ellie, Walker and Sharp on the mystic end. While we're on scene, we'll need a good perimeter, so that's you and Haeffner, Bang."

"There's a chance the culprit is still in the area, so the things to watch for on the perimeter are threefold: someone running away faster than expected; Civilians too interested in getting into the scene, and Civilians who are too interested in the scene and appear unaffected by the weight of recent events. Put your good eyes on, Bang, 'cause you'll be detaining any of those people as suspects for questioning."

"Once done at the scene, we may need to split up - sounds like Walker's going to check for extra witnesses, mechanical or otherwise, and unless I miss my guess, Haeffner would be an asset to that search too."

"Ellie's got a good idea of using the alumn angle on Kalany, but I'd like to be in the wings on that one. I hope you don't mind suggesting to her that I'm 'a friend she can trust', Ellie? And if you need some civvies, check the duffel, there should be an outfit there I can size to fit you, if you feel she'd talk more readily to someone in campuswear."

"Bang? If we get any suspects, the "strong, silent type" intimidating troll routine should loosen their tongues while we're split up. That said, I'd love to have you in running distance, but out of line of sight while we talk to Kalany, in case of a SNAFU in that area. You'll also be Johnny on the spot for speaking to the CSIs and other officials while we're checking the other leads, unless we can bring them all together, which I kind of doubt. Regardless, we'll be a quick Comm away."

"That should about cover the opening of this investigation. I don't see any holes, but now's a good time to point them out if I missed something."

She looks at the team with that megawatt smile. "Are we ready to wow them, Charley?"

"The student went looking and found the corpse because the professor hadn't shown up for work. That suggests the murder happened before 0800 or whenever his day would have started. I'm thinking the murder happened sometime last night. At least if the suspects didn't torture him for information or something. Thats why I haven't used magic to get us there faster - we aren't in any real hurry."

"That is also why I dont think there will be any signatures for the awakened to see. I also think we should keep spirits off the scene since if there are any signatures, they will be weak and it's easyer to see then if the scene hasn't been trampled on by big spirits. You wouldn't happen to have Psychometry Hartford?"

"Nevertheless I think we should all head to the crimescene first to take a fast look. Tho perhaps Bang should stay to see how good perimeter the uniforms on the scene have. I'll get Sharp to help you on the suspicious persons thing. Then while the CSI people do their thing, Casey and Hartford can talk to the student and possible other witnesses we can find and me and Haeffner can go look for the cameras and possible outside witnesses."

"I also think we should try to ID a possible suspect as soon as possible so that we can put out an APB so that we can get the search started."

"Objections? Improvements? Problems? Errors?"

Then after looking a bit unfocused for a moment, he asks "Uhm.. As I said I'm mostly muscle - My idea of information gathering is to stalk around in a jungle and usually kill someone. Unfortunately the same is true for Sharp so what does a suspicious person look like? In the astral I mean? Do we detain everyone who isn't shocked? Everyone who seems happy? Everyone who is exceedingly anxious?"

Bang nods at Casey's suggestions, grinning when she says "detaining" someone. "Any chance we needa geta back'round on sum students"

Of course you're invited to the interrogation Casey, your probably better at it than I am. We'll just tell Kalany that it's standard procedure to have two officers present at the initial interrogation. Can you subvocalize? I'll put in my earbuds and have my com send the signal directly to them so you can feed me any questions you think it would be better for me to ask. I'll also take you up on the clothes offer, thanks.

As she begins too rummage through the duffel for something more fitting a plainsclothes investigator, Eleanor continues: "Before the interview, I'd like to poke around for any remnants of magical activity. I've been working on studying astral signatures, but Walker's right, there probably won't be many signs left. Psychometry fascinates me, but unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to study it. I wasn't sure if I would make the security team, and it doesn't add much to a research resume, so I focused on the nature of spirits and the astral planes in college."

"Just for the record, when we do find ourselves pursuing magically active subjects, try to stay where I can see you. I can stop a spell as well as any of my old professors, but I can't protect what I can't see."

"Yeah just like training - Find yourself a mage for spelldefense before showing yourself to one. She's also propably better at it then I am. I'm pretty good, but it's been a while since training and I haven't really needed it."

Casey takes a moment to switch into a different outfit from the duffel before speaking. While she leaves her vest on, and her sidearm present, neither appear to be obvious or threatening in the new duds.

"Agreed, Walker. Getting an APB is our first priority. Other concerns, like 'Why the drek did they call for Firewatch on this kind of a scenario?', or 'How can we recover their data?' can wait until we've got an eye on the first prize."

Now how do I explain to them in seconds what took years of experience and an innate trust of intuition to develop? Casey takes a deep breath, then answers the questions about detanees.

"Yes, Bang we may have the opportunity to detain some people for questioning. Try to be as quick and non-confrontational as possible, and stick to non-lethal. We don't want our employers taking the flak on this one. As for folks you should be looking for, it's difficult to describe, but here's a guide that might help - for those of you that see emotions, try for someone whose emotions are deeply tied to the scene, and is either taking pride in it, or anxious over our approach to it. That applies to someone who is dedicated to entering the scene as well.

"Once we know the perimeter is secure, we can work on profiling students. Anything you can get will be a boon, Bang, although I'd be glad to open that task to additional people."

Just before Ellie attempts to remove her armoured vest, she adds, "You'll want to leave that one. I'll just make the quick adjustments to the outfit so it won't trouble our subject." The alterations take mere moments, as if the clothing was made to accommodate such quick changes.

<<And yes, I can subvocalize. If I tried, I could probably transmit this directly to you without my comms, but it would be a stretch on my poor voice. Listen also for 'stage directions', which will be suggestions on body posture and other non-verbal cues. They often make as much of a difference to the interview as the questions themselves.>>

"Keep alert, and stay armed and armoured. This is still an unknown territory, which we should presume to be hostile until demonstrated conclusively otherwise. This may be 'just a university', but this is a really odd job to call in a Firewatch contract over, so eyes open for ulterior motives.

"Bang, I believe point is yours."

Bang grins at Casey and says "Yer always tryin ta spoil ma fun, on point, yah got it little lady." The troll shifts in his seat and tightens the cinches on his armour. " Glad yer helpin work da perim' Sharp, cause not every onez gonna be happy ta see me."

As the Citymaster arrives and parks, Bang exits the vehicle offering a hand to any one who needs or wants one. He follows Haeffner's lead, and as they walk Bang looks down at the Ork woman "Yah got a handle, or sumtin I kin call yah sides Haeffner, cause no offense, I keep lookin fer da prez or sumtin." He grins at his joke, and checks to make sure that the Ork can keep up to his stride.

The rain is already drizzling down the back of your neck as you cover the short distance between the Citymaster and the vestibule. You see the Star uniform nod and shake hands with the detective before rushing back to his car and pulling away. The detective turns to greet you as you approach. He’s a middle aged man with slightly thinning hair, and something in his eyes suggests that he’s seen too much over the course of his career. He gives you all a half smile.
“Evenin’ folks, Detective Michals. Hopefully you got a good nights sleep last night, it looks like it’ll be a late night. I sent a uniform down to get some soycaff. The Star has officially turned the scene over to us so I guess I’ll escort you upstairs.”

At that he pushes the lobby door open and escorts you in. “Tolstov is off in the managers office over there if you tech heads want to go collaborate. I’ll take the rest of you upstairs. Miss. Kalany is in the managers office too, but I think you might want to take a look at the scene before talking to her.”

As Detective Michals opens the door to the third floor apartment, and you duck under the crime scene tape, you see Dr. Briggs’ body lying in his living room floor. The body is lying spread-eagled, face down in a pool of blood. It’s difficult to tell the exact nature of the wounds but it is obvious that he has suffered major trauma to the head. His head has been shaved, and his hair is lying in piles scattered throughout the blood pool. The back of his skull is completely missing and you can see that something has practically stirred his brain into soup. Dr. Briggs is wearing casual clothing, jeans and a polo shirt. A half empty glass of some kind of liquor sits on the coffee table and the Trid is tuned into a science and technology station.

Further examination of the scene shows that the door is protected by a relatively archaic maglock, but there is no sign of forced entry. A camera in the hall is set above the fire escape door and has a clear view of the entire hallway. The door to the fire escape can only open out and if it is opened an audible alarm sounds. Two elevators provide access to the floor, one is a normal elevator, the second is a freight elevator used for when tenants are moving or if maintenance crews need to reach the roof.

@ Walker:
You and Tolstov manage to get access to the 3 main cameras that would most likely be useful to the case, the camera above the fire escape, the camera by the entrance and the camera by the entrance to the parkade. It’s gonna take you a while to go through them. If you want to go and get the Suffer Shack footage we'll RP it out.

Walker asks Michals to tell him what the uniforms on the scene have done and asks Sharp to help Bang on the perimeter as agreed.

When Walker arrives to the room with Dr. Briggs, he takes off his wet coat and boots and then he goes directly to the body and looks inside the skull trying to keep clear of the body and possible other evidence. After looking at the wound critically for a few moments from the distance of a bit less then 10cm, he says: "Well I'm officially stumped. I mean what causes that kind of a wound? Almost looks like someone wanted his headware, but if that's the case, why on earth wouldn't they just take the entire head? I would almost want to see the the coroners face when he sees that. Might also be good to know if they indeed took the headware."

<<Tolstov, Walker: Do you have the file on the soup-man here? Do you know if he had any headware? Headware memory perhaps? And what do you have on his research? I'd like to be ready in case this is done by something he was researching..>>

Then he walks around a bit again trying not to step in anything important. "Umm.. does anyone see the back of his head anywhere? Or any tools? I think I'll go check the sinks.. Would be easyer to look for a dude covered in blood.. That isn't something you can do cleanly I mean. Trust me - I know." Then he looks a bit unfocused again as Cross chimes in:Cross: Then again perhaps he was smart enough to kill him before starting to open him up.. Walker: You know it's terribly easy to be smart now when you aren't shot at. Besides I already admitted I should have once again thought about it before doing anything. *and he goes too look. Tell me if he finds the tools or marks of their washing.*

After some more walking around, he continues: "Haeffner - Wanna take a look at all the locks? They seem intact to me, but unless the good doctor let his killer in, he has to have gotten in somehow. Unless they used magic. Hartford - have you taken a look in case they left some signatures? He seems to have lied there for a while now, but doesn't hurt to check." *Walker has seen enough corpses to know, so if he died only recently, he says it instead.*

"Anyone wanna keep mr. mushy here company and take a better look at the scene while we wait for the CSI and coroner? Tell them to keep us informed on the comms, I'm gonna go see what Tolstov has found."

When he gets to Tolstov, he asks what he has found and when he hears that it's likely to take him 30-45 mins to look through the tape: "30-45mins? For 3 cameras? Do it faster!" *Thats the "reasonably modern, but in bad shape" version. If the equipment is like from 1960'ies or something he just says that try to horry, but if it's modern, he might even start yelling at the tech. I mean something like that shouldn't take more then like a couple of minutes.*

Cross: Really smart yelling at people who are trying to do their jobs. Even if they are doing it poorly. Walker: I know but come on! 30-45mins? Is he trying to do it with fast forward or something? Too bad brother got the promotion - If there is something to be said about Glow is that he is fast.

If it indeed takes as long, He says that he's gonna go get some more footage while waiting and to keep him informed. If the tech got motivated to do it in less then 10mins, he looks at the footage first. Then he goes to ask if Haeffner wants to come help him get the footage from the stuffer shack. And then he goes there.

He flashes them a badge and asks for the security camera footage. He also asks if the people have seen anything weird at the house *pointing at the house with the stiff* and asks them to see if they can get the people on the other shifts on the phone and ask them too. Going as far back as yesterday noon.

Eleanor listened intently as the detective described the scene. It would be her job to handle magical aspects of the case, but that didnt' excuse her from participating in the physical investigation.

Her first sight of the body brought a moment of nausea. She'd seen death, but this was different, more gruesome, less natural; it would take time to get used to it. Hoping to hide her reaction from the others, she turned to survey the scene, going over the important facts in her head. The technical ramifications would be left to someone else, but she had to explore the magical possibilities.

One door, guarded by a camera and maglock with no sign of forced entry. That suggested improved invisibility. A spirit could have come in astrally and manifested, but somebody would have had to come to collect the research. The only other possibility was the windows, and this was the third floor. The thought escaped her lips before she had even finished it: "Windows. Somebody check the windows, a mage could have levitated in. On second thought, let me check them first, I don't want anybody destroying the astral evidence. First things first though, let's check the body, everybody step back, I don't want your auras interfering with my reading. .

Eleanor shifted her perception. It would be easier in the astral, she could ignore the physical view and just check the body astrally.

First, check the body for astral signatures, then for any lingering emotions. Next, check the windows and rooms for any auras or emotionally charged objects. Third, peruse the perimeter for wards.

After making conversation with Haeffner, Bang makes his way up to the scene. Viewing the body Bang doesn't seem that affected. (he's seen worse) "Mushy ain't da woid Walker man." He comments from the doorway

Decending the steps quickly Bang realizes he's forgotten some thing. Grabbing his team commlink and checking the connection on his subvocal mic he sends a brief message. <'Ey guyz 'ow far a perim da we need>

Addressing the air where Sharp was he speaks uncertainly " Sharp yah still dere?" when the spirit appears, Bang says, "C'mon we'z got ta chase some civs away" Quickly ducking into the Citymaster, he grabs the usual yellow and black crime tape. As he walks in the rain, the troll muses Geez I dan't believe I gav up 'runnin for dis drek. Suddenly the thought strikes him, 'Runnin, runnin.... MUDDER FRAGGIN DREK, yah doof drek-hed Stopping in the middle of his stride he sheepishly grabs his comm. Massaging his throat mic he sends a quick subvocal message <Guyz yah got five secons ta call me any name yah want, One, Two, Tree, Fouh, Five. Aright now wez done wid dat, any chance dis might be a shadowrun? Some guys I usta hang wid deyd be all for dis, if da stiff had any paydata in 'is hed. Yah want me tah run wid dat angle?">

When he finishes his call to the team he dials HQ. Capt. Holstine looks less than pleased to see him <Sgt. Grim what seems to be the problem, surely you haven't solved this case already?> Responding slowly Bang says <S'rry Boss, not yet, but yah mind if I involve a civ in dis, I jest needa check sumting>

Casey steps into the crime scene, revealing absolutely nothing in her body language as she paces from one part of the room to another, careful not to disturb anything.

She sniffs from moment to moment, in time with her steps as she methodically works through the room. Those checking their comms realize that she's subvocalizing in a barely audible range even for the standard issue Commlink. Whether she's doing it deliberately to keep her team in her thoughts, or whether it's an old habit that hasn't been drummed out by her Firewatch training is uncertain.

<<Hmmm... archaic maglock - easy mark, may need to check the records on that. Could be an avenue of entry, and explain lack of "forced" entry. Could probably work that system in about three seconds or less.>>

<<Must get CSIs to check those elevators - they may be a likely route of egress. Fire escape is out - too noisy. Probably freight - less usage pattern... gotta have Tolstov look at those records too.>>

<<Standard academics quarters. Nothing unusual here.>>

<<Liquor? Brandy, isn't it? Not sure.>> She sniffs again, closer to the glass. <<Probably a recent make, strong scent of the barrell, but slightly synthetic. Interesting. Half empty - he was relaxing, not expecting any company. Trid on confirms, although he stuck to his interests. Probably planning a to sleep to his show.>>

<<Odd... why shave the head? Indicative of someone with surgical habits - gotta have the CSIs check for the precision of the bone cuts. With this kind of wound though, cause of death is likely elsewhere. Especially with the hair floating on top of the blood - surface tension hasn't been broken, which means the bleeding was first, then the shaving. Blood is relatively fresh, CSI will set a relatively recent time of death. Brains stirred... which means the job was either botched or rushed... at least if they were trying to retrieve headware. Perhaps they thought his research was there?>>

<<No other items missing, seems like a kill & snatch. Methodology at least explains why we were called in. Definitely want to see the coroner's report.>>

Casey listens to Walker's conclusions, and nods. "Agreed, Walker. Excellent suppositions. We're definitely going to want his medical records... especially if he has an illicit surgery or two. May want to look into that. Ellie you have anything on the mystic front?"

After hearing the mage's response she begins to say something, but is interrupted by Bang's transmission, then replies.

<<Great idea, Bang. Check it out, and use whatever you deem necessary to do so... Firewatch is, after all, an 'at all costs' kind of team. We'll have your back if you need us. Did you want a companion on your trip?>>

She then makes a rather narrow smirk, sending a comm over to Tolsov <<I think we're done here... you can send in the coroner, but keep on him for results as soon as he has them. I'll leave my comm channel ready for the coroner and the CSI's calls. And tell Ms. Kalany we'll be on our way shortly.>>

"Well, Ellie, are you ready to to leave this scene, and go for something a little more normal? Like interviewing a suspect-witness?"

When Bang asks for a name, Walker instantly replies <<What did you forget Mushy?>>

And when Casey: is done, he says: "I don't think it's certain he wasn't expecting someone. Only his clothes indicate that - the trid might as well be for covering the sounds. I agree tho that it's likely he was relaxing."

"I still think it's weird they did the cutting part here if they wanted the headware. The shaving thingy would suggest they have done this before, but if they have, they'd know it's easyer to just take the head and do it somewhere safer. Unless they were using wires."

Casey seems pleased when Walker adds his thoughts to the mix.

"I can definitely agree that it's odd the operation was done here. There are probably a number of scenarios which would explain it, but we don't have everything available to us that would provide them. Wires, like you say, could be one reason. Another is to leave a message. Presuming there was actually headware involved, perhaps they thought there was a security feature which terminated the usefulness of the headware if the subject is no longer living. Or a more unusual case - someone expecting all the headware, being extra careful about it, and then stirring the brains to find it when it isn't there. It's an oddity we'll have to sort out as we learn more about the case and the suspect.

"That the victim was relaxing was a tentative conclusion based on all three elements, the trid, the drink, and the clothing. Highly suggestive of the scenario, but far from conclusive, as you say. That he wasn't expecting anyone is again, supposition, based primarily on the fact that there was only one glass. Most hosts, if they were expecting someone, would have brought and filled a second glass for their guest, or brought the glass, and left it empty. Again, suggestive, but not conclusive. Perhaps once the forensics are complete, we'll know more."

Raleigh takes her leave of the party, but stays a while longer trading drinks in silence with Tinman. She leaves him without a word at 0115 and heads back to her rack at the Firewatch barracks. The tele-present cabbie does a double-take and mouths something like, 'Firewatch. Manny wasn't shitting me.' The cab ride is conspicuously sane. She tips well and thanks the man.

She's on edge as she enters the barracks - rookie hazing stories are legend - but everything appears to be in order as she gives the her room its wake-up commands. The light is a comfortable dim, her unaugmented eyes handling it quite well, thanks. She holds her arm out and Max scuttles down it onto his perch which serves as a wired link and charging station. Everything seems just as she left it. She had taken the precaution of leaving some of cameras and mics, but as she peruses the feed she comes up empty. Nothing. No hint of anything. Which makes her even edgier.

She finally gives up and curls up in bed to spend a few minutes read some pilfered dossiers on her new teammates now that she knows just who to read up on. An interesting crew.

She wakes promptly at 0500, alert, refreshed and only a little thirsty after the previous night's indulgences. She hydrates and heads out for a run, Max and a cloud of smaller drones in tow running maneuvering drills and close-order flight. The rotors were light and slim, but they stung like mad. She showers after hitting the gym and running through her routine - today was cardio - and then there were some more orientation classes. She spent the whole day looking over her shoulder, wondering if the other Charlie team folks were as paranoid as she and... wondering where the heck they were.

She is running EW sims when the call comes in. She powers down and sets off at a lope for the equipment room. She stocks up and heads down to Charlie team's brand-spaking-shiny-new Citymaster. She wondered if they'd have a new one or a hand-me-down with a lot of 'endearing' quirks. She jacks in and drives the team to the U-Dub campus, listening to the others discuss the assignment and getting a feel for the rig. It's very nice. Very, VERY nice. The citymaster shudders to a halt at the coordinates and Raleigh is about to jack out of the rig when she spots some kids across the street looking cagey. The kids look at eachother and then split up.

When she is reasonably sure the kids think they haven't been spotted she deploys one tiny drone for each.

She issues the commands by thought through touch to each of the little glittering insects, <Augustus, Brutus, Collosus - shadowing protocol Ransom. Upload observation logs reports every 500ms; bookmarked every 30000ms. Go.> The drones take off dipping and dodging through the air following their marks at a steep enough angle and height they they are difficult to spot because of, 1) their size, 2) their positioning, you'd have to look straight up and back to even catch a glimpse and 3) their shadowing processes, Ransom protocol identifies sight vectors and attempts to remain out of a given targets primary mode of vision. Raleigh gives them a leg up, marking the faces and a forward cone of the average person's sight and periphery.

She appends a link to the teams commnet and shares the observation logs, setting an Agent loose on the logs with an array of facial recognition searches cross-indexed with a variety of proprietary KE databases and third-party identity vendors with whom Ares Macrotechnology and her subsidiaries had service contracts.

A Star flak hops into a vehicle and rolls away as a detective steps up and introduces himself. Raleigh's neck prickles.

<Look alive folks. It'd be like the Star to be less than gracious handing this investigation off.>

She watches the officer depart and touches the now ordiarly looking roto-crawler hybrid drone on her shoulder. <Max - this job's for you. Follow that Star officer for a bit, try to pick up his chatter. Be subtle. After 120000ms, report back, don't broadcast what you pick up, all resources on stealth and snooping. Then return here to help us.>

She was running through her drones fast today. But there was a good complement of competently outfitted drones on the CM, so, she wouldn't be empty handed. Though she was unlikely to need the sleek and deadly dobermans. A little part of her was sad. The little part that liked to wreck stuff.

She hangs back with Walker and Bang as Casey and Hartford go off to talk to the student who'd discovered the body. She helps Bang keep the students and faculty out of the area. It's the first time she's spoken more than a few words together not on the team's secure comms. Her voice is amplified by her armor as she walks a crisp circuit around the perimeter, ocasionally checking the observation logs on the drones under Ransom protocol.

<Hey, I'll take that data, Walker. I just re-upped my forensic certs on drones and sensors. CSI won't mind us doing the scut work, I'm sure.>

Ok, lots of stuff to respond to. Lets hope I don’t leave anything out.

Walker tries to see if the footprints go both ways. If he can't he asks if anyone can see if the footprints go both ways and if he still doesn't know, he goes to get his outdoor clothes and levitates down to get a better look.

Assuming Eleanor mentions about the signature, he asks Sharp to come take a look too.

Then he starts to talk about the headware, but realises that everyone isn't in the room anymore and switches to comms.

<<Team, Walker: The victim had headware and I didn't see it in his head so I think we can assume that thats the reason why he's opened up. I also couldn't find the tools they did it with so they prolly brought them. That says planned to me.>>