Gash
[23:05 August 22, 2070 – Astral space]

From the clean air above the tower you plunge back down into the miasma of power surrounding the structure, heading towards the point where the mage who opposed you fled to. As you enter the astral of the tower you see that there are an inordinate number of minor spirits flitting about and although they glance at you they otherwise pay you surprisingly little attention.

There are a number of powerfully warded areas in the tower and in your currently weakened state due to the background count you skirt around them at first, time enough to tackle them once you have searched the areas they deem less important. It allows you to play out a mental map of the key areas of the tower for relaying to the others...

Something nags at your subconscious and then, around the next corner, she is waiting for you...her faceless apparition turns towards you and she levels the blade at you, frost dripping from the runes which glow with mana

"So you couldn’t wait for me in the flesh? We can no longer allow you to blunder around here...you might disturb something in your ignorance...”

"He will be dealt with Masque, but perhaps you should go and rest before the final stage begins...?”

A mellifluous voice sounds from behind you and you turn to face another female mage, this one of a very different ilk. She is an initiate and making no efforts to hide the power in her aura, an aura that speaks of an unusual tradition too if you are any judge, and you are...!

Sticks
[23:05 August 22, 2070 – Virtual Control Room]

You allow yourself to rest back in your chair and concentrate on commanding what remains of your drone army. You are hampered now by only being able to transmit commands when in line of site to your chair but you are glad that they have all had the recent patch upgrades and latest pilot software prior to the mission start, they are more than capable of autonomous action within the parameters that you have set.

Two of your rotadrones and the Nimrods are patrolling the terrace above and the downed Commando and you watch as Chan leads three others of Squad Two up the graceful ramp sweeping through the atrium. They move with professional ease, covering all the angles of attack with consummate skill. They are clearly back on their game!

At your level you see the Heavies forming up to spearhead the drive into the tower’s lower levels when the tacnet alerts you to multiple movement signals. Panning your multitude of sensors in a sweep across both levels you see upwards of fifteen Manservant drones on level three and more on level four emerging from the rooms off the atrium space. It is rapidly apparent that they each seem to be carrying a web of grenades – it would seem the defenders are no longer willing to face you in the flesh.

The Nimrods engage above you and their armour piercing rounds easily begin to shred the unarmoured servant drones. On the ramp the forward team unleash controlled bursts against the mechanical foe and down at your level the Heavies open up with the roar of machine gun fire.

Joshua (& Dahlia & Squad Two)
[23:05 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Tower Level 3 Atrium]

You watch with half an eye whilst the Lieutenant bends down over your captive and spreads his fingers across the man’s temples. He gives a grunt of concentration and you imagine him delving into the man’s mind and spare a moment to be thankful that anyone trying that on you would have a much harder time of it.

A ping across the antiquated microwave link draws your attention to a number of manservant drones lurching towards your position. They clearly aren’t here as a welcoming committee and the others obviously agree as they open fire with an awesome burst of noise...

Gash
[23:00 August 22, 2070 – Deep in the Eco Tower]

"As you see I carry the flag of truce. I am not here to fight, I wish to talk. I am not a trained negotiator, I have no special verbal tricks, so I wish you to realise that this is a heartfelt plea to reduce unnecessary bloodshed."

"There appears to be a disconnect between what our employers hired us for, and things that are happening here. My employers beleive that you are involved with AI Sojourner who recently committed a serious terrorist activity. The strength of your defence will only indicate to them that you are indeed in league with the terrorists, as it is far more military and organised that a peaceful outfit needs. The paranoid (and they are paranoid) sees only what they want to see."

"So I wish to paint two possible futures for you:"

"In the first, we continue as we have started. I have no doubt that you have suprises for us, and that we will suffer casualties, but at the end either you are defeated or at the very best you will be weaker, you will have lost those that you care about, and many of your surprises will be known."

"In the second you allow us return with the records we seek. From my fight with Masque I believe that you are probably not in league with the AIs, and the records will show that. Should this happen you will at the very least not loose people now, and perhaps that strength of your defence, plus the lack of incriminating evidence in the records, will cause our employers to look elsewhere."

"In either of the futures my employers will continue until they have the records, or decide the strength of your defence is such that it indicate guilt, and employ sufficient force to destroy you."

"What do you say?"

Gash
[23:05 August 22, 2070 – Astral space]


“Your words are persuasive little man and be assured we recognise the truth in what you say…but why would we give up our secrets to one such as you? You accuse us of working with an entity that is only rumoured to exist, despite what the Aztech scum would have us believe…I find it much more likely that they are engaged in something nefarious and yet it us you attack with your fears and doubts? Besides…it is too late now…”

Astral space ripples in a disturbing way and then there is a flash of white light that completely overwhelms your senses…when it clears Masque is still there but the other is gone.

“So, will you meet me in the flesh now? Dare you to come into the tower and face me? You are inside now, we no longer need to hide behind antiquated technology, nobody can see you now...!”

Sticks, Joshua, Dahlia & Squad Two
[23:05 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Tower Level 3 Atrium]

Despite the onslaught of drones and the explosions that are creeping nearer as their grenades detonate you are confident in your drones and the capabilities of the Deep Watch personnel…and then you see a partially destroyed drone drag itself to the balcony over where your meat body is sheltered and topple over…tumbling down…it is riddled with fire from your rotadrone and the grenade goes off above your heads...

There is a flash of light that overwhelms your senses and as it passes you hear the subtle crack of a rifle and Tantilla lurches away from the captive…a hole in his chest big enough to pass your fist through…

[23:05 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Tower Level 3 Atrium]

Sticks is fast on his wheels, moving his Horseman to intercept the grenades. Best for him to take the blast, than for someone else to. Sadly he's not quick enough, and in one of his camera displays he seems Lt Tantilla take one through the head. "ForFragSake.." He mutters to himself inside his cocoon. Inside the Virtual World of his Nexus, it's a different matter.

Dwarves of all sizes and types are running back and forth, bringing reports, picking up letters. Sticks is looking into his various Crystals trying to make sense of what's going on. A silouhette is highlighed in one, and he orders the Archers to slay it.

Simultaneously two of his rotodrones change targets. One sends a barrage of grenades flying towards the sniper position and a split second later the other sends a stream of lead flying towards said sniper, trying to force him to dodge into the path of the grenades.

<<@C&C I hate these fraggers.>> Sticks tries to contact the highest ranking officer on the scene, having Faraman do the routing, when suddenly he's facing a Floor Length Silver Mirror, talking to himself.

<<Operation FUBAR. This is Master Seargent Steve Gallaway. We've lost Lt Tantilla, I am taking Operational Control of this Mission. We've lost communications with HQ, again. We'll be trying to re-establish that while we take the fight to them. We're going to do this the hard way. Room by room, floor my floor clearing of the building. They want to play hardball, we'll show them what HardBall is. As of this moment, if it's not Friendly, it's Enemy. All drones are to be destroyed before moving on, any civilians are to be treated as enemy combatants.>>

<<@Kit&Reid - Get us connected back to HQ ASAP. Apprise them of the situation and ask for Operational Guidelines. We're going in hard, and fast.>>

<<Gash, when you get back to your body, I want to know the Magical Situation and your best guess on how we should proceed.>>

Gash
[23:00 August 22, 2070 – Deep in the Eco Tower]

"It is not in my nature to talk peace with the enemy. I only spoke here because I felt there was a great disparity between our mission objectives and what you are defending. However if you are so suicidal as to regard your lives as less important than the information we speak, realizing that even if you win here you are just signing your death warrants, then I shall humour you. Gird yourselves because we are coming. Even if you defeat us, then you will not defeat those who come after us, and those that come after them. There is no point reasoning with those that have a death wish. Should you change your mind let me know"

With a sad heart Gash leaves the doomed inhabitants of the tower and returns to where he left his body.

"Well Legundo it is to be war. So let us wage war upon them."

Joshua
23:05 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater eco tower level 3 Atrium]

Joshua looks around carefully to check that the incoming robots aren't just a diversion. In this place snipers can be anywhere.

Seeing the incoming man servant robots, he supresses a comment about C-3PO's and mutters "I always prefered the Aztech version" and unleases a swarm of arrows towards the incoming robots

Interlude...

[23:06 August 22, 2070 The Stillwater e-Ther]

Desire floated through the surreal landscape towards the waiting figures. Aria stood to one side trying to comfort a crying child who was sobbing inconsolably into her shoulder. Operator nodded to Desire as she approached...his voice echoing in her mind.

<<They are here now inside the tower. All is ready for them. I have told Athena that she is free to engage them directly now, the Sentinels have been activated and the Wolf Pack continue their hunt. They will not reach the sanctum.>>

<<Good, we must protect this secret at all costs...the world is not yet ready for it. I will contact our patrons and inform them that we are dealing with the situation.>>

[23:06 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater eco tower level 3 Atrium]

As the dust settles from the drone attack you can see that not only is Tantilla beyond hope but that your captive, unprotected by your levels of armour and Stick’s valiant efforts, has also succumbed to the attack...it seems they didn’t want him to live to reveal the secrets of the tower.

Reid’s voice crackles across the microwave link

<<I can’t get through this damn jamming. Every channel I try either has static or that spider ranting about us attacking their home. I’ll keep trying...!>>

Chan reports from the level above you

<<I have Wyrd and the pilot, they are both shaken but ok...making our way back to you now...unless we’re going up?>>

Rodriguez, with typical lack of respect, calls out to Sticks

“So Sarge, you lucky bastard, you’re in charge, who’s on point? I volunteer ‘im” indicating Joshua... ”He’s big enough for us all to hide behind...”

Gash
[23:06 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater eco tower level 3 Atrium]

Gash gasps as his body becomes his own again.

"OK I spoke with one of their bosses. There is something in here that is more important to them than their lives. There is a seriously powerful mage down there who is Masque's boss. I suspect they have rigged the building to blow if we are close to getting the data we want. We are going to have to check for explosives as we go. "

"So we started as a recon, our threat assessment was way out. Its actually a bunch of crazy fanatics with cybered shock troops, a rehearsed defence plan, some seriously powerful prepared ritual magic, and adept Naga's. If we just go into the building its not going to go well.

Right techno weenies...where is that jammer we need to take it out "

Gash
[23:06 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater eco tower level 3 Atrium]

Gash hobbles up to Stick's nearest drone and taps on it..,

"Hello, Hello... are you in there"

"OK Sergeant this is what I found. The building is big. As I don't know where the data is kept, I am going to do some guesswork: I am going to (perhaps erroneously) to make the guess that the data will be behind a ward. So quite a lot of the building is warded. The two most powerful wards on level eight (the top) and this level. Level minus one is the service level, and they may well keep their server room there. All the levels down to minus four have wards. If I was hiding this data I would hide it as deep as possible, so level minus 4 is interesting."

"I'd propose getting the ward on this level now as we are not far away. We might found something out, and you never know it might have the data we need. If its not there, you'll have to decide if we go up or down"

Sticks
[23:06 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater eco tower level 3 Atrium]

While Gash is trying to get your attention you are distracted by an incredibly weak signal coming in over the microwave link

<<...can you hear me? This is Corporal Gibson, shit, can anyone hear me? We've made it to a lightwell near the lakeshore, we think there's a way through to the tower from here...they've taken Lieutenant Greaves and Archer and Prior are wounded...we made it to a level below the living quarters, that bastard Ricardo led us down there...I don't know what kind of terrorists these are but they've got a large number of armoured vehicles and tech down there, APCs, Citymasters...all look mothballed but still, there's much more underground than we previously thought...what the frag is going on?...>>

Captain Jon Roberts & Lieutenant Bryntýr “Bryn” Hartikainen
[23:06 August 22, 2070 – Skytrain Ƶ5-1 & 8Ø-Δ enroute to Target. ETA 4 mins]

You are bumped and jostled as the mighty craft sweep through the night towards the target. It's time to bail out the hot shots from whatever mess they are in. You've worked with them all before and if something has upset such a confident and skilled unit then you'll have to stay extremely sharp. As you approach the area the pilot attracts your attention over the command channel

<<Sir, we've got Nimrod drones hovering over the tower, ID tags are definitely DW but they have broken off and are heading towards us on an intercept course...I'm assuming that they've been compromised again given the earlier reports on this hacker community. I'm preparing to launch air support now unles you want me to get our spiders to try and reaquire? There is a significant jamming field around the area but we should be clear with the measures we've taken. Otherwise all seems quiet, no sign of the DW forces on the ground apart from some wreckage on the tower and infront of the school building to the NE>>

Captain Jon Roberts
[23:06 August 22, 2070 – Skytrain Ƶ5-1 & 8Ø-Δ enroute to Target. ETA 4 mins]

Captain Roberts switches to the command channel with a thought, picked up by the simrig he has attached. His overlay of the surrounding area, depicting the tactical network, fed by the sensors of both skytrains, draws to the forefront of his AR interface, and highlights a couple of incoming AROs representing the Deep Watch Nimrods.

<<Try to set us down near the schoolhouse.>> An ARO lights up over that area as he concentrates on it. <<Besides the nimrods, that wreckage is the only sign we've seen that our men have been in the area.>> With another thought, lines appear from the two skytrain AROs to each of the incoming drones - each with a timer counting down the distance to interception. <<As for the drones, launch any air support we have. If they've been compromised, we cannot risk reconnecting them to our network without sanitizing their systems - and we haven't got that kind of time. The drones could be used as relays or remote jammers, so I want the spiders online - but in AR, ready to jump with the rest of us if they make contact before we reach our LZ.>>

He wasn't used to being on the front lines, but this mission required it. The hostiles had cut off outside communication with the men on the ground, and Roberts wouldn't be able to lead remotely on this one. He just hoped he remembered enough from basic training to keep himself from becoming a small hole in the ground if they had to jump. His cyberwarfare training indicated a half a dozen other reasons why incoming compromised attack drones could mean disaster, but he didn't need to bring them up. The spiders knew what they were doing, and the pilot had his orders to take the drones out, if possible.

Lieutenant Bryntýr “Bryn” Hartikainen
[23:06 August 22, 2070 – Skytrain 8Ø-Δ enroute to Target. ETA 4 mins]

<<Captain, you got those Nimrods, sir?>> It always galled him calling men half his age Sir, but he knew and respected Captain Roberts and paid his due.
<<I'll brief the troops. Out>>

Bryn stood and looked over his platoon, taking a long drawn-in huff on his cigar. Some of them were a little green, but there was enough experience for what should be a straight forward op. He hoped they could handle it. No, he knew they could handle it! How them ladies had managed to get themselves lost in the first place was anyone's guess, but it wasn't going to happen twice. He stood tall, well, as tall as he could, to address the men around him, and opened a comm channel to the other skytrain. He didn't want anyone to miss this. 'Inspirational, while harsh. That's what I'll go for' he thought quietly to himself. That'd do the trick.

"Right then boys and girls!" he barked in a sharp tone. That got their attention. "We are playing Cavalry to this particular bunch of Cowboys. I want this to be as fast and clean as possible. It's important that we're on the ball. These teams that we've lost are highly trained, and if there's something in there that they can't handle then we had best be prepared for anything. I need you to show some bottle out there. One man with balls of steel is worth more to me than five who don't hold their nerve."
"We've got the same debrief as the first team with the added fun of finding out what's happened to them. We'll try to retrace their movements and join up. Once we've made contact it's in, out and back home for Trevor"
They didn't get some of his old TV references, but he didn't expect them to, and the puzzles looks make him smile inside.

"Now, strap on a parachute 'cause this may get bumpy, and be ready to jump on my orders!"

[23:06 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater eco tower level 3 Atrium]

<<@Gibson: We hear you, though your signal is feint >> Sticks works to boost the signal reception. <<Is there any way you can activate one of those CityMasters, and drive out? Otherwise, do you have any idea what level you're on? We need to meet up and extract. This mission is FUBAR and I'm personally going to deck the Mission Intel guy.>>

The drone turns to Gash and Stick's voice comes out of the speaker. "Getting the Ward on this level sounds like a plan. I think we're going to want to try and scuttle this mission. But we've got guys down there, and Greaves maybe a Prisonner. We're not leaving people behind."

Sticks switches to the Comm System. <<Reid/Kit What's the status up there. I've got contact with Squad 1, sounds like they took it up the ass. Going to need to figure out a way to extract them.>>

<<@Everyone: Listen up people. We're going to take this floor. There's a Warded area we need to clear. We need to establish and maintain communications with the Sultan. I'm putting together an assault plan and squad setup. We're consolidating and moving as a group. But we're going to have to leave small groups behind to act as communication links between ourselves and the Sultan.

Give me a couple of minutes to assess and work out the tacticals.

>>

Gash
[23:06 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater eco tower level 3 Atrium]

"Ok while we are waiting, I will report back to HQ. Any messages you want me to deliver?"

Gash leaves his body again, and enters the Astral. Time to report home Legundo....lets go

Sticks
[23:06 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater eco tower level 3 Atrium]

"Yes, Tell them this place is a fortress, and they're bunkered down with serious equipment and the ability to take over our electronic systems seemingly at will. These guys are almost definitely in league with Sojourner. And tell Major Nivin Crow's Mark that if I make it out of this alive, I'm going to beat him senseless."

Captain Jon Roberts
[23:06 August 22, 2070 – Skytrain Ƶ5-1 & 8Ø-Δ enroute to Target. ETA 4 mins]

In preparation for the possibility of interception, Captain Roberts begins sending a series of tactical AROs - marked as a contingency plan - to the others on the command channel, indicating where their men should attempt to drop, and what measures should be taken to insure that they can all meet up, on the ground, even if communications become disrupted, thereafter. Once he is confident that the lieutenant, mage, spiders, and squad leaders know what they need to be doing, he turns his attention to the tactical sensor feeds of the incoming drones, to see monitor the situation and to be ready to lend the spiders a hand if need be.

Gash
[23:06 August 22, 2070 – Astral space]

As you peel off from your body you again feel that vague sense of unease that's been plaguing you for the last few minutes...dismissing it as mission tension and anxiety at the strength of the opposition you make your way out of the tower at the speed of thought...only to be confronted by a massive magical barrier surrounding the tower, one that was certainly not there a moment ago and for which you felt no magical build-up to its creation. Approaching cautiously you can see that it is a sort of inverted ward laced with concealment magics, perhaps as a result of the ritual the forward teams witnessed earlier...?

Captain Jon Roberts
[23:06 August 22, 2070 – Skytrain Ƶ5-1 enroute to Target. ETA 4 mins]

The fluid aerial tacmap unfolds in your vision and you see the designators marking your drone air support, carefully monitored by your spiders, peel away from the skytrains and accelerate towards the former Deep Watch Nimrods. The opposition makes no particularly defensive moves and respond with a hail of tracer fire before they are even in range - whoever is piloting them clearly doesn't understand the operational parameters of the drones - of course that might just be what they want you to think and taking no chances you order a defensive aggressive pattern that will hopefully confuse and distract. The two Horizon-Doble air defense drones at your disposal, whilst not as fast as the Nimrods, make up for it with agility and weapon loadouts...you watch with satisfaction as you hear the confirmation <<Fox Two>> and see the foe drop from the sky...

...Line of sight radio contact with the downed LAV meet with a stony silence...

Captain Jon Roberts
[23:06 August 22, 2070 – Skytrain Ƶ5-1 & 8Ø-Δ enroute to Target. ETA 4 mins]

One of the spiders responded, as though reading Roberts's mind. <<No response from the LAV. Waiting on orders to log in.>>

Captn. Roberts smirked. The spider was picking up on his command style quickly. <<Hold connection. Let's focus on getting down in one piece, and not handing them any more of our toys to play with.>> Roberts was glad to see the spider exercise caution before he ordered it. As far as he was concerned, an unresponsive LAV was just as dangerous as the two Nimrods that had just been shot down. Careless connection could compromise their own network - if the cyberterrorists left malware on the discarded vehicle, or hackers of their own ready for cybercombat. The nimrods proved that Deep Watch's encryption and security protocols had been breached once, already. Their brief interaction with the drones had also shown that although their enemies were capable of bypassing these defenses, they did not have experience with traditional warfare. The relatively clear skies also suggested they were not prepared to repel the two platoons that were advancing on their position. The key, he thought, would be keeping the conflict where Deep Watch had the advantage, and not being lured into fighting over their own equipment in the Matrix.

Sticks
[23:06 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater eco tower level 3 Atrium]

Gibson's voice is still barely audible over the static

<<The vehicles we've found are unfuelled and have all been modded for full virtual interface...not sure I want to stick my mind in there even if we can find some gas! I think we are one level below the living quarters, about ten meters down I guess...there must be a way for them to get this kit to the surface but there's also a tunnel of some sort going across the lake from here...we could make it into the lower levels of the tower from here...>>

<<Reid here, I'm getting some weird readings off the sensors and comms are screwy, odd carrier waves in the jamming signal, I've been trying to isolate but no luck so far...heh, what the fuck...Sticks, take a look outside, where the hell did they come from...?>>

[23:06 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater eco tower level 3 Atrium]

<<Everyone Hold Position.>>

Sticks orders his horseman to spin around and heads back outside to let his visuals examine what's going on.

<<Gibson. Start to make your way up. We're going to come down after you. Go slow, be extra careful. Assume everyone you meet is hostile. Only trust your visuals. Matrix info around here is completely unreliable.>>

Gash
[23:20 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater eco tower level 3 Atrium]

That looks like a serious ward Gash thinks. OK lets see how this goes.

"Child of Eshu I call you forth. This message you must take for me.

"Private Gash reporting from Operation Stillwater Sir!

All command crew dead. Sergeant Sticks is now in charge. The place is a combination of Waco and the Battle of Tora Bora. The inhabitants are well-equiped, skilled fanatics with prepared and rehearsed plans for dealing with a force like ours. Sergeant Sticks beleives that they are definately in league with Sojourner, they are capable of taking over our equipment at will, and have lobotomised the Captain. They have serious magical capability. None of our communications work in the vicinity of the tower.

I beleive that they will blow the tower and the data we are tasked to acquire rather than allow it to fall into our hands.

I have tried negotiating with the adept who appears to be in charge of them, and in my opinion Sir, they are certifibly "crazed death-happy cultists".

We have wounded still inside the tower, and Sergeant Sticks is working on an operational plan to penetrate the tower to remove them.

All signals are heavily jammed so we will not receive any reply you send my electronic message"

Gash finishes summoning the watcher spirit then dispatches it back to the head of Magical Command in Fort Lewis

Lieutenant Bryntýr “Bryn” Hartikainen
[23:07 August 22, 2070 – Skytrain 8Ø-Δ enroute to Target. ETA 3 mins]

Bryn drew in a large mouthfull of smoke and puffed it out again casually in a ring before opening a Comms chanel to all of the ground troops.

"Looks like that was a false alarm. Get your final prep done. We'll be touching down in 3 minutes."

Captain Jon Roberts
[23:07 August 22, 2070 – Skytrain Ƶ5-1 enroute to Target. ETA 3 mins]

The drones tumble into splashes of colour in the trees surrounding the tower and you feel the skytrain bank under you as the pilot switches from forward thrust to vertical operations in preparation for your touchdown. Although there is no sign of Deep Watch operatives on your scans and the satellite recon photos that are now flowing over your display you do see two heat signatures appear on the seventh level of the tower, standing amongst the vegetation of the sky park. From this perspective they seem to be a troll and one other, looking out at your approach. Before you can order your drones in for a closer look they disappear back inside the tower.

Lt Bryn Hartikainen
[23:07 August 22, 2070 – Skytrain 8Ø-Δ enroute to Target. ETA 3 mins]

Your speech has roused the troops and you can see they are flushed with the excitement of the imminent confrontation. Equipment is being checked, ammo pouches strapped on and comms verified...

Sticks
[23:07 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 3]

You drive yourself back out onto the terrace to see what has disturbed Reid. The air is bitter and holds a tang of smoke, the atmosphere seems more polluted than a moment before. On the outside of the tower a series of overlapping scales have appeared, each suspended from metal pylons growing out of the terraces. They seem to be made of a near monofilament mesh and you suspect have properties similar to a ruthenium polymer cloak, but one for an entire building, it almost beggars belief?

Gash
[23:07 August 22, 2070 – Astral Space]

Your watcher streaks through the ward, it clearly doesn’t prevent astral travel, and bearing its important message heads off in the direction of Fort Lewis...

Interlude...

[23:07 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater e-Ther]

<<It seems the little man was correct and there are more of them coming. I’m not sure that we can deal with them all, perhaps it is time to drop the jamming and seek outside help from our patrons?>>

<<I am reluctant to go that far, there are others that we might be able to call on though...>>

Sticks
[23:07 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 3]

<<What the Hell.>>

Sticks double checks his instruments to make sure he's seeing this right.
<<@Kit, blast us a hole through that thing. Try and clear a nice big area. If they can cloak this tower, they can keep us cut off indefinitely. >>

Sticks bent back down to his tactical plan, rolling back inside for now. <<Reid, we're going to try and meet up with what's left of Squad 1 and evac back to your point. We'll see what we can do after that. Even if we have to hoof it using the LAV as cover. I need you to find me as much fibreoptic cable as we can spare.>>

<< Rodriguez, I want you to stay back with the injured on the Sultan. You, Vicary and Cpl Bradley are our rear position. Lets make sure all the Injured are on the Sultan, and hooked up as best as possible to medical care. Chan you're staying with them, we'll take Dahlia.

Hemlock, Opium, and Fold. You'll be with us as we move forward to break that Ward. Then get our people out.

Cald, Wyrd, you'll be stationed >>HERE<< You'll be our first link to the Sultan. I'll be routing as much traffic as possible through you guys. Any issues, you let us know, without you we'll be cut off.

This is our movement order. You guys know what to do.

Joshua
Bradley | Davies
Opium | Fold
Richards | Hemlock
King | Gash
Dahlia | Kemp
Sticks
Blay

>>

The squad layout is displayed with AROs including fields of fire, and the locations of the drones. As he wheels back near Gash. "Gash, we got any news from our HQ yet?"

Sticks
[23:07 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 3]

Your instruments clearly are malfunctioning now, you've played back the vid footage of your arrival at the tower and according to that these damn scales have been here all along...you are distracted from further investigation by Reid

<<Er, Sticks...Kit isn't here anymore...her cocoon is empty...it looks like the vid logs have been deleted...I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention to the inside feeds...>>

Sticks
[23:07 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 3]

<<@Reid Private Channel: Are you KIDDING ME! How the hell did her cocoon get opened, and emptied without you noticing. #$$*#(#*(*$*($(&$()#**#. I'm getting really tired of this.>>

<<@Group: Someone get Gash up to the Sultan. Reid, check and see if we still have those DNA samples we keep around for magical tracking. These clowns are kicking our asses and it has to Dreking stop. Noone goes anywhere without a partner. And were going to start using our Version 1.0 Optical Sensors. >>

Gash
[23:07 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 3]

Gash returned to his body

"I doubt if HQ will be able to reply magically. I didn't take the risk of leaving: I might not be able to get back. That ward obviously is doing something. If we are waiting I'll go study it, if we're going in now I'll go without.

It takes an hour and a magical lodge to do ritual tracking and I don't think we want to stop for that. I can summon a spirit to find Kit, but it will not be able to penetrate the wards. I'll bet quite a lot that she's dead or behind a ward. "

Lieutenant Bryntýr "Bryn" Hartikainen
[23:10 August 22, 2070 - Skytrain 8Ø-Δ. Stillwater School]

The Skytrain sat down with a bump. Everyone on board looked relieved at the landing, not having relished the prospect of a low altitude bail out.

On order from Captain Roberts, Bryn ordered the troops to disembark.
"You've all done this a thousand times before. Don't let this be the time you get it wrong. In teams, down the ramp. Keep low and get in cover until the situation is assessed. MOVE OUT!"

Switching channels, he gave one final address to his platoon.
"Kappa platoon, you know the drill. I want a perimeter set up around these Skytrains. Lets make ths easy for the Captain. Thor Squad, you take the north; Odin the east; Heimdall to the south and Týr to the west. Each squad, I want 1st Fire Team on lookout, and 2nd and 3rd providing supporting fire. Command team, on me."
He liked his platoon to look the well drilled and took pride in their execution of his orders.

With that he strolled out on to the ramp as the squads disembarked around him. Ignoring all of his own orders about a swift exit and keeping low he stood at the top of the ramp and looked around.

Captain Jon Roberts & Lt Bryn Hartikainen
[23:10 August 22, 2070 – Landing Zone]

The two skytrains hover briefly over the LZ their rotors churning the grass and then booted feet hit the ground running, spreading out with clear overlapping fields of fire in a perfect combat deployment. Any wild life has fled the tumult of the landing and the area seems deserted...

Hiding amongst some rusty play equipment you see the vaguely smoking ruins of a Deep Watch combat drone...it appears to have been killed with a single hi calibre shot...tactical analysis of the trajectory clearly places the origins of the attack from the tower itself, it would be wise to take precautions against further sniper fire...

Abruptly the jamming that had been a constant white noise over your main comms ceases and for those looking on in the virtual realm a pulsed communication shoots out from the tower and then equally suddenly the tower goes dark, all wifi connections severed and every node disappearing from the matrix.

Deep Watch Squad Two
[23:10 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 3]

With the team ordered and the careful organisation of your communications back to the Sultan via a spool of fibre optic cable you begin the careful probing of the tower, old fashioned hand signals replacing the normal tactical AROs, Joshua leading the way...

Skirting around the atrium, avoiding the debris of the fallen drones, you approach what the plans indicate should be the main thoroughfare to the central circulation core. With careful leapfrog deployment you enter the corridor space, once a light and airy place, now dim with emergency night lighting, a trickle of water running from inside the atrium and then down a central illuminated stream creates an eerie glow. The only sound comes from the swoosh of the rotadrones and the dimly metallic sound of the hard shells.

This area was obviously once entrances to hotel suites on the outer edge of the tower but the majority of doors have been blocked up and sealed with spray foam sculpted into interesting forms. There are two double doors off to the east side and you can see the way to the central core ahead...

In the astral Gash hovers over the group...marvelling at the threads of power that drift through the stream in the centre of the space, it’s almost as if the whole place has been converted into some sort of low level power matrix that any corp manatech unit would be envious of...the rooms they are approaching hold the key warded area on this level, closer inspection indicates that it is a simple astral alarm ward rather than anything intended to keep people out of that area... now that the background count has dissipated you are confident that you could breach the ward in astral form

Gash
[23:10 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 3]

"Well that is really interesting." Gash said. "This place is Feng Shui-ed to the eyeballs. Some sort of serious power matrix."

"More interesting for us is that the wards are simple alarm wards. I guess they are to attract attention when someone penetrates them. I will trigger a load of wards all over the building, then we should go through this one"

"Children of Eshu I call you forth. Come to me now" Gash summons forth 3 watcher spirits. "Three times three I conjure thee. Come forth spirits and do my bidding. You! Go to the top of the building and try to penetrate the ward that is there. You! Go to the first level and try and penetrate all the wards there. You! Go below ground and penetrate all the wards that you can find. "

"Take no risks. If the ward hurts you, you may flee. If challenged by an opponent you may flee. "

"Go now and spread chaos as is your wont"

"Ok. Done. They should be distracted, so lets go in"

Captain Jon Roberts
[23:10 August 22, 2070 – Landing Zone]

Captain Roberts and his platoon disembark in relative silence. The men seem alert and perhaps even eager to see some action, but any orders being given are done through the tactical network, as the Captain emerged wordlessly from the vehicle. When the trajectory of the sniper's attack is discovered, that information is broadcast to everyone, and sufficient areas of cover are highlighted on their mapsofts. The two skytrains take off once everyone has gotten clear, and head out of the known jamming area after receiving orders regarding the conditions of their return - including low-tech options like a particular color of smoke or flares. While the men checked their equipment, Roberts took a moment to inspect his own loadout, and make sure everything but his commlink was using the skinlink-adapters that he had wired into his gear.

As the building wifi goes silent, Roberts smiled confidently. Deep Watch definitely had them spooked. It didn't really affect his plans. Roberts had no intention of taking on these hackers on their home turf. If they wanted to take their entire building offline, that was fine by him. They probably needed the connection more than Deep Watch would.

Whatever was going on in there, the siege had begun.

Once both platoons were ready, a shift of AROs in their shared AR overlay indicated the order to begin advancing toward the tower. Squads were positioned to maximize sensor coverage, line-of-sight, and to overlap firing zones as they went, while attempting to maximize cover and minimize exposure to the sniper's line of fire. The mercs activated their ruthinium coatings to make detection that much more difficult. 750 meters wasn't that far, but under the gaze of an unseen sniper, it would take its toll on everyone's nerves. Roberts had his own snipers ready to counter-attack if shots were fired - although in the time it would take them to estimate trajectory and find their target, the enemy sniper would be able to find cover or move.

Sticks
[23:10 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 3]

Sticks analyzed the data as quickly as possible. <<Joshua, open up the door, I'm sending Anabelle in first.>> Anabelle, one of his rotodrones hovered near the door, waiting impatiently for the door to open so she could enter the system.

<<Get ready, remember we're not taking prisonners. Until we hear from HQ, this is strictly a regroup and exit mission.>>

Lieutenant Bryntýr "Bryn" Hartikainen
[23:12 August 22, 2070 - Stillwater Eco Tower Bridge]

Bryn watched as two of his squads moved on in front of him across the bridge in a sweeping advance. He was always a little proud of his men, but he wouldn't ever let them know this. He stubbornly walked along, appearing naive of the risks posed to a person out in the open, but he felt it showed bravery to the troops and it allowed him to get a better reading on his surroundings. Cover was for a known enemy threat, not for hiding from an enemy feared. When across the bridge he took a good look at his surroundings, allowing Roberts to use the Tacnet sensors to make the call, and gave the order for the rest of the squads to advance to his position.

Sticks
[23:10 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 3]

The doors are thrust open and the room beyond is filled with the angry buzzing of your drone. You are confronted with multiple reflected images as the drone's image is repeated in the glass wall up some steps from the entrance level. Beyond you glimpse what looks to be some sort of laboratory behind a clean room glazed airlock and over to your right some sort of decontamination room and the ubiquitous white suits. You can dimly tell from the ceiling that this was once a series of apartments with the internal partitions removed and only the bared skeleton of the tower remains...

Cpt Roberts & Lt Bryn Hartikainen
[23:15 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 1]

You move with confidence and no small amount of bravado through the apparently abandoned areas of the entrance facility on the shore line. The various spacious rooms and vestibules are filled with faded images of the heh day of the Redmond period when the pre crash computer corps ruled this part of the world and had money to spend on expensive frivolities like eco spas. With precision pace you cross the bridge link in bounding overwatch formations, the only person breaking the carefully orchestrated deployment being Bryn striding through the centre. At about the centre of the span your attention is caught by a couple of micro drones seemingly stopped dead in their tracks...the RFID tags and micro etched markings tell you that they were deployed by the first Deep Watch group to pass this way...

At the end of the bridge and into what was clearly once the reception area of the tower your way is blocked by something resembling the barricades formed by an angry mob. Upon close inspection however you can see that they are in fact the bodies of drones...and they seem to be alive...

Gash
[23:10 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 3]

"Lets do this Legundo, defend us and defeat any who attack us" breathes Gash as Legundo possesses him

Gash's leg's twist and warp, the eyes in his head roll up revealing just the whites of his eyes, the combined form of Gash and Legundo steps forwards and holds his/it's hands apart. Lightning starts to crackle and jump between the hands.

Gash/Legundo then heads into the area, taking advantage of the available cover, and looking for the sniper who is almost certainly waiting.

Joshua
[23:10 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 3]

Joshua evaluates the situation: no sign of any hostiles, no sign of any rescuees, and this doesn't look like a server room.

"Lets head on in and find the others" he grunts, heading into the area, towards the way down

Lieutenant Bryntýr "Bryn" Hartikainen
[23:15 August 22, 2070 - Stillwater Eco Tower Level 1]

<<Frack! Captain, have you seen that Cerberus?!>>

"LEAD SQUADS, HIT THE WALLS AND TAKE ANY COVER YOU CAN FIND. KAPPA PLATOON, BRING ANY TROOPS WITH A ROCKET LOADOUT TO FRONT AND CENTRE. GIVE IT FULL FORCE. TAKE THAT BASTARD DOWN!"

Bryn shouted his orders with urgency, snapping everyone to attention. This was real, and could be a lot more dangerous that anticipated.

<<Spiders, start working on that drone in case it survives the salvo>>

Captain Jon Roberts
[23:15 August 22, 2070 – Landing Zone]

Captain Roberts speaks up, not wanting to specifically countermand the Lieutenant's order.

<<Try directional jammers first - let's see if this is a pilot program, or a rigger. If that fails and you manage to break the encryption before it is destroyed, drop off of our network before attempting any connection. We don't know what surprises they have waiting for us on that node, but they probably have the advantage there. Let's try to keep this fight to the real world as much as we can.>>

He still didn't like the idea of connecting to "compromised" nodes, but if the thing stayed in one piece long enough for the spiders to break encryption, then the fight was probably not going well, and attempting to hijack the tank might be their best option.

He then returned to the tacnet AR display of the situation. Although he was not at the front lines, with Lieutenant Bryntyr he could see the drones just fine using the sensors in the other troops armor. He marked up the display with distance calculations and tactical waypoints to assist the men in firing on the drones without catching one another in the blast. He was pretty confident in his men's ability to engage a military target - and based on the nimrod's defensive maneuvers he did not anticipate the cyberterrorists even knew how to operate a tank like this. He did wonder where they got it, though. It didn't appear to be Deep Watch's. He also sent orders to some of the small-arms men to take out any of other active drones. Even though the Manservents were typically physically incapable of hostile actions, they were providing sensor feed to their enemies.

<<Fire when ready.>>

Cpt Jon Roberts & Lt Bryn Hartikainen
[23:15 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 1]

Your men move with practised ease, despite the suddenness of the threat, splitting apart to minimise the impact of any strike against them. Looking on in AR you see a high resolution image overlays the drone, a slowly wakening Cerberus with lightening crackling across its jaws and a metallic ozone stink that fills the room. Your combat techs weave a complex web of jamming signals across the junk pile ahead of you and in response there is a projected metallic roar that ratchets up through the spectrum until it is physically painful to listen to. This easily muffles the whine of the rotary gun in the central turret as the battery packs kick it to life...

<<Leave this place or you will be fired upon>> the voice overrides the Deep Watch comm channel so it would seem they know who you are

...the rocket strikes the walker a glancing hit on the flank and the capacitors discharge their lethal load of energy into the target, a torrent of light and sparks wash down the legs and into the other drones around it. For a brief second it is still and then the hardened core of the anti vehicle rocket splash electronic guts across the room...the heat wave ripples through the air back towards your men who might perhaps prefer to engage targets from further off if large scale munitions are being deployed.

Through the haze and floating debris a holographic image is projected down to floor level, it is crazed with sparkles of distortion and was obviously part of the original welcoming programme...now the image has been subverted and a tall Athenian warrioress stands before you

<<You were warned...!>>

Sticks
[23:12 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 3]

You feel tense but utterly alert, your senses heightened and clear, you are conscious of the breathing of the men and women under your command, even through the insulation of the Horseman’s armour.

At your direction Kemp approaches the glazed doors, keeping low on the steps to avoid any possible fire from inside the room. A quick examination of the maglock and a hand signal indicates that you are clear to proceed. Richards, lugging Squire’s squad support weapon, takes up a covering position, and Bradley and Davies stalk forwards, the door sliding back silently at their touch and a faint waft of mist drips down the steps towards your remaining soldiers.

“It’s an airlock, we can’t open the inner door without closing the outer one, or blowing the shit out of them both...looks to me like some sort of cybernetics lab, there are all sorts of AR projections of bodies with cyber...”

Gash
[23:12 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 3]

While the others are busy at the doors to the warded side chamber you both move forward towards the core, following the bubbling iridescent watercourse. With Legundo meshing with your senses you feel invulnerable, everything is crystal clear with the astral overlapping the real world image. You see the two lurkers in the core even though a spirit has cloaked them in concealment, but then it is almost as if they want to be seen. The first is a troll of significant size standing in an alcove off the landing level and the other, another damn female elf, is standing on the stairs just above you. Her aura is definitely mundane but also decidedly not normal...

Joshua
[23:12 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 3]

You move with power and control, supremely confident in yourself. You feel buoyed up by a sense of rightness and heightened awareness as adrenalin courses through you. Despite this you only just catch sight of the troll waiting for you in an alcove off the core...thermoptic camouflage and possibly magical concealment kept him from you...he points an excessively large digit in your direction

“How’s about you and I go toe to toe? You scum have come far enough...”

Gash
[23:12 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 3]

"I/We am/are confused by this place. Flee or face my/our wrath" The sound from Gash is of many voices speaking at the same time, in different tones. Gash/Legundo's ball of coruscating lightning glows in intensity and blasts towards the elf. "Leave me/us alone. I/we do not desire your death, though you may leave me/us no choice"

Joshua
[23:12 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 3]

Joshua considers. It's clear what standing orders would say... But this mission has gone crazy any way.

Placing his bow on the ground, Joshua draws his twin swords, and grunts "Come on if you think you are hard enough". In Joshua's head, he's hearing voices "fight fight fight".The nagging doubts about "this is a good way to blow the mission" are swept to one side.

Cpt Jon Roberts & Lt Bryn Hartikainen
[23:15 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 1]

Heat and smoke from the destroyed drones spiral up to the ceiling. Your techs cautiously approach to ensure that the Cerberus is indeed dead, although it seems unlikely that it would be faking it, checking for wireless signals or other signs of life.

Suddenly a deep, calm male voice addresses you all

“A fire detection event has occurred. Please do not be alarmed. Make your way to the nearest available exit, fire suppression measures will engage in ten seconds...”

Over the command channel a priority message comes in from the company spiders

<<Captain, we have had contact with a representative of the STC asking questions about a possible Deep Watch action on their territory. I’m pretty sure the brass didn’t ask permission for the original insertion so for Gods sake keep it quiet out there. I want you to find our men, grab the data they were hunting for and get the hell out! Our profit margins are already at breaking point on this one...>>

Behind the now somewhat reduced junk pile you can see security doors grinding closed in the amber strobing light of an emergency beacon. AROs are flashing through the room directing you all back in the direction that you have come. The hologram glares at you...

Gash
[23:12 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 3]

You lash out with your/his lightning spell fully expecting to see the elf reduced to a smoking husk...instead time seems to ripple around her and the spell sails through the space she was occupying, she is standing to one side...

“My turn now” she says with a malicious grin and lashes out with a segmented metallic whip that wasn’t there a second ago...of course it’s her turn to look perturbed when the vicious barb is deflected by your/Legundo’s presence...

Your/his second bolt of lightning crashes into her and she lurches away from you/him, her clothes singed and smoke pouring off her...her eyes glitter as she tips backwards over the railing of the stairs and plunges into the gap between the lift shafts...

...it almost too late when you realise that the whip has wrapped around your leg like a tentacle and you are being dragged towards the edge...

Joshua
[23:12 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 3]

You are barely distracted by the crackle of lightning and the ozone stink beside you as Gash attacks another unseen target. The troll nods to you

Joshua
[23:12 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 3]

Spinning your swords in a tight web you advance on the grinning troll. The first flurry screech off metal arm plates and he ducks in low and smashes his fist onto your leg plate armour in the weaker spot just above the knee...

...as Gash flings his opponent off the stairs with a blast of lightning the troll screams out

"SWITCH...!"

Cpt Jon Roberts
[23:15 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 1]

Captain Roberts transmits back to the company spiders. <<Understood.>> He restrained himself from elaborating further, because he understood the politics involved. Unfortunately, he knew the bad PR from a successful unauthorized mission was nothing compared to the fallout if Deep Watch's intel is accurate, and there is a rogue AI backing the cyberterrorists. Until they had that data, though, their mission was going to be strictly Black Ops. He could care less about Deep Watch's profit margin, however. As an officer, it would be a poor strategy to announce this, but he understood that the moment Deep Watch became truly convinced that it was no longer worth it to complete the operation, he and his men would receive orders to stand down and abort the mission. This latest comment only reinforced the idea that these orders could come down at any moment, so making sure they had a good extraction plan was critical. The last thing he wanted was to get the order after he and his men were trapped on the inside.

Highlighting the security doors in AR, he gave the order to stop them from closing. They needed to go further in, but they needed to have a clear way back out again. Turning toward the glaring hologram, he inclined his head and tried speaking to the thing. Surely there were some sensors in the area that his men have not found and destroyed yet - otherwise the hologram would not be able to follow his movements, or react to their actions. "Normally, I wouldn't mind playing negotiator - but we're way beyond that. You've got some of our men in there, and a lot of our tech. We're coming in to take it back. You can either get in our way, or get out of our way - that's your call. However, as of this moment, you have not actually fired on one of my men, and we have not fired on any of yours. I think we'd both appreciate if things stayed that way. If you don't want us to break any more of your toys, keep them out of our way."

Lieutenant Bryntýr "Bryn" Hartikainen
[23:15 August 22, 2070 - Stillwater Eco Tower Level 1]

'Well, it's worth a go' Bryn thought to himself as he gave the order.

"Point squad, on me! Push that Cerberus under the door. Quick, MOVE!"

Bryn hit it as hard as he could, using his low centre of gravity as leverage, and tried to move the stricken drone.

Sticks
[23:12 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 3]

<<Lets find something to block these airlock doors, and as a squad move up and catch up to those two idiots. Joshua, you overgrown tincan, if we live through this, I'm going to have your hide.>> Apparently Sticks is the nurturing Sergeant type.

The Squad quickly uses a few destroyed drone carcasses to wedge the doors open, so no surprises can come out of the labs. <<Alright, move out. Lets see if we can't keep those two idiots from getting killed. Move!>> From his horseman Sticks grumbles, but he double checks back with Reid on the Sultan. <<Everything alright?>>

Sticks
[23:13 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 3]

With the airlock doors successfully jammed it is time to turn your attention to the delinquent duo that have slipped away from the squad. Gash is renowned for not successfully following orders, or at least interpreting them to suit himself, but given the seriousness of the situation you wouldn’t have thought it would be too much to ask for him to follow...and as for Joshua...

Your drones streaking ahead of you, you are just in time to see Gash hurl someone off of the stairway with an eye watering display of magical pyrotechnics...

The troll’s roar of “SWITCH...” easily carries through the closed doors between you and the combatants. You see him smash a blow into Joshua that makes even his mighty form quake, you don’t want to think about what it might do to a lesser individual...

<<Is everything alright?!? I suppose you could say that it's alright if you ignore all the shit going on around us!>>

Lt Bryn Hartikainen
[23:15 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 1]

Your shoulders protest against the treatment but it’s nothing that your aged form can’t handle. Between yourself and your squad you manage to shove the wreckage of the Cerberus under the descending blast door, hopefully that will hold it open until the techs can get to work isolating the controls...

Following the point squad through the gap under the door, you barely have to stoop whereas they have to adopt an awkward crouch, you see ahead a short corridor opening out into an atrium space. The area is filled with more faded literature, both real and AR, of the joys that the eco tower once had to offer, including AR representations of the floor plans.

Two graceful helical staircases sweep through the space at the back of the room surrounding a core of three glazed lift shafts. These disappear up above you and down to the level below you. In the centre of the shafts there is a glittering holographic light sculpture and beyond this you can see down into a restaurant that has seen better days. The far wall of that space looks out under the waters of the lake and you can see a profusion of small fish attracted by the dim lights.

As you and your platoon move out to secure the deserted atrium you hear, and in some ways feel, a blood thinning howl from somewhere in the circulation core above you. The hairs on the back of your neck stand on end and you have a feeling that if it comes closer you will need all your powers of persuasion to counter the fear effects.

Cpt Jon Roberts
[23:15 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 1]

The hologram looks at you disdainfully

"Come then and we will defend ourselves, let us see, Captain Roberts, who has the stronger resolve...”

Kappa platoon are moving forwards to secure the area beyond the now wedged blast doors and your mage, Brafton approaches you to talk quietly...

“I’m prepared to go astral if you want recon ahead...I know with the drones at risk of being compromised that we could do with some eyes to forewarn us of the enemy’s disposition and numbers. You’re the tech expert, what’s with all this AR imagery? I thought the tower had gone dark? Guess it’s on a separate system, it’s bloody annoying though, don’t want another spam about how good the thermal spa treatments are here...”

Gash
[23:13 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 3]

The slick metallic cable of the whip drags you/Legundo towards the edge of the balustrade. Thankfully your/his strength proves match enough for the slight weight of the elf bitch. Suddenly the pull goes slack, it would seem she has dropped off the end, that leaves you free to deal with any other uncomfortable surprises...

Cpt Jon Roberts
[23:15 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 1]

Roberts is unnerved by the fact that the hacker in the hologram seems to have very good intelligence on the situation, but tries not to let it show. When approached by Brafton, he nods in the direction of the door, authorizing the astral recon. While he is willing to believe the tower has some magical defenses, they are probably much weaker than the technological ones. On his tac-net, he sends out another command. <<Anyone not working on the door, sift through that pile of junk and make sure nothing in there is operational. This guy has eyes on the room from somewhere, we need to find and disarm their sensors.>>

Joshua
[23:15 August 22, 2070 – Stillwater Eco Tower Level 3]

Joshua looks the large troll inappropriately known as "Feather" in the eyes, and strikes swiftly. All the strike was deadly swift and would have slain outright a lesser opponent, Feather manages to deflect the blow and use the energy to strike back. The counter blow is mostly absorbed by Joshuas's armour.

"Is that the best you can do?" Joshua grunted, as he prepared his next strike.