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Karoline
"Welcome, to Shadow Warstm, the most anticipated show of the year. Soon, these brave, or perhaps insane, teams will be airdropped into our War Zonetm, and the action will begin. These teams are fighting over an amazing grand prize of five million nuyen with even more available to earn along the way. They won't just have each other to worry about, there are also the various surprises situated inside the War Zonetm, and the fearsome Enforcers who are worth an amazing million nuyen kill bonus, but that will be cash hard earned. All that and more to come, and remember that your viewer input can effect the game. Without further ado, here are those willing to put it all on the line for fame, glory, and of course, fabulous wealth!"
pbangarth
Unknown airfield, 07:30.

The roar of the aircraft engines in the background and the wind make the voices harder to hear, but they add to the exciting atmosphere of the early morning interviews of the soon to disembark contestants.

The interviewer holds a microphone to the short man, heavily armored and standing by his gear, waiting to load. A trideo recording device is being hooked up to the contestant as he speaks to the interviewer, and through him the audience. His face has a childlike appearance to it, but his eyes are anything but innocent.

"Yah. Lucky Eddie, that's me. I been through more scrapes than most dream of. Not a scratch. Got a problem out here, though. Someone's got a real hate on for me, and want's me dead. Only way I can survive is if I get money. Lots of it. So that's why I'm here. Don't care a slag for anybody's opinion. I gotta kill to keep alive. So that's what I'm gonna do. I walk outta here with millions, I live. 'S the only way. And as for you buggers out there who want my skin, 's the only way you're gonna get your money.

"As for the audience, well you just watch. Many will try, but ain't nobody gonna take down Lucky Eddie. I'm gonna leave a trail of bodies till my team is the last one standing. Then I'll be back out there. With you. Think about it."
Saint Sithney
Unknown airfield, 07:35.

The camera pulls back and out attempting to take in the man, from his broad, armored shoulders to his massive, digitigrade cyberlegs, but then settles for a closeup of the storm-trooper-looking full face mask. His pose is bolt upright and tone is straight forward, even as he argues with the technical assistant pinning the camera to his armor. In the background is heard, "My concern is not with the integrity of the signal which this device produces, but rather..."

With reluctance to get to close to the hulking armored man in front of her, the interviewer points the directional mic from a length away, interrupting the discussion. "Well you're a big one, aren't you, BT?"

"Actually I am of average size. I know this because all parts of me were designated as standard."
"Yes, well," the interviewer continued, slightly flustered. "Are you excited to be here fighting and dying alongside your team mates on 'The Mongooses?' How does it feel to know that billions might be rooting for or against you in this competition?"
"I was told that, as a former member of a UCAS strike team, my presence here would bolster confidence in the UCAS military. I was also assured that by volunteering, as I was ordered to, they would guarantee that my family was compensated should I die in the course of the game. As I have always been a ward of the state, I can only speculate as to what they did mean by that remark." A brief pause later, "I do like the Mongooses. It is a good team name, and we are equipped to kill any number of threats which might stand between us and total victory."
Garvel
The camera pulls back again, and the interviewer looks around confused.
"Hasn't your third teammember arrived yet" he asks.
"I'm up here." a voice suddenly sounds from above.
The interviewer looks surprised upwards, as a pixie appears in the camera's field of view, deactivating his Chameleon Suit and probably simultaneously dropping his concealment power. The Chameleon Suit is now completely black, and also covers his face. He wears a monocle that reminds of a DBZ Scouter, and a Quick-Draw Hip Holster with a hold-out pistol which is guilded and has an ivory grip plate.
"Hi, my name is Fitz."
He holds a plastic cup with soykaf in his hand. Metahumans would use this cup probably to drink shorts. He carefully lifts his mask a bit to empty the cup. It will be the last soykaf for a long time.
The interviewer smiles and says:"Wow, he looks like a little ninja with butterfly wings. How cute."
Fitz obviously doesn't seem to like this comment:"Cute? You call me CUTE? You think I participate in this show because I'm cute? I'm a ****ing killing machine! Call me cute once more and I will turn you into a toad and flush you down the toilet!"
"Err..."
"And I will drop the spell half way down! You will die as a toilet plugging! How do you like that? Do you still think thats cute?" He crushes the empty plastic shot glass in his hand (with visible effort) to underline his threat. He pauses, to calm himself down. Then, after he realizes, that he actually managed to intimidate the interviewer, he crosses his arms and says:"Now ask your questions."
The interviewer seems really nervous now: "Err... How does it feel, to be a pixie?"
"Pretty normal, if you ask me."
"Err... What do you think is the most exciting thing about this contest?"
Fitz reflects, and then answers:"If they were able to find a properly sized parachute for me."
"Haha. We will see about this later. Thank you"
pbangarth
Unknown airfield, 07:38.

Lucky Eddie looks around for the nearest official. He strides over to him, scowls up at him and demands, "Well? The Mongooses are all here. Where do we load?"

He turns to the camera drone. "Expect this, people. The Mongooses are as hungry, as fast and as deadly as their namesake. And we are ready! You wanna watch a well-oiled killing machine, keep your peepers glued to our channel. Or get the re-caps of our latest victims." He flashes a wide grin full of crooked, yellowed teeth. Then he clears his throat coarsely and horks a loogie.
Raven the Trickster
Silver Shotglass Bar, Los Angeles, PCC

*Cale 'Black Cat' Kuroneko

"My Nuyen is on the Mongooses, nobody else has their frakking drek together and they're all ready to load. Go Lucky Eddie, go Fitz, Go BT"

*Jimmy 'Two Shots' Jones - Bartender

"Pipe down Cale, the show's just started. They've got days, maybe even weeks before they can win this thing."
AppliedCheese
This Message brought to you by ARES, the brand the professionals of ShadowWars Trust!
AppliedCheese
0740 PST, TNT-Drama (a Proud Subsidiary of Horizon Media) Virtual Conference Room
As you can see from the latest batch of input gentlemen, our initial viewer numbers are at an acceptable, but not great, 12.6 million. Even with trans global broadcasts, projections are that we will not be exceeding a high end viewership of 40 million, though Hong Kong may help that number up some. At current advertising rates, we will need to maintain this show on air for another five weeks without allowing for more than a 3% per week viewer slip after the initially projected 11% loss from the pilot.

I want everybody to start thinking of ways to maintain the excitement and thrill of the show at the highest levels for those 5 weeks. Initial media polls will guide us in how each team is perceived, and in two hours marketing-pysch will be offering some very valuable input into which teams we need to succeed and which teams we need to fail, and in what manner. I need some great ideas by then people.

pbangarth
Unknown airfield, 07:39.

Lucky Eddie wanders over to his kit and does some stretches. The guy looks like he's made of rubber, the way he can bend.
pbangarth
Unknown airfield, 07:45.

Eddie scans the crowd slowly assembling, piling gear. They look like a bunch of mooks. What am I missing? This could be trouble.
pbangarth
Unknown airfield, 07:45.

Oooh. Looks like someone official is stepping in front of a camera. Could this be it?
Saint Sithney
Unknown airfield, 07:45.

BT turns to the excitable Eddie as the knee-high Gnome runs about.
"I anticipate a great deal of cowardice from our more strategic competitors. We should take this time to identify those whom are most likely to fortify and wait until other teams are exhausted. Those who might act in this manner must be dealt with hastily. I feel confident in our ability to strike quickly and with purpose."
Karoline
The announcer who has become the face of Shadow Wars from the long run up of commercials and ads motions to the cameras and interviewers to get on with the introductions and to get the cameras off of the cargo plane being loaded up with large crates of unknown contents, but which the movers seem to be handling with great care.

The interviews continue, moving over to a group containing two male orks and a male troll, all of which are dressed in street outfits, sporting bandanas, and looking like they're part of some gang, but not wearing any recognizable colors or designs. “We're T-Dog and the Mutts.” one of the two orks says. He looks slightly stronger than the other, but otherwise quite similar, perhaps brothers or even twins. The other Ork and Troll both pose in various 'muscle man' positions, showing off their ample strength. “I'm T-Dog, and these are the Mutts, C-Dog and A-Dog. We've got some surprises for anyone trying to take us down.” and with that he pulls what is unmistakably a Molotov cocktail from a bag on his hip, clinking heard by the careful listener, indicating many more. The odds of those bottles surviving the landing seems small, but even if they do, the 'old school' glass bottle design is unlikely to go very far. All three seem poorly equipped for an event like this.

The next group is three much more somber individuals. All three wear hoods and scarves that cover their faces, and they all wear city style camouflage complete with matching backpacks. Race and even sex is difficult to tell for sure, but they are all most likely Human or Elf, and one is certainly female. The male speaks “We represent Mercenary Company Dragoon, 'even dragons for the right price'. Code names James, Tracy, and Sam.” he says, indicating himself, the female, and the last member who could be either male or female from as little of the face is as visible, and as distorting as the armor is under the camo suits. They seem lightly armed, with only pistols visible, and the tell tale barrel of a sniper rifle on the female, but their packs could be hiding other surprises with their bulk.

A Dwarf stands next to what looks more or less like a shipping container, though made of sturdier stuff. Standing next to him is a hulking anthro drone, larger than your average troll by about a meter. It seems like a re-purposed construction drone of some kind. The missile packs on its shoulders hint however that it'll be used for demolition rather than construction. ARrow overlays indicate that the drone is in fact a cyborg, and thus will be air dropped with a parachute. The final member of the team is a lank Human wearing heavy armor, but carrying no obvious weaponry. The backpack that sits next to him however looks as though it weighs more than he does, and he hasn't shouldered it yet. “We're Team Cyber, and we plan on teaching you stone age brutes what a mind with high tech can accomplish.”

Group number 5 seems to be another group of runners, judging by the lack of a common theme like the others seem to have had so far. Among them is a Dwarf, an Elf, and an Ork. All wear trench coats to conceal what sort of weaponry they might be using, but whatever they have, it seems to be enough to cause the occasional odd protrusion, to which the interviewer can't help but ask “Is that a gun under your trench coat, or are you just happy to be here?” which prompts a glare from the Ork which shuts up the interviewer quickly. [color=cyan]“We're team Falcon.” the elf tells the interviewer and the audience shortly “If you need a job done discreetly, just call for us. If we're still working after we win that is.” she adds with a smirk.

Next is a group all clad in Military grade armor. They somewhat resemble the Enforcers, but their armor isn't as large, their weapons are more mundane, and they just don't capture that sense of menace and fear that the Enforcers always gave off in the ads. Still, all three carry rather large packs and give off an air of silent confidence. They don't seem to be showing any signs of fidgeting or anything, though they might be concealed by the armor. They have assault rifles attached to their thighs like most people would have pistols, and one has a rocket launcher on his shoulder. A filtered voice drones from one of the group “We're Team Dominant. Ace, Kreg, and Seraph.” It's hard to even tell which of the three spoke, as none of them move when doing so. Also, since they gave no indications on their name, ARrows pop up to identify them from their earlier entries.

The second to last group is all females. A Human, Elf, and Ork “Team Girl Power.” The Human informs the interviewer, who seems to entirely like the idea of an all female team. All wear sleek outfits that still look like they'll provide proper protection. Almost like Form Fitting Body Armor, but obviously intended for outer ware as opposed to under armor. “Janis, Penny, and Alice.” They wear assault rifles on their backs underneath somewhat lighter backpacks than most of the others have been sporting. The elf gives a wink and blows a kiss to the camera, obviously attempting to curry some crowd favor, one of the only ones that has seemed interested in actively doing so thus far.

The final group seems to be missing. The interviewer looks around for the 8th team that she knows should be around somewhere, but doesn't seem to be able to find anyone that she hasn't already interviewed or isn't part of the various flight crews, camera crews, and various other staff. She moves in front of the camera and speaks to the audience “Well, it looks like the 8th team is already MIA. Have they been taken out by underhanded means before the games have even begun? Or have they simply overslept? Whatever the case is, the game waits for no one, and -” she is cut off as the feed is switched to the Shadow Wars spokesman.

”Welcome one and all to the greatest game on earth! Teams, make your way onto your transports, they will be leaving shortly, and you will be dropped at exactly 8:00 from a height of one kilometer over a predetermined location for each team. Remember the rules, and if you do get killed, at least try to make a good show of it.” With that brief announcement the spokesman makes his way to the cargo plane, leaving the teams to make their ways to the eight choppers, each of which has a sign with the team's name sitting next to it, except for one, which has no sign. The missing sign is the 8th team that has is so far missing.

As the three of you make your way to your appointed helicopter the pilot greets you. He wears what is otherwise a standard aviator outfit except for the black color and large Shadow Wars logo on the back. The helmet is similarly black with a logo on it. “Hey, I'm Jim and I'll be you're pilot. If you need help with your parachutes at all, ask me and I'll help you get strapped in. Also, they're set up to automatically deploy at 500 meters. You can turn that off if you want, or use your own chutes. We'll be taking off at ten till, so be sure you got all your stuff. You won't be coming back till the game is all over.”
pbangarth
Unknown airfield, 07:46.

"Alright, Mongooses, let's load up!" Eddie piles his gear into the aircraft.

<<Testing, testing, boys. Any thoughts on altitude?>>
Saint Sithney
Unknown airfield, 07:46.

"It will be nice to feel the rush of a good firefight again. I can not remember the last time I killed someone. Literally. That memory was removed by my previous handlers." BT picked up a massive armful of gear and began moving towards the plane.

<<The greatest difficulty of precision air-drops is wind shear. The only counter to that is mass. I feel confident in that regard. I do wonder if Fitz can fly as fast as we fall.>>
Garvel
Unknown airfield, 07:46.

"Hey, finally! I can't wait" Fitz flys into the aircraft and searches for his parachute.

<<I think there's a second counter, next to mass, and that is called "having wings". But I wont use them until I reach 500 meters. In theory, folding them together, to reduce the air resistence, should result in the same falling speed as you guys have.>>
Karoline
Unknown airfield, 7:49
"Hang on!" your pilot warns you, still standing in the back with you, as the helicopter starts up on its own, perfectly in unison with the other seven, including one for the missing team, though that could just be because it is automated. Wind blows through the airfield as the blades get up to speed, and the thought that so many aircraft taking off so close to each other can't be the safest thing ever, but your feed to the 'contestant approved viewing mode' of the show indicates that it is a rather impressive sight. At precisely 7:50 the copter begins to lift itself into the air along with its fellows, once again perfectly choreographed, the actual pilots not doing a thing.

As you lift into the air, you begin to move towards the middle of the city. The buildings, mostly dilapidated, spread out beneath you, giving you your first, and perhaps best opportunity to scope out what is where and what kind of shape it is in, as maps for the city have been impossible to find.

The other seven copters slowly pull away, each moving to its designated starting location. It isn't until 2 minutes to 8 that the pilot moves to the cockpit after having ensured that all of you have your parachutes properly secured. With a minute to the start time, the pilot gives you a one minute warning, adding "Brace yourself for the 'drop off'." with a bit of a chuckle. No doors have been opened for you to jump out of yet, and the pilot isn't giving any sort of indication that you should be doing anything. The Shadow Wars feed takes up a large portion of its display with a digital countdown. <<00:05 00:04 00:03 00:02 00:01 00:00>>

The instant the countdown hits 0, you have a split second of wondering what you should be doing before the bottom of the helicopter literally drops out from underneath you like a bomb bay, allowing you to hang for the briefest of moments before gravity begins to drag you down to the city below.
pbangarth
Unknown airfield, 7:50

The pilot's warning was all Lucky Eddie needed to prepare for the surprise drop. The parachuting activesoft told him what he needed to do, his lightning reactions and cat-like flexibility did the rest. Momentarily, his gear hung below him on the tump-line as he spreadeagled and surveyed the scene.

"Fitz, buddy. I don't trust team 8 at all. Wanna see if they show astrally falling from their plane invisibly? BT, you're the navigation guru, how about you get us a map of the city as well as you can? Me, I'll check for a good place to make our first command post."
Karoline
The sprawl is cut in half by a mountain that runs north/south through the city, jutting up over a hundred meters into the skyline. The eastern half of the city seems to have been given over mostly to industry, with office buildings, factories, malls, and everything else seeming to make up that side. The western half of city looks to be more of a residential area. Even from this height the city looks utterly abandoned. There are no cars moving in the streets, no people, not even any animals that can be seen. It gives a sense of foreboding.

Close to the main east/west route that connects the two halves of the city sits a large archology, covering the better part of half a square kilometer. The building has an all glass exterior, and would make an excellent base, but might present challenges of its own, as it is one of the newer buildings in the city. While the others show distinct signs of age from the time since they were vacated, this one looks as though it just got washed. Next to it is the low sprawl of a mall complex, the parking lot full of abandoned vehicles. In the western half, there are a number of apartment building situated here and there, any one of which could make for a good vantage point among the low one and two story houses.

There are two tall office buildings on the eastern half as well, each a mile or so from the archology, one situated to the northeast, another to the southeast. Each of these could provide potential bases. Otherwise, most buildings are too short to provide any ability to survey the area, though many provide good eyes along streets.

Other than the clean state of the arcology, there are no signs of activity from the Shadow Wars crew.

BT manages to get a layout of the city, the strait nature of the roads helping make the mapping go quickly. While it is difficult to tell what every building might be for, he manages to mark down most of the interesting one, and at least put general housing in the areas that it belong. On thing out of place though is a large building in the western part of the city which has a large bare area to the northwest. Why it has been left undeveloped is anyone's guess, but it shows no signs of having been for anything.

Fitz doesn't detect anything on number 8s helicopter, which is unsurprising given that the helicopter itself blocks any auras that might be inside it. When he turns his attention down to the city though, he can see that there is a distinct motion in the energy of the city: Something one would expect in a populated city, but not in a seemingly dead one. There are currents and eddies, but it all seems to flow from the arcology and the unknown building on the western half of the city. It doesn't seem as though the bulk of the city will provide any trouble, but some areas certainly will.

Team Mongooses' helicopter is situated in the north northeast section of the city, about a kilometer from the northern office building, and about two kilometers from the arcology. As the team is dumped into open air along with the other teams, everyone quickly manages to spot most of the others falling from their own choppers. Oddities include Team Cyber on the opposite end of the city which is dropped along with their massive crate, Team Dragoon opposite the mountain from Team Cyber, which doesn't open their parachutes until they've nearly hit the ground, Team Falcon, who open their parachutes almost immediately and begin heading towards the unknown building, and of course the mysterious Team Eight. On the astral, Team Eight is obscured by a column that spills from the chopper, presumably a FAB cloud. This cloud appears to the naked eye as well, masking any sign of decent by the team members. BT is certain he can make out telltale signs of other objects falling through Team Eight's cloud, but can't tell if it actually the team members, and if it is, he certainly can't make out anything about them.
pbangarth
Drop Zone, Shadow Wars 08:01

<<BT, Fitz, I think that tall office building between us and the pretty, shiny arcology looks like a good first Observation Post. Let's head for it.>>
Saint Sithney
Drop Zone, Shadow Wars 08:01

<<By the time we land there might not be much left to observe. Then we will simply be trapped up a building, which is of dubious benefit. Before we cement our course of action I would like to know more about the situation on the Astral realm.>>


pbangarth
Drop Zone, Shadow Wars 08:01

<<We're falling! We have seconds left. We can fall straight down or go to someplace that we can use. As we're falling, we can make a decision about where to fly. On the ground, we have to walk.>>
Saint Sithney
Drop Zone, Shadow Wars 08:01

<<Point conceded. To the building then.>>
Gaius pulled his parachute cord and maneuvered his bulk towards the office building's roof.

pbangarth
Drop Zone, Shadow Wars 08:01

Eddie maneuvers towards the top of the office tower to the southeast of their drop zone. He looks around and sees BT doing the same. <<Fitz. You in on this? We're off to the office tower.>>

The wind must be just right, because he zeroes in on the tower like he has been doing this for years. As long as he can, he checks on the progress of the other teams. <<Looks like pairs of teams have been dropped into each of four quadrants of the city. Looks like we're in the semi finals, I guess with ... who is that? ... oh, yeah, T-Dog and the Mutts.>>
Saint Sithney
Drop Zone, Shadow Wars 08:02

<<Hilarious. Are they magical? That was my primary concern in regards to the second team.>>

BT was riding on a good wind towards the roof of the building. Perhaps Eddie's instincts were right. The high-velocity Ruhrmetall secured to his hip could prove to be an imposing weapon with this building as a vantage point. At the very least, as a place of interest it would be useful to set traps there.
pbangarth
Drop Zone, Shadow Wars 08:02

<<Dunno about magic. Molotov cocktails seem to be T-Dog's preference. Could be a ruse to cover their true abilities, but an incendiary round into his hip bag might give some entertainment. Speaking of magic, where the frag is Fitz? Do you see him, BT?>>
Garvel
Drop Zone, Shadow Wars 08:02

<<Yes, I am hearing you guys, but I'm occupied, moment please.>>

Fitz is still in the air, fighting with his parachute, he opened early. But his enjoyment over the fact, the he has gotten indeed his very own parachute seems to be gone now. He probably tries to guide his parachute to the building, where the rest of his team headed, but he wind is driving him into the completely opposite direction.

<<Oh common...! You stupied...! Argh! Thats it! I had enough. Parachute jumping sucks! I'm taking this thing off!>>

With these words he actually takes off his parachute in midair, and continues to swear while doing that.
Then he flies away from it and starts a nose dive heading for the building, where the others already landed.

<<What a stupied invention!>>

When he finally reaches the building, he slows down. Then he lands on the ground next to Eddi and BT for a moment, just to take of again, and hover in the air as usual.

<<OK, I touched the ground. That means I can use magic now, right?>>

<<Ah, about team eight: They are defenitely there, but they consealed themself from astral perception somehow. I guess FABs or something. And about this city: There seems to be nothing especially noticable on the astral plane, exept for some strange currents and the fact, that there is background count on some places. I will mark them on your map.>>
pbangarth
Shadow Wars 08:02, atop Mongoose HQ, Lemmon Ave and College Ave

Lucky Eddie waves Fitz in to landing on the roof of the building. "Good to see you. little guy. I was getting worried." Eddie is particularly chuffed to be able to call someone 'little guy'. "I see you had to ditch your parachute. Good thing that happened to [i]you[/i]!"

He turns to the video drone that finds them almost immediately. "What would have been a tragedy for another team is a mere inconvenience for us."

He draws his grenade launcher and looks for any 'tragedies' befalling another team.

Back to the camera, "Hey referees. Thought we couldn't use our gear till we landed. What about that team 8 and their FAB screen?"
Karoline
There is a slight pause <<Team Eight has broken no Shadow WarsTM Rules>>
Saint Sithney
Shadow Wars 08:02, atop Mongoose HQ, Lemmon Ave and College Ave

Coming down, BT hit the roof at speed, clawed metal feet clattering across the graveled surface. He turned the slide into a jog then continued the jog up the wall of the rooftop entrance-way making a lazy back flip onto the trailing parachute, which he promptly gathered in to the chute bag and tossed aside. Wasting no time, he unstrapped the massive machine gun from his chest, plugged its smartlink into his right thigh and set it to rest in the arm of his gyro-harness. Locked in now, the red dot in his optics lit up with the comforting familiarity of a beloved pet. Hello little death dot. It is good to see you.

Locked and loaded now, he placed Fitz's bag on the ground and unzipped it to let the Dragonfly drones out. Subscribing them all to his commlink, he put them to work immediately.
"I am not overly concerned with the eighth team. If they have found a means to hide from UWB Radar, then they would have much better prospects in the manufacturing or licensing sector than they would in entertainment."
In moments they would have a map of the whole building, inside and out.

"Are both of your tactical displays active and working? I would like to immediately find some enemy targets and then kill them."
pbangarth
Shadow Wars 08:02, atop Mongoose HQ, Lemmon Ave and College Ave

"Mine's up," says Eddie. "If we don't find any targets immediately, I can get to mapping this building and planning traps.

"But before we get that tactical, we should develop a strategic plan. For instance, are we going to be the spiders who draw our prey in, or the wolves who chase them down?"
Garvel
Shadow Wars 08:02, atop Mongoose HQ, Lemmon Ave and College Ave

"Mine is up too." adds Fitz. "Just sitting around is boring. But actively hunting strong teams will wear us out. At least minor injuries and loss of spydrones is very likely if we can't catch them complety surprised. Waiting till some of the strong teams take out each other, so we dont have to fight all of them, might be a good idea.
I'd say: T-Dog and the Mutts have to be around here somewhere. They should be a nice warm-up. Taking them out gives us something to do, and they shouldn't make any propblems, unless they have other surprises than those molotov cocktails. Which arent even surprises anymore, because they already showed them"
pbangarth
Shadow Wars 08:02, atop Mongoose HQ, Lemmon Ave and College Ave

Eddie considers Fitz's comments. "So, take control of our quadrant, by actively eliminating the Mutts, and then see what we can learn about the other quadrants. Our quadrant also has the arcology, which could be a good thing or a bad thing. Source of power or major pain. Dunno. We also have a ready supply of vehicles from which we can crib together transportation, and maybe a couple of 'fireships'.

"For any of these, reconnaissance is a prime order of business.

"What do you think, BT?"
Garvel
Shadow Wars 08:02, atop Mongoose HQ, Lemmon Ave and College Ave

Fitz seems like he is concentrating on something else
"By the way, I'm preparing some watcher spirits. I'm gonne send them into this building to check it for lifeforms, after BT's scan is complete. Better save than sorry."
Saint Sithney
Shadow Wars 08:03, atop Mongoose HQ, Lemmon Ave and College Ave

"Our choice of vehicles will likely be limited to those with solar collectors. The other, more useful, ones will be dead by now. Tires and oil may also be a problem."
With that, BT charged and kicked the rooftop door with his full strength, causing the multiple bolts in the Plascrete to rip out as the heavy steel door collapsed inwards in a swirl of dust.

"Really, my main concern is that we may be beset upon by Spirits. I have limited ammunition, but, if these Mutts, or others are magic-users, they could potentially send waves of Spirits after us."
He paused for a moment to consider the mangled door and how they might rig it with some sort of trap for any competitors who would follow them in from the roof.

"As to tactics, there is no reason that we can not both hunt and lay in wait. Perhaps use one of our chutes to make a banner proclaiming our dominance of this quadrant while we proceed outwards. A Dragonfly or two could alert us should others advance on our presumed position and beat whatever trap we leave in wait. In the mean time, we hunt."
He punctuated the last part by activating the camouflage coating on his armor and weapon and switching to subvocalization.

<<The Arcology will likely have power of its own and drones which we could potentially turn towards our use. The rewards could well outweigh the risks.>>
Garvel
Shadow Wars 08:03, atop Mongoose HQ, Lemmon Ave and College Ave

<<Well, I would prefer the safety of using stealth over the safety of being in a car. A car will be fast spotted, and I dont think we can attach enough armor to make that up. >>
Fitz confirms his words by activating his Chameleon Suit.
<<A car would also make us faster, but is that really necessary? But a car will be nice if we can control it remotely. It will make a good bait. Just drive it through the city and watch from where the rocket hits it. We follow it secretly, and will know where the enemy is. If we find suitable weapons, we could even upgrage it to a remote controlled gunship.>>
pbangarth
Shadow Wars 08:03, atop Mongoose HQ, Lemmon Ave and College Ave

<<I suspect the arcology is the base for the enforcers and other admin functions. I agree the resources there may be interesting, but let's be careful about how we approach that building. If we don't see any immediate threat or opportunity, we should probably get all our gear inside out of sight.>>

Eddie points to the south-west <<I like your idea of a trapped decoy. There's that church south-west of here that could serve as both a high tower on which to hang the flag, and a good location for booby traps. We can also see a fair bit of it and the approaches to it.>>

Eddie begins pulling gear in through the broken door. he also checks to see how much work it would be to reset the door, at least to make it harder to notice it was broken in recently.
Garvel
Shadow Wars 08:03, atop Mongoose HQ, Lemmon Ave and College Ave

<<Did I mention that the currents and eddies on the astral plane seem to flow from the arcology? Seems to be a bit spooky if you ask me. It was hinted, that there could be paracritter and other sources of danger on the battlefield. I ask you: Where, when not there? Despite the dangers it can be still worthwhile to enter there. But only if we are the first who do so, and stay there for the rest of the game to use its defence installations. And I think that other teams will have the same idea. If we want an actual advantage from going in, we have to do it right now, but I would prefer to simply stay away from it as long as we can.>>
Then Fitz adds with less concern in his voice:
<<A flag would be cool, do we have one?>>
pbangarth
Shadow Wars 08:04, atop Mongoose HQ, Lemmon Ave and College Ave

Lucky Eddie finishes hauling gear inside the roof access. <<As BT suggests, we can use parachute material and draw or write on that. I like the idea of a decoy vehicle, too. If we can get a pilot program working on one, we can set it to patrol on its own. Hell, hook up a camera in each and we could have cheap, disposable surveillance drones too.

<<As far as the arcology goes, we have advantage of position and can be the first ones to check it out. I too am worried about those magical eddies...>>
Eddie chuckles. <<... around the arcology. Who knows what drek is floating around in there. But you are right. either we go first, or stay away. My understanding is that there will be resources seeded throughout the city, and the arcology looks like a potential source, as BT says. We could go take a look, couldn't we?>>
Garvel
Shadow Wars 08:04, atop Mongoose HQ, Lemmon Ave and College Ave

Fitz probably analyses the tactical map.
<<OK, indeed only team T-dog and the Mutts is as near to the arcology as we are. Wouldn't consider them real competition, which means we are indeed the nearest. Like I said, I'd like to avoid the arcology. However, it seems that I'm overvoted. But if we go there, we need to be the first team. Only this way, we can loot all the gear that is there. And with a little bit luck, we will have the arcologies automatic defence running on our side, until the next them arrives there. >>

<<If we choose the arcology, we should rush there and ignore T-Dog and the Mutts. We can get them later. It's approximately 1500 meters to the arcology. At this distance, searching a running car first, won't give us a real speed advantage. I'd say were are fastest there on our feed. Or on your feed and my wings, to be correct.>>

<<Using parachute material for the flag is a good idea. But I have to admit, that I lost mine already. So we'll have to use yours. The next question is who of us is best at drawing a mongoose.>>
Somehow Fitz seems more professional, when he is talking trough the tac net.
Saint Sithney
Shadow Wars 08:04, atop Mongoose HQ, Lemmon Ave and College Ave

<<I can make any design you would like digitally, and then instruct a drone to cut that design into the chute cloth. That would be our quickest option. Additionally, we could send two more drones out to investigate the Arcology. They are not particularly fast, however with two of them, we can maintain signal for the full distance as long as we keep at least one drone here as planned.>>

BT's large metal frame took the stairs a flight at a time, hopping and swinging down. His own Radar system was working full time on the Millimeter Wave frequency, attempting to match any objects in a 15 meter radius with the system's database of weapons or objects of interest.

<<Perhaps a series of low-level spirits could tell us something about the strength of the Astral disturbance surrounding the Arcology. However we must weigh the benefits of that knowledge against the safety of having a much larger Spirit ready in the event of attack. I leave the decision up to your expertise.>>
Garvel
Shadow Wars 08:04, atop Mongoose HQ, Lemmon Ave and College Ave

<<You mean sending low level spirits in, to see if they die from the background count? I don't really like treating spirits that way, so I will take the other option.>>
Fitz follows BT and at a distance, trying to keep him and Eddy in his field of view.
<<But unless I overcast, even a high spirit won't be very usefull, once we're in the background count of the arcologie. And don't expect too much from me too, when I'm in there. I can still give you protection from enemy spells, but taking out enemy spirits will get problematic. We don't know the exact backgroud count, but i'm pretty sure it won't be low. You two will have to do the main work, once we are in there. And the problem is, that enemy mages, if in there, most likely won't be affected by the background count.>>
pbangarth
Shadow Wars 08:04, atop Mongoose HQ, Lemmon Ave and College Ave

<<Opposing magicians from the other Teams will probably suffer the same effects we do. I don't know about magicians planted in the arcology by our hosts.>>

Eddie glides down the stairs, less acrobatically than BT, but more smoothly. He checks out things like air ducts and heating vents, doorways and corners, angles and curves, looking for places where he can hide and surprise. HE also keeps an eye out for booby traps already in place. Things like trip wires, false steps, sensors aimed at the stairs.
Garvel
Shadow Wars 08:04, atop Mongoose HQ, Lemmon Ave and College Ave

<<That's what I meant. Our host will place magical threats where they are most effective. If the arcology is a domain that is aspected for them, they will be there. If the background count is not aspected for them, they will be placed somewhere else. The problem is, that this mysterious background count, that doesn't belong into an empty city like this one, has to be emerged somehow. And magical abominations, that jump into our faces when we enter there, would be a possible reason.>>

A mage that can't fly would surely have problems, to keep up with Fitz's boosted teammates.
pbangarth
Shadow Wars 08:05, atop Mongoose HQ, Lemmon Ave and College Ave

"Things get tough for you, Fitz, you could ride in or on someone's backpack!"
Eddie chuckled. He thought the image was kind of funny.
Garvel
Shadow Wars 08:05, atop Mongoose HQ, Lemmon Ave and College Ave

"I'm doing fine, thanks. Let's save that for an emergency. I already had that once. Was no fun at all. It's dark in a backpack, my wings get crinkled, and heavy stuff falls onto me when the backpack-carrier dodges bullets." Fitz seems to grimace under his mask while saying that, but it's hard to tell, since only one eye of him is really visible.
Saint Sithney
Shadow Wars 08:05, atop Mongoose HQ, Lemmon Ave and College Ave

BT stopped moving ten and half a floors down, taking a defensive position with his weapon braced and ready, aimed down the stairs.
<<No sign of recent occupation or working security yet. We should be safe to set up our base of operations in these upper floors. Fitz. I understand your reluctance to use a creature of mana as a canary, however your other option is to be that canary yourself. If the currents of the Astral are as fierce as you say, then there is something significant about that location, and I do not think that our hosts put it there. They did not destroy the local populace in preparation for a game show. There are enough terrible places on this Earth that one does not need to create one simply to fight in.>>

He paused a moment to take in the information from the drones skimming the exterior of the building.

<<As to the fear of injuring yourself while summoning a bigger spirit, I would suggest that it is better to be injured outside of combat than in it.>>
Garvel
Shadow Wars 08:05, atop Mongoose HQ, Lemmon Ave and College Ave

<<Hmm. Come to think of it, a clairvoyance spell could be that carnary as well. I simply cast it on different force ratings, and try to look into the arcology with it. Theory says:'Where I see nothing at all, the stength of the background count is equal or higher than the stength of the spell.'>> Fitz seems very pleased with his own idea.

<<As for the bigger spirit: You really want me to do that now? Bad case senario is, that I get hurt and it doesn't work. And instead summoning the strongest ghost without overcasting, whould leave more services, for powers like concealment. But I didn't join Shadowwars to chicken out, so if you insist, I will do it.>>
pbangarth
Shadow Wars 08:05, atop Mongoose HQ, Lemmon Ave and College Ave

Eddie perks up at Garvel's suggestion. <<That clairvoyance thingy sounds like a cool idea to me. Cheap to cast, is it? And you can see stuff yourself. Can it see magicky stuff, too? You know, like in the astral?>>
Garvel
Shadow Wars 08:05, atop Mongoose HQ, Lemmon Ave and College Ave

Fitz replies: <<No, there are astral versions, but this one has mundane view. I think I will cast it on BT, so he can make a map of the rooms that we can't see with UWBR. After all he's our navigation guru. I don't know how much can be seen in the background count, but at least walls should be perceptible.>>
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