This is the IC thread for the game that was begun here, the OOC thread for which can be found here. Character descriptions are here. This is the only OOC post on this thread.

~J

From your last day of testing/training before induction into Asgard, the experimental HTR team.

Your training was finally over. Six months of grueling testing and examination, interspersed with walking the beats you haven't had to walk since you were a rookie. Thirty of you started the training, but over time more and more dropped out or cracked under the pressure, and then you were left. Your instructors all went by first names; you were under the distinct impression that you wouldn't find them on any Lone Star employment records. At last, though, it was over. You were all in a room, presided over by Chief O'Malley, the man who had signed the orders to transfer you into the training. He walked back and forth, looking at you, and then stopped in the center of the room.

"You've done well. Not many make it this far; you're only the eigthth team that has ever earned a place in this division. Most of you probably don't know each other very well still; you'll have time to get acquanted later. Let me make one thing clear, though."

He flipped on a viewscreen behind him; it showed dossiers on some two dozen Lone Star officers, all marked "Employment Terminated".

"Where you came from, most of you were among the best. You may have even been the best of the best. So were they." He gestures behind him at the viewscreen. "Do you know why they no longer work here? It's because they got too big for their boots. You're part of Asgard now, but you are still officers of Lone Star. You are expected to act with the dignity and professionalism of any other Lone Star employee!"

He tapped a button, and the viewscreen changed again. More dossiers, this time with most of the information missing and [CENSORED] across large sections of them.

"No matter how good you are or think you are, you're the rookie team now. Until you hear differently, when one of these people tell you something, you listen and listen well."

Another click, another shift in the viewscreen. Now it showed a single picture. "This is Paul Levin. You will report to him, and he will issue your orders. The other three teams in Asgard are Odin, Thor, and Loki. You are henceforth known as Tyr. Any questions?"

He looks out over you as you sit in silence. "Dismissed!"

Carlos took a quick glance around the room's astral space before walking out of the room with the others. As they left the chief's office, he asked "Which way to Levin's office?"

"Down the hall, to the left."

You walk into Levin's office. Engrossed in paperwork, he signals you to wait. A minute or two later he slides his chair back and looks out at you.

"You're going to be deployed immediately. There's a hostage situation at an office building owned by Westmarch Software; six hostages, five perps, moderately armed, possible explosive devices. Normally we'd let the standard teams handle this, but we're in need of some good PR. This needs to be done quickly, quietly, and with as little property damage as possible; no hostage casualties are acceptable and zero-cas on the perps is preferred. Make us look good out there. Any questions?"

Kara's eyes of ice focus upon hearing the terms of the Ops. A low casualty count she can do.

`How long have they been in there, and do they have any demands?`

The first will give her an idea of how long the hostage takers have had to prepare, the second will give her a delaying tactic.

"It's been about half an hour. They've issued no demands, and have been refusing to talk."

"OK, let's get over there and get them talking", Hans says, trying to sound more confident than he is. "With magic and all of our tech we should be able to get a good recon without making them mad".

As a former SWAT leader, Rick feels right in his element. "Any more info? Do we know who they are, whether they are magically active, or what cyber they have?" Rick takes this oportunity to load his guns with gel ammo, making sure to have a round in the chamber. "And is there any specific reason for wanting not to kill them, other than simply to keep from attracting public attention?"

Carlos Mason wasn't used to hostage situations, but he knew his stunball spell would be perfect for them. He put on his shock gloves and reloaded his thunderbolt with gel rounds. "If we can get all five gunmen in a group, I can take them all out with a stunball. That's a big if, but if we could at least get 2 or 3 of them in a cluster, it would be a great start. How visible is the room they are in from the outside? Does it have windows? And how many doors does it have?"

"How about we get our fraggin' asses out there and I'll do a little recon with the spider drone and get the answers fer ya?"

"One question we need answered first;" began the elf, "do we have remote matrix access?"

"Matrix support would be invaluable," Rick said. "Carlos and Hans can also astrally recon the place while we drive there. Do we have blueprints or a map of the area? And James, do you have gel rounds for your Strato-9s? If not, we might be able to use them as a distraction. A trio of drones flying in formation would certainly draw their attention."

"Yeah, I got them loaded up with half Gel and half AV. Same with the Van.

I'd like to get my hands on the blue prints of the building so I know the air ducts. It'll make sending the spider in much easier."

Natasha doesn't feel like she has anything useful to say or to ask. Everyone knows what they're doing and she likes it that way. Since all the questions she has have been asked for her already, she has nothing else to do than to sit there and listen. Actually, she might have one question related to her part of all this:

"When we get there, I have to know quickly who's a terrorist and who's an hostage. Do you have pictures and/or descriptions of the terrorists and/or the hostages?"

`Should be easy enough. I don't imagine the terrorists will be wearing suits, doesn't exactly inspire fear.`

She's already wearing her formfitting and her Thunderbolts; standard load, two extra clips for each - one standard, one hollowppint - and she's got her Needlers. Secos, along with her brace of throwing knives and stun baton are in her Porsche. Kara doesn't much reckon she'll need her TMPs or grenades for this one. She stands, and dons her mirrorshades. Time is of the essence.

`I'll meet the rest of you on scene.`

She checks her chronometer, and looks to Levin, nodding. This was vintage O'Riley. Though she'd never been subject to disciplinary action, her record had several notes to file that she had been talked to about her rashness. She turns, and heads out of the room, the tails of her longcoat flapping behind her. She'll be headed to her Porsche.

Speed, style, grace. The car reflects the owner.

Connor watches the Adept leave, still not quite used to O'Riley.

"Is there something wrong with the van we should know about?"

Grey looking mockingly insulted, "You doubtin' my drek? Naw man, if the slitch wants her take her own ride, dats fine by me."

"No, I think there's something wrong with her. She doesn't seem to be much of a team player. In ops like this, everyone needs to be following the same plan. I'll need to have a talk with her. "

Rick picks a rendesvous point one block north of the office building, just around a corner and out of sight of the building. "The team will meet here. From there, we will do an astral recon and forumlate a plan. We'll leave in just a minute, but first a quick stop at the armory to procure some non-lethal weapons. Don't bring any weapons you can't conceal; we don't want to be seen walking in there armed. Just get concussion grenades, flash-paks, neurostun, and gel rounds, if you need them. As far as firearms go, we'll stick to pistols for this assault." Rick calls Kara up and tells her to meet them at the rendesvous point. "Keep your weapons concealed and don't tip the hostage takers off to your presence."

Kara acknowledges the rendevous point, and logs it into her Porsche's Autonav. Not like she'll be using the navsystem, can't rely on it to speed.

`I'll keep out of sight. And don't worry about the weapons, I never carry what I can't keep hidden.`

She puts the car into reverse, gunning the engine, and pulls out of her parking spot, tearing out of the lot.

Carlos decides that he should exchange notes with Hans. He goes up to Hans and murmurs "I know stunball, manabolt, heal, and physical mask." He decides not to mention his control thoughts spell until he gets to know this team a little better. "I also have an air elemental, which should come in handy, and a fire elemental, which I don't want to use. What spells do you know?"

From earlier, in response to Rick:

"Astral recon has been spotty; area's hazed up pretty bad. You'll have to check with the team on-site. Nonlethality is for PR reasons, and is a high priority."

Lone Star has been taking a beating recently in the news due to a few high-profile lawsuits over alleged use of excessive force.

As they head down to the equipment cage, Hans looks Carlos over and says "I've got heal, stunball and manabolt same as you, but my favorite is clout. It hits them as hard as a pistol, but they can still be questioned the next day. I also have a couple of detection spells and detox.
I use spirits rather than elementals, so I'll actually have to get my body into the building before I can conjure anything that'll be very useful."
Hans keeps his upcoming rant to himself. "Unlike Germany, american cops don't even want to know you can use a mind probe. But a lot of things were different in the Black Forest. Constitutional right, hmphf. In 3 seconds, I can tell if some one is innocent or guilty. What's so unconstitutional about that? America. Great country, but they got all these damned lawyers."
Out loud he says, "I'm also pretty good in a close in fight, but usually I can get a perp to give up without having to brain them."

Walking into the armory, Rick informs the supply clerk that the team needs some supplies, and needs them immediately. "We have no time to waste, we have to go rescue some hostages," he says, using his attitude of authority in an attempt to circumvent the usual triplicate forms that have to be filled out. "I need two concussion grenades and a neuro-stun canister. And give my team whatever non-lethal weapons they request that you have on hand."

"I need a concussion grenade and a flash-pak," Carlos chimes in.

Connor asks Levin, "Sir. Do we have the support of Westmarch Software's top brass? I wouldn't mind talking with them, see what help they can offer."

The elven decker muses that some legitimate access codes would not go amiss but decides to ask Westmarch Software directly.

In the armory, Sam adds to Rick's request, "We'll need gas masks if we are using the Neuro-Stun." He removes the clip from his service weapon and passes it across the counter. "I'll need two clips of gel rounds for my Thunderbolt, too," he adds.

James tells the group to meet him in the garage. He heads directly there and does a quick diagnostics on the van and his drones, making sure that everything is in check. Satisfied, he kicks back and waits for the team to arrive.

"yes," Rick said, "We must all have gas masks. Give us an extra one too; we have a member who isn't present."

On arrival to the proximity of the scene, Kara parks her Porsche a few blocks away. Activating the car's security system, she sets off on foot. When she arrives at the crowd of reporters and various onlookers surrounding the police cordon, she mingles rather than cross the barrier. She can see well enough from here to get an assesment of the situation, and she won't draw attention to herself.

"Can I get one, Troll sized please? And some gel rounds too. Why not?" Hans asks with a smile. His german accent barely detectable after 2 years in the US, Hans still sometimes feels out of place. A situation like this in Berlin or Frankfurt would have involved the GSG-9, a lot of gas and explosions and an acceptable 10% hostage casualty count. The idea being not so much to rescue these hostages as to scare the crap out of the next guys.
"In the end" he says to himself, "it's better to have live bad guys to prosecute and get the DA's picture on TV".

"And we could need riot shields too. Can you give me 3 ballisitic riot shields for the group please?", Natasha asks the clerk while adjusting the top of her body armor.

Almost as an afterthought, Rick grabs six pais of handcuffs. Taking the gear to the parking lot, he loads it in the van and gets into the front passenger seat, ready to go.

Carlos goes to the van and sits down behind Rick.

Natasha takes the three shields to the van and sits down, ready to go.

Sam takes the gel clips for his Thunderbolt, reloads it, and joins the rest of the team in the van.

Having downloaded all the available data into his deck, Connor hurries to the van and gets set to go.

Hans buckles himself into the van, watching the faces around him. Nervousness and excitement are the common emotions. If there's fear, these veterns have learned to lock it away so tight that they can't even see it itself. Hans does not have that luxury. Anything he tries to hide from himself pushes him away from Bear as well. So he sits back into his seat, closes his eyes, and reaches out for Bears gentle embrace. Mother Bear reminds him that he's been in situations like this before, and he's come out OK.
"But my fear is not for myself. If I frag up, it's my team mates who will pay. And innocents I've never even seen. This is the big time, and I fear I may not be up to it."
"Do you fear for them, or is it failure itself you fear".
"Damn. Why do you do that to me? I guess it's a little of both. But still, the price of failure is high."
"Yes".
"But if anyone can help them, I can."
"You?"
"OK, us".
"Yes".
And with that, Bear has left. But Hans is ready, calm. And with his eyes closed looks like he could be taking a nap.

Gear is dispensed with alacrity, and you are soon on your way. While en route, you are radioed the identity of the officer currently in charge of the situation; you are to seek him out as soon as you arrive for further information.

You arrive to find a small crowd, slowly growing, surrounding several police vehicles. DocWagon ambulances are standing by.

James pulls the van up ammong the police vehicles and without waiting floods the area with his flux. He scans the entire area through his Orientation System and compiles a mapsoft of the area, down to the last detail.

Wish I had some headware memory to store that map, thinks Sam as he watches James compile the mapsoft. As James finishes, Sam turns to the team. "We should probably take this time to agree on a couple of set comm frequencies. I have some headware that can help us stay linked, and I'm sure James has more than enough wiz gear in this van to do it even better. We should be able to get communications linked and tested before we leave the van."

Sam hefts an extra gas mask. "I'll find Kara and pass this on to her. Anybody have a spare headset for her, in case she doesn't have one?"

Rick hands 2 pairs of handcuffs to Sam and 2 to Natasha. "Yes, comm frequencies are important. We'll need four of them; one for just the team, one for all police officers in the area, and a backup frequency for each." Rick selects four available frequencies, programming them into his tranceiver.

Carlos programs the frequencies into his radio.

Natasha hands the handcuffs back to Rick, "Anyone needs them? I already have 3 on me just in case, so I don't really need more, but thanks Rick. Oh and by the way, I can only program the two basic frequencies and not the two backup ones, but I will note them down on a piece of paper and I'll be able to switch in case we have comm troubles."

Natasha probably turned on some reflex enhancing cyberware as she seems all of sudden a lot more alert then she was only a moment ago. Now, you would swear that her head points in at least five different directions every second.

The crowd mills about, peering to try to see something, anything; in the air, Strato-9 surveillance drones can be seen winging their way about the building, though they maintain a respectful distance.

Hans and the group head over to the thickest cluster of uniforms, assuming that the "man in charge" will be there.

One of the officers present turns towards you, a look of consternation in his face; it vanishes when he sees your uniform. "Are you the backup we were told to expect?"

His eyes scanning the area, Connor steps forward and nods.

"Could you bring us quickly up to speed? How is it looking? After that, I had better jack in and see what I can get from the system."

He turns to Striker, knowing that the decker's part is probably the least dangerous. He realises that he is getting a little anxious to jack back into the matrix; between briefings and the time spent in 'The Van', he would be happy to return to his less-than-real world.

"That is, unless you would like me to run infiltration."

"Gimme a sec. HEY RICH!"

A thin, slightly balding man walks over. He looks like he belongs behind a desk rather than in a uniform.

"We sent in three negotiators half an hour ago. The Snakeeyes went down when they got to the building, but we've got bioreadings on them; they're alive and calm. No word back yet."

"Well," Carlos says, "We don't want to assault the place if the negotiators are in there and we don't know where they are. Should I do some astral recon and see how things are going?" He turns to Rick for orders.