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Full Version: [IP] Uncaring Stars
Nova fired at the spirit again.
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The second attack by Nova hit, but didn't seem to slow down the spirit.
Anna points her little finger again, allowing another burst of invisible energy at the spirit, and cracking another dent at her obsidian ball.
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Anna's last spell hit something vital in the spirit's physical matrix. It became disrupted and immediately, the boy was left unsupported in the air.
Recklessly casting another spell, Anna managed to catch the boy with a levitation spell, bringing him gently down to the ground.
James hastens up, ignoring Anna's spirit for a moment, and speeds to the dwarf to take him captive - but arrives too late. For a split-second, bnc considers running back to help the young man, but with both Anna and Nova at the site, he's either dead already or in good hands. So, instead, he replaces her standard ammo with gel ones and aims at the dwarf.
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Taurus, still in his overwatch position at the door, sends a text to the group chat.
>>Anyone able to give me an update? Can I be of assistance anywhere else?
>>Anyone able to give me an update? Can I be of assistance anywhere else?
bnc now had reached the crowded bus station with James. The dwarf looked around in anguish
and spotted James. Immediately her eyes went wild and she jumped up from the seat she had taken. As the first round of gel bullets hit the dwarf in the chest and belly, she screamed. Then people around her screamed, than she sent a lance of lightning at James.
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and spotted James. Immediately her eyes went wild and she jumped up from the seat she had taken. As the first round of gel bullets hit the dwarf in the chest and belly, she screamed. Then people around her screamed, than she sent a lance of lightning at James.
Slinging the spells so quickly took its toll on the young mage, she had too much of it coming in and going, and could feel the psychic fatigue, manifesting as a black eye. Got him! she exhales, with a hint of fatigue in her voice.
>> Spirit tried to kidnap the decker, situation stabilized though it might be prudent to disappear before unwanted attention arrives.
>> Spirit tried to kidnap the decker, situation stabilized though it might be prudent to disappear before unwanted attention arrives.
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James rolls to the side almost lightning-fast. But only almost, and lightning-fast is faster still. The bolt strikes James but, fortunately, doesn't reach the vulnerable inner parts. With the speed only drones and wired-up samurais can display, James then unloads a hail of bullets at the magician, until finally she drops unconscious.
Most people still screamed, some already ran away as the dwarf went down.
bnc noticed a flying police drone had switched on its blinking light and was homing in on the comotion - ETA about 10 seconds.
bnc noticed a flying police drone had switched on its blinking light and was homing in on the comotion - ETA about 10 seconds.
Oh frag, that's trouble.
"Drek! Get the car here. We're leaving!"
That was a problem. At least it was a good problem: One you could try to solve by putting a MARK on something.
"Drek! Get the car here. We're leaving!"
That was a problem. At least it was a good problem: One you could try to solve by putting a MARK on something.
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The drone appeared to be secured through a strong security host
bnc noticed to her dismay that her attack not only had failed but had also been turned against her, leaving her persona MARKed by the drone - making her stick out to the drone like a sore thumb.
Immediately, bnc noticed that the drone had powered up it's radar sensor and tried to get a lock on James' form, while it steadily headed towards its position while performing some wild maneuvers.
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bnc noticed to her dismay that her attack not only had failed but had also been turned against her, leaving her persona MARKed by the drone - making her stick out to the drone like a sore thumb.
Immediately, bnc noticed that the drone had powered up it's radar sensor and tried to get a lock on James' form, while it steadily headed towards its position while performing some wild maneuvers.
Anna commands her spirit to help James escape.
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Nova made sure, everyone got back into the car, so they could get south to where bnc had indicated.
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Nova found the traffic in Prague pretty annoying - just too many people insisted on driving manually and apparently drunk.
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While Anna was levitating down the kid, and getting him into the car. The spirit materializes and tries to slow down the drone so that James can escape. Anna is impressed by Nova's driving I guess you are more of an on-road person. she comments comparing Nova's current performance to her earlier performance on the monowheel.
>>bnc I am trying to slow down the drone to help with GTFO.
>>bnc I am trying to slow down the drone to help with GTFO.
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Dodging and weaving through traffic, Nova made it next to James in record time - minus a bit of paint on one of her fenders. The drone meanwhile had slowed down considerable thanks to the spirit materializing above and reducing its movement.
Nova stopped the car right next to the bus station and opened the door to get the unconscious dwarf inside. With her latest modifications, she could elongate her arms far enough to reach out of the car and grab the dwarf from where she was lying to get her in and dump her on one of the free seats.
<< Got the dwarf. Get James into the car and then we are off... we need to get some distance from here. >>
<< Got the dwarf. Get James into the car and then we are off... we need to get some distance from here. >>
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There is something inside bnc that makes her feel less alive as long as everything is running smoothly. This sometimes makes her reckless or sloppy. Now, the opposite is the case: As adrenaline surges through her, realizing that the police here is not to be compared with the one back in Bavaria, bnc's brain fires off like the engine of a car kicked recklessly. Within several hundred milliseconds, bnc entirely escaped the drone's virtual gaze, immediately followed by a more physical escape.
"Got it off me. Ready to meet ya."
Anna watches Nova impressed, and comments "Amazing how Inspector Gadget predicted the future, "how long can you go? without waiting for a reply she adds Can your legs do the same thing?" excited about the possibility. Anna considers the options for changing height on a whim or just grabbing something remote by elongating her hand.
Anna's spirit uses the concealment on James to help him evade the drone.
Anna's spirit uses the concealment on James to help him evade the drone.
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<< About an additional 2m on each limb. Legs, too. The guy at the clinic recommended them. I was a bit worried, that it was just a marketing scheme, but so far, I'm quite happy with the choice. >>
Getting away wasn't a problem - staying off the police' radar was another matter entirely. The rented car complained both about the driving, having logged the near collission as well as the fact that now there was an automated call to stop the car and get ready for an arriving policeman.
Taking the car offline got rid of any more direct actions from the local authorities, but there would be certainly more forces around shortly. Who would have thought that shooting and abducting someone in public in broad daylight would turn out to be interesting to the police?
Taking the car offline got rid of any more direct actions from the local authorities, but there would be certainly more forces around shortly. Who would have thought that shooting and abducting someone in public in broad daylight would turn out to be interesting to the police?
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Nova was driving away quickly, but staying within the speed limit, in order to not draw any more attention.
<< We should get a new car soon. And we need a place to lie low for a bit and talk to our new dwarven friend here. If she is with those monster hunters, maybe we can manage to clear things up. They are not our enemies after all. >>
<< We should get a new car soon. And we need a place to lie low for a bit and talk to our new dwarven friend here. If she is with those monster hunters, maybe we can manage to clear things up. They are not our enemies after all. >>
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"Yup, agreed to everything. Is it wise to steal a car or should we take another cab?"
Anna says "Now that we can breath, can someone explain why we prevented the rescue of the decker if we still have the deck, and why did we kidnaped the dwarf? No judgement - I am just struggling to figure out what is going on. I thought these are the vampire hunters, but perhaps they also look to do the ritual at the gallery? I mean why would vampire hunters gain access to the gallery? Can the two groups we learned about actually be just one group?"
"That's exactly why. We know nothing and we want to know. Taurus tried chatting nicely. As it failed, I geared one step up. You can do the taking, by the way. Flashy grins are more your expertise."
"Just for the record, we do not know for sure, the spirit wanted to rescue the boy. Just because they wanted him alive can mean a lot of things. We can assume so, and it does seem likely, but there are other possibilities. Maybe they just wanted to find out what he knows about us, which they can do a lot easier, if he is alive. But, yeah, let's assume they are not the bad guys and this is all just one big misunderstanding due to lack of talking on their part."
Anna seems pensive she looks at the boy - do you recognize this dwarf mage? Is she the one you warned that we grabbed you? Was this an expected rescue? I can tell if you lie, so please no bullshit. Getting you back alive took its toll on my health and patience.
The boy looked pretty traumatized by this time. He stuttered "That's Lizzy."
"Well, then we will hopefully get this cleared up soon. Relax, okay? We have no intent to harm you or Lizzy. There are bigger things at work here, than you might realize."
Using the matrix channel, bnc adds. "Or they might just have wanted to silence him and extract infos about us first."
QUOTE (Thanee @ Nov 3 2020, 10:26 PM) 
"Well, then we will hopefully get this cleared up soon. Relax, okay? We have no intent to harm you or Lizzy. There are bigger things at work here, than you might realize."
"You fragging shot Lizzy! How much more intent to harm can you have?!"
The boy wailed exasperated
"We approached her multiple times in the gallery, assuming that she is not our enemy, but not knowing that it was Lizzy at that point, obviously. She really gave us little choice here, with the nasty spirit and all that," Nova replied calmly.
"When you got snatched away by that spirit, it could mean anything. We actually tried to protect you there, you do understand that, right? You should have seen the look on your face, you were not exactly happy by the situation either. Besides, she is just unconscious. I'm not going to sugar-coat this, but it was nonlethal, she is going to be completely fine. Anyways, let us get somewhere safe and talk, okay? Now, I think it will be in all our best interest, if you try to calm down a bit."
"When you got snatched away by that spirit, it could mean anything. We actually tried to protect you there, you do understand that, right? You should have seen the look on your face, you were not exactly happy by the situation either. Besides, she is just unconscious. I'm not going to sugar-coat this, but it was nonlethal, she is going to be completely fine. Anyways, let us get somewhere safe and talk, okay? Now, I think it will be in all our best interest, if you try to calm down a bit."
>>I can get a van and meet you somewhere if that will help you lose the tail, or do you want me to stay on post here?
Taurus is quite used to not doing much. A lot of being a corporate bodyguard is just this, sitting and waiting for something to happen and being ready when it does. He always figured that shadowrunners were a little more active though.
Taurus is quite used to not doing much. A lot of being a corporate bodyguard is just this, sitting and waiting for something to happen and being ready when it does. He always figured that shadowrunners were a little more active though.
QUOTE (Thanee @ Nov 3 2020, 11:52 PM)
"We approached her multiple times in the gallery, assuming that she is not our enemy, but not knowing that it was Lizzy at that point, obviously. She really gave us little choice here, with the nasty spirit and all that," Nova replied calmly.
"When you got snatched away by that spirit, it could mean anything. We actually tried to protect you there, you do understand that, right? You should have seen the look on your face, you were not exactly happy by the situation either. Besides, she is just unconscious. I'm not going to sugar-coat this, but it was nonlethal, she is going to be completely fine. Anyways, let us get somewhere safe and talk, okay? Now, I think it will be in all our best interest, if you try to calm down a bit."
"When you got snatched away by that spirit, it could mean anything. We actually tried to protect you there, you do understand that, right? You should have seen the look on your face, you were not exactly happy by the situation either. Besides, she is just unconscious. I'm not going to sugar-coat this, but it was nonlethal, she is going to be completely fine. Anyways, let us get somewhere safe and talk, okay? Now, I think it will be in all our best interest, if you try to calm down a bit."
"You approached her? Like the robot or you razor girl? The lot of you are scary as drek mother fraggers.
And what the frag was she supposed to do when I was abducted? Send my brother an apology letter and leave it at that?
Frag, I mean - what have we done to you? Couldn't you just have called her - or let me speak to her?"
The boy was still worked up and for some reason telling him to calm down didn't have the desired effect.
Anna chimed in "Nobody died and you got to ride with the most exciting hotties in this city. That is fun in my book, how often do you get such chances? Live a little! It is going to be a pleasant day."
"We would have called her, but she sent her spirit for you before we really got a chance to do that. Can't blame her for trying, of course."
"Taurus, you don't need to stay stationary. We'll send you the location where we'll stay as soon as we figured it out. Leave Prague in the meanwhile. We might want to have you nearby when the questioning begins."
James then turns to the boy. "Now stop whining. We don't claim to rescue orphans from fires but we don't eat their hearts either. You can talk to your Lizzie as soon as your heart rate drops below 80 and your breathing returns to normal. I know being abducted by shadowrunners isn't what you expected but grow a pair. We're not the bad ones, really."
James leans back, mumbling. "I know I'm not helping, damn faces."
Before doing any more damage, bnc leaves the conversation to the others again, checking police feeds, the matrix and the air around them, the dwarf's vitals, and whatever parameters help to give her an illusion of security.
James then turns to the boy. "Now stop whining. We don't claim to rescue orphans from fires but we don't eat their hearts either. You can talk to your Lizzie as soon as your heart rate drops below 80 and your breathing returns to normal. I know being abducted by shadowrunners isn't what you expected but grow a pair. We're not the bad ones, really."
James leans back, mumbling. "I know I'm not helping, damn faces."
Before doing any more damage, bnc leaves the conversation to the others again, checking police feeds, the matrix and the air around them, the dwarf's vitals, and whatever parameters help to give her an illusion of security.
Checking the dwarf reveals that she is concussed - but with the right drugs and care should be up again in an hour or so.
That did nothing to alleviate the boy's tension, though. It was almost as if he expected something worse to happen
Eliza came on: <<Bad news: There is a police alert out about a group of terrorists abducting a dwarf in the old city. There are some photos of James and Nova shot from witnesses commlinks. You two best keep a low profile and do something to disguise yourself. Police and their drones are on the lookout for you.>>
That did nothing to alleviate the boy's tension, though. It was almost as if he expected something worse to happen
Eliza came on: <<Bad news: There is a police alert out about a group of terrorists abducting a dwarf in the old city. There are some photos of James and Nova shot from witnesses commlinks. You two best keep a low profile and do something to disguise yourself. Police and their drones are on the lookout for you.>>
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"Awesome. Can you get us a new car and a safeplace on short notice or shall I search myself?"
Did no one even mention the fragging flying unconscious kid that predated the "terrorist attack"?? Sixth World, chum...
Did no one even mention the fragging flying unconscious kid that predated the "terrorist attack"?? Sixth World, chum...
Eliza replied: <<Yes. Give me a minute. Ok Cross the Moldau to Mala Strana and head for the park. Rošických 8. I'll sent a car over for you.>>
bnc found one mention of the flying boy, but realized that the whole thing had taken less then 3 seconds until the boy was on the ground again, while the shootout and the abduction had taken more like 20 seconds - with a lot more witnesses around.
bnc found one mention of the flying boy, but realized that the whole thing had taken less then 3 seconds until the boy was on the ground again, while the shootout and the abduction had taken more like 20 seconds - with a lot more witnesses around.
bnc organizes the rest of the transfer for the team, and, for good measure, fakes a couple of eye-witness testimonies regarding the shooting while the others talk to the lad.
Nova drove the car to the specified location, so they could switch and send their previous car on autopilot towards the other end of the city.
<< We should probably head out of town for a while, to talk to the mage girl and find out what this is all about. @bnc: Can you change the code that the boy entered for the door lock? >>
<< We should probably head out of town for a while, to talk to the mage girl and find out what this is all about. @bnc: Can you change the code that the boy entered for the door lock? >>
As promised, Eliza delivered the car and the team soon found themselves outside Prague on a lonely dirt road.
Taurus will join the rest at the remote location.
QUOTE (Thanee @ Nov 9 2020, 04:04 PM)
Nova drove the car to the specified location, so they could switch and send their previous car on autopilot towards the other end of the city.
<< We should probably head out of town for a while, to talk to the mage girl and find out what this is all about. @bnc: Can you change the code that the boy entered for the door lock? >>
<< We should probably head out of town for a while, to talk to the mage girl and find out what this is all about. @bnc: Can you change the code that the boy entered for the door lock? >>
<<@team <sure can. wat4? Their team aint gonna strike soon, we can use the backdoor 2 and no1 noticed yet. i c more danger than benefit atm>>
<< Do we know what they are doing and when? If they cannot use it, but we can, we are one step ahead of them. Otherwise, we will probably learn that they are striking and won't be in a position to do anything about it. And if that boy could do it, it really shouldn't be any problem for you to do it undetected, or am I mistaken? >>
<@team <usually no but i also dint expect2raise the alarm when i tried2hack the black mage back in bav. im pretty decent &so is my stuff but things can always go south. im on it>>
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Nova made sure, the dwarf was blindfolded, not wanting her to throw spells around, before waking her up.
"Hello Lizzy! Let me just preface this with the promise, that we do not intend to harm you or your friend here. I mean it. We simply want to clear the situation up. I am sorry, that it had to escalate, you were not exactly open to a more friendly approach. And we do have a very important task here, which you are interfering with. So, can we talk now?"
"Hello Lizzy! Let me just preface this with the promise, that we do not intend to harm you or your friend here. I mean it. We simply want to clear the situation up. I am sorry, that it had to escalate, you were not exactly open to a more friendly approach. And we do have a very important task here, which you are interfering with. So, can we talk now?"
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