Mato looks over at AM. His olfactory sensors can pick up on her stress, and his Thermal Mood Reading and Vocal Tension Lie Detection subscriptions also report her unease.

"I'm not afraid of flying," he says. "I'm afraid of crashing."

He looks around.

"If we need to jump out in the middle of the air, you can levitate us, right? I mean, Bobby will just turn into a bird and fly off, but I fly like a brick. That's if the wind shear doesn't rip us to pieces first."

Not always helpful, that Mato.

"You are not very good at that, are you?" I say, but he makes me a bit calmer, and my lips curve just a tiny bit when I say "I don't think you are afraid of crashing. Is there anything that gets the better of you?" still holding irrationally to the chair.

Once it is clear that all of their gear (and her drones) can come on the Banshee, Tamarind sends their van home, just slaving it to GridGuide and adding an instruction to stay on the highest safety rated routes back to the house.

Then she asks Blackhawk "Do you have an internal communications network set up for AR communication, in case you need to tell us anything? And not that I expect we'd either need or have time to use them, but do you have parachutes in this thing?"

She's had a brief ride in a Banshee before, when a smuggler took her along to listen to a noise that he was complaining about. Which had been odd in that she wasn't the mechanic, but she'd been the one who took his pilot's intuition seriously. This trip was going to be longer, but at least they weren't taking to the air with the pilot saying 'there is something wrong with my ship' (although it had just turned out to be a srewdriver left behind an access panel in that case). And she's AR controlled the fuel hogs a few times when the Organization had to make last minute changes to landing locations but didn't have secure enough communication to describe the new destination to the pilots (although there she'd turned it back to the pilots to land, once they were on visuals, and landings and take offs were by the far the hard part, what with managing the turbulence created by landing in the turbulence created by their own engines).

But it was going to be interesting to see what it felt like to be shaken on one for a whole long journey, planned take off and landing and all. Pilots and passengers had certainly always seemed tired enough when they'd landed. So she's looking forward to the experience, just to fully know what it is like.

To the others she adds "Noise should be dreadful, I'll assume matrix communication will be our friend. You got your trodes on, Bobby?"

"Oh, sure," Mato tells AM.

"There's usual suspects: crying babies, abandoned children, expressing emotions... having emotions."

He might be joking about this, or he might not. He is fairly dispassionate most of the time.

"Or Bobby could turn me into a hamster or a giant spirit of doom could pop out of nowhere like at Tien IV's place. None of my keys fit that lock.

"I'm sure a hacker hijacking my gear would turn life upside down. A bit alarming to wonder if your eyes or legs are going to suddenly stop working. I thought about the bioware options but... those just build on what you already have, and I didn't have much. I needed more drastic intervention."

He discusses this all matter-of-factly. If it concerns him, he doesn't show it. Does anything concern him?

"Balancing the books," he admits. "We have this feast-or-famine cycle. So far the feasts have been enough to carry us through the famines, but still. I wouldn't mind a client who puts us on retainer, or some other source of steady cash flow."

At Tamarind's warning, Mato runs a quick diagnostic to ensure that the dampeners for his cyberears are ready for the auditory onslaught.

Tamarind has some experience with aeronautics, even though more on a smaller scale with her drones lately, but she can tell that this vehicle is extremely well-maintained. Assuming, Blackhawk is the regular pilot, he has made it this far (in his life), likely without crashing too much, so that is reassuring. He clearly loves his trade and this bird.

Not quite so reassuring is his reply when inquired about the parachutes. "There are some in locker 3, but they won't do you any good at the speed we are going to have. There is one of those self-inflating rescue islands as well, but I never had to use it and I do not plan on doing so anytime soon. I will broadcast a guest code for the comm access."

<< -[- Black Sunshine AR Comms - Guest Access -]- >>

"There are noise-cancelling ear protectors at the back of each seat. Remember to strap yourself in, and turn the seats forward while we gain altitude. Once we have stabilized, you can turn them back around and probably even walk a bit, but it's still going to be a little rough. Staying in the seats is a little safer. Flight won't take that long, about two hours."

Hearing his name, Bobby answered on the team channel: <<I've got my trode patch - works great as long as I don't turn too small.
Relax everyone. If we crash, I'll turn us all into Roman snails. Pull back into your shells and you can survive even high deceleration events - no broken bones is an added bonus>>

I am unsure what to feel about Mato mentioning the "usual suspects" and then the piece about things he could not possibly control.
"Well, you didn't mention explosives," I say, relieved. Trying to realize what he genuinely said to be by omission. "It is fear of not being in control for me; I felt the same when Bobby turned me into a cat, or Big Stank was a jerk in our living room, or at the Funhouse for the first time. " I pause and add after thinking "or the second and third..." I say, smiling for the first time. "The confusing part is that I also like it."
I feel that it is getting a bit personal, and I am not sure Mato is the right person to open my heart to, given how detached he is from his emotions despite clearly caring about mine and my children. The man is confusing as well.

I ignore Bobby's rambling about Roman snails because it makes me think about crashing as a realistic option rather than an imagined fear, and it is the last thing I need to get reassurance that everyone else is also thinking about crashing.

"That sounds like Iktomi," Mato says about the fear and fun of not being in control.

Mato angles his seat forward and braces for takeoff. His limbs may be hard but his internal organs are still soft.

<<Punch it>> he says over the Black Sunshine's AR comms.

<<Monday Afternoon - 14:00 - May 15, 2079 - Seattle Airspace into Salish Airspace>>

With everything said and done, it's time for the launch. Blackhawk gives the two girls a hug before heading off into his cockpit. "Fly safe, pa!" "You know it!" The little girl just beams with glee.

The start-off is about as promised and as expected. Rough and tumble. The hull of the Black Sunshine vibrates from the powerful thrusters, as the massive t-bird is elevated off the ground. Then the acceleration begins, slowly at first, while heading towards the Seattle-Salish-Border, but quickly picking up afterwards. You are being pressed into your seats while the Banshee gains altitude.

After a while, you notice that the t-bird is steadying in the air and mostly propelled forward now at great speed.

AM figures they are not that high, so casting spells should be no problem. However, another problem presents itself, as she is taking a peek outside with a clairvoyance-type spell. Due to the high speed at which they are traveling, the sensor created by the spell quickly trails out of range. She only has about a second to enjoy the view before it goes dark.

Bobby used the time to meditate - there was no telling how long this job would take - or how long they'd have to stay up.
After a while, someone close by would have been able to feel the slight vibration of purring coming from him.

Mato winces. He's used to being able to cushion any blows with his arms or legs. This generally-distributed force across his body has no natural defense other than just enduring it.

"Patience and time are the greatest warriors," he tells himself, likely inaudible over the general vibrations of the Banshee.

He closes his eyes. To pass the time, he brings up some reading and feeds it to the image link in his cybereyes. Looking down at his commlink would be guaranteed to make him motion sick, but reading against the black background of his eyelids should be possible.

"Let's see... physics seems relevant," he says, pulling up an introductory course to physics that he's been slowly working his way through. The current chapter is on mass, force, and acceleration. "Hmm, topical," he nods, bouncing every time the Banshee passes over through thermal currents, which are frequent over the Cascades and Rockies.

Sounds like Iktomi? I sometimes imagine my relationship with him as a sadistic, masochistic one but without the excessive use of fake leather. I have a worried face during takeoff as I take in the G forces, but then comes the ecstasy of release as the Banshee finally stabilizes its course. Then I make my window, closing my eyes and enjoying the visage among the clouds. It feels a bit strange because I do not see much movement, but the visage goes dark every time the plane leaves the focal point. After about an hour of struggling with the spell, I say "Frag it" mainly to myself, and then I spend the rest of the flight trying to figure out how to alter the spell so that the focal point would be relative to me rather than fixed. Figuring I would have a much more pleasant flight that way. I know a few spells that are anchored to the caster... I just need to really understand why their formulas do it.


Which is rather hard without the necessary understanding of spell design. This is really the task of a bunch of ThDs rather than of a self-taught mage with her basic and dated techniques. Yet, here I am, trying to figure it out, and the mental exercise is enjoyable. Perhaps I'll crack this nut eventually.

Tamarind turns and smiles at Bobby for the snails comment. The man (sometimes man? Man in various shapes?) is very hard for her to understand, but she does understand that he has useful and powerful magic, and she's glad to be working with him. (She also has the familiar stomach turning intense envy of the awakened, but she barely notices that anymore, especially since joining SIS it has just been so common that she takes it in stride).

Once they start taking off, however, she is thoroughly absorbed by the ride. Feeling the vibration and acceleration and pitch and the pressure bumps, listening to the variations in the howl of the engines and the scream of the wind around the vehicle once they speed up. She doesn't even put on the noise cancelling headset until they have leveled off, wanting to absorb the ride with all of her senses. She soaks up as much as she can then spends time analyzing the sensations so that she'll both better remember them and better understand them. She is in no danger of needing to fly a Banshee in person, but if she ever does have to do such a a thing, then knowing what 'good' sounds and feels like would be an important part of the process.

After a while she checks if the guest AR feed includes an external sensors. The view should be spectacular, after all.

Blackhawk is happy to provide you with a feed of the visual sensors, if you ask him via the comm system. The view is absolutely stunning as the flight takes you over mountains and volcanos. AM's spell, as limited as it is, still gives her another level of freedom to look around compared to the sensors, even if it is for a short time only before she needs to relocate her focus point. Unfortunately, as the time pressure is high, the pilot cannot give you the full scenic tour, but it's still more than enough to really appreciate the landscape from above. Definitely not something you see every day.



<<Monday Afternoon - 15:53 - May 15, 2079 - 20 km south-east of Cheyenne, Sioux Nation>>

<< Blackhawk: Almost there! >>

The deceleration process is a lot smoother than the acceleration, and the Black Sunshine touches ground almost precisely at 4 p.m. somewhere in the prairie, about 20 kilometers south-east of Cheyenne, near Route 85.

Outside, there are two areas spanned with camouflage nets on posts. A dark brown Jeep Trailblazer and a matte olive green Toyota Gopher pickup truck are parked underneath.

Next to the Jeep, a table with four chairs has been set up, where Captain Razak is sitting together with two Natives in combat fatigues, but without any insignia or unit markings. A thermos is sitting on the table along with some cups. As you emerge from the Banshee, Razak gets up to greet you.

The Gopher is going to be your vehicle for the next few days. It has an extended cabin with a second row of seats to accomodate up to five passengers. There are a number of other modifications and upgrades. One of the Natives, who was sitting with Razak, runs you through all the details, also showing you how to operate the drone rack and how to access the smuggling compartment. The car is registered to the Prairie Explorer Car Rental Services in Cheyenne. Captain Razak casually mentions, that he sure would like it back in one piece.

Mato gets out of his harness and stretches. It's an old habit, as his arms and legs no longer need to stretch. But he's grateful to step out of the Banshee and loosen up his back.

He looks around at the surrounding area. Mato grew up in Butte, in the northwest corner of the country right on the border with Salish-Shidhe. He hasn't spent as much time the southeast part of the country around Cheyenne. Both cities have cold, semi-arid climates. Both had a similar elevation, the air being much thinner than in Seattle. Mato noted the effect it might have on his cardiovascular performance.

He greets Razak but doesn't have a personal relationship with the man. Mostly they talk business, with Mato sharing reports and financials while Razak shares nothing. Mato thinks of him as Bobby's contact, so he lets Bobby take point in the greetings and small talk. Mato will chime in if there's biz to discuss.

Bobby streched - long and as luxuriously as only a feline body was able to.
Only then did he drop the spell and picked up his clothing. One of these days, he'd have to get bound focus pants to make this process easier. That's why he was a few steps behind Mato, still adjusting his shirt.

When he saw Razak, he immediately made a beeline towards him, gripping the offered hand of his old mentor and patron with both hands.

"Good to see you again! Who are your friends?"

Bobby smiled and showed almost something akin to boyish exuberance.

While I am usually timid with soldiers, SIS has opened me up, and the Gopher with an actual steering wheel gets my attention. It is my first time meeting Captain Razak, and I settle with "Hi, Razak. Thanks for the ride!" and lose my words. I should give Bobby a moment or three to get dressed unless he means to greet Razak by rubbing on his leg, which would be hilarious. I then examine the three soldiers, wondering if a fourth one exists to justify the seat.

A bit embarrassed, I help loading the Gopher with our stuff.



To my surprise, I am not terrified; I am just a bit uneasy with the men in uniform. The memories of having my lover educated in front of me no longer have that kind of crippling power on my soul. It is on its way to becoming another bad memory in a lifetime filled with hardships and disappointment.


Trouble takes the time to acclimate themselves to the new surroundings, and their astral form scouts the nearby area for anything interesting. The cat seems eager to be left to their own devices.

Tamarind has a brief pang for the old days, when she would have been under one of the cammo nets, rushing to refuel the banshee while others covered it in nets, all while trying not to ignite anything off the still hot engines. Then transfering cargo into a waiting truck. But this time she was part of the cargo and much of the rest of it was hers, and maintenance on the Banshee wasn't any of her concern.

And then there was Razzak. Her captor, in a sense her parole officer, definitely her handler. She understood that she was simply an asset to him, a person that he had leverage on who was easy to move around where needed and who provided reasonably coherent reports of what she observed. She didn't consider him a bad man, but still she rather hoped nobody was looking at her aura when she saw him. She gave him a nod of the head and paid attention to what he said, but didn't try to engage with him.

She muttered to herself "Focus on the job." Check that her drones and the rest of the cargo made it through the flight OK, figure out how to arrange the Gopher and then move things over to load it efficiently. As usual Toothless was the hardest part. Without a ramp she had to draft Mato to help her and Stitch to lift the front of the drone high enough for its tracks to touch the back of the Gopher, from where she could activate its gecko tips in the tracks to lift itself the rest of the way and then pull itself up in to the truck. She resolved to stop by a building supply store if they came near one, to pick up a couple of boards to use as a simple ramp.

She listens to the briefing about the Gopher, asks a couple of small technical questions -- most critically being who has tracking tags on it -- and then checks over the vehicle. Not that she doesn't trust them, but you always check over the vehicle when transferring control, circumstances permitting.

As soon as they had everything transfered and the Gopher checked over, she asked "We good to go?" The sooner she was gone from this mix of memories, the better.

Mato seems happy to help move cargo into the Gopher, including Toothless. He appears to appreciate the opportunity to flex his pistons, or perhaps he just desires some physical movement after being cooped up for a couple hours.

"Let's get a receipt from Prairie Explorer Car Rental Services," Mato suggests. "Just in case someone challenges it."

The Captain introduces his two men as Akecheta and Tashunka. You get the impression, that they are well-trained, likely special forces. Akecheta stands a bit behind Captain Razak and a bit to the side. He is mostly watching everything going on. The two carry semi-automatic handguns holstered on the hip, Captain Razak himself carries a revolver instead.

Razak smiles as he shakes Bobby's hand. "It is good to see you. All of you."

He hands over a chip to Bobby, explaining that it contains a current map of Denver, which could be useful.



Tashunka is the one showing you the Gopher. He smiles and stops you, as you begin loading the drones into the back. A perfect opportunity to show you how to operate the drone rack, which has room for four drones, one of which can be as large as Toothless. The rack also offers self-loading capabilities, which greatly helps getting the drones in place, or at least some of them. Drones can even be loaded while the truck is moving as long as they can match its speed, which can actually go pretty high. The large drone rack is located on the driver's side, with the three smaller ones on the other side of the vehicle. The side walls of the truck's bed hold a large variety of tools behind panels. They are not really hidden, but also not immediately apparent. Tashunka really knows his stuff. You get the impression, that he is a dedicated driver and mechanic, more likely even a rigger.

As the loading is going on, Bobby asked: "Alright, now that we are here:
What's the deal? Who is the victim, who the client and why are you going to such lengths for them?
And most important: Why was the victim abducted and are we supposed to help facilitate the ransom or pull another Brent and abduct them right back?
Because for the money that priority flight cost, you could have hired a lot of local talent."

"I cannot give you all the details," Razak explains. "Because I do not know everything myself."

"Jarone Falcone is an old acquaintance of mine, there is a mutual level of respect and trust."

"He asked me, if I can help him out, and I told him that I could refer him to some investigators that are competent and discreet. I might have mentioned that it won't be cheap."

"The victim is some Ares hotshot. There is a lot on the line for Falcone, and he does not want to hire local talent, because he does not know who he can trust there right now. He is no longer in the game, but he suspects that it might be someone from his former life that is pulling the strings, but it doesn't have to be."

"What he wants is pretty simple. Ideally, get the victim back in one piece so he does not have to explain to Ares why he is no longer at the ranch. Stuff like that can ruin his business."

"If you can figure out who is behind this whole thing, I'm sure he will be very interested in that information as well."

Bobby nodded: "I see, so we have to be extra careful when we poke around. As we all know, time is of the essence. Let's meet with Falcone and hear his deal."

"Do you drive manually Tashunka ?" I ask hoping to get an interesting conversation.

Mato checks the hair of Akecheta and Tashunka, looking for honor feathers that would indicate that they are Wildcats.

Mato has trained with Wildcats before, back when he was newly rich and wet behind the ears. He paid them for training and had his hoop handed to him over and over again. But that's what training was for, right? Bleeding at home so you don't bleed out in the field. He accepted his failures then tried to work past them. Then end result is... a skilled amateur of passable competence.

He inwardly sighs about the relationship between Falcone and Razak. While it was nice to get the inside track to a potentially lucrative job, they were somewhat handcuffed in terms of negotiating. They could threaten to not take the job and walk, leaving Falcone to foot the bill for the Black Sunshine, but that would reflect poorly on Razak, which would likely haunt them later. No, they need to take the job if it's anything short of a suicide mission, but they might not be able to squeeze every drop out of Falcone like they did to the Bellevue Hackers Club.

"This is your turf," he tells Tamarind. "What do you want to do? Do you want to drive or do you want to have your hands free to deploy drones?" he asks. The consideration is probably overkill, but Mato seems a little tense going into a new environment, like he's waiting for Ghostwalker's army of angry spirits to materialize at any moment.

"Sometimes, when driving casually," Tashunka replies. "It's nice to get that direct feedback, when you turn the wheel or shift the gears."

"But it's a lot of fun to use the control rig as well. It is like... being the car in a way."

Assensing the three, AM can immediately see, that Captain Razak is also astrally active.

All of them are healthy and in good shape. Only Tashunka has some implants, all headware. It is a bit difficult to make out any details in his aura.

Both Razak and Akecheta are awakened. Both are Adepts. Captain Razak's Magic is higher than AM's, but she cannot tell by how much. Akecheta has a Magic Rating of 8.

When Mato assesses the two Natives, he comes to the conclusion that they are indeed (or have been) Wildcats. Both give him the impression of being highly competent.

They are also quite different. While Tashunka happily engages in a little smalltalk, Akecheta is more the silent type, just standing behind Razak and not saying a word.

Well, many people have a magic rating higher than mine, so let's assume Razak is an eight or something. Though I can't really tell, I don't feel like asking for Iktomi's help so casually. Then I spot Razak looking right back at me, and I smile as if busted. "You are quite the looker." I comment, enjoying the double meaning.


"Well I am too awakened for a rig... but I heard it was amazing. I do like the feeling of power and freedom a powerful engine delivers. What kind of control rig did you get?" I ask curiously.

By now Tamarind is getting a feel for when AM is asensing, and putting that together with her words tells her that Razak openly asenses people he's talking to -- it makes a lot of sense and explains a few things. Like how he's played her so well in the past -- and likely will in the future.


Which makes her all the more eager to get underway. She tries to be patient about the instructions about the drone racks and the other little features of the truck. They might all matter at some point, but for now they are not so important. Still, best to load Toothless up appropriately, and Stitch too. After a moment of thoughts she adds one of the Aunties to the racks. The rest can stay in their travel crates for now. After all, drone racks were mostly meant for high speed deployment of combat drones, or on long distance trips for surveillance drones. She doesn't have anything that is apt to go much faster than the truck going down an expressway, she doesn't want to try to send anything across the border on its own, and if they get into a fight on the highway her drones will be of little use.

She messages AM and Mato <<I want half an hour behind the wheel to get a feel for the truck, after that if you want to drive for any reason just let me know. I don't have to always drive, it is just habit from long years of it being expected.>>

Mato watches Razak interact with Bobby, curious about the relationship. Razak has always been 100% business when talking with Mato. No small talk, just the delivery of information. Mato wasn't sure why Razak was so interested in their petty cases and their accounting ledger. It all seemed so far beneath him and his professional interests.

Maybe the rigor isn't for his benefit but for mine, Mato thinks to himself. I'm an unknown quantity to him, so he needs to push me - even unreasonably - to see how I respond. Mato is sharper now that's he's abandoned the soft expectations of the 'dull ork' stereotype. Perhaps that mental sharpness comes from having to parry Razak's questions and challenges.

Mato nods to Tamarind's response. It's a reasonable approach, and it frees up Mato to punch out any go-gangers who pull up alongside them.

He puts his Mannlicher and its not-too-legal ammo in the shielded compartment, then hopes he doesn't need it during the ride.

Uncharacteristically, Bobby was quite talkative around Razak, peppering him with questions - mostly about people the rest of the team hadn't heard of before. Not too long and it became a quite grim reciting:

"...what about Iron Oath?"
"Didn't come back from training in the spring."
"It happens.
Hanney Half?"
"Took the exit option, but only for a month. Got her throat slashed while she was riding beetles."
"Well, at least she went out happy.
The Bastard?"
"AWOL, last I heard went underground for mercenary work in Louisiana. Ghosts are after him. Doubt they'll bring him in alive, though."
"Sounds like fun.
Oh, what about Derek?"
"Lost his leg, but his condition prevented cloned or cyber replacement. Took a desk job at HQ."
"What? Oh, come on, poor Derek - no one deserves such a fate."

>> You can drive; I am always happy to replace you if you want a breather. I text back. All my weapons, even the legal ones, go into the smuggling compartment.

It is better if nobody asks me questions; I need to lie about the answer. I enjoy seeing Bobby so open. I can't say I ever saw him behaving like that, but I guess there was a regular person who gossips and such behind all that tough guy facade he maintained daily.

Soon the chatting comes to an end. AM learns, that Tashunka has an alphaware control rig R2. Goodbyes and traditional good luck wishes are exchanged. The truck is fully loaded and ready to go. You still need to hurry a bit to make it to the meet on time. Blackhawk informs you, that he will be in the area for another three days, if you make it back before that, he can take you back to Seattle. Otherwise, another trip would have to be arranged, which might take a bit longer. It is assumed, that the job won't take longer than that, but you never know. The pilot and owner of the Black Sunshine then takes a seat together with Razak, Akecheta, and Tashunka. Ah! That is what the fourth chair was there for.

The Gopher is driving super smooth, it picks up speed nicely and even has a decent top speed. Not bad for the size of the truck. It's actually quite enjoyable to drive it. You zip past huge areas of automated farmland, where drones are busy with their work, and large stretches of empty grassland.



<<Monday Afternoon - 16:59 - May 15, 2079 - Southbound on Route 85, Sioux Nation>>

You have made good headway, keeping within the speed limit, and it's maybe another half hour before you reach the border. There are some structures about a klick ahead, an abandoned truck stop from the looks of it. A blue Ford Americar is parked there, engine still warm as your sensors can tell you. There is something a little off the way it sits there, but you cannot really tell what it is just yet. From the distance you can make out movement. Two persons, likely human judging by their size, are climbing through a smashed window as the sensors pick up a terrifying sound. A thundering howl that makes your blood freeze. It has a much more direct effect on the two people. One is inside, already, but the other seems to have trouble to even move. With some help, that one is dragged inside as well. It doesn't take long for the source of the howling to come into view. A massive bear-like critter emerges from behind one of the buildings, slowly heading towards its prey. And to make matters worse, a second one can be spotted a bit farther away, but also getting closer.

Bobby couldn't make out anything, but listening to what Mato was describing, he said:

"Drek. Those are Piasma - supercharged magic bad news bears. If we don't help them, those two guys are toast. But if we help them, we might still join them.
Hit it, I'll go out on the back and get ready to jump of. I'll try to get their attention."

Bobby readied himself by ripping off his belt, the only item he wore that might hurt him during a transformation. He opened the window in the back of the car to get on the truck bed. Once there, he freed himself from his clothes and put on his critter armor. That done, he transformed into a huge mountain lion. He readied himself, to jump as soon as they were close enough. Meanwhile he also readied himself to call elemental power into his system - once he started it, he would have to finish the fight quickly, or risk burning out.

Tamarind had taken the time while driving to skim through the truck's controls and user manual, and more importantly to get a feel for the thing. The aerodynamics were typical for a truck, but it was certainly built with plenty of power and had been tuned up to operate with enhanced power caps to allow higher top speeds than the average Gopher, but it still had the classic Gopher GO-TORQUE option for low speed towing of heavy loads. All in all, it was a truck with possibilities.

So when they saw trouble ahead, Tamarind was happy to hurry towards it. <<Hang tight, going to close fast>>

Hands on the wheel and handling the AR controls through her DNI she engaged the GO-TORQUE while hitting the accelerator, using AR to flick away the truck's several warnings and attempts to keep systems from over-stress. Tires squealed at the sudden surge of extra power, and the truck quickly roared well past the speed limit, and she kept pressing it for more. One corner of her mind monitored the AR temperature gauges, but she was confident that they'd reach the building before they damaged the batteries or anything melted, but it was always best to monitor.

As the truck sped them forward she mapped out how she was going to stop, and whether the skidding arc she was planning would risk impacting the monstrous bad-news-bears. For that matter, would she want to side-swipe one? Sadly probably not, given that they were not mission critical. <<Be ready for a rough stop, I'll try to put us right near the building>>.

I nod at Tamarind, and add to the beginning of a formed plan. I will petrify these people as soon as I can; I don't think the Plasma bears would eat them petrified. They may lose interest in eating them or get angry and go after us... but as long as we are in the car, we can likely out-drive them, right?"

"Trouble, get ready!" Perhaps being a bit of a dramatic I point at the people and focus on the mental representations for the petrify spell. Being so far, I am uncertain how massive they are... which may be a problem, but hopefully, it would work for me.

Time flies by as Tamarind pushes the Gopher to its limits. The closer you get, the better you can see what is going on. And the bigger those Piasmas become. Those things are huge!

Bobby has already positioned himself on the truck's bed, ready to jump off as soon as they get there. Shortly before he fires up his magical boosts.

AM waits until she can actually make out the two people, they are both human, a man and a woman, Natives. They are frantically looking for a place that is small enough, where the awakened bears cannot reach them. The window was a decent start. Like the mythological Medusa, her gaze falls upon them, and they both turn to stone. At least, for as long as AM concentrates on sustaining the spells.

Mato watches the scene from his seat, relaying any information to the team. During the approach he can make out what is wrong with the Americar. It's tilted to the front-right, where one tire is almost ripped off and the hood also sustained some heavy damage. A thought crosses his mind. Isn't there a substantial bounty on Piasmas in NAN territory?

As you reach the old truck stop, Tamarind makes use of the manual controls, turning the steering wheel hard while also pulling the brakes. The back of the truck whirls around, which is the perfect opportunity for Bobby to make his jump, further propelled by the momentum of the turn. A cloud of gravel and dust erupts under the screeching wheels.

The dust slowly settles, while the Gopher comes to a halt. Bobby has landed some ten meters away from the truck, as his fur begins to crackle with electricity.

Now, you definitely have the Piasmas attention!



Combat Turn 6 - Initiative Pass 1

Bobby's fur crackled with static electricity. By now he had it down to a fine art, as magic coursed through him. He charged the Piasma, closing the distance into rapid jumps.
A lightning arc formed between his two front claws, as he dug them into the armored hide of the monster. The stench of ozon and burned fur arose, as the huge creature spasmed from the magic electricity finding it's way through the massive body and it's equally massive heart.

Mato zooms in on the action with his cybereyes and relays the footage to the others so that they know what's going on. "So are we going to go pet the dawgs?" he asks somewhat rhetorically, as Tamarind is already accelerating aggressively.

During the drive, Mato casually pulls out his throwing knives and then lines them up one-by-one between his fingers so that it's easy to palm a new one to throw.

"Why doesn't Bobby just change them into jellyfish like he usually does?" he asks, his tone somewhat exasperated.

Mato looks over the piasma and their boar tusks that give them a leering grin. He privately wonders if his participation is superfluous to Bobby's involvement.

Mato is privately impressed with Tamarind's stopping maneuver but doesn't say anything.

He wordlessly opens the truck door, steps out, and surveys his options. Judging from his olfactory sensors, Bobby has the first piasma pretty well barbecued, so he turns his attention to the other. It's a bit far, but not out of the question. Should have grabbed the shuriken, he thinks to himself.

Mato winds up and... launches his knife into the distance, sailing his shot over the head of the hungry dawg.

"Must have been the wind," you might catch him muttering as he blames the thin mountain air.

I am a bit taken by how aggressive my friends are toward these bears, where all I planned was to chase them away from the car without risking our health. I can't actually run away now when Bobby and Mato are off the car fighting so I reach for my trusted Sigma - my best bet would be to keep myself out of their reach. Why are they so aggressive? "Are they... hunting?" I dismiss this thought - but remain undecided considering t hat the people should be safe as long as I concentrate so all we really need is for the bears to move away.

In the meanwhile, Trouble is happy to challenge the bears with some misfortune. Which I have to admit is the Iktomi thing to do in such a situation.

It was only after the truck had stopped that Tamarind had the thought that brinigng this expensive, borrowed, vehicle so close to creatures which had just disabled a vehicle may not have been her wisest choice.

Well, the team no doubt had the firepower to deal with the situation, right?

All the same, she ordered Auntie-1 to launch, and prepared her SMG, just in case she had to take part in persuading the bears that trucks are not tasty.

The second Piasma moves closer, but somehow has trouble keeping steady, which slows it down considerably.



Not happy with the slow progress, the Piasma loudly roars towards the shapechanged Bobby in an attempt to scare him away from its hurt partner.





The other Piasma is right next to the mountain lion and single-mindedly attacks with its mighty claws, but is hindered by its wounds and other distractions.





Combat Turn 6 - Initiative Pass 2

It took Bobby all his will to resist the powerful magical fear effect. It saved his life as the monster attacked and he managed to undercut it's swing and reach the mostly unarmored belly of the beast.
Guts and gore flooded the ground, but Bobby had no eyes for that. Instead he flew onward to attack the second bear, managing to gouge out a chunk of steaming flesh from its body.

Mato will deal with the mental image of Bobby simultaneously eviscerating and electrocuting a piasma later.

There's still the second one, which is charging! Very slowly.

Taking a moment to line up his shot, Mato pinches one of the readied throwing knives between his thumb and forefinger, then LAUNCHES it straight into the piasma's chest. It connects with kinetic force not dissimilar from a high-velocity rifle shot. The knife pierces deeply, cutting through fur, fat, muscle, and vital organs.

Between Bobby's sizzling attacks and Mato's powerful knife throw, the last of the Piasmas now lies defeated before you. The air reeks of ozone and burned flesh.

Combat is over!

As soon as the monster bears stopped moving, Bobby's fur stopped sizzling. The took a moment though to slice both bears' throats, making sure they were dead, before returning to his human form. A quick gesture clothed him in a passable illusion of being dressed.

"Nice. The heads of those bastards are each worth a bounty of 10k - easy money for the company.

AM, I think you can unstone the two people. Though they might need a ride out of here. I'm interested to hear what they are doing here."

While he spoke, he went back to the car to fetch the survival knife from his survival pack and then began cutting the piasma heads from their rumps. At least the illusion didn't show any bloodstains.

Mato averts his gaze from the sizzling pile of guts. He tells his olfactory sensors to cool it, activating their override.

He looks around for the folks that the piasma were pursuing. [Can't remember if AM actually petrified them or not. If so, presumably she will drop that now.]

"It's safe now," he tells them. Hopefully they speak English because his Lakota is non-existent. If they don't speak English, and if they appear to be Sioux natives, then he'll try Sioux Sign Language instead.

"Is anyone hurt? Does anyone need medical attention?"

<<AM, I know your magic can make simple repairs. Can it do anything to mend their tire and vehicle or is that beyond the scope of what's possible?>>

The two humans are, indeed, Natives. A man and a woman. They are still very much under shock and also confused about what happened.

Once they realize, that you saved them from a very dire fate, they are extremely grateful. They had never seen a Piasma in their life, or heard of such critters being in the area.

They do speak english pretty well, and they explain, that they are teachers working in a school in Greeley, a small town maybe 30 km away from the Denver border. They commute to and from Cheyenne, which is why they were on the road.

I manage to get my sigma when I realize they are already dead. Wow... I wasn't even sure if the Sigma would penetrate that thick fur, to begin with.
"Alright, alright, I am letting go; they have been through enough."

I unstone these people and try to relax them, then I say, "I know nothing about fixing cars, but I have a trick that may work. Perhaps you can drive out of here." I look hard at the car to see what is wrong, then I touch it and channel my magic toward fixing it, not before going through a complex script of prepping my mind for the possible drain. However, the complex alloys of the car resisted most of my efforts, but it is not a total disaster. What can I say, I learned this spell so that I can fix my windows the next time anyone shatters them.

"Is it better to do magical repairs before or after mundane ones? I know that we were trained in the military that if magical healing is avaiable to do first aid first anyway, does the same hold true for cars? My drones are pretty good at automotive repairs, but of course we only have limited resources here." While she is talking, Tamarind has Stitch come out from the drone launcher and activate his autorepair program, then take a look at the damaged car. Tamarind knows a bit on the topic, but Stitch is better, and even comes equipped with tools. Add in Toothless for basic jacking and course metal stretching and there is a fair bit of minor repairs that they can handle.