The silence is unbearable, flying over a mile high in the sky with the door open, and not a sound, not even the whisper of a breeze, though Thunderchild appears a bit strained from the spell of silence. Lt Douglas gives a hand signal and each of you jump from the plane in perfect unison, directly over the lights of a huge metropolis. Silently you plummet downward, not a word being said as each of you begin count down. After 20 seconds the string is pulled and the plummet minimizes with a rough jerk on your shoulders as your chute catches the sky in its grasp. Within 2 minutes you land a bit north of the metropolis, right next to a huge body of water within what appears to have been an old power plant. In silence you quickly wrap the chutes back into their holding bag and pull on a 2nd string which creates a slight hissing sound as the contents of the bags are disentegrated, allowing you to toss them into the river nearby. Without a word, Lt Douglas gives the sign for A, and points to the large overhead doors that are about 20 meters from you, currently empty. Then the letter B is made in sign language, and he points to the roofs.

Sgt Beck is the first to react, pulling his team towards the overhead doors, each staying behind cover as they zigzag up to the entrance. Frost sits down against a barrel as Leslie stands over him, gazing into the area and the rooftop. Within a breath, Frost is over the building in Astral Form, counting and then returning to his Body. Back of his hand with 3 fingers raised followed by the front of his hand with 2 fingers raised indicates to his team that there are 32 spirits or other form of Astral Guardians patrolling the area. He then makes a silent sign that isn't recognized as military protocol sign, fingers poking out of his head like antenaes, and a quizzical frown on his face.

Sgt Beck with Rupert, Terrance, Kan'Gi and O'Malley stop about 3 meters from the closest door as Beck signals back that he's ready. Frost and Leslie nod and look upward. On the Astral Plane 8 Force 5 Air Elementals appear directly above the building. Immediately they are attacked by the spirits in the area, and although they do sufficient damage, the Elementals are quickly overcomed and wasted before killing any of the strange looking spirits, but not before Leslie performs the real attack, by surrounding them in a Globe on the Astral Plane, then sustaining it through a focus, thus clearing the way for an assault without spirits warning anyone. With a nod Leslie sends Lt Douglas forward to join Sgt Beck, leaving the Globe hovering above the site.

Kan'Gi is the first to the door as the others take a position with guns raised upwards. After quite a difficult struggle, more difficult than expected, Kan'Gi has the door open with some tools from his kit. Rupert follows begind Sgt Beck, a huge black box strapped over his back as Beck enters the warehouse first, rolling to the side in preperation for an attack. Below the surface can be heard the strange sound of chanting, alot of chanting, as if there were a huge congregation of people below who were in some form of a prayer. Beck gives the signal, and the rest of the team rushes in, taking positions behind various covers as Leslie and Frost run forward to join the rest. As soon as everyone is in position, the doors are closed, and Kan'Gi then also joins the rest of the team in position behind some other cover.

Quickly the team follows Lt Doughas through a couple of corridors as he looks periodically at his Tactical Computer which has a map displayed on it. After a bit he points to a grate on the wall behind some heavy machinery. Again Kan'gi comes forward and removes the plate easily, lowering it to the ground before placing the Electronic Kit back in Lt Douglas bag. Kan'gi then takes 2 grappling hooks and rope and drops the rope down the shaft which falls directly beneath the grate opening. Latching the hooks onto the sides, he points to Sgt Beck and gives the thumbs up. Beck points to Terrance and O'Malley who immediately sling their weapon and grab the ropes, lowering themselves into the darkness. 2 by 2 the team heads down until only Ruper, Leslie and Frost are still topside. Ruper goes down alone, edging his way quietly with the 2 meter long black box strapped to his back, holding both ropes to drop. The 2 mages remaining above as those below disappear from view.

Rupert is the first to act, removing the Box from his back, and lowering it gently to the ground as Lt, Sgt and Kan'gi get to work setting it up. Rupert then immediately starts climbing back up the rope. By the time he reaches the top, 2 flashes of light from below reveal the preperations are complete. He grabs the 2 ropes and starts pulling them up quickly, revealing Sgt and Lt as the first up. Dropping the ropes back down the chute, the process is repeated to get the rest of the team up. A loud buzzing sound is heard below over the sounds of the chanting which have gotten progressively louder, like some sort of orgy of flesh and bad techno music. Quickly the team departs as they entered, with Frost stopping a moment at the door to analyze a white powdery substance which could be barely seen on the ground surrounding the walls of the building. Some sort of ritual component material it seems, but a flash of a light from the Lt sends him quickly scurrying toward the rest of the team which has taken up a position behind a large cargo container at the water front.

Opening the container, the team finds a small 4 man boat to climb into. Pushing it out to the water, Rupert, O'Malley and Kan'gi hang on the sides as it silently rushes through the water towards the center of the lake. Behind the boat, a rumbling is heard as an explosion takes out the building you were just in. Looking back, a small mushroom cloud is seen rising from the non-remains of the old factory. Seconds later the boat begins to rock uncontrollably as the water gets violent. The water calms down, and Lt gets on the Comm, "Tango two niner, Hornet's nest is down, Operation Windy City completed, over."

Lt points over to the shore viewable from land, "Lets land there, They want an analysis of the situation, and info on any possible fallout as well as recon to see how the job went.", looking at Leslie and Frost, "You're recon, as soon as we get on land which should be alot safer than this rough water."

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Game begins with Recon. I want posts the same way I post. Story (IC) first, seperated with some sort of line, OOC stuff, like what actions you'd like to do. Do not show dice results here please. See OOC board for other instructions.

Rupert's lips were dry as he lowered the bomb to the floor. He'd worked with some big bangs before, but this was definetly the largest he ever had worked with, ever would work with. The effort that had gone into _not_ telling them what type of bomb it was during the briefing had been both impressive and worrisome. What they had been told was where to set the bomb, and how long they had to get out of the blast radius. Details given to them on exactly what this cult was, aside from the fact that it was dangerous, and controlled some sort of paranatural insects were also sketchy, and especially with the level of resistance they'd encountered, didn't seem to warrent a boom this big.

He didn't voice any of his doubts, as he hauled himself back up the chute, listening intently for sounds of trouble as he crouched by the grate and waited for the signal. When it came he braced his feet, and with a grunt began backing up quickly, providing rapid extraction for both the Sargent and Leftenant.

He goes even faster as an ominous buzzing grows in volume from below, practicaly whipping his team mates out of the chute, his mental clock inexorably ticking off the seconds their from their precious allotment with which to reach minimum distance.

The boat was right where it was supposed to be and it was quickly deployed, much to Rupert's relief because his count was starting to get perilously low. It was immediatly apprent that his weight would threaten the stability of the boat if he got in, and he momentarily froze at the thought of having to ride out clinging to the side of the hull. Thinking about the alternative quickly got him over that, although as the boat bounced out into Lake Michigan his fingers gripped the hull hard enough to deform it.

He held on even tighter when the sun seemed to suddenly rise behind them, a roar followed by a hard wind throwing the waves up and down, threatening to swamp the heavily laden boat. He loosened his grip to turn and look back, and nearly let go completly in shock when he saw the mushroom cloud rising behind them. "Did we just nuke Chicago?"

The Leftenenant ignored him, reporting the achievment of their objective. When he Leftenant gave the order to head back in, Rupert immediately began assessing the shoreline, looking for anything nasty enough that a nuke was needed to take it on. When the Leftenant ordered Frost and Leslie on recon he started scouting for a position from where he could set up overwatch for the recon elements, slipping in and out of astral to see if anything paranormal that had survived the blast was headed their way. A moment of concentration allowed him to intensify his field of view, looking over the former industrial slight in close detail. He was surprised by how little damage had actually been done, but then again when most people thought of nukes, they imagined whole cities being flattened. He'd have to remember to apolegize to R&D for his comments about how oxymoronic a 'tactical' nuke was.
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As the boat is coming in to shore, Rupert is switching from Astral perception to normal every twelve seconds or so if he doesn't see anything unusual. He is switching between normal, low light, and thermo-graphic vision with x3 magnification mixed in for each of those four rounds of normal sight use, looking for threats as they come back in to shore. Once land has been hit, he will take a slightly elevated position and conceal himself to provide overwatch for Leslie and Frost, his Alpha ready, a smoke grenade in the grenade launcher unless ordered to do.

O'Malley looks toward the shore, switching between astral and normal perception regularly. "I don't fragging believe it, I've seen it and I still don't fragging believe it." They had encountered a strange type of spirit, it wasn't quite like the movie, but close enough that Toothpick was still kicking himself. "I just had to use the line... 'Is this a combat mission or a bug hunt?' I just had to sound like a smart ass. Now those things didn't quite look like Aliens but still too close for comfort."

Toothpick came out of his mental self flagellation and starts scaning the shoreline, looking for hostiles. He had no idea what he would find next.

Kan'gi does the same as the other awakened team members, constantly switching to Astral Perception and back. Once the team hits the shoreline, he kneels down at the front of the boat and draws out his Bow. In a flash he knotches a dikoted arrow and watches the area, ready for action.

Frost bit her lip in frustration, none of her studies had prepared her for those creatures, those new spirits, they felt so strange. Insects, she couldn't really remember off hand hearing of such a thing, the whole mission was truly bizare. "They can be destroyed just as anything else, but that wasn't a truly comforting thing, great dragons could theoretically be destroyed as well but it wasn't like she wanted to test that either. I must tell the Prince, she will know what is going on, but that will have to wait until we finish here. I must keep my gaurd up, the Elf woman thought to herself. Those spirits were putting her ill at ease, she did not like being reminded that she hadn't yet studied all of what the magical world had to offer, and so she unconsciously ran a slender well-manicured hand along the edge of her curiosly shaped focus, it truly was a powerful weapon, and she had yet to meet a spirit capable of taking more then a blow or two from it.

"Right, I'm on it, I can't believe they had us set off a nuke, that is soo last century." The woman says smirking, drawing her blade and coiling like a spring ready to pounce the second they were at the shore. The elf's bare face is a covered in paint that only serves to enhance her beauty while hiding its true purpouse. Unlike her companions, her view remains fixed on the Astral, she knew her job, it was her realm more then anyone else's and she would see to it there were no surprises coming.

Putting her hand into her pocket, the elf begins to sing in a litling sing song tongue that the others can recognize as Sperethiel, and bringing into her own mind her formula for her armor spell.
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While the boat is still in motion, Frost is casting Armor into her sustaining Focus at force 5 (assuming that its not up already)

When the boat comes to a stop, she moves to the closest piece of cover she can find and drops down to sit indian style. She maintains her protective shielding from spells with barely a thought, thanks to the shielding focus hidden beneath her armor.

Kan'gi turns to Lt Douglas, "You want I should fly around and see what I can scout from the air?"

"All right, you heard the Lieutenant," Tony said over his transducer, addressing his squadmates, "Once Frost and Leslie have taken point I want my team bringing up their rear, standard two by two cover formation." He scanned the terrain, taking note of solid structures that would be most suited for hard cover and a point from which to make further forays. "I don't want our backs to the water, so as soon as we hit land and the scouts have gained some ground, head for there," he ordered, pointing to the best nearby and well-defendable structure he could see.



____________________________________________________________________

Tony is checking out the shore in both astral and normal vision to identify possible threats and look for the best place to head for on shore. Once on shore he first gives cover to Frost and Leslie with his rifle, and then is waiting to move out with his team towards the cover he pointed out (unless their are contradictory orders, and as long as the rest of the team agrees, he takes this action). His Ruthenium is currently ON, but if things are quiet it won't be on for much more than 15-20 minutes. Same with Thermal Dampening.

Rupert pairs off with O'Malley and takes up position to cover his partner. "We're going to want to get our hoops in gear. The whole city must've seen that blast, so we'lve probably got,' he pauses to do some quick mental calculations, "four and a half minutes tops until civil authorities come swarming in."

He waits for the next order.

O'Malley checks all his bandoleers and makes sure everything is in place, then pulls out a shuriken into his hand to be ready

Tony clicked on his transducer with a thought and continued with his orders. "All right people, no time like the present." He jerked his head to the side, indicating to Terrance to follow him, and snaked through cover, alternating between a crouched run between hiding places and giving cover to the other teams moving forward.


___________________________________________________________________

Tony indicates for Terrance to come with him and begins moving towards the area he pointed to. He is also taking note of the rest of the team and making sure they are watching their spacing and that they have good cover. Basically each team of two is supposed to take turns moving to a defendable position, then holding position to cover the next group that moves forward until everyone arrives at the destination.

Terry checks his gun for the fifth time and falls in behind Tony. Not easily shaken, he can't help wondering what Knight Errant is thinking. The daft bastards. I mean, we're good and all, but even trolls wear radiation suits before mucking with nuclear fallout. And if recon gets their jollies off, why not a effing drone, or an elemental? Something that keeps its hair after a nuke.

....dammit, where's my sec armor!


Terry checks his gun.




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Terry's got out his ares alpha loaded with EX and mini IPE offensive grenades. For now he's following any and all of Tony's orders. His using cover but keeping an eye out for any movement. He's got vision mag and all that jazz so he shouldn't be shooting at shadows, but if anything threatening moves he'll be ready.

"Bug spirits...they sent us up against a hive full of bug spirits...would have been nice to be warned ahead of time..." Leslie fumed. "And a nuke...I don't know whether to think of that as overkill or not. It's been said that it's the bugs that would survive a nuclear war...and that wasn't even refering to the spirits..." Okay...calm...calm...they needed to get back to shore and see what was left. Panic wouldn't help anything. Leaving off her fuming at KE, she turned her sight to the astral plane.

When they got to shore, Leslie found a secure place where she could leave her body while her astral form retraced their tracks back to ground zero, keeping a keen eye out for any bugs that may have survived the blast.

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*points to the last paragraph for the summary of actions*

Kan'gi looks over to where Leslie left her body, thinking to himself, I bet she knows a little of what is going on...

He stealths over to his old friend and kneels down next to her prone form, keeping watch over her. He lets his vision slip to the Astral so he can keep an eye out for her.

Rupert lets his eyes flick upwards for a moment to watch the debris cloud slowly spread outward. It really isn't _that_ big of a mushroom cloud, and given the depth and facility the detonated it in, blast damage and radiation should both be minimized.

He kept his ears tuned for the sounds of anything, cars, boats, copters, drones. What would the civil authorities think of an Ares force that nuked Chicago? What would Ares do if they were caught? For a moment he wished he was back watching a security console in Detroit. Then he crossed himself and said a quick prayer. Finally as everyone finished getting into their intial positions, he doublechecked to make sure that his astral masking was firmly in place. Bad idea to go spirit hunting if you were glowing like a giant 'Frag me first!' sign.

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Nope nothing new.

O'Malley moved forward when indicated, shuriken at the ready, eyes darting about, looking for the first sign of trouble... he starts planning possible ambush points and chokepoints.

Frost refrained from reading her teammates' auras, she was pretty sure she didn't need to read their thoughts, and it was always dicey with Leslie anyway. She slipped her consciousness from her body as the other woman did the same, leaving her own body in a cross-legged position beside that of the scientist. "Let me lead the way Doc, this is my area of expertise she told the other woman. She double checked that Winter's Kiss and her shielding focus was still with her, the armor focus would continue to protect her coporeal form as she played among the aether, that was the reason she used it, no need to take chances with her one and only body.

She zipped along with the other woman, trusting in her magical abilities to make her tougher and faster then any of the spirits that might still be around.

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Projecting and moving forward matching Leslie's pace.

As you perceive the Astral Plane, the horrifying reality of the situation becomes painfully clear. Spirits lie all over the place, embedded into everything around you, in some form of stasis. You feel a fluxuation in your magic, and every spell used lashes outwards striking the spirits next to you. As the tendrils of astral energy hits the bug looking spirits, their eyes open, and immediately they attack.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

As Frost cast her Force 5 armour spell, 12 spirits are awakened by the magic and prepare to attack. Leslie (Reaction 6) and Frost (Reaction 6) failed their surprise test (-4 for performing an exclusive action during the last turn) and are surprised to have 3 spirits on each of them. The remaining 6 spirits attack anyone who chooses to remain astrally active (Perceiving).

Rupert finally tears his eyes away from the dissipating mushroom cloud, his eyes slipping into astral and nearly jumping out of his skin as he found himself face to face with a bug bigger than he was. Even as his combat senses snapped into action, he realized that something was wrong with the spirit, and he calmed. It seemed to be dormant, it's astral prescense muted. "I've got a contact," he transmitted subvocally, his eyes shifting around, "at-" his voice stopped as his brain suddenly put together the visual signals it'd been recieving. He'd been ignoring the debris from the detonation on both the material and astral planes, and with his attention more on the mushroom cloud than his suroundings, he'd failed to recall an important fact: debris didn't have an astral signature. His head whipped around on his shoulders, reassessing his surrondings.

There were insectoid spirits _everywhere_. He kept his mind calm, noting that despite the concentration, there didn't seem to be any active bugs. They were all strangely dim, torpid. He started to breath a sigh of relief, turning his eyes back to the Mages he was supposed to be watching. Just in time to see a the flare of magic going awry, and a large group of insects suddenly animating and attacking the mages.

"Active spirits!" He called out over the mike. "Ten plus! Centered on Frost and Leslie!" He met O'Malley's eyes, pointed at the mages and gave a two split signal (each of them go to the aid of one mage). Not all the spirits were moving on their team mates, but he knew O'Malley could see that for himself. They just had to disrupt the Spirits long enough to either retreat with their team mates, or for the rest of the team to engage the hostiles.

At least they too would have the element of surprise. Masked, apprently mundane, the insects might not even notice them coming, not with two burning bright mages to keep them occupied. He waited for O'Malley's nod of readiness then burst into action. running for Frost's position, reaching into his spiritual center for the calm and focus that always carried him through battle. "Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women."

He kept low, trying to stay out of sight on both the material and astral planes. "Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." He listened for the commands to come over the radio to tell him whether he should snatch and run, or stand and fight.

His hand slipped back to hover above his staff in its holster. It would be more effective than the rifle slung against his back, or the pistol riding his hip. He planted his other hand on a crate and launched himself up and over. He planned on landing right behind the four or five menacing Frost, and once he engaged them his ruse of normalcy would be finished, if it wasn't already. "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death." He only hoped that O'Malley's simaltanous attack would confuse them long enough. His feet touched down on the other side, and his staff flashed out and up. "Amen."
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Rupert is masked as mundane, and his intiate level is more than adequate to cover his weapon focus 2. I think I'm putting his impulsive flaw to good use here. He is also centering his stealth trying to come up behind the spirits. As he lands, he quickdraws his weapon focus (collapsible staff) and prepares to aid Frost. Depending on the coming orders, he will try to merely occupy as many spirits as possible until they can withdraw to a (hopefully) stronger position, or fight all out until help arrives.

Intiative 6 + 2d6
Without combat pool, I believe he gets 13 dice for the staff (Skill 7 + Imp Abi 4 + Focus 2). Do melee attack rules work when fighting spirits like this? If so, then his reach modifier is going to raise the bugs attack TNs, and he's going to use 2 pool dice for the attack.
*edited to fix my numbers*

O'Malley snaps out of his near paralysed state, where he could hardly do more than prepare to be attacked. Now hios partner had made a call, and he had to follow. The fearing was over, it had just become a combat situation. and this was something that Douglas O'Malley, or 'Toothpick' to his friends, knew well. Stay calm, these may be giant bugs but they are still spirits, and you know spirits

The enemy had been identified, the ugly things that make the most bone skinned troll look like an elf, those were the enemy. They were spirits and spirits were food to yong-yuan-jien. 6 years of chinese class in school and all I can remember is the name of my sword, go figure.

He leapt from his position, charging into the largest of the bugs to harass Leslie, drawing his blade. His Sword flashes out as he lands between the mage and the oversized invertebrate.

"Hey Bug boy, let's play." he calls out a challenge, in that half gone from his accent irish brogue.
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Charging the biggest of the bugs near Leslie and adding 2 from combat pool to the 6 from skill and 6 from focus in this test keeping perception up so I can see this damn thing and fight it. assume 1 dice of combat pool per defence roll against counterattacks until I run out

the f***? Terry crouches down behind cover, training his gun on the two mages. He waits to blast the first sorry bugger to materialize.


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Guess we do dice here. Initiative 15+4d6. My action is 2 bursts on the first spirit to materialize (base 13S with EX) I've 14 dice for assault rifles, so 14d each. Let me know what the TN is when you roll please, so I know how easy/hard shooting will be. My 13 combat pool is for dodging for now.

Later actions this round (after some spirit's combat pool is burned) will be 7 rounds full auto, for 17D base. no recoil penalties.

Kan'gi bursts into action, quick drawing his pair of Tamohawks and leaps to defend Leslie. He screms out a native war cry, trying to draw the attention of the Spirits to himself.

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I've got a initiative of 7+3D6. Base dice pool for melee is 15 without combat pool (Skill of 7 + 3 Improved Ability + 5 for ambidex (half of the previous 10) +2 more from the Weapon Focus 2). I'll save combat pool for dodging if its needed later on.

As she slipped into astral, Leslie's fears were realized. Dormant spirits littered the ground. There was no comparison in scale between this hive and the one she had investigated back in Seattle. They had indeed managed to survive the blast. Now if they'd just stay sleeping...she quietly followed Frost's lead.

Her hopes were to be disappointed, as Frost's magic woke up the sleeping spirits. Before she had time to react, Leslie found herself confronted with several spirit. There was a number of others active, but she had her main concerns to worry about.

As combat was pretty much inevitable, Leslie took up a chant in Latin, focusing her aracane energies before releasing them on her attackers in the form of a spirit blast.

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Spirit Blast, force 6. Centering lvl 6, adding to my attack, and 4 dice from the spell pool for resisting drain.

*hopes she doesn't shoot herself in the foot somewhere in there* I'm still learning...

"Concentrate fire on the six hostiles engaged with Frost and Leslie, get out of the astral when everyone is clear!" Tony gritted his teeth as the situation developed around him. His mind lectured him as he gathered power for a spell, "Do not engage an enemy directly, always fight them on your own terms, and of course that means NEVER get ambushed." It was a worst case scenario; situations like this were the type that often led to shortened careers. He released the spell into one of the bugs attacking Leslie, hoping the spirits were relatively week.

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Init 13 + 4D6
6S Spirit Bolt at spirit attacking Leslie, 6 Sorcery Dice, add 2 from spell pool, add 4 from spell pool for drain.

Unable to protect themselves, Frost and Leslie are the first to be attacked by the awful quick spirits. Despite the clear advantage the spirits posses, Frost and Leslie immediately kick into combat routine, pulling back to fall into the area protected by the Adepts, who charge forward to protect their mages. In a free for all, the clutter of combat is nearly imperceivable as the spirits quickly gain the upper hand by slicing into the silver threads which hold Frost and Leslie, and channeling a poison through the thread causing the auras of Frost and Leslie to fluctuate an ugly green color for a moment as they grasp at their ethereal stomachs in pain. Despite the distraction, they push their own astral energy right back through the mouths of spirits biting into the thread, causing the spirits to release their hold for a moment. The delay is long enough for the adepts to take action, causing half of the insects to focus on them instead, slamming into them at full force, but with no seeming effect. The adepts quickly turn the tide of the battle as Rupert dispatches 2 spirits with what appears to be a single blow, slicing their spirits in half. Toothpick attacks with a similar ferocity, causing 2 more spirits to waver momentarily before he pushes the attack again, destroying their visible essence. Kan'Gi also fairs well, though he appears to be more evenly matched with his opponents. The team definitely has the upper hand as a Spirit bolt blasts into the strongest spirit attacking Frost, throwing it out of the melee, but as the spirit bolt is released from your Seargent's hands, it does more than rip through the spirit attacked, but lashes outwards in a manner that 8 new spirits are brought to life by the magic. They incorporeal forms slowly crawling out of whatever solid object the blast threw them into before making them dormant.

O'Neil is startled as he gazes to the left of him, where Lt Douglass was kneeling, and sees a sword sticking out of his chest. Following the sword to the other side of Lt's body, he sees the grossest looking thing he's ever seen, like a 9' abomination of a Troll, but with insect wings, and a nose (the sword) which is sticking past the chest of LT. With a quick motion, it pushes the body down, and sucks so hard that the face of LT shrivels as all the liquid is removed from his body. O'Neil swings around quickly, and sees there's 3 more of the abominations behind him, one being just about to repeat the action the first abomination did, but to O'Neil.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

First: Apologies to Frost. I realize you probably didn't have time to post, so I took the liberty of deciding the characters actions. Since you and Leslie lost the surprise roll, I assume you did the only thing available, defend thyself.

Background count is now up to 4 (was 3 last turn when the Armour spell was cast).

Initiatives:

..Frost: 46 (Astral) ** Don't forget to add in your Initiate grade where applicable in your posts **

..Insect Spirits: 34

...Leslie: 35 (Astral)
...Sgt Beck: 31
...O'Neil: 31
...ToothPick: 22
...Rupert: 16
...Kan'gi: 16

Spirit Offensive skill: 6 to 10 [8M Damage] 3 on 1 = +(1 or 2) TN on opponent.

Frost defense skill: 9 (6+3) [Astral Combat Pool = 14] -1TN for +1 Reach Focus
Spirit TN: 4
Frost TN: 5

Leslie defense skill: 8 (6+2) [Astral Combat Pool = 15] -1TN for +1 Reach Focus
Spirit TN: 4
Leslie TN: 5

Kan'Gi attack skill: 18
(Ecc, Weapon Focus adds to skill like Imp Ability, you have 18 pre-pool)
Spirit TN: 4
Kan'Gi: 5

Toothpick attack skill: 14 (+1 TN to spirit for +1 Reach Focus)
Spirit TN: 5
Toothpick: 5

Rupert defense skill: 13+2 (Increased spirit TN by 2 for reach, reduced "Friends in combat" penalty to 0)
Spirit TN: 5
Rupert: 5

Spirit 1 on Frost: 1 3 3 (4 5 5 5 6)
Frost on Spirit 1: 1 2 2 3 4 (5 6 6 6)
Resistance (2M): 1 1 (2 5 5) + (2 4 5 6)
Spirit 2 on Frost: 1 1 1 1 2 (5)
Frost on Spirit 2: 1 1 1 3 4 (5 5 6 6)
Resistance ((11-5)S): 1 1 3 4 4
Spirit 3 on Frost: 1 1 1 2 3 3 3 (4 5 6)
Frost on Spirit 3: 1 2 2 3 4 4 (6 6 6)
Results:
Spirit 1: Uninjured
Spirit 2: Serious Wound
Spirit 3: Uninjured
Frost: Uninjured

Spirit 1 on Leslie: 1 1 2 2 (4 4 6 6 6 6)
Leslie on Spirit 1: 1 1 1 3 3 (5 5 6)
Resistance (8S): (3 3 5 5 9 9)
Spirit 2 on Leslie: 1 1 1 1 2 (4 5 6)
Leslie on Spirit 2:1 3 4 4 4 (5 5 6)
Spirit 3 on Leslie: 1 2 3 3 3 (6)
Leslie on Spirit 3: 1 1 2 2 4 (5 5 6)
Resistance (9-5S): 2 3 (4 4)
Results:
Spirit 1: Uninjured
Spirit 2: Uninjured
Spirit 3: Moderate Wound
Leslie: Moderate Wound

Spirit 1 on Kan'Gi: 1 1 3 (4 4 4 5 5 6 6)
Kan'gi on Spirit 1: 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 4 4 4 (5 5 5 6 6 6 6 6)
Resistance (8-5M): 1 1 (3 4 5)
Spirit 2 on Kan'Gi: 1 2 3 (4 5 5 5 6)
Kan'gi on Spirit 2: 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 (5 5 5 6 6 6)
Resistance (8-5M): 1 (3 4 6)
Results:
Spirit 1: Light Wound
Spirit 2: Light Wound
Kan'Gi: Uninjured

Spirit 1 on Toothpick: 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 3 (6 6)
Toothpick on Spirit 1: 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 (5 5 6 6)
Resistance (13-5S): 2 4 4 5 (20)
Spirit 2 on Toothpick: 1 1 1 2 2 4 (6 6)
Toothpick on Spirit 2: 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 (5 6 6 6 6)
Resistance (13-4S): 2 2 4 5
Results:
Spirit 1: Serious Wound
Spirit 2: Serious Wound
Toothpick: Uninjured

Spirit 1 on Rupert: 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 5
Rupert on Spirit 1: 1 1 2 3 3 3 (4 4 5 5 5 5 6 6)
Resistance (14-5D):1 2 2 4 5
Spirit 2 on Rupert: 1 1 2 3 4 5 (6 6)
Rupert on Spirit 2: 1 1 2 2 2 3 (4 4 4 5 5 5 6 6)
Resistance (12-4D): 1 1 3 7
Results:
Spirit 1: Deadly Wound
Spirit 2: Deadly Wound
Rupert: Uninjured

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Sgt Beck attack spell: 9
Beck TN: 5+4 (Force + Background)
Drain: 4S (+2 for Background)

Cast: 1 2 4 4 4 5 5 (10 11)
Drain: 2 2 2 3 4 (5 5 5 5 6)
Resistance: 1 2 4 4 6
Results:
Spirit 1 (on Frost): Serious Wound, Distracted from Frost
Drain: Light

O'Neil: No spirits manifest.

Toothpick attacks (x2): 14
Toothpick TN: 5
Spirit 1: 5
Attack: 1 1 2 3 3 3 4 4 (5 5 5 5 6 6)
Defense: 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 (6 6)
Resistance (13-5D): 2 2 3 4 5
Spirit 2: 7
Attack: 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 (6 6)
Defense: 1 2 3 4 4 4 5 (14)
Resistance (13-5M): 1 2 4 4
Results:
Spirit 1: Deadly Wound on Serious(dispelled)
Spirit 2: Moderate Wound on Serious (dispelled)

Rupert (Engages another spirit attacking Leslie +2 TN, negated by reach): 14 TN 4
Spirit 1 (on Leslie) : 10 TN 5 (due to reach of Rupert)
Attack: 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 (4 5 5 5 5 6)
Defense: 1 3 3 3 4 4 (5 5 5 5)
Resistance (10-5M): 4 (5 9 9 13)
Results:
Spirit 1 (on Leslie): Distracted from Leslie, Uninjured

Kan'Gi: 18 TN 5
Spirit 1: 10 TN 5
Attack: 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 4 (5 6 6)
Defense: 3 3 3 3 4 4 (5 5 5 6)
Resistance (8-4M): 1 2 2 3 3 (4 4 4 5)
Results:
No Injuries

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Rupert felt the surge of exhileration that came from when the team slips into harmonius action, the chaotic explosion of the ambush giving way as each member assumes their part within the biological machine. No more than a second before it looked like the mages were facing certain death, but now the spectre of doom seemed focused in exactly the opposite direction. He recognized the Sargent winding up a spirit blast, and grinned as it tore the target spirit to shreds. His grin faded when he saw the energy of the blast suddenly boil outwards, absorbed by the forms of many more spirits, almost doubling the number moving in on them. "The spells are waking more up! Ten more coming in!"

The odds had turned again. An outright victory seemed to be out of reach once more, meaning that they'd have to try for a breakout and then retreat. "Leftenant, what now?" he broadcasts. He sees the lieutenant slump out of the corner of his eye, and a defensive spin allows him to watch full on as the monster dispatches Douglass. He isn't on subvocal anymore. "LEFTENANT!"
_____________________________________________________________
Rupert is going to spend at least the next round trying to stabilize the defense against the spirits fighting the mages. As soon as that threat is nullified, he's going to start tearing the wings off of fleshforms.

Initiative: 6 + 2d6
Attack dice: 13 (Staff 7, + Imp Abi 4 + Focus 2)
Armour B/I: 7/4
Damage: 10M stun (Strength +
Body: 10
Combat Pool (Attack/Defense): 15/7
Reach: 3 (using to raise attackers target numbers)
Wounds: None
Spell Pool: 6 (if it becomes an issue, the whole pool is going towards defense)

Combat Pool Allocation 2/4

Hey Sphynx, could you check my numbers? I lent my books out, and I think that something is wonky here, but it's late and I have to be out real early tomorrow. Thank you in advance. Good job on the last post, BTW.

Frost growls at the spirit that had struck her sounding pissed off, but totally unhurt. She singled out the Spirit that had struck her and Struck at him savagely with Winter's Kiss, the magical blade a blur of blue light in her hands.

"No spells," she shouts, "Its making it worse."
____________________________________________________________________
Frost is attacking the spirit that struck her, she will use her additional initiative passes to attack the same spirit or another if she dispatches the first.

Attack By Frost:
1st: 10 Dice (8 + 2 from pools)
2nd: 9 Dice (8 + 1 from pools)
3rd: 9 Dice (8 + 1 from pools)
4th: 8 Dice (

Attack on Frost:
1st: 10 Dice (8 +2 from pools)
2nd: 10 Dice (8 +2 from pools)
3rd: 10 Dice (8 +2 from pools)
4th: 10 Dice (8 +2 from pools)
5th: 10 Dice (8 +2 from pools)
6th: 9 Dice (6 Sorcery, 3 Focus)
7th and Beyond: 8 Dice (

Grade: 3
Initiative: 30+3d6
Attack dice: 8 (Katana 5, Focus 3)
Sorcery dice: 9(Sorcery 6, Focus 3)
Mystic Armor: 8
Armour B/I: 12B/16I
Damage: 11M Lethal (Charisma + 3)
Body(Astral): 9
Astral Combat Pool: 11 (2 dice to each time I am attacked, 1 die to my first attack)
Astral Pool: 3 (1 on each of my first 3 attacks)
Reach: 1 (using to raise attackers target numbers)
Wounds: none
Spell Pool: 8 (if it becomes an issue, the whole pool is going towards defense)
Shielding Focus to shield myself and Leslie.

O'Malley takes a look around as he has a brief breather between attacks. Seeing a group of... half bugs?! take out the Leutenant and about to gut O'Neil.

Can't have that... Wait those things look solid, like flesh. O'Malley thinks as he switches his sword to his off hand. He takes the slightest pause to center his thoughts I am one with my attack, there is me, there are the ugly things, there is nothing in between.

He then rapidly throws two of his knives at a pair of the creatures. switching the sword back he leaps onto a crate and reverses his masking.

A minute ago he was the astral image of an uninitiated Adept, now he glowed with his true strength, a beacon for the awake spirits to see and target. "To Me! they can't gang up if we fight in a formation!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Okay here goes:

Action: Centered twin quick drawn throw from sleeve (QD) knife sheaths. two targets, then leap on crate and drop masking.

Dice data
Initiative: 11 + 3D6
Centering dice 6 (9 if astral pool can help centering (I forget))
Attack dice: 12 base 14 total (Thrown 6, Imp ability 6, 2 dice for each shot from pool) -1TN from aptitude, range counts as short due to Optimag 3 -TN from centering and +2TN on second target.
Sword defense Dice: 13 (6 edged + 6 focus +1 from combat pool per attack on me)
Armour B/I: 6/8
Damage: Knives 13M (10 str + 2 Missile Mastery +1 Dikote)
Damage: Sword 13M
Body: 9
Combat Pool: 4 on thrown attacks (figured in above) 6 left for sword defense 0 for soak
Reach: 1 use to lower own target number
Leap test: 8? dice (Athletics 5 great leap 3) with TN-2 for bal aug
Wounds: None yet, but the night is young

Kan'gi does his best to hack his way to Leslie, trying to keep her safe. D will have my ass if something happens to her... He calls out to her, "Leslie, get behind me!"

________________________________________________________

Dice data
Initiative: 7 + 3D6
Attack dice: 18 base + 4 Combat Pool
Armour B/I: 13/9 + Fire Resistant 5 + Chemical Seal 8
Damage: Tomahawk (Dikoted) 9S (Str+1)S
Body: 9
Combat Pool: 12 (Start using 4 on each roll)
Reach: 1 use to lower own target number
Wounds: None

I think that covers everything.

Tony heard O'Neill yell and glanced to the side to see the bug suck the life out of his commanding officer. He dropped out of the astral plane and dropped his rifle, letting it hang at his side by the nylon strap. "Man down, try and pull out of the astral!" He yelled. Fluidly he drew out his Rugers, the twin pistols barking their characteristic report as the bullets sped towards the troll sized bug that attacked the Lt.

__________________________________________

Initiative: 13 + 4D6
Drop Out of Astral Perception (Simple), Quick Draw and Fire (Simple)
Attack dice: 14 for both pistols, -4 modifier for both shots from Enhance Aim and laser sight, +1 from injury
Damage: 14S Base (9M, Plus Burst, Plus EX)
Armor: 12/13
Body: 6
Combat Pool (Attack/Defense): 2/8
Wounds: Light Stun

Terry movements are as smooth as silk. Seeing Tony's shells rip through the thing on the Lieutenant he pivots, raises Auld Lang Syne and unleashes two bursts of his own into the team's next victim.




----------------------------------

Initiative: 15 + 4D6
2 Bursts from ares alpha on the closest bug that's not the one Sarge is shooting
Attack dice: 14 (6 assault rifles + 6 adept power + 1 enhanced articulation + 1 reflex recorder)
TN -2 because of smartlink 2, 7 points recoil comp.
Damage: 13S Base (8M, Plus Burst, Plus EX)
Armor: 7/8
Body: 8
Combat Pool (Attack/Defense): 0/13
Wounds: None

Unarmed (if it becomes an issue) 6 dice, 7M lethal damage (killing hands + hardliner gloves)

Rest of combat phase will be more burst fires, though will use FA if several injured bugs near end of turn or it becomes apparent they have a lot of armor.

Leslie didn't need to be told to pull out of astral twice. The bugs had put her in a world of hurt. Trying not to give the bugs a second shot at her, she headed back to her body. Hoping that the spirits wouldn't bother her outside of astral, she drew her pistol to shoot at the closest of the fleshforms.

____________

Drop Out of Astral Perception (Simple)
Quick Draw and Fire (Simple)
Attack dice: 4
Damage: 11M
Base (9M + EX Explosive Ammo)
Armor: 6/6
Body: 4
Combat Pool (Attack/Defense): 0/9
Wounds: Moderate

Leslie realizing her vulnerability in being Astral amidst a mob of spirits retreats into her body, but as she is returning, she falls victom to one of the strange spirits who bites a huge chunk out of her astral neck before is seeps through the gaping jaw, and returns to her body. She lies there, bleeding out the mouth and nose, eyes barely open as a small whimper escapes her lips. Frost dives into action, becoming a whilewind of destruction in the Astral Plane. Although doing no apparent damage in the process, it's enough to attract the attention of the spirits that are no longer occupied by other members, such as the one that attacked Sgt Beck, flying right through his body as he misses the Sgt by a nano-second, when the Sgt clears his Astral Vision. The spirits, distracted by Frost become easy prey to the Adepts, who finish them off with little effort at all.

Terry performs most admirably, without any hesitation at all, before he even has time to realize what it is he's looking at, he rips out 2 burst fires at point blank range, sending 2 of the Flesh Spirits into death frenzies as they fall backwards into their own bile. As if nothing more than an Echo of the initial Bursts, Sgt Beck dispatches yet another spirit with a similar burst at close range, sending it flying back feet first, as it crashes into an old rusty container sitting on the harbor edge. Terry stands, and in the same fluid motion dispatches the last of the Flesh spirits with a single burst, clearing the area of the last of the insectlike creatures. A large buzzing is heard coming from the distance, and the stars blink out as a cloud of what sounds like insects, heads in your direction from the inner city. It would appear someone's made an attraction from the old warehouse, and has attracted every insect in the city. The 4 Astral Insects that were awakened by O'Neils Spirit bolt finally escape their stasis prison, and without hesitation, initiate an attack on the team. Rupert, Kan'Gi and Frost quickly dispatch them in melee combat, and the area is completely clear of awakened spirits, except for the thousands on their way as the buzzing gets louder and louder.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Combat Phase 2]
Frost: 36
Leslie: 25
Terry: 21
Sgt Beck: 21
ToothPick: 12
Kan'Gi: 6
Rupert: 6

Astral Spirits: 24
Flesh Spirits: 14

Frost slices into Spirit 2 (PS. Katana skill is 6, not 5):
Frost (12 TN 5): 6 successes
Spirit-2 (8 TN 5+2([Injured]): 2successes
Resistance ((11-5)S): No successes
Spirit Gone. Leaving 1 uninjured spirit on Frost

Leslie (Astral Projection and return is a Complex Action. You're projecting ATM, as per your post, so no actions this round if you're returning)

Astral Spirits:
..Frost has 1 on her, uninjured (1 is attacking Sgt Beck, the other was just killed).
..Leslie has 1 on her, moderate wound (2 are attacking Rupert).
..Sgt Beck has one on him with a Serious Wound
..Toothpick is clear having killed 2 last phase
..Rupert has 2 on him (killed 2 last phase), both uninjured
..Kan'Gi has 2 on him (both lightly wounded)

4 Flesh Forms: all attacking Sgt O'Neil

Spirit attacking Frost:
Spirit (10 TN 5): 4 successes
Frost (12 TN 4): 6 successes
Resistance ((11-5)S): 2 successes
Spirit takes a Moderate Wound.

Spirit on Leslie (who is distracted, trying to perform a complex action to return to body):
Spirit (6 TN 2): 4 succeses
Leslie defense only (full Astral Combat Pool 9 TN 6): 2 successes
Resistance (8S): 1 Success
Leslie takes a Serious Wound but is no longer a target for the Astral Spirits

Spirit on Sgt Beck (Who is distracted, pulling out of Astral Perception)
Spirit (10 TN 4+3 from Injury): 2 successes
Sgt Beck (No Combat pool, Unarmed 6 TN 5): 2 successes
No advantage

Spirits on Rupert:
Spirit 1 (10 TN 6): 2 successes
Rupert (20 TN 4): 10 successes
Resistance (9D): 1 success
Spirit 2 (8 TN 6): 2 successes
Rupert (20 TN 4): 11 successes
Resistance (9D): 1 success
2 more spirits gone.

Spirits on Kan'Gi:
Spirit 1 (10 TN 4): 5 successes
Kan'Gi (22 TN 4): 11 successes
Resistance (13D): No successes
Spirit 2 (10 TN 4): 5 successes
KanGi (22 TN 4): 12 successes
Resistance (13D): No successes
2 more spirits gone

3 Astral Spirits left (Moderate, UnInjured, UnInjured), all focusing on Leslie next Combat Phase

Terry:
Burst 1 on Spirit 1 (14 TN 2) : 14 successes
Resistance (5 TN 9S): 2 successes
Spirit 1 Drops
Burst 2 on spirit 2 (14 TN 4) : 7 successes
Resistance (5 TN 9S): 2 successes
Spirit Drops

O'Neil:
Burst fire on Spirit 3 (14 TN 3) : 8 successes
Resistance (5 TN 9S): 1 success
Spirit Drops

Flesh on Terry:
<Starts to Fly away>

Toothpick on a Astral Spirit
<pointless rolling, easy kill>

Kan'Gi on a Astral Spirit
<pointless rolling, easy kill>

Rupert on a Astral Spirit
<pointless rolling, easy kill>

Phase 3: Terry finishes off the one trying to fly away with another burst fire

Don't forget to subtract rounds. Terry lost 9 rounds, O'Neil lost 6 rounds of ammo.

Rupert pivoted as the last spirit fell, seeing nothing but more dimly outlined dormant bugs around them. He returned his eyes to the material plane, feeling a mix of relief and disapointment that the three who attacked the Leftenant were also down. He finished his survey looking down at the mages.

Frost was also turning towards Leslie. "Don't heal her!" He shouted, hoping to head off what might've been the other mage's first instinct. She seemed to be the most seriously wounded, but they didn't have time to stop and triage. They needed to get away from area and out of sight before the incoming swarm picked them up.

He collapsed and stowed his his staff, his Alpha swinging from its strap."We have to move fast," he told Leslie, kneeling so that he could lift her up in one arm. "I'll carry you." He looked up at the the rest of the team. "Someone needs to grab the Leftenant and the we'd better find some hard cover." He gripes his Alpha with his free hand. "I can lay down some smoke grenades at maximum range. It might distract them for a few extra seconds if they see the smoke and think that it means something is going on out there."

He looks at the Sargant. "You're CO now, what do we do?"

___________________________________________________________________
I assume we've got at least a round before more badness hits the fan, so I'm not going to put up the combat information. He's got a regular smoke grenade in the rifle, and if he gets the order he'll brace himself and fire it one handed. He's not aiming for anything, he just wants to get the grenade out as far as it'll go.

Looking out at the approaching swarm, Frost quickly decided that discretion was the better part of valor, her astral form quickly returned to its coporeal self, once again merging spirit and flesh. "I know better." Frost says crossly to Rupert, she hadn't even started moving before he said it, and so it pissed her off for him to just assume she was going to, but it wasn't important at the moment to say anything.

"Lets not be here when all those spirits get here, it would be bad, pull back and hole up somewhere and between all of us we can make strong enough wards to keep out an army. Once things settle, we can scout a way out of the containment zone." Frost advises, double checking all of her gear to be sure she was ready to go.

__________________________________________
Return to body

Kan'gi turns to Leslie, in Rupert's arms. "Please, let me." His eyes looks sad as he takes the woman into his own arms, a look passes between them, like they've been here before. He then begins to look around for a place to take cover from the coming swarm. He whispers to Leslie, "Hang in there girl, I'll get ya outta this one too."

He turns to Beck. "Where to?"

Though unnecessary for Frost, the warning against healing snapped Leslie's attention away from the attempts to pull her power together in attempt to patch herself up. Given her physical state, that might have been a good thing, as she didn't need to add mental drain to her physical ills.

Recognizing that she was in no condition to move with the party at the rate they needed, she didn't object to being carried. As she was transfered to Kan'gi, she gave him a weary smile. Relieved from having to think of getting where they were going, she instead focused her hazy thoughts into searching her mind for relevant info that might help them in this situation. "Apparently the queen is still out there...and ticked. Too bad I forgot my bug spray..."

Looks down at the woman cradled in his arms, Kan'gi says, "I figured you'd know what was up with these fraggers. You can brief us when we get to a secure local."

Tony scans the nearby buildings looking for a location that would afford good cover, but was also close enough in his judgement to reach before the swarm was upon them. "There," he said indicating a distant structure, "we'll hole up there for now. Let's go, we gotta get there now! Rupert, grab the Lieutenant!"

Running along with the rest of the team, Tony continued his instructions: "Once we get there we'll secure the first floor and I'll contact base. Frost, you heal Leslie; Kan'gi, Rupert: once you drop Leslie off in Frost's care I want you to make sure the rest of the building is secure; O'Neill, O'Malley, you're on overwatch: assist Kan'gi and Rupert and then cover the outside of the building to make sure nothing follows us in. Don't engage if you can avoid it."

_________________________________________

Only actions are Perception with 6 dice (-1 difficulty from Perceptive) to find a good building to run to that affords a strong position, but is reachable before the swarm is nearby, and then running like hell with everyone else.

Terry didn't need to be told twice. Sprinting with the Sargent he shouts "Let's move chummers; no love scenes on bug hunts. Tis against regulations."

He checks his points as he enters behind the trolls. After the brutal room to room combat noticeably doesn't happen, he flips a table to use as cover and a brace; taking up a watch on the swarm through a second story window.

_______________________

Actions are keeping a lookout for bugs etc. (9 dice for perception)

If anything looks like it's about to attack, outside or once he's in the building, he's opening up with burst fire until it's dead.
Initiative: 15 + 4D6
Attack dice: 14 (6 assault rifles + 6 adept power + 1 enhanced articulation + 1 reflex recorder) + 4 combat pool
TN -2 because of smartlink 2, 7 points recoil comp.
Damage: 13S Base (8M, Plus Burst, Plus EX)
Armor: 7/8
Body: 8
Combat Pool (Attack/Defense): 4/9
Wounds: None

Melee: 6 dice, 7M lethal damage (killing hands + hardliner gloves)
rounds in current clip: 33
Perception: 9

Huddling down behind the best cover you can find in this barracks like building, there's a couple of things that happen of high note. First is the static of the astral plane, it's becoming nigh impossible to see anything through the static. The 2nd thing, perhaps of higher importance, is that the buzzing seems to diminish before it reaches you. As you gaze outward you see that spirits fall as they come close to the site, they seem to get sucked into physical objects all around the site, as if each object needed to host its own spirit.

After about an hour's wait, the air seems quiet, and although you can see the spirits when you painfully gaze into the astral, they don't seem to do anything other than sleep in their felled states. Eventually, it becomes too painful to even use Astral Perception.

Trying to call base proves futile, there is no response due to some idiot pirating all the bandwaves to broadcast an all points bulletin in regards to staying indoors and not attempting to leave the city. It appears you're on your own.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Background count stabilizes in your location at a 7 (level 2 mana warp), but it's obvious that it's alot worse at the building itself. For those of you that don't know what that means, I'd recommend not trying to Astrally Perceive or Project until well out of range.

"Sir, we need to get out of here now, the astral plane was so badly damaged that I don't dare heal Leslie until were further away. My magic is too drained for me to attempt it, I doubt I could do much as screwed up as warped as the mana around this place is, and then she couldn't be treated for it later. Someone needs to do some first aid, and then we need to get out of here as fast as possible. I doubt we'll have problems with spirits, not while the astral is this bad, but who knows what else will come up and we can't use any of our magic or Foci to aid us." Lily says, not really nervously, but not comfortable in the slightest.

"At the very least we need to get a lot furter away from here, even if we can't get out of Chicago itself."

____________________________________________________________
Knowledge Check for magic for any little bursts of insight relative to our predicament

Magic 6
Spirits 6

Once inside and things have setted down, Kan'gi returns to Leslie. "Hold still now, this shouldn't hurt... much."

He drops his pack next to her and pulls out a Medkit. Attaching the connections to her, he runs the scan to see what needs to be done.

________________________________________________________

Biotech 4 / First Aid 6 + Medkit (Rating 6)

Tony nodded his head at Frost, agreeing with her assesment. "To start with, we need to reorganize the command structure. (OOC I'm assuming we now know the Lt. is dead) Frost, I figure you can handle being second in the chain unless you have an objection."

He paused briefly to see if the elven woman would speak up and to examine his GPS unit before continuing, "Racine Ave. is about a tenth of a klick from here. We're gonna take that and head north to the corp district and see what we can see; there should be facilities there that possess sat comm gear we might be able to liberate and use. The closer we get to the wall the better chance we'll have of breaking through this interference and getting an exfiltration. Wrigley Field is around that area, and near the northernmost portion of the wall. We'll head there last, and if we get seperated that's where you are to go for, using the entrance located at Clark and Addison."

Tony spoke up one last time, his gaze falling over each team member, "Until we contact base, orders still stand as they are: no one is to know we were here, despite any difficulties this may cause us. We are not to come into direct contact with any corporate entity, including Ares or Knight Errant employees who were not privy to information regarding this operation. Now get your gear, someone grab Leslie and let's move out."

____________________________________________

While moving through the city I am on the lookout for any vehicles we could all fit in and tell everyone else to be too.

At the promotion, Frost simply nods as if it were her due, despite the fact that she has only been with Knight Errant for a month. "That works, I think we need to concentrate on getting out of this manawarp as fast as possible, once we get enough distance I'll heal anyone who needs it, and I can also start to scout for ways out of the city on the Astral if it comes to that."

"To remain unseen, our best bet is just to whole up some place until after nightfall then we can move out of here a lot easier, it should give some time for the local boys to settle down some too." she offers.

"Ok, we'll get out of this mana warp and hole up until nightfall as Frost suggested (OOC unless it is already night time!), and unless there are any other ideas we are heading down Racine to get to the corp sector, then Wrigley and the north wall."

Kan'gi looks up from tending to Leslie, "Just give me a few more minutes here Sarg and we'll be good to go."

"Next time I start to ask 'Is this a Combat mission, or a bug hunt?' during a brief.. You all have permission to clamp my mouth shut.

Rupert carefully handed Frost over to Kan'gi, then rushed over to where the Leftenant had fallen. It was obvious that Douglass was far beyond any help, but Rupert slung him over his shoulder and followed his companions as they took shelter and set up a defensive position.

He had to stop viewing astrally by the time he finished doing a quick sweep of the building. On the plus side, the developing mana warp seemed to be adversly affecting the bug spirits too, which meant they should be safe from further attack by them for the time being. He also found a storeroom holding a large number of dry goods. He made a mental note to tell the rest of the squad about it when he returned. They might need what was in there.

When he returned to their temporary bunker, he noticed that someone covered the Leftenant's body. He gave his report, passed on what he'd discovered in the storeroom, and then sat and waited for the coast to clear.

As various ideas get tossed around, he does intercede at one point. "One of the big problems will be that Chicago was, at least up until this morning, an active, functional city. The cover story was VITAS outbreak, so although a lot of people were staying inside and off the streets, the city is hardly derelict. Most of those corporate facilities are still in use, which would make infiltration hard. It might be for the best to just move at night, and keep quiet unless we:re forced to engage bugs. It might be best to just sneak over the wall and get back in touch with command on the other side."

When their new Top Hat gave his orders, he nodded in agreement, slapping a magazine of flechette rounds into his Predator, one of EX Ex into his alpha, and slotting a white phosphurus grenade into the launcher. "Do you want scouts out on point, recon and advance, or keep the squads together and move as a group?"


_____________________________________________________

I'm using what he discovered on his sweep to explain why he's got so much long term survival type equipment with him (otherwise, why bring rations and mess kit?)

"We'll move as a group. I don't plan on any infiltration, but if the opportunity presents itself for some sat uplink time or decking without anyone noticing it we'll take it. If you're done Kan'gi, let's go."