He did it!
A mightily relieved Amaryst flashes a grin at the kasatha. "That's my friend.
But that's all she says because she's on to the next thing, getting out alive. She starts working the comm.
"Rollo can you stay on overwatch? Jin, do the Fergus borthers have a back door we can use?"
Rollo's voice comes back through the commlink. "I'll keep an eye out for any cops or anything. I'll meet you outside."
The Fergus Brothers do have a backdoor, though not of the "secret spy getaway" variety. It's more like a shadowed workers' entrance that leads to a little freight alleyway. Most people will be leaving out the front entrances and taking their various vehicles back into the city.
People are prevented from swarming Cross by a few members of the Ferguses' security detail, and after a few moments the other racers (sans Simon, who wrecked) idle up to the finish line. Though the Dominator just scoffs and pushes his way into the crowd, Yu offers Cross a silent handshake, and George wholeheartedly congratulates the cyborg.
All that's left is to get going back to the hovercraft, your various hotel rooms and your apartments. Fergus wires the money to a pre-paid card and hands it to Jin.
Cross, never one for showing off outside a race, accepts the praise and adoration stoically. Dom was being a prig, but that was unsurprising, while Yu seemed willing to accept his loss more gracefully. George was a more difficult matter and Cross was careful to avoid any attempts the fellow made to try and hug him. Backslaps and enthusiastic arm pumping were the price of his avoidance.
It took him some time to navigate through the crowds and so on but the day was not over yet. He quickly composed and sent a message to the others as he did so.
Get the kids back to the hovercraft and settled in, I'll be the rearguard for our withdraw and make sure we aren't followed
"He won!" Emily exclaimed, and stood in awe at Cross and the other racers. "That was amazing! I've never seen anything like that!"
Maldor walks with Emily, Jin, KVan, and Amaryst, keeping his eyes open without actually meeting anyone's eyes. It was one thing to be looking around...an altogether different thing to be looking at people...
Getting back to the hovercraft means walking from the water treatment plant to the nearest subway station, taking a couple of subways out to the water, and then walking up to the docks and getting on board.
Cross follows a bit behind the group, keeping a lookout. Unfortunately, just a minute or so after having left the water treatment plant, it's clear that the group is being followed. Not by one, but by two separate groups. One solitary, stout humanoid appearing to rush in order to try and catch up and the other a big shiny black car driving behind the group, about a block behind, conspicuously slowly.
You're being tailed, looks like two separate groups. There's a single figure trying to catch up with you all and a black car that smells like fed-issue to me. It's like they're barely even trying, I mean a black car? Seriously? I'm willing to bet fifty credits they've got at least one 'Smith' in there. If you guys can deal with the loner, we'll have a better odds of nothing going wrong with the car.
Emily looked back behind them as they walked, hoping to spot the lone figure tailing them.
Mal walks along, trying hard to not look behind him. Instead, he is focused on what is coming up and what is beside them. He is looking for a good alley or abandoned building they can duck into or around to try and either lose their tails or at least separate them...
Dystopian cyberpunk future-earth has plenty of shadowed alleyways and streets to duck down to attempt to evade pursuit, if that's what you're looking to do.
"This alley here. We'll cut over a block to the west. You four keep moving. I'll see what the follower wants."
Over the comm Amaryst tells Cross, "We're taking an alley one block west."
She leaves the comm open for the entire group.
Once inside the alley, she urges the others to hurry, but not to run. She speeds up herself.
Halfway down she draws her gun and slides the barrel back to chamber a round. She pulls out her torch, flicks it on, then stands to one side, partially covered by a dumpster which also serves to hide the torch. Her gun comes up, pointed at the alley entrance. Her thumb feels for the safety, makes sure that it's off.
Seeing at least one of the figures up ahead turn down the alley, Zenvisk quickens their pace slightly. Turning down the alley, they pause slightly before turning to look down at the small, spider-like robot by their side. Speaking in a whisper, they tell the drone "ຈົ່ງຢູ່ທີ່ນີ້, ແຕ່ປະຕິບັດຕາມເມື່ອຂ້າພະເຈົ້າເຖິງປາຍທາງຊອຍ."
Looking back down the hallway, Zenvisk will begin walking down the alleyway at a standard pace, trusting SAM to protect them from any threats from the rear. They are planing on going to the end of the alley, but will stop once they notice anything out of the ordinary
Amaryst cartwheels her left arm to shine the light and levers her right arm up to level her pistol at the oncomer.
"Stop right there, friend. This alley is closed to traffic. I've a gun pointed at your head. I want us both to walk away from this alive so turn around and pretend you didn't see us go this way."
Emily followed Amaryst's lead and ducked into the alley, trying her best not to be spotted.
When the flashlight is brought up to shine in their face, Zenvisk throws their arms up to block the light.
"Ack! Please don't shoot! I am unarmed! See?" At this, they wiggle their fingers, clearly showing that they have no drawn weaponry. [b]"I was just trying to catch up with one of my friends!"
Seeing the commotion down the alley, SAMANTHA will scuttle up the wall in an attempt to cover Zenvisk if things turn bad.
Amryst nods once.
Seeing Zenvisk's hands she flips the light up the walls and around the edges of the alley entrance before swinging back down to point at the shirren.
"Who's your friend? It's not likely you know any of us. And if that little droid up there is yours, call it off."
K-Van and Rollo duck into the alley behind the other group members, trying to make themselves small. Fearfully, K-Van asks in a whisper, "Why are they chasing us?" Rollo grunts. "Because they're a+&@**%s," he says.
Outside the alley, Cross sees the black car pull to a stop at the entrance of the alleyway. The doors click open and a few musclebound dudes wearing white tank tops, loose-fitting pants and carrying a variety of what look like stun batons and pulsecasters pile out of the vehicle. It looks like there's about five guys. They have neck and hand tattoos, and are probably not feds.
Amaryst sizes up the group behind the shirren. I wish I had more grenades.
"Times up, bug. If those aren't your friends behind you get out of the way, because the shooting's going to start."
Cross, distinctly disappointed by the un-fed appearance of the goon squad, decides it is time to intervene. He draws his knife and drives past the black car, jamming the blade into the paint and leaving a massive scratch along all four panels of that side with a frankly horrible sound of metal gouging into metal.
"Oi! Organ farms! Nice paint job!" He shouts after the goon squad already driving out of the reliable range of their pulsecasters and pulling his own piece and letting off a couple of shots.
Snapping their head around to look down the alleyway, Zenvisk sees the five men at the entrance. Seeing their drawn weaponry, they back down the alley sightly, moving to the side opposite Amaryst and the others. Trying to speak low enough that the goons don't hear, they say "No, I don't know them. And they are definitely not my friends." Zenvisk then attempts to take cover behind any available cover.
Turning in their direction, he says one more thing to the group across the alley "As for my friend, I am looking for an individual named Jin Larson." At this point, Zenvisk retrieves their Pulsecaster pistol, ready to defend themselves if necessary.
Settling themselves against the wall, SAMANTHA attempts to escape notice. This is assisted by her outer coating suddenly changing color, altering itself from her normal silvery coloration to match the reds and browns of the brick wall.
Maldor was able to quickly dodge down the alley and moved quickly along the length of it, until he heard the terse conversation behind him. He stopped and flattened himself against the wall behind a drainage pipe. Drawing the pulsecaster pistol he retrieved from the crashed airship, he looks up and down the alley, hoping they don't get cut off on the other end...
Amaryst doesn't shoot, but she splits her attention between the shirren moving forward, and the thugs. Her gun drifts right, and wavers between the two.
|
Jin draws his gifted Scattergun from it's holster on his lower back, pointing it down the alley towards the thugs. Before a sudden moment of Cassius-assisted realization hits him.
"Zen? Is that you?" he asks, looking to the Shirren in slight bewilderment "What are you doing here? And looking for me no less?"
Noticing Jin standing behind Amaryst, and noticing that he is within range of telepathic communication, opens up a telepathic link between the two.
{Of course its me! Who else would I be? As for the rest, I will explain shortly. Just make sure none of your friends shoot me!}
Emily sought whatever cover she could find and tried to stay low, while the others dealt with the bug and the thugs. She hadn't had much luck getting a read on this 'Zen', but the humans with shock batons seemed like the real threat. She looked at the most prominent one and tried to get a read on him...
The thugs advance into the alleyway, packing a variety of charged melee weapons. The lead thug packs a thunderstrike pulse gauntlet, a weapon which releases a sonic wave upon impact. One more carries what looks like an arc emitter pistol. Two more thugs carry pulsecaster rifles, and the third carries a pulsecaster pistol.
The lead thug, a big musclebound man in a sleeveless black blazer over a dusty vest, grins evilly. "Got orders to take your friends in..." he says, "Better get out of the way, or we might rough you up a bit."
A thug in the back says, "Hey boss, someone just keyed our ride." The lead thug grunts and points a fat finger back towards the entrance of the alleyway. "Take care of it. The four of us have got this."
1. Zenvisk <--- You are up!
2. Rollo
3. Thug #3, Thug #2
4. K-Van
5. Thug #4, Thug #5
6. MLE, Maldor, Jin, Cross
7. Thug #1
8. Amaryst
Seeing that the thugs are out of the optimal range of their pulsecaster pistol, and not wishing to move any closer to the enemy, Zenvisk will ready an action to shoot the first thug that moves within 30 feet of their position.
They will send a quick message for SAM to ready an action to shoot the same target as they do.
Rollo moves up beside Amaryst, pulling out his autotarget rifle. "So this is how Earth is, eh sister?" jokes. "A gunfight in an alleyway?"
K-Van just hides near Maldor and MLE. "What's going on?" he whispers.
Meanwhile, the thugs begin to advance. As the one carrying the arc pistol come within range of Zenvisk and SAMANTHA, the pair open up on him with energy weapons.
Both of them hit the lightly-armored thug, but both are only grazing blows that hit him along the arms. He levels his arc pistol at Amaryst and Rollo, releasing a two-pronged surge of electricity. Meanwhile, two more thugs stay further back, pulsecaster rifles in hand, and aim at Zenvisk.
Zenvisk takes a static blast in the chest, although he only feels a slight buzzing - his armor takes the brunt. He is able to duck behind his cover to dodge the second blast. Amaryst and Rollo are both shocked by the thug's arc blast.
The last thug, on the orders of his boss, exits the alleyway. When he sees the huge knife-gouge in the side of their car and Cross' rumbling motorbike nearby, he shouts: "Hey! Get out of here, punk, 'fore I knock your ass off that bike!"
Cross quite calmly dismounts and puts his cycle in standby, ignoring the shouting. Turning to look at the thug, he had both hands full. One holding his knife, the other his pistol.
Maldor crouches down, puts his finger to his lips, and quietly whispers to K-Van, "Shh. Just stand here nice and quiet. We have some unwanted company. I think they want Emily and me, but our friends aren't going to let them take us. So we're gonna sit tight here, where it's safe. "
He then whispers a silent prayer to his God, and holds his cupped hands together like he had caught a moth, watching the end of the alley...
Wisp Ally: You draw forth otherworldly energy to create a small, spherical, floating wisp that can distract your enemies in combat. This wisp can move 60 feet per round in any direction, and you can direct it as a move action on your turn. If the wisp occupies the same space as an enemy, the wisp provides your choice of either harrying fire or covering fire (see pages 246–247) against the enemy each round on your turn, and it follows that enemy within range automatically unless you direct it to change targets. The wisp is made of pure light and energy and can’t be damaged in combat, though it can be dispelled as normal. In addition to the function described above, the wisp sheds light in a 20-foot radius in a color of your choice (chosen when you cast the spell).
Emily cringed as Amaryst and Rollo took a hit, and the bug they'd just met got hit, too. She felt a sharp pang of guilt, knowing those who were sticking their necks out for her were getting hurt. She heard K-Van and Mal's words, and gave a small smile to the little boy. "Stay with Maldor," she said. "He's a healer, and he'll keep you safe."
'And me..? I'm supposed to be a weapon...' She thought, as she moved up next to Jin. Emily couldn't outdo a grenade, but she looked at the thug and concentrated as hard as she could.
Spasming from the shock, Amaryst catches a glimpse of the grenade in Jin's hand. She ducks behind the dumpster as he arcs it toward the thugs.
MLE is the first to react, moving up to the front of the group. Drawing on her augmented neural pathways, she sends a lance of psychic energy at the lead thug. In an instant, the man staggers, falling to a knee as blood pours in a frankly ridiculous quantity from his nostrils and ears, staining his blazer. He gasps, grabbing his head with his free hand.
Maldor prepares to defend his friends, readying his own psychic powers.
Jin shifts forward, pulling the pin on a grenade and tossing it into the alleyway ahead. It explodes with a deafening bang. However, the three farther-back guys are professionals, who manage to dive or shift in such a way to universally avoid the worst of the harm. However, the lead-most thug is propelled bodily into the nearest wall. He falls unconscious.
Cross dismounts from his bike, drawing his weapons. The thug chuckles, readying his own cestus and pulsecaster. "Oh, so that's how it's gonna be, racerboy?" he chuckles.
The lead thug growls from the pain and charges forward, drawing another pulsecaster from a hip holster. He points it at MLE and fires a bolt of stunning electricity. The bolt of electricity flies right by her - she doesn't even have to move to avoid it.
Leading with her automatic, Amaryst steps toward the oncoming thug in a low crouch. The gun thunders in her right hand. Her cestus clad left shields her head.
...
Amaryst clips the lead thug in the shoulder, though he seems to have armor underneath his jacket which turns the bullet wound into just a punch that drives him back a step. "Alright, girl," he grunts, "You're first!"
Amaryst flashes him the profile of her gun, barrel pointed up. She waggles it slightly. "Someone has to be. Rollo, a little help here?"
Amaryst slowly drops the barrel into a line with the leader's chest.
Clenching their mandibles tightly together to keep themselves from freaking out due to the sounds of the gunshot and explosion, trying to keep from thinking about that night. However, they do a double take upon seeing what happened to the thug. Quickly glancing at Jin, they send him a quick mental message.
Returning to the fight around them, they focus their pulsecaster on the nearest opponent , and fire.
SAM, receiving no other orders from Zenvisk, will continue to target the same opponent that they do.