Ides of Mars

Game Master Nimon

Beta-Axe stares at Sweeper like he's green and has antenna... " Woh, hold on. Here take these too for now, these will let you see any ARO's or texts the party sends out... they've also got some sweet mods like Flare comp and Low light. " The dwarf says passing a pair of shades to Sweeper.

" We should stop by a stuffer shack and get you some trodes and a micro transceiver before you guys go scouting, they're cheap as chips, anybody else without a micro tranceiver? "

"Got a transceiver in my comm. For non-lethal, let's see." Blacksap finishes screwing a suppressor on his gun and checks his pockets. "Taser, crossbow darts filled with Neuro-Stun, gel rounds for the pistol, Stick-n-Shocks for the sniper rifle, and another shocker in my arm. Should be enough to take down most of what they throw at us."

"Thanks guys. I will pay you all back...promise! As for weapons...well I don't use them...well maybe a sword if I could get one. Trained at the monastery in unarmed combat mostly, but also learned some kendo."

"Swords? Man you really don't get out much, do you, kid. I know we're living in a world of elves and dragons and magic, but swords? To each his own, I guess."

Deacon chuckles at the thought of bring swords to gunfights and settles back into the passenger seat.

"Well the masters always said any fool could pull a trigger, but mastering one's CHI allows a person to accomplish the impossible. They were very traditional at the temple, and once I was on my own..well guns cost money, and I was able to protect myself and those in my neighborhood better with my hands. That's why I am here I guess..to help with my special abilities."

The young man looks a little embarrassed that he does not have the same wiz equipment as everyone else, but is quite confident in his innate skills.

"Hey, null sweat, newblood. We all gotta start somewhere, somewhen. I know of a couple peeps who could slice and dice with the old trid masters, both Awakened and mundane. Trust me, I know what relying on your skills means, just ask ol' Burny over yonder, if ya can see the astral, that is."

Here's the stats on the glasses Beta-Axe gave to Sweeper:
. . Glasses (4) w/ Flare Compensation, Image Link, Low Light Vision, Vision Magnification, Electronic.

"Sounds wiz, I like the medieval imagery myself, though I guess I employ it in the most modern way possible... slayin' evil corps in the matrix, ha ha. Don't worry about the glasses I only usually use them for meets, I've got a helmet with the same suite of mods."

Secretary smiles, shaking her head. Well, what a bunch of atruists they are. You do need to trust the guy next to you, though. We'll see how that temple mastery works out. "Just don't ask us to get anything for your birthday, chummer.", she winks. She turns towards Beta-Axe, then stares at the road.

Corporations aren't nice, and I'll be the first to admit it, but I wouldn't call them evil. Some might argue that criminals for hire with no interest other than money are evil. Point of view, I suppose. She glances at her new retinue. Not that I'll be having that conversation with them any time soon.

Is everyone in their own vehicle, if not who is driving who?

Sweeper is in Deacon's van right now.

I believe Deacon was in Beta-axe's van?

It seems that everyone is currently in Beta-Axe's Van, except for Sparky who would probably prefer to take his own wheels being the rigger.

In fact I see that he has swapped out his Bentley for a Rover 2072 we should probably be using that as the main set of wheels for the group...

My plan is to head to a stuffer shack and pick up some trodes and a micro transceiver for Eugene to make it easier for him to be connected to the group then head back to nearby the EVO site so we can do some proper Matrix, Astral and even Physical recon.

" Alright, let's head to the nearest stuffer shack or whatever and pick up some electronics... " Beta-Axe says, starting his van and pulling out of the car park. He takes a second to send a quick text to Sparky.
<Hoi, we are heading to the nearest stuffer shack, meet you there, or back at the target. Stay safe chummer, let me know if you want some extra protection for your gear.>

Not sure if we need to play out buying the trodes and micro transceiver.
Trodes are availability: - and cost 70¥
Micro tranceivers are Availability: 2 and cost 100¥

I don't have a vehicle (but I'll buy a bike when I get some more cash). So I think I'll hitch a ride from Beta-Axe or Sparky.

"I've got a knife if you want a blade, kid, but it's my backup backup backup weapon, so nothing fancy."

He hands a knife to Sweeper before lying back on a seat. "Mind if I hitch a ride? My piece of drek wheels got wrecked beyond repair."

The nearest stuffer shack is a few blocks east. Your group gives people a little bit of pause, but nothing too out of the ordinary for the neighborhood. You can easily find the hardware you are looking for.

13d6 ⇒ (1, 5, 6, 1, 4, 3, 1, 2, 5, 5, 6, 4, 5) = 48 Memory

<"Don't stress just yet, but we may have picked up a tail. Black SUV, right across the street, idling. Same truck was at the wing joint. Eyes wide, chums, may be hot times ahead.">

Deacon waits for a couple minutes, then pushes his way into the StufferShack, heading for the drinks cooler. Grabbing a case of "Booster-Go! Cherry Flavor Energy Drink" and a couple boxes of high protein soy granola bars, he slots his cred across to the clerk and stops by the barred windows.

"<Right across the street, blacked out windows, black on black SUV. No telling how many inside or what's their deal.>"

Pretending to look at the tools on display, Blacksap connects his cybereyes to the protected wireless signal, then scans the SUV Deacon pointed out with his enhanced vision.

Perception (Enhanced +2, Visual +2): 13d6 ⇒ (4, 4, 5, 2, 2, 5, 1, 3, 1, 5, 5, 4, 2) = 43 4 hits. Also scanning on thermographic.

Perception: 11d6 ⇒ (3, 5, 5, 2, 3, 5, 4, 6, 6, 2, 2) = 43 5 Hits

Secretary looks at the kiosk, staring at the substances undeservingly baring the title of food. Haven't been in one of those since I was an intern..., she thinks back, choosing to go for a boring old bottle of water. <"Got it.">, she responds, <"I've got RFID rounds. If you make a small scene outside and grab their attention for a second, I can sneak out the back and tag it. Thoughts?">, she types, as she pays the clerk and takes a small sip. She puts on a goofy smile on her face, and turns to the clerk. "Hi, do you have a back door to this place, and could I possibly use it? Promise I'm not from upstairs!", she asks, twirling a strand of hair. "You'd be doing me a real favour."

Diplomacy or Fast Talk, both at 16: 16d6 ⇒ (2, 2, 2, 6, 5, 5, 1, 3, 5, 1, 6, 2, 2, 6, 6, 2) = 56 7 hits.

Perception: 9d6 ⇒ (1, 4, 4, 2, 1, 1, 6, 1, 6) = 26 = 2 hits

Sweeper also notices the vehicle and once he has his comm set up, can now listen in on what the others are planning.

Wiz! Thanks again guys!

The clerk looks at Secretary with a bit of lustful awe "Yes, um sure you can use it. I can do you a favor, I'm Ralph..." The clerk continues to prattle on after Secretary is long gone.

<"Two orks inside, and some kind of tech. Pretend fistfight outside as a distraction?">

<"No need for such drama. Sweeper, why don't you go and wipe their windhshield, maybe ask for some cred? You look the part, at least.">

Remembering he gave away his burner, Deacon heads back to the prepaid commlink display, purchasing a new Metalink and pocketing it.

"<Secretary, give him about 30 seconds, then you should be clear to tag it.>"

"Sure, no problem!

Sweeper sneaks across the street then come towards the vehicle from a different direction. He takes out an old rag and starts to wipe it across the vehicle's windscreen.

Sneak: 10d6 ⇒ (2, 4, 2, 1, 6, 5, 2, 6, 6, 1) = 35 = 4 successes

"Quick clean for ya boss! Just a few creds...nul persp! Whatever ya got in your pocket. Just need some money for food, ya know. Looking fer some action? I know where you can get some good BTL's or maybe something chemical or some companionship??"

He keeps up the banter while memorizing as much about the men and anything he can see in the vehicle.

Perception: 9d6 ⇒ (2, 6, 1, 4, 6, 6, 6, 2, 6) = 39 = 5 successes

Darn security spider locked me out mid-post.

"Thank you, Ralph! I owe you one.", Secretary smiles as she leaves to the backdoor, unholstering the pistol on the way there. Way to respect the classics, gentlemen., she smirks to herself as Sweeper picks up the rag.

As she leaves the Stuffer Shack through the back door, she almost audibly frowns at the smell. Old soya oil, re-used for weeks, stale food, and rat droppings, she swiftly pulls over her hood over her head. Drekking Stuffer Shack..., she mentally complains, as she switches out the rounds in her gun, to the RFID tags. <"Beta, you should be receiving RFID data... Now. In position in T-10."> With a swipe, the elfen woman disappears into the back alley, blending into the array of posters, graffiti and stains of questionable origin.

A couple of seconds later, she crouches next to a suspicious puddle behind a dumpster, and takes aim for the truck, smiling as Sweeper seems to be well into his role as a hobo. She raises her pistol, then pauses. <"Sparky. Advise on where to fire a shot so it's hard for the damage to be detected, and not crippling to the car.>", she asks the rigger, a light undertone of annoyance in her voice. As the men in the car turn around, she ducks behind the dumpster, one foot stepping into the puddle. Days like these. I wish I really was a secretary.

RFID tag rounds that you can shoot from a gun? Sweet! Do they come in the sensor and stealth varieties?

:P When your just trying to tag an SUV but you accidentally make it explode! :D

< Got it... > Beta replies to Secretary as he sees the active RFID tag she shares with him.

Meanwhile he checks out the SUV in the Matrix looking for any signals running silent.

Matrix Perception in AR (-2 from running silent) Swap out Sleaze for Data Processing.

Computer 5 + Intuition 4 {Data Processing 6}: 7d6 ⇒ (3, 6, 1, 1, 4, 3, 3) = 21 1Hit
If they're running silent the roll is opposed by their Logic + Sleaze. If they aren't running silent, I'd automatically see their icons if they're within 100 meters.

As Sweeper begins his act the driver side window comes down. A large female ork pokes her head out. "Beat it Drekhead!" Sweeper hears the passenger door open on the other side.

Secretary takes advantage of the situation and tags the vehicle.

4d6 ⇒ (6, 4, 1, 4) = 15 Street Gangs: Boston 1 hit

<"Good job kid. Don't wear out your welcome.>"

"whoa now...lets not be hasty. just looking to make a few creds is all. Null persp...backing off.

Sweeper backs away towards the nearest alley.

Secretary lets out a breath of relief as the tracker embeds itself in the SUV's side. <"Target tagged.">, she replies over the comms, as the ork shouts at Sweeper. What a nice woman., she mutters to herself as she heads back towards the backdoor. Stopping at the door, and sighs. Opening the bottle of water, she pours it over her foot, washing away the grime. Seeing all the junk on the street, she pretentously tosses the bottle in an overflowing garbage can, before walking in.

She takes her hood off, then makes her way through the junkfood-laden shelves back. "Are we continuing towards Beta-Axe's safehouse?", she asks. "I suggest we try to shake our tail off, first."

Oh, did Little Miss Perfect get dirt on her shoes? What a pretentious drekhead.

"Roger that. We could try to pass through Chinatown, always busy as can be, but it's quite the runaround."
Blacksap pretends to compare two horribly sweetened nutrisoy shakes. "Or I can shoot out their tires. Got a couple of sniper rifles in the back. But it may send the wrong message and I wouldn't get in a firefight on the streets."

"<I'd avoid pulling out any pieces. 'Specially something that big, no need to advertise our presence, ya know?>"

Kid did good, Secretary made the shot, no-one freaked out or went hardcore. Decent start to a night, I'd wager.

"So we good? Everyone stocked up with food, drink, and gear? What say we hit it, start this party for reals?"

Have we lost our Rigger? Cause we sure could use one at the moment.

Beta toys with the idea of hacking the RCC and activating the drones in the back of the SUV but decides it's probably not the best idea just yet...

< Looks like she's a rigger, or has one with her in the car. If someone else could drive, that would leave me free to go VR to take care of any drone problems that could arise, or even brick the SUVs Computer if necessary... >

< Yep lets go, You know china town well Blacksap? Maybe you could take the wheel?>

Beta-Axe walks out the front of the shop and casually hops into the passenger side of his van.

I noticed Blacksap is a much better driver than Beta (also much better at sneaking if that comes into play while we're trying to lose them), it would probably be best to have a decent dicepool in case we are about to have a high speed chase... I'm gonna PM our Rigger.

I'll deduct the 170¥ for the trodes and transceiver bought for Sweeper

"<Null sweat, I'm a decent driver.>" Especially when my car isn't set on fire by the fraggin' Mafia looking for my fixer. "<Any quirks I should know about?>"

Blacksap puts back the horrible nutrisoy and buys a small pack of caffeinated chewing gum, before climbing in the driver's seat of the van, where he fights for a handful of seconds, trying to get some leg room. Bulldog, solid set of wheels.

Once everyone is on board, he calls up a traffic map on his glasses' AR and hits the streets, trying to shake the orks off.
Pilot Ground Craft: 9d6 ⇒ (2, 6, 4, 5, 3, 2, 4, 4, 6) = 36 3 hits

"Don't worry too much about the SUV. If they really make themselve a problem, I'll just have Ol' Burney set the inside of the car on fire. Solves a lot of issues, I've found."

Deacon sits on the bench seat, buckled in and energy drink in hand.

< None, it's fairly new, I just beat it up a little on the outside so it wouldn't attract to much attention in The Rox. >

Sweeper sneaks down a side street then jogs back a few blocks before coming back towards the Stuffer Shack and the rest of the party. He makes sure he is not followed before hopping into the van with the others.

"Ok, that seemed to work well. Where to now?"

Once Sweeper backs off Najla rolls up her window. As the party pulls away with Blacksap at the helm they can see her in the review mirror cursing and pulling the RFID tag off her vehicle. She stares at the party's SUV drive off with a look of pure anger.

The group makes it to Beta-Axe's safe house without further incident.

"So, anyone make friends with some ork gangers recently? Cuz if that chica was looking at us regarding our job, I bet she's gonna be back before long. To that end, if we're gonna keep making such friends, I'm gonna need to swing by my doss at some point, grab my rifle. My little Steyr is great and all, but I really don't wanna be waving around a pistol when the OpFor's toting serious hardware."

On the way to Beta's apartment he jacks into the matrix from the passenger side and scans his everyone and his van for any RFID tags.

Matrix Perception Computer 5 Intuition 4 Hot sim 2 Running silent -2 (Data processing 6: 9d6 ⇒ (3, 5, 4, 3, 3, 1, 2, 1, 6) = 28 2 Hits!

if he finds any he bricks them in the matrix to kill there signal.

"Yeah if they weren't following us before they probably are now..."

Beta-Axe's apartment is in one of the most run down area's of The Rox, as the van pulls up a small gun fight is just finishing up down the road. Beta shakes his head. " sometimes I wonder if it would be better to just let this place go... come on it's on the third floor. "
He leads the group up a few flights on stairs and unlocks his door. The place is basically two rooms, one a small bathroom, the other a combined kitchen, lounge and bedroom. The furnishings include a bed base with no mattress and some crates with old cushions to sit on. The kitchen however is fully stocked with nutresoy and a range of flavouring choices as well as a shelf full of canned real foods, though nothing fancy.

Secretary remains quiet during the run, checking her commlink for updates. Wonder if they were just following us, or simply a coincidence. Maybe Kavanagh might know something.

Once inside, she places her duffle bag on the floor, and sits on a crate. She stares at the place appraisingly. Not a bad bolthole., she thinks. At the least if you're on good terms with the natives.

"I try to stay away from gangs on principle.", she replies to Deacon. "Too much hassle. Wonder if Shirow has something to do with them.", she proposes, standing up. "So, we know where the fire escape is. Deacon, you seem to have a head for tactics. Advise on approach?", she suggests. "What I'm thinking is, find an access points, me, Sweeper and Blacksap go in first, trace the security, and set a path for the rest of you." She looks around. "Should we leave someone outside to cover the exit?", she asks.

Sweeper looks around the flat in amazement.

"This is all yours? You don't share with, say, a couple of families. That's wiz! You must be doing pretty well for yourself Beta!"

" Ha! Nice one, " Beta replies to Sweeper. " This is just the place I hole up in when the heats on sometimes. I've got a much nicer place elsewhere... " halfway through the sentence Beta realises that Sweeper might not be joking and his voice trails off.

" Anyway, back to mission planning. If the underground labs host is offline I'm gonna want to come with so I can find somewhere to tap in. Maybe we can leave a drone to watch our exit? " He asks looking at Sparky.

Settling easily into a lotus seat against the wall, Deacon shrugs out of his armored jacket and closes his eyes for a moment. After a brief pause, he looks at the crew settling in and speaks.

"We want to stay low profile, and don't have a real timetable as of yet. I'd say we get to the perimeter and watch, a few hours maybe. That'll let us watch their patrol patterns, shift change, scope out the CorpSec gear suites."

Looking around the room, Deacon especially checks the boarded up windows and multiple locks on the door.

"Keep or initial approach light and soft, like a pickpocket. I plan on heading over to the target astrally, that way I can scope any magical defenses or spirit guardians. I don't wanna probe too hard or try to penetrate the target right away, too much unknown as of now."

Rubbing his temple briefly, Deacon frowns before clearing his expression again.

"Our benefactor is also one of those unknowns. Who is this guy, what's his angle, and why the rush to break into an Evo dark site for unspecified data on a spec run? Can we do any digging on that end?"

" Yeah I don't want to hack them just yet either, could tip them off and make them increase their security. I can do a little digging around the Matrix on Shirow though. My bets on disgruntled ex employee. Said he'd been on mars right? Or implied it at least. "

Beta goes to the fridge and gets out some SoyColas and passes them around before sitting on one of the crates with his back against the wall and jacking in to the Matrix via VR.

<This could take some time, text me if you need me moving...>

Deck settings: Switch out signal scrub for browse and stop running silent.

First the Metalic Dwarf flits around the immediate area looking for that ganger SUV with the RCC and drones, just to make sure they're not parked outside or around the corner.
Matrix perception: 11d6 ⇒ (2, 2, 3, 3, 5, 2, 4, 3, 3, 5, 4) = 36 2 Hits

Then assuming they're not about he begins a Matrix search looking for information on their employer.
Matrix search table is on pg241, I'm assuming this information would be obscure so I'll put in the -2 Dp penalty, let me know if that's not the case. Browse program cuts the search time in half. Beta-Axe starts by looking for that's limited interest or not publicised so 15 minutes per roll threshold of 3
Matrix Search Com+Int (Data processing): 9d6 ⇒ (1, 3, 1, 6, 4, 4, 4, 2, 1) = 26 1 hit
Matrix Search Com+Int (data processing) : 8d6 ⇒ (1, 6, 4, 5, 2, 1, 5, 1) = 25 3 hits (4 total)

Blacksap chews on a gum as he leaves the van for Beta-Axe's place. Looking around the room, he takes a corner and starts cleaning a vicious, heavily modified Ares Desert Strike sniper rifle.
"I can lend you my backup Remington, Deacon, if you are good with sniping. But I don't have any automatics."
"As for preparing the run, we'll need to do some legwork. How about me and Sweeper recon the outside, while Beta-Axe digs some dirt on Shirow? If we go with the van, Deacon can swing by his digs and get his rifle before going astral, and-" Pixie. Keeb. Pointy-eared freak. Snob drekhead. Dandelion eater. "-and Secretary can either BS her way into or sneak around. Then we hack their systems at night, short before we go in."
"Best thing we could find would be blueprints, however. Know of any place we could find some? Any online BBS like Shadowland was, before the Crash 2.0?"

"If you want just drop me off a few block away from the place and I can set myself up to watch the area and check out some of the perimeter security. Like I said before, no one really pays much attention to street people. As well I can enlist a friend of mine to help out. She would do it for a few creds and is good and remembering stuff. "

"Nah, appreciate the offer, Blacksap, but I'm more of a 'spray & pray' shooter. Precision fire ain't my specialty, for sure."

With everyone at the safe house and occupied for at least a little bit, Deacon closes his eyes and leaves his meat body behind.

Manifesting briefly in the room as a ghostly version of himself.

"Okay, I'll take a quick look around, see if anything pops off as I cruise by. Should be just a few moments, couple of minutes at most."

With that, the astral for goes invisible once more, taking off for the Evo site to take a look. Deacon stays well away from the building itself, keeping a close eye on any awakened folk or magical protections.

4d6 ⇒ (6, 4, 1, 6) = 17 perception

9d6 ⇒ (4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 2, 3, 4, 3) = 38 assensing

Secretary takes a long look at Sweeper, as she questions whether the young man is joking. Oh, brother. I remember when I had complaints with the landlord, because my flat was 2 sq.feet smaller than he promised., she chuckles. Then again. If you don't know what you're missing, you can't miss it.

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

As she's offered a SoyCola, Secretary almost imperceptively scoffs in disgust. "No thanks, Beta.", she replies with a polite smile a second later, putting the SoyCola on the ground. Seeing Blacksap pull a sniper rifle, her lips curl in an undecipherable look. Of course. If he's not a spray-and-prayer, he'd be one of those psychopaths. Her eyes widen as Deacon manifests in the centre of the room, as she struggles to regain composure. "...Sure.", she says. "I can sneak into first. Don't think I can talk my way in, though. That usually requires a bit more preparation, unless...", she taps her lip, as she pulls out a comm-link. <"Beta, can you send me recordings of the guards' outfits? Preferably a low-level one."> Won't help with a shift manager who knows his staff, but might fool someone if I need to blend in.

< Yep, give me another 15-20 and I'll see if I can grab that footage. >

Beta-Axe's isn't successful on his search. In his frustration he almost misses a call from his contact on his comm- Conex.

After half an hour of fruitlessly searching through the matrix Beta switches back to AR and lets out a big, huff of air to try and relieve his frustration, almost missing the ARO that pops up with the incoming call to his comlink. "Uh, gotta take a call... He mentally okays the call and directs it through his earbuds and sub-vocal mic.

" Hoi Conex, what can I do for ya? "

An image of Connex appears on your comm. He has been beaten badly. "SLOT AND RUN! They are coming for you. I had to tell them. I got away, but barely. Why'd you have to go and piss off The ROXX?" He disconnects before waiting for a response.