Black Rain in the Shadows of Seattle, 2060 (Inactive)

Game Master Tilnar

"Can't blame a girl for trying," 0nyx smiles. "Of course, me bringing my brother with me might tank that theory."

"Parts of the Oly Penn are still green. I went with my sister once. You might like it there."

A memory flits through Jay's mind. Sun filtering in splintered shafts through tall green mossy trees; soil that was spongy and more humus than dirt.

At the bar..

Stretch chuckles, "Brother? And I thought my family was interesting. Anyhow, back to biz.... what is it you need that you didn't want your chummers to know about?"

At the safehouse...

You hear the squeal of tires protesting the turn before you see the black sedan heading down the street toward you -- fast -- with the the troll from earlier (you think) on his bike in pursuit. The troll guns the bike, managing the corner better than the car, and he leans forward, picking up more speed to close the distance when one inhabitant in the car pops up out of the sunroof, facing the troll. Suddenly, the troll stops as if he struck a wall -- but his bike does not. The figure pops back into the vehicle, and it slows..... coming to a stop no more than 10 meters from you.

At the bar...

0nyx grins. "Nah, nothing like that, no secrets or backstabbing. Just got to thinking while I was waiting... we're getting along so well with helping each other out with Star, y'know? Well, my chummers have a little transportation problem. Even riding double, we're one seat short. I get left behind and shuttled back and forth. It's not the best, right? So we were wondering if you could help us out with transportation... for a fee, of course. Don't need regular rentals and all that nasty paperwork." She shrugs. "If not, no big. Like I said, it was a thought."

"F&$$! Was that a mage? Could be the Chinese. Everybody stay cool. " A clearly shaken Jay says softly .

Inside he's a roiling turmoil. Wish I'd bought a Chinese chip. Better to turn our backs or go down and talk? Best not pay too much attention. It's the barrens.

Jay pulls up his collar and faces directly across the doorway at Danny, keeping just the corner of his eye on the sedan.

At the bar...

Stretch doesn't quite wince at your question, but at the same time, you see the circuits flashing behind his eyes, and his expression shifting. Finally, he nods, "I can probably dig up a Scorpion for you from someone who's not in shape to drive the next week or so... but you'll be committing to bringing it back in the shape you got it - filled and no damage... Or, I guess, you could always bring us back a brand new one."

At the safehouse...

Three men of Chinese ancestry emerge from the car. The first is short, barely 160 centimetres tall, and wearing a black jacket of soft leather, with a number of bulges. He has a very neutral expression, and his head turns quickly, unnaturally so, reminding you somewhat of a bird as he scans the area before stepping back, letting a taller man (about 175cm) in a white leather jacket out. The leader's movements are much more graceful, and he has a wide smile brighter than the gold chains he's wearing as he starts walking toward you, twirling a walking-stick or cane as he does. The the first man falls in behind and to the right, joined by the third (also in black leather, but with a number of necklaces and bracelets of bone, teeth and fur).

The leader stops about 5 meters away from you and holds out his arms, showing that he's not armed -- well, not holding, anyway - though you don't see an obvious weapon on him other than the cane -- and he says, "Omae! I believe we need to have a small discussion about your business with the halfer's go-gang."

Percept: 5d6 ⇒ (2, 5, 6, 5, 6) = 24

Jay turns to fully face the trio. He doesn't even try his who me? face. He mutters, "Magical shield. I wonder if it would stop their bullets too? I'll talk to them. "

Jay extends his arms ( was that a brief flurry of jazz hands? ), then drops them and walks forward, stopping just over 3 meters from the Chinese. He tips his hat to the leader.

"I am Jay. What would you like to know?"

If you want to come along and join the conversation feel free. 'I'll talk' is just Jay being self-important.

The man smiles again, taking a step forward to let Jay into the dome keeping away the drizzle... well, mostly, anyway.

He says, "Well, we saw that you spent a fair bit of time at their grimy watering hole, and I thought I should just provide you with a warning against doing any biz with them. Not only are they dishonest and overpriced, but, well --", he leans forward and his voice drops to a stage-whisper, "--between you and me, the halfer and his chrome-domes aren't long for this world."

He leans back and shrugs, a slight smirk on his face, "..and it would be an awful shame for you to lose any money or product... or men... as all of that goes down."

He steps forward again, closing the distance to about a meter and a half, his tone warm and generous... and you do feel there's something... engaging... about him that you didn't notice at first as he says, "But, omae, since we're both here and looking to do some biz, maybe we can talk. I'm sure we can offer better terms.... and more stability... than the chrome-domes."

Perception: 2d6 ⇒ (3, 6) = 9

Danny turns his head for a moment, grimacing to himself.

White leather and gold teeth. Oh, boy

He then follows behind Jay, expression blank, rolling his shoulders very, very slightly.

Raptor winces a bit at the implication of what Stretch has said to 0nyx. It sounds to him like he is going to be self-insuring 0nyx's bike.

He speaks up in response to Stretch's offer. "How much?" he asks simply. "And what kind of condition's the Scorpion in?"

Stretch says, "Won't give you one that's been modded, but they're all in good shape. Won't say they're freshly painted, but no bullet holes or road rash, and the engines are in perfect shape."

He rocks his head back and forth, as if he's running numbers in his head, then says, "New Scorpion's 13K, I'd say we'd probably sell this one for 9 and a half. As for the amount for a rental, depends how long you need it. Maybe 250 a day, or a week for 1K?"

The man smiles again, taking a step forward to let Jay into the dome keeping away the drizzle... well, mostly, anyway.

He says, "Well, we saw that you spent a fair bit of time at their grimy watering hole, ..and it would be an awful shame for you to lose any money or product... or men... as all of that goes down. ... But, omae, since we're both here and looking to do some biz, maybe we can talk. I'm sure we can offer better terms.... and more stability... than the chrome-domes."

Is this a charm? And is white coat or furry bits pushing it? The man's proximity is unnerving, but retreat would be weak. Jay steels himself to cleave to courteous, but emotionally detached, formal biz professional.

"There's logic in what you say, and personally I've come to many of the same conclusions. But I fear that talking to me will waste your time because I am not a decision-maker in this piece of biz. Please let me explain.

Jay waves limply toward the fallen motorcycle.

I am almost certain our client will be looking for a replacement arrangement soon. I would be happy to give them your contact information. And since your surveillance of the area is so complete, maybe you could assist us in discovering the comings and goings here for the past week? I'm sure our client would look very favorably on any aid you could render."

0nyx starts running numbers in her head, then starts wondering about the bike itself.

After a moment's pause, she ventures, "I gotta ask, you looking to be under seige here. Are your bikes custom painted or marked? I don't want to lose my head in a case of mistaken identity."

Safehouse
The man in white smiles again, "Ah, but that merely suggests that you won't need Tai's help for very long, making it less than a favour -- barely a simple courtesy." His eyes stay fixed on you as he says something in what you believe to be Mandarin, and the bodyguard nods, then steps forward, the jerkiness of his movement suddenly strangely smooth when turned to a single direction.

Whitecoat begins to twirl his cane again with a smile, "Tai's implants include a number of sensory boosts - he might even be able to help you track down what you're looking for as a bloodhound would."

Tai nods at that, then tugs on the hem of his jacket, smoothing out the earlier bulges, and says, simply, "I am a skilled hunter of lost souls... and lost things."

Stretch laughs, "The Triad? Growing their territory, like everyone else. Suppose I should just be happy it's not the Yaks."

The dwarf says, "If you've got the cred, I'll make the call. Have it here in 10."

Onyx's phones buzz with an incoming text.

0nyx frowns at her phone. "We're late, Raptor, and our absence has been noticed. We'll get back to you on the ride, Stretch. Thanks for the chat and drink."

Bumping her brother with an elbow, she scoots out of the booth in some haste. "Let's go, bro."

On the street...

The man smiles widely, "Much of our intelligence is more human based, given the ease with which a camera can be shot... though as I'm sure you noticed at that drinking hovel, we have certainly been trying to fly drones over the area, though they do not tend to last terribly long. That said, we could certainly use that network to help you try to locate any lost items, if you'd like to provide a list of what's been taken.."

He pauses, as if considering something, then adds, "And, of course, if you indicate where, exactly, the safehouse is, then I could probably have someone review our footage and pass along anything that might be of interest.... We'd be more than happy to see if we caught the break-in, or any earlier comings and goings that might suggest someone staking out the place."

"We can't review the footage ourselves?", asks Danny.

Raptor nods at 0nyx and heads for the door. He gives a nod to Stretch and the other Skulls before going out and starting up his bike.

The man smiles and nods, "I would be more than pleased to send you anything relevant to your inquiry, once we've identified it."

Instead of getting onto the bike, 0nyx stands next to her brother and flips her phone open so he can see the message. Leaning close to Raptor's ear (both to speak privately and to be heard above the roar of the bike), she says, "I'm more of a nuke than a surgical strike, sadly. At least we know what we're getting into."

She enters a quick brt in reply before flipping the phone closed. She tucks it away and swings herself aboard the b##+@ seat of the Rapier.

With 0nyx on the bike, Raptor takes off into the night. As they speed along the city streets, he calls back to 0nyx: "Who was the message from?"

"Figment's phone," she yells up to Raptor.

”Should we plan on coming in hot?”

"Uhhhh... should probably give the talky types a chance. There was no SOS message, just a heads up."

The man in white looks around one more time, his eyes narrowing as he does, before he nods. He makes a small motion, and his remaining companion opens the car door, before looking down the street. The man smiles once more, and says, "I have other pressing matters to attend to. Let Tai know what you are seeking, and he can provide us with the information when he reports in... and we can use a similar report to share whatever we find." With that he steps back, and the cold drizzle starts to hit Jay once again. He pauses at the door to the car, then nods at his companion before taking his place. The man with the fetishes takes one last look around, pausing slightly as he looks down the street, then sags slightly against the car door. He starts to slide as the Troll's bike explodes, and the car begins to pull away before the door is fully closed.

Twitch -- Tai, that is -- smiles as he looks down the street, watching the flames. His expression, and gaze, don't change at all as he asks, "So, mercenaries, what are you looking for. And, more importantly, where are we going?"

Jay watches the men return to their car. His jaw tightens and he feels a little sick when the mage blows up the bike. He watches the car until it rounds a corner and disappears.

"First, I'm going to take a look at the Chrome Dome. Still got to talk to them, about what happened here. See what they know. Best if they don't think I helped kill their man. Then we'll see what happens next. " He glances significantly at Danny and Figment. "Hopefully no one else shows up."

Jay hurries over to the fallen man in the street. If necessary he'll grab the man's collar and pull him further from the fire. Then he checks if the man is still breathing.

You described the man stopping like he hit a wall while the bike kept going. I'm hoping he didn't get caught in the explosion and is still breathing.

Tai frowns at Jay's statement, shaking his head, and seems about to speak - though Jay doesn't wait for the man's opinion. His hand twitches, as if going for a weapon, but then he stops - perhaps thinking the better of it, or maybe just because he's outnumbered 3:1. Tai shifts into more of a ready state, and calls out, "Don't waste any resources. They'll all be dead soon."

0nyx jumps as the phone in her pocket buzzes. Fumbling it out and flipping it open with one hand, she reads the message and reaches forward, holding the display where Raptor can see it while he drives. "Don't get too close," she yells in his ear.

Wish I had some resources to waste. Angel should have mentioned we'd be working right away. I would have dressed for trouble.

Jay kneels beside the troll and examines him. "Dude, you should be street pizza. I'm going to drag you out of the road, but there's not much else I can do for you now. "

First Aid, no med kit or anything: 4d6 ⇒ (3, 6, 3, 3) = 15

When he's done what he can for the Skull, Jay stands with his back to the house, wipes his hands on a handkerchief while looking down on the troll. While putting the handkerchief back in his pocket, he draws out the safehouse key and clamps it between his right hand's third and fourth fingers. He puts his hands in his pockets, spins on one heel and marches back to the house.

On the doorstep he looks at Danny and Figment. "You two go on in and check the cyber connection and cameras. Make sure everything's safe and there's no unexpected visitors. Tai and I will take a walk past the safehouse. Go safe brothers."

Jay reaches out to shake each of their hands, and slips Danny the key.

"Come on , Tai. We can talk on the way."

Danny palms the key, putting his hand in his pocket immediately afterwards to stow it away safely.

"You ready to go, khaver?", he asks Figment. "Want me to take the lead?"

Raptor nods in acknowledgment of 0nyx’s message. He plans to pull up short of the destination and wait for word.

Figment shrugs, "I reckon someone's gotta. Though let's give it a minute so that our new friend ain't sure which building we poke into."

As Raptor pulls to the curb, 0nyx frowns at her phone for a moment, then speaks into it -- "We are nearby and watching. Tell the air if you want us." -- corrects the text, and fires it to Figment's phone.

"I sent it to the geek, since our Face is liable to be doing a lot of talking and might not appreciate a text," she tells Raptor. "Now, if you'll give me a second." She goes quiet and concentrates for a moment.

Summon Watcher Spirit, Force 3.
Conjuring, TN 3: 6d6 ⇒ (6, 2, 3, 2, 4, 4) = 21
4 hour life span. Drain is (force+hours)L, so 7L.
Drain resistance, TN7?: 6d6 ⇒ (4, 5, 6, 1, 3, 5) = 24
1 explosion: 1d6 ⇒ 5
1 drain resistance roll of 11, so drain is resisted - is that how it works?

"Listen to these directions, then await my command," she says to the air, then turns to Raptor. "How do we get to the safe house from here?" While Raptor explains the directions, she listens quietly.

"Follow those directions to the house and seek an elf that looks much like me, but with dark blue fur. Stay near him and his human companions. If fighting begins or if the elf tells you to get us, return to me immediately and tell me," she commands the air.

Mostly, except it 2 successes to step down damage or drain - so that's a light on your stun track... Unless, of course, you want to reduce his duration, (say, to 2 hours) in which case the drain would be less hard to resist (5L) giving you 3 successes -- meaning there's no drain.

Onyx takes a moment of concentration, forcing her will into the Astral, until she feels something shift, the pressure releasing with almost a pop, though the effort leaves her with a bit of a headache.

As she speaks, a tiny form appears, looking a bit like a cross between an elf and an ork, its manifested form dark grey against the night. "Right, left, ri -- hey, no, not -- count the intersections or give me landmarks. I can't read your meat-people signs." On the second attempt, the figure nods, "So, go there and hang with Blue and Fuzzy, come find you if there's a fight or if he's got a message. Got it. Need me to tell him anything?"

After Onyx's reply, the form vanishes back into the Astral Plane to follow the route.

Raptor is used to 0nyx's arcane doings at this point, so he waits patiently and cooperates with her efforts to put some eyes on the situation.

Sounds like I have the option to reduce the duration of the little Watcher and save myself a headache, so I'll put a 2 hour time on him and let the rest of the successes go to avoid the Drain. Woo!

"Right. If he or his human friends start fighting, straight back here and let me know. No message; he knows you're coming. Don't show yourself, Eyes, and behave."

0nyx watches the little critter vanish back to the astral.

"Y'know, he kinda looks like you," she ribs her brother. "I could go myself, but that would leave you to lug my guts around on a bike. Didn't seem sensible. Once we get there and are unobserved, I can peek around in the astral - with Eyes' help. We've got that coin to pick up the scent from."

"Ah, sounds like a handsome spirit, then," Raptor says with a grin.

0nyx snorts. "About as bright, too," but she can't help smiling.

"I should have tried this before. Seems as good a time as any, since we're waiting." She shows Raptor the coin lent by Star, concealed in the palm of her hand so no casual observer can spot it. "Let's see if I can catch the scent from this."

Assensing an object, TN4 : 6d6 ⇒ (4, 5, 1, 2, 6, 6) = 24
Aura reading complementary: 2d6 ⇒ (4, 4) = 8

Oh, hey, didn't expect aura reading to pan out. Never hurts to roll. That's 4+1=5 successes on assensing.

Jay leads Tai down to the sidewalk and turns right to begin walking north.

"Your boss, he's an intense dude. Gotta respect that. What's his name? I need something to call him. Mr Intensity doesn't seem properly respectful. ... And what about your mage? The way he picked the troll off his bike was like a classic clothesline.... "

"I understand your concerns about aiding the enemy and all, but until they are all dead, I've got to make nice with the Skulls. I need them cooperative when we talk to them about what they know about our biz. And I'd rather they weren't shooting at me while I'm on -- disputed -- turf. "

"While we're talking about talking to the Skulls, I understand OpSec and all, but can you give me a hint about when you're going to whack the Skulls once and for? I'd rather not be in the castle when you storm the gates."

Internally Jay is counting. Danny and Fig wait til we're out of sight. Danny tries the door. Drops the key. Tries it again. Shocked by the trap A, uh Star, forgot to tell us about...

Jay will see what he can coax out of Tai. Any scraps of info about Mr. Intensity and his place in the Triads. Tai's job, though Jay's got a pretty good notion already. Can I try this as a negotiation?

It's not really a negotiation, but I suppose you could maybe get there from Fast Talk -- though I'd say Etiqutte would probably be better.

Tai says little, then shrugs, "Zhihao would not be pleased with you dealing with them, especially not if provide a bribe or a gift that might be used against us. As for the rest, I am here to help you find what was lost... once you tell me what that is, of course. If you would like to buy information, allow me to call Zhihao, and the two of you can discuss prices."