Contract #5: Marcus Bell: Enemy of the State!

[John]

(( Can I get a Military Security Procedures roll to determine whether the armored guards will be likely to both ride in the back of the roadmaster, or one up front and one in the back? ))

[GM Nick]

Security Procedures Knowledge Test (Max)

[Military Procedures (4) + INT (5) = 3]
4 1 1 2 5 1 5 6 2

Max determines that if he were to guard a truck, he would place both armed personnel in the back of the truck. This would insure that the cargo was protected should the driver be incapacitated or the cabin compromised. Furthermore, the rear compartment provides the ideal defensible position in an attack.

[John]

Max relays his knowledge of the roadmaster and Legion's likely defensive position, then posits, "I'll buy some stick-n-shock rounds before our hijack. What I propose is that we set our area jammer here," Max indicates a place on the map, then continues. "Meanwhile, we obstruct the road just up ahead-- here." The elf indicates a position just slightly closer to Legion's base. "When they stop, Tyros will have a line of sight to invade the driver's mind from here." Max taps on the map with faint excitement, then adds, "While Doc will have a shot at the doors to the rear compartment from the embankment here." His fingers slide to a rear position in the north hill behind all of the action. "Sinjin and I will be near to where the truck will stop, and will move in on the rear cab when it does. The truck stops, and Tyros calls out through the driver for the goons in the back to give him a hand clearing the road. They hop out, and Doc, Sinjin, and I take them. Val stands by to act as our technological safety net, and of course as an extra gun should the drek hit the fan." Max rubs his mouth and considers the plan, then asks, "Tyros-- would you be able to sustain invis on Sinjin and me and take over the driver?"

[Drew Buddy]

Adams taps a pouch on the armor suit folded up on the bed,

"Sounds like this could work. If there aren't any technological hurdles during our heist, then we should make sure that everyone has a chance to incapacitate the guards. The more violence we can pour into that truck, the less chance we have of this going bad."

He pulls a spare SMG magazine from the pouch and offers it to Val,

"There're about 20 rounds of stick-n-shock in there. If you get an opening, take it."

(( The book says that ammo from similar types of guns (like different SMGs) are interchangeable ))

[Stephen]

Val acknowledges the directive with a nod.

"You got it, 'mano. I'll work in AR so I'll be ready to rock and roll."

[Elliott]

"Unfortunately, holding both of you invisible while taking the driver is very risky and could result in overly stressing myself. Multiple holding that much mana is a very dangerous thing. I think your ninja skills should be sufficient if you can get some snow camo. Otherwise the plan should work. Let's go, best not to be late!"

[John]

Max smiles, and says,

"Easy, big guy. We're sitting on our hands for a few days. Anybody think ahead and bring a pack of cards?"

(( Can we all get some tits snow camo and me some stick n shock rounds? ))

[GM Nick]

(( Purchased arctic camouflage for the entire team and stick'n'shock ammo for Max. ))

[GM Nick]

[ 12km from Legion Outpost, Algonkian-Manitou Territory ]

The Rover (now sporting new ballistic windows and a repaired side panel) idles in the belly of an empty creek bed, just 50 meters from the road to Devil's Canyon. The temperature is still a frosty 23 below zero Celsius. Doc picked out the location carefully, as it enables quick access to the road if necessary, but remains hidden from those traveling on it. A few sparse, skeletal pines dot the landscape--nothing that would provide significant cover. A large collection of boulders runs parallel to the road, ranging in height from 2 meters to 8.

According to the truck's schedule, there are approximately 30 minutes remaining until it reaches their location.

[John]

Max looks at the road, taking a moment to allow his eyes to compensate for their temporary snowblindness. He eyes the boulders and spies those which he figures will be best for the team to hide behind, points at some of the smaller rocks, and says,

"Can you levitate those into the road there, Tyros? They won't be able to get around them and will be forced to stop."

Pointing to another, Max continues,

"If we place the area jammer there, they won't be able to see it but also shouldn't be able to call out for help."

The elf pauses, then asks with a pang of concern in his voice,

"Have we considered the possibility than any one of the people on the truck could be awakened? That could potentially blow the whole plan."

Max nervously checks his magazine of stick-n-shock rounds that he's loaded into Marlowe.

[Elliott]

Tyros looks at the boulders, frowning. "If there is a mage in the car, we'll just have to deal with him. Unless he is astrally perceiving, he won't immediately detect my control of the driver. If he is astrally active, I'll kill engage him from there and kill him first. In the meantime, I'll see what I can do to create our little road block."

The big troll shrugs his shoulders, the bulging muscles rippling as they stretch. Starting with the smaller boulders, he uses old fashion brute force to move them into the roadway. Eying the larger ones beyond even his considerable strength, he begins to levitate them one by one into the road until he has a nice little pile that effectively blocks the road (levitate, shouldn't need to use more than f3 or f4, GM call on how many boulders I need to move).

[John]

Max watches Tyros work his literal magic on the situation, and does his best not to sound like a backseat driver in suggesting,

"Try to make it look more like a slide than a blockade. We don't want them seeing it and thinking there's a trap."

[GM Nick]

(( Tyros will need to move about 2000kg worth of rock to block the road, so I'm making spellcasting rolls until he achieves that. ))

Levitate (4) (Tyros)

[Spellcasting (6 ) + MAG (6 ) + Power Focus (2) = 5]
5 3 5 2 1 2 5 4 5 2 4 4 2 6

Levitate (4) (Tyros)

[Spellcasting (6 ) + MAG (6 ) + Power Focus (2) = 3]
3 4 2 5 4 2 4 4 1 3 3 5 3 5

Levitate (4) (Tyros)

[Spellcasting (6 ) + MAG (6 ) + Power Focus (2) = 6]
1 6 1 1 4 2 6 2 5 3 6 6 1 5

Resist Drain (3) (Tyros)

[WIL (4) + LOG (6) + Focused Concentration (2) + Centering (4) = 7]
4 1 5 2 6 1 3 4 6 2 2 6 6 6 6 3

Resist Drain (3) (Tyros)

[WIL (4) + LOG (6) + Focused Concentration (2) + Centering (4) = 2]
4 4 3 3 1 1 2 3 5 3 2 1 3 2 4 5

Resist Drain (3) (Tyros)

[WIL (4) + LOG (6) + Focused Concentration (2) + Centering (4) = 4]
2 3 6 3 2 2 1 2 6 2 5 4 2 5 4 3

< 1S DAMAGE >

Tyros wipes a bead of sweat from his forehead as he lowers the final boulder into place. The barricade looks fairly natural, although would probably be deliberate under close scrutiny. It encompasses the full width of the road and ranges from 2 to 4 meters high.

[Elliott]

Tyros sits down in the snow, clearly exhausted, as if he lifted all the stone by hand instead of magic. Steam rises from under him as the snow evaporates on contact with his overheated body.

"Now we wait..."

[John]

Max takes up his position he indicated on the map, trusting one of the team's technologically handier members with the rigging of the area jammer. The freezing air stings at the exposed flesh in the elf's cheeks, and the frozen air biting his lungs makes him itch for a smoke.

[GM Nick]

A yellow glow through the haze and the distant rumble of a super-diesel engine signal the arrival of the Roadmaster.

[John]

Max holds his breath and clutches at his weapon. The crunch of the snow underneath the tires of the roadmaster seems to roar down the canyon as the sound is carried on the freezing wind. Max closes his eyes and visualizes the vehicle's approach, listening for his cue that the vehicle is in position and that it is time to strike.

[Stephen]

Hunkered down behind a roadside boulder, Val's finger twitches against the trigger guard. He sends out a pulsed node scan, detecting the truck's node and the PAN nodes of its passengers, attempting to confirm their estimates of how many personnel are present in the truck.

[Drew Buddy]

Adams removes the magazine from his SMG for the fifth time to test its weight, reassuring himself once again that it is in fact full. He slides the magazine back into the gun. He tracks the truck's movement by the reflected light from the headlights against the trees, not daring to sneak a peek at it directly. He keeps his breathing shallow so that the steam from his breath doesn't move beyond his hiding spot. If he positioned himself right, the truck should stop just past the boulder that he's hiding behind, giving him quick access to the rear of the vehicle.

[GM Nick]

The vehicle sounds draw very close and then stop; so all that can be heard is the rumbling idle of the Roadmaster's over-sized power plant.

[John]

Max lies in wait, willing Tyros to work his magic.

[Elliott]

((First, while the vehicle was approaching, Tyros put up his repertoire of spells: improved invis, increased reflexes, and deflection))

Tyros sits, back to a large boulder bordering the barricade. Leaning his head back and closing his eyes at the sound of the approaching Roadmaster, Tyros' astral form slowly separates and steps away from his body (astral projection), armor glitering in the astral half light. Sweeping towards the Roadmaster, Tyros scans the life forms inside for anyone astrally active.

[GM Nick]

Tyros' head lulls as the troll exhales softly, pushing forward with his sixth sense. The chaotic vibrations and emotions of the physical realm fall away like passing through a veil.

And then he's flying away from the Earth, the warming glow of which is muffled against the flat gray of the snow obscuring it. He soars upwards, gaze fixed across the ethereal horizon. The Roadmaster is stopped just a few meters from the makeshift landslide. Through the windshield, Tyros can make out the aura of the driver. He squints and concentrates on parsing out the arcane energies that undulate from him.

Assensing Test (Tyros)

[Assensing (3) + INT (2) = 3]
6 6 4 5 4

The target is clearly mundane and appears to be fitted only with a cybernetically implanted commlink, image recording system and a reaction enhancer.

(( You'll need to pass through the cabin of the truck in order to see the occupants. Be aware that there's a small chance they could get the "shiver" associated with nearby astral entities. ))

[Elliott]

((The shiver is only if I pass directly through an aura, correct? Obviously I'll try to avoid that, although I suppose if a guy is sitting directly on the other side of the wall that I pass through, that is just bad luck.))

Tyros gazes at the munade with disdane, his heightened astral experience playing games with his emotions towards those unable to feel the true freedom of immersion with the metaverse.

Floating with a thought through the windshield (avoiding the driver) and into the back of the Roadmaster, Tyros continues his investigation of the truck's occupants.

[Drew Buddy]

As Adams waits for the signal from Tyros, he dumps the memory in his skillwires. He loads up the infiltration and melee combat software to prepare for a stealthy approach on the truck.

[GM Nick]

The floating troll passes through the colorless inorganic material separating the cabin from the compartment. Plastic crates have been meticulously stacked and packed into neat rows, lashed down with heavy cord. The interior is extremely cramped and Tyros can't help but pass through one of the two armed men hunkered on either side. It's impossible to determine their physical equipment from an aura, so the troll inspects their arcane characteristics.

Assensing Test (Tyros)

[Assensing (3) + INT (2) = 2]
5 5 3 2 2
[Assensing (3) + INT (2) = 1]
1 4 5 2 2

Both of the armed escorts are mundane. Tyros makes out the tell-tale sign of wired reflexes, smart-links, reaction enhancers, cyber-eyes, and bone lacing.

Perception (4) Test (NPC)

[Perception (4) + INT (4) = 4]
6 6 1 3 1 5 3 5

One of the mercenary's auras shifts as he stands, making a hand motion to his compatriot.

[Conway]

Lying prostrate in the bottom of a roadside lay by, Sinjin remains as still as the frozen snow banks around him. Years of mental and physical practices have allowed him to slow his heartbeat to the merest flitter of a pulse, his breathing slowed and shallow to the point of being immeasurable. Mere meters separate him from the roadway, the idling truck only a handful of steps beyond that. He swallows the itch at the back of his throat, imagining the various ways the next few minutes could unfold and deciding his appropriate reaction to each. Counting the seconds in his head, he awaits a sign that Tyrosthenes has begun his handy-work.

[John]

Max drums his fingers lightly on Marlowe's pump. Despite the temperature of the world around him, the elf is sweating somehow-- bad news in this climate. He shifts his weight in his crouch from his left foot to his right, his body at full readiness to storm the gates.

[GM Nick]

Tyros' eyes open as he returns to the flesh. He relays his findings to the team.

[John]

Max comms back,

<Alright, Tyros-- take the driver. We're all in position and we don't want them getting spooked.>

[Elliott]

Tyros peers around the rock, sighting the driver through the windshield, and makes a quick motion of his hand (centering). There is a half second of disorientation as the driver's mind merges with the troll's, before Tyros compartmentalizes it under his authority.

[GM Nick]

Control Thoughts (4) (Tyros)

[Spellcasting (6) + MAG (6 ) + Power Focus (2) = 3]
1 2 6 2 5 2 3 3 4 1 3 5 4 4
[WIL (3) = 2]
2 6 6

Tyros signals to the team that he has control of the driver.

(( You have 4 combat turns before the driver can resist the spell with a threshold of 1. ))

Resist Drain (4) (Tyros)

[WIL (4) + LOG (6) + Focused Concentration (2) + Centering (4) = 4]
1 4 4 4 5 5 4 5 4 4 5 4 2 4 1 4

[Elliott]

Tyros flashes a look of mild annoyance at the stubborn will of the guard.

The driver turns his head to the back of the Roadmaster, "We've got some rocks in the road. I don't want to risk bending and axel going over it. All of you get out there and clear a path! We can't be late!"

[GM Nick]

The rear doors of the truck swing open and the two armed escorts emerge carefully, training their weapons on the surroundings.

"Comms are down," shouts one of the escorts. "Looks like an ambush!"

[John]

Max curses inwardly, and comms out to the team,

<I'm gonna slide out from cover to see if I can get eyes on these drekbags.>

Max eases his way from his position up to a higher crouch, moving his body with weapon raised so that he can see over the obstruction which obscures his view of the open rear access to the truck.