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

[GM Nick]

First Aid Test (Doc)

[Combat Wounds (8) + LOG (8) + PuShed (1) + Medkit (6) = 10]
4 1 3 2 5 4 6 4 5 2 6 5 6 6 5 6 3 4 3 4 6 1 2

< 7P HEALED >

Doc sprays a concoction of gritty faux-skin in the gaping wound in his torso. He wraps his entire mid-section in gauze before zipping the Phalanx suit back up and replacing the armor plates. Though his movements are stiff and the pain is exquisite, he's more or less in one piece.

[GM Nick]

The frenzied and deadly ambush now over, Firestarter continues down the corridor, seeming to descend endlessly further into the earth.

[Drew Buddy]

Adams walks down the corridor in silence, berating himself for getting caught so thoroughly off guard. The wound had been a solid gut shot, but he'd played it off the best he could for the others, assuring them that it was not as bad as it looked. His own exploration of the wound during his self-surgery told a very different story.

That was too damn close.

[GM Nick]

The corridor ends abruptly, opening up into a wide room. A series of metal catwalks criss-cross high above a machine floor far below. On the ground level, a series of robotic limbs move in tandem to fuse, weld and solder a variety of objects.

[Stephen]

Val edges slowly into the room, checking his corners with practiced, unconscious efficiency. He strides nearer to the humming machinery, trying to get a better glimpse of what they might be toiling to accomplish.

[Elliott]

Tyros moves slowly across the catwalk, looking around the wide space for what might be a control room or at least the door that gets them clear of the manufacturing floor.

[John]

Max saunters into the room behind the team, idly reloading his weapon as he scans his surroundings. He casts a concerned glance to Doc, who is clearly still in pain from his wounds that he impressively seems to have patched up himself. 'His abilities with a medkit verge on voodoo,' Max thinks as he turns his attention back to the chamber.

[GM Nick]

As Val draws closer, he can't help but wrinkle his nose at the industrial smell of solvents, molten metals, and grease. The robotized arms are busily working away on a variety of items. Particularly to interest of Val are what looks to be rifle receivers. On another conveyor; Barrels. In one corner, a sophisticated construction drone is placing blasting caps on demolitions.

[John]

Max cocks his eyebrows sharply and looks at his companions. "Looks like they've taken to arming themselves," Max says. He eyes the explosives being produced, and suggests, "Maybe we should have a few on the house. You know-- just in case we need to make a sudden exit."

[Stephen]

Val nods absently at Max's comment without taking his eyes off the munitions coming down the line. The sheer scale of the operation teases up the hairs on the back of his neck.

"Looks like Major Clark's concerns were well placed."

Val makes a few quick notes on the types of armaments being assembled, snaps a short video and a few stills with his eye recording unit, and files them away in his commlink storage for later transmittal to Clark. A part of him itches to throw a wrench in the spokes here and now, but he knows that discretion is the better part of valor, and this is still a recon mission above all else. So far, at least...

[GM Nick]

Tyros tromps along the highest catwalk, until he meets an intersection and a ladder leading down into a control booth.

[Elliott]

Holding his sword in one hand, Tyros grips the ladder down with his other meaty paw and slips his booted feet on the outside of the ladder, sliding down it at high speed. Turning into the control room, Tyros surveys the scene.

[Drew Buddy]

Adams takes a closer look at the collection of demolitions charges coming off the belt.

"Those aren't exactly standard issue infantry equipment," he muses, trying to determine their use.

"Maybe they're digging or clearing something?"

[GM Nick]

As if on Doc's cue, a low rumble trills through the floor (and subsequently the team's boots) and rattles some of the equipment.

[John]

Max looks around with a pang of alarm on his face, and says to nobody in particular,

".. The frag was that... "

[GM Nick]

Tyros finds himself facing a seat at a large console of holographic readouts and feels very much like a fish out of water. There are several other displays on either side of the small booth, depicting various other areas of the compound in technicolor.

[Drew Buddy]

Adams looks to Max, and back at the demolition charges.

"They're either expanding, remodeling, or digging for something. Or they're a very bored bunch of quasi-religious zealots."

[Elliott]

<"Val, you're going to want to come check this control room out. Maybe it will lift the skirt of its mysteries for you but it doesn't seem to appreciate my attention.">

Tyros walks over to the monitors showing pictures of other areas of the base to see if anything interesting is going on that even his technologically unsavvy eyes can understand.

[Stephen]

< On my way, 'mano. >

Val clambers up the ladder and traverses the catwalk, his tac boots making faint ringing thumps against the textured metallic grating. He scans the plethora of readouts and displays as he drops lightly into the control booth. He surveys the equipment with a critical eye, attempting to determine which of the facility's systems this control booth is tied into, and which look like they might yield something valuable to FRSR's mission.

[GM Nick]

It's clear from Val's initial inspection that the assembly line below is producing a wide variety of arms and munitions. The readouts track various characteristics of the assembly drones, ranging from internal temperature to an efficiency rating. A progress bar crawls steadily along near the edge of the screen, indicating that the process is nearing completion to arm 5,000 personnel.

Val's gaze drifts down to a large lever below the terminal that's surrounded by black and yellow hazard stripes.

[GM Nick]

Max glances upwards as his ears pick up a sound from directly overhead. He finds himself staring through the grated catwalk platform at the first Legion foot-soldier that the team has seen.

The Legion soldier is dressed from head to toe in a battle-suit, somewhat resembling the Phalanx armor worn by Firestarter. A heavy collection of ballistic plates decorate the chest guard and a heavy collar protects the neck. The visor and face guard of the soldier's helmet have been molded into the shape of a skull, giving him a fearsome appearance. A large, semi-rectangular weapon barrel is slung across his chest. Max squints at the weapon, unable to glean what type of firearm it is... until he reads the text on the side bearing Redline. A gloved hand sporting serrated knuckle joints rests warily on the pistol grip of the laser weapon as the Legion soldier surveys the assembly floor.

[John]

Max freezes in place looking up with his eyes from under his brow. The elf hardly dares breathe for a brief moment. He glances then coolly about the immediate area in search of something to draw the guard off. Finally, after a pregnant moment, he comms out,

<Got a guard here, boys. Val-- can you do anything to draw him off? Like trigger a piece of machinery to do something atypical, or something? We can then either sneak off, or incapacitate him and wipe his memory.>

[Stephen]

Frag! Val's ears pick up the booted footsteps of the guard just as Max's announcement crackles in through his commlink.

< I'll try to distract him, focus his attention somewhere, but you boys better be ready to move fast. >

Val peeks his head slowly over the sill of the control room window, searching for something on the shop floor that likely has minimal security and suits his needs. His gaze alights on a rack of what look like completed assault rifles. After acquiring one of the rifle nodes, he sinks back down behind a device console and begins to chip away at the firewall in AR. For his purposes, and in the little time that he has, a simple user account will suffice.

[GM Nick]

Hack on the Fly Test (6) (Val)

[Hacking (6) + Exploit (6) + Codeslinger (2) = 6]
6 1 4 3 6 6 2 1 4 3 6 5 6 3

Stat1C5hade places an ethereal palm on the node. A mass of wriggling purple tentacles burst forth into the firewall, carving out swathes of null space as they re-constitute code. The avatar shimmers and pours into the recesses like molten gold. He reforms on the other side, now bearing the user ID of a system user.

[Stephen]

Strings of code coalesce into existence before Val's cybernetic eyes as he hastily writes a script to load into his Command program.

< Weapon rack, factory floor, left side. Stay out of sight. Give me confirmation when he turns away from the booth and I'll be ready with a comm jammer. >

He checks to make sure the rifle isn't loaded, then fires off the script. A distinct clack-clack, followed shortly by another single clack issues from the gun rack as the rifle dry-fires sporadically. He's sure it's a sound a guard can't ignore.

Val loads a stealthed agent with a Command payload into the node, ready to receive instructions to repeat the action if it becomes necessary. Val withdraws with his own avatar while swiping a directional jammer from his vest pouch.

He holds his breath, waiting for some confirmation that his quarry has taken the bait.

[GM Nick]

The Legion soldier turns his head, visor fixed in the direction of the sound. He crosses the catwalk above (and perpendicular) to the team and begins to dismount the stairs towards the factory floor. As the trooper passes in front of the control booth, the Firestarter team gets a much better look. Something about his posture and gait seem off. It would go unnoticed to the untrained eye, but Firestarter Inc. has dropped enough bodies to know when something's afoot.

[John]

Max sees the guard sauntering off-kilter toward the noise and makes the call that is very unlike FRSR's normal MO. <He's taken the bait. Go! Go! Go!> Max comms as he slips stealthily from his position toward the exit from the room.

[GM Nick]

Infiltration Test (Max)

[Infiltration (2) + AGI (10) + Ruthenium Polymer (3) = 6]
5 6 1 3 4 6 5 2 4 2 4 6 2 3 5
[Perception (4) + INT (4) + Distracted (-2) = 0]
4 2 1 1 2 3

Max--as silent as a shadow--pivots around the stair and climbs to the upper catwalk, moving completely unnoticed.

[Drew Buddy]

Adams slips by the guard's notice, and makes for the exit.

[GM Nick]

Infiltration Test (Doc)

[Infiltration (3) + AGI (9) = 3]
4 6 1 1 1 4 1 2 5 5 4 4
[Perception (4) + INT (4) + Distracted (-2) = 1]
3 4 4 5 3 1

Doc follows in Max's stealthy footsteps, moving swiftly and without alerting the patrolling soldier.

[Elliott]

Tyros squints as he switches to astral vision and examines the guard's aura (assensing).

[GM Nick]

Assensing Test (Tyros)

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

Tyros views the soldier through the lens of the astral. He's surprised to find that not only does the soldier not have any cybernetic implants, but that it's actually a she and her aura clearly suggests that she's awakened.

[Elliott]

<"Careful, boys. I'm fairly certain we're dealing with a physical adept here. She will not be so easily subdued. Let's hit her all together. Give the countdown, Max">

[Drew Buddy]

Adams ducks down on the catwalk, and comms,

< Easy there, Tyros, this mission will go a lot smoother if we can get in and out without a fuss. If Val's diversion keeps her attention, we can get by without her noticing. >

[GM Nick]

Tyros stares at the aura of the Legion soldier, unable to shake the feeling that there's something unusual about her--as if he'd seen the same aura before.