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

[Drew Buddy]

While Val works the electronic controls, Doc looks for a means to unlock the door.

(( I'm curious about timing at this point. It seems that the two teams are desynchronized. Pandora and Sinjin have performed several minutes worth of actions, which means that the rest of us have either been inexplicably sitting around doing nothing during that time, or our storyline hasn't caught up to theirs time-wise. ))

[GM Nick]

Hack on the Fly Test (Val)

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

Val quickly bypasses the console's built-in security.

(( It's a dumb terminal, so it's not connected to a matrix hub. ))

[Stephen]

Val calls to Doc over his shoulder.

"On it, 'mano."

Val calls up an interactive schematic of the missile silo, zooms in, and taps at Doc's blast door, locking it into an open position. He then goes about sealing the launch hatch and editing the safety protocols to remove the automated launch abort which would normally be triggered by the sealed hatch. Finally, he calls up a model of the missile itself and begins disentangling the normally synchronized ignition unit and fuel delivery system.

"Should be ready to rock in a minute or two, gentlemen."

[GM Nick]

Pandora pulls the skull visor down over her face.

"Here goes nothing."

The adept slinks through the shadows, edging around the periphery of the cave towards the garage.

[Drew Buddy]

Adams runs through the now open door, and mounts the scaffolding around the outside of the missile. Climbing several stories of the skeletal structure, he arrives at the warhead maintenance catwalk that extends out toward the missile like an accusatory finger. He pauses to catch his breath and rummage through his pack, retrieving a brick of plastic explosive and a radio detonator.

< Okay, we'll use the charges as the ignition for this campfire. It should be hot enough to destroy the missile, but I want to make sure that the payload is directly exposed to the flames for as long as possible. > He comms out over an encrypted channel while he affixes the brick to shell of the warhead.

< There should be just enough here to crack the casing. After that, it's going to turn into a pressure cooker in here. >

[GM Nick]

Val sends the command to seal the airlock door, once Doc is clear. Wrapping up the DNI cable in one hand, he says, "We should probably be very far away when you trigger that detonator."

[Drew Buddy]

Doc nods and checks that the safety is securely on the detonator.

"Yeah, I don't want to be anywhere near this drek when it goes up. Come on, let's go catch up to our resident ninjas."

[GM Nick]

An Offroader screams to life as Pandora jams down the kick-starter. She twists the throttle and slips off in a cloud of dust, after the convoy.

[John]

Max is off to the races behind Doc, scrambling to catch up to the departing convoy and give the inevitable, bloody chase.

[Stephen]

Val punches a final command onto the illuminated glass control plate. He cocks his head to listen through the open blast door and nods in satisfaction at the telltale hiss of jet fuel being forced through the rocket engine's dispersion heads. He steps quickly toward the exit corridor.

"Ok, 'manos. Let's get the frag out of here."

[John]

Looking back over his shoulder, Max jabs playfully mid-run,

"Hey Val-- wasn't your fourth cousin killed in a botched missile launch?"

[Conway]

Sinjin cracks his knuckles idly as the exhaust thrum of the Offroader slowly diminishes, echoing from the queerly shaped walls and cavernous spaces long after its taillights disappeared around a dim bend in the passageway. He toes a line in the dirt, and connects two more at one end, creating a small arrow pointing in the direction of Legions egress. Beneath it he scrawls "North Pole", and chuckles briefly at the imagined reactions of his friends. Lacking anything else productive to do, he sets out at a quick and quiet jog after the convoy.

[GM Nick]

< I'm at the midpoint of the convoy now. I count six squads, two combat drones, and a truck. We're just leaving the cave formation now. >

The team can practically hear Pandora's grin.

< Heavy blizzard. Perfect ambush weather. >

[GM Nick]

Val's breath is a cloud of steam, glittering in the filtered light of the utility lamps and coming out in short bursts as the decker jogs alongside his compatriots. He wraps his fingers around the slide of the FN HAR and yanks it back, chambering a fresh armor piercing round.

[Drew Buddy]

As the mouth of the cave recedes into depths of the blizzard behind them, Doc palms the detonator.

"Gonna be out of range, soon," he manages over his labored breathing, flicking the safety cap off and on nervously.

Finally, the decision has to be made. He wills the launch door to contain both the inferno and any sound, before thumbing the switch.

[GM Nick]

Pebbles gyrate on the earthen floor from the vibration and the cave is suddenly thrown into near-daylight as a roiling fireball ejects from the end of the umbilical and transforms into a greasy black smoke cloud that gathers on the cave ceiling.

[GM Nick]

< The convoy has stopped about a klick up the road from the caves. There might be an air-strip here underneath the snow. I'm going in for a-- >

Pandora's transmission cuts abruptly.

[Elliott]

"Frag, let's move before they fly out of here. Plan the attack on the way. All I know is that six squads is far too many to handle at once. Hell, one is a handful. Maybe the transport will have some heavy weapons. If so, We could sneak on board, take control and blast off as soon as the special cargo is loaded."

[John]

Max checks Marlowe's load of ammunition and narrows his eyes at the storm, having little to add in the way of strategy. In truth, the elf has no idea how to engage so many men without the luxury of setting traps in advance.

[GM Nick]

Val's gaze turns upwards as Firestarter leaves the confines of the caves, at once thrust upon a wide field of blinding white. A fragment of a story told to him by a grizzled and decorated war hero in a sea-side bar comes flooding back under the disguise of a half-murmur, "Divide and conquer."

Noticing that his comrades have heard him, Val repeats the strategy with more confidence. "Divide and conquer."

[Drew Buddy]

Breathing heavily, Adams nods.

"Agreed. 'Bout the only way we have a chance against these fraggers. Let's get closer so we can see what we're dealing with, and maybe find out Pandora's status."

[GM Nick]

The team marches through the snow, eventually losing sight of the road as the blizzard obfuscates everything within a 30 meter radius. Gradually, they approach a rocky protrusion at the base of the canyon. Just beyond, the silhouettes of several Legion squads can be seen.

[Elliott]

"<"Gentlemen, what's our objective here? We have already more than achieved our mission, which is not to wipe out all the soldiers at the base and make Bell wonder who killed them. That is a lot of Legion soldiers and even with this blizzard, I think the sound of automatic weapon fire will make it impossible to take out every squad one by one. Not to mention that one squad almost iced us back at the base. We could very easily get killed if we attack this runway, and for what? Let's call it a good day's work and go home.>"

[Drew Buddy]

Adams lips form a thin line as he weighs the options.

"For the first time, I'm inclined to agree with you. We scouted the facility, as per our contract, and stopped a bioweapon attack as an added professional courtesy. A full platoon seems like a military problem to deal with."

He sighs,

"But I'm not leaving Pandora down there."

He's quiet for a minute, as he considers what few options they have. He snaps his fingers before pulling the Fly Spy drone from his pack.

"Val, can you lookup Pandora's commlink ID from her transmissions? Maybe we can get this little guy to find her for us. Have it play a game of hot and cold with the carrier signal strength from her comm."

[GM Nick]

All planning is cut short by the thunderous reverberations of vector thrust engines. A massive wedge of olive drab paint materializes above the airfield--the nose cone of a heavy gunship!

[GM Nick]

A GMC 4021 transport truck rumbles past--mere meters from where the team is laying low. A single Legion squad accompanies it on foot.

The modulated voice of one of the Legion foot-soldier's is just loud enough to be heard over the gale.

"We have to hurry, the battery for the containment unit is draining much faster than I expected!"

"You dumb fragger. Do you have any idea what will be done to us if something happens to it?"

[GM Nick]

Any further Legion chatter is cut short by the triumphant roar of a motorcycle engine at high revolutions. The stolen Offroader slams into the rocky outcropping, utilizing it as a ramp. The rider tucks into a ball and rolls nimbly into the snow while the bike's chassis goes careening through the air and slams into the cabin of the 4021, which promptly bursts into flame.

[GM Nick]

Pandora springs up from the snow and throws her back against the rock. She casts a breathless, sideways glance at Doc.

"I've always wanted to do that."

[Drew Buddy]

Doc looks at the burning wreckage of the truck, then to Pandora. His eyes flit back and forth between the two before he finally speaks.

"Pandora? What the frag have you done?" He asks, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach.

[Conway]

Sinjin's rime-caked boots tromped steadily through the snowstorm, leaving heavy footprints that were quickly filled by large, puffy flakes of fresh powder snow. The blizzard raged on stubbornly, as though determined to rob all color and definition from the bleary white landscape. Occasionally, he caught sight of Legion's soldiers, stooped and shrouded from the wind as they trudged onward into the whiteness. Though their tight formation had slacked somewhat over the rigorous march, reappearing now and then as one's and two's, rather than four and sixes, they seemed able to maintain a strenuous pace despite the heavy snowfall. After Pandora's mysterious radio silence, Sinjin grudgingly lessened his own pace, knowing the team would be pushing themselves hellishly to catch up and could not be far behind.

The roar of turbines causes Sinjin to dive to the ground, taking cover behind the softly undulating form of a snow covered tree fall. Moments later, he watches stunned as a heavy transport truck bursts to flame not twenty meters down the road, having been rammed by...a motorcycle? He hadn't the faintest idea where either had come from, or how they had slipped his attention. Girls and their tricks..., he smiles to himself, thinking immediately of Pandora.

Almost simultaneously an irregular motion catches his eye through the dancing snowflakes. Slowly, three distinct forms become recognizable a few feet from the roadway. And theres the cavalry...

Immediately, Sinjin begins backtracking towards his own squad, flanking around the chaos of frantic soldiers and smoldering vehicles.

[GM Nick]

Pandora flicks her bow to action and cranes her neck, attempting to pick out meaningful sound from the howling wind.

"There should be chaos; why can't I hear anything?"

[Elliott]

Tyros spots the guard who the team overheard as the soldier scrambles up from the prone position he flung himself to when the truck exploded. Clearly, this soldier knows something about whatever special cargo the Legion is transporting, and the troll Mage feels entitled to share in this knowledge. Reaching out through the falling snow (centering), Tyros delves into the soldier's mind (mind probe, f3).

[GM Nick]

Maneuvering out to get a fix on the guard, Tyros finds himself staring at nothing.

[GM Nick]

The sound of distant automatic fire echoes across the snowy expanse. Val instinctively sinks into a snow drift behind cover.

< Where's that coming from? Pretty sure they're not shooting at us. >

[Drew Buddy]

< Stay low. > Adams comms.

< Something else is going on here. >

He squints into the blizzard, looking for further explanation from his thermal vision.