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

[GM Nick]

The live feed (which had been on loop) crackles and Bell is replaced with a younger man, one wearing a Legion battle-suit sans helmet, opting instead for a black beret. He addresses the camera confidently, "This is a priority one message for the Devil's Canyon compound. With the commencement of operation copperhead, your new orders are to escort the package and evacuate the premises. Repeat, stage two of operation copperhead is in effect. Over and out."

The vid-screen goes dark.

[Elliott]

((Hey, I got a critical success on my Charisma roll! No way I have an obvious tell ))

Completely ignoring the sideways looks he is getting from Max, "Is anyone else curious as to what the package is that needs escorting? Also, wouldn't someone in the base be watching a video feed of the rocket launch to see it get off and make sure it didn't, say, explore during lift off? There is probably someone on their way here to find out what happened and in all likelihood informing Bell. I say we find some means of transportation and see if we can follow the troops leaving the compound with whatever it is they are protecting. Maybe we will find a way to get a peek at what it is..."

[John]

Max thinks on the situation, and says,

"More than just disabling the launch, I think we need to disable the missile itself. They can get the launch system back online if we can take it offline. We need to destroy its payload."

[GM Nick]

"I'm not very proficient with things that make beeping or exploding sounds," quips Pandora with a sly grin. "Do you want me to stick around or scout ahead?"

[Elliott]

"I'm no rocket scientist, but some plastic explosive on the fuel tank of that rocket should make a big boom..."

[Drew Buddy]

Adams shakes his head grimly,

"And release the nanite payload into the air. We'd need something that burns hot. Very hot. Honestly, I'm not sure what our options are at this point. We could try to physically damage the rocket itself, but," he gestures back at the sealed blast door, "we might have some trouble getting back out there."

[GM Nick]

Pandora tilts her head to the side, popping her neck.

"You handle the disarmament. I'm going to see where this mass exodus is taking place."

The Inuit adept takes off on a dead sprint.

[John]

Max shouts after Pandora as she skirts off down the corridor,

"Keep in touch via comm!"

The elf watches for a moment longer as she escapes off into the dreary distance of the eerily empty facility. Finally, Max turns back to his teammates, paying special heed to Doc and Val, and says,

"Alright, how do we go about destroying this missile?"

[Stephen]

Val racks his brain frantically. If there's really a Legion exodus from the facility, there might not be anyone actually coming back down to the silo, which would make the teams' top priority the mysterious "package" Bell mentioned on the PA. But the missile is too damn dangerous to leave lying around. He begins thinking aloud.

"Well, I'm not sure I trust myself with cracking the thing open and cutting wires. It's likely not carrying a high-explosive warhead, so destroying it in the silo should be OK without making a crater the size of Calgary, but we'd have to contain the nanites. That silo would be built to withstand a ridiculous amount of heat and kinetic force..."

Val taps a finger to his lips, his spoken thoughts coalescing into a modicum of a plan.

"In theory, the fuel delivery nozzles should disperse the jet fuel into a gaseous form for maximum combustion. And that drek burns hotter than the ninth circle of hell. Probably hot enough to destroy the nanites. And mostly anything else for that matter. If I can find a way to disable the ignition unit in isolation of the fuel delivery system, then kick on the gas, that whole silo would fill with jet fuel vapor so long as we could override the launch door safety protocols and keep it closed... Then all we need is a spark. The initial blast should damage the missile enough that the nanites are no longer contained, and the subsequent burnoff would likely incinerate them."

[Drew Buddy]

Adams nods,

"But what worries me is whether the silo will stand up to the incredible pressure that will build up. It may be better to rig this up beforehand, leave the top door closed, but keep the door to the compound open. That way the excess pressure will vent into the underground complex without getting into the outside air."

He grins as a thought comes to him,

"And that will have the added bonus of autoclaving this whole goddamn place. We can touch everything off when we leave."

[John]

Max looks between the two, and says,

"So what's the plan, guys? What am I doing?"

[John]

Max thinks for a moment, and suggests (as if to say that this all sounds too complicated),

"What if we bring the facility down around it? You know, just bury the fraggin' thing?"

[Conway]

Gingerly testing the range of motion in his injured shoulder, Sinjin mutters something unbecoming about hermetics, with references to several types of body cavities. Turning to face the behemoth rocket, he stands hands to hips with his neck craned back to take it all in.

"If we sabotage the silo hatch, this bastard has no escape route. I know more than a few ways to blow things up, but liquid fueled rockets are a bit outta my league. We can try to bury it, we can try to detonate it, or we can try to seal it in here...the advantage of Val's plan is that the warhead itself will also be destroyed. As far as the hatch goes though, that seems the easiest way to just prevent a launch from this facility."

Pulling his gaze away with a shake of his head, Sinjin's eyes follow after Pandora, wondering if he should catch up with her and secure their escape plans while the team works to frustrate Bell's rocket program.

[Drew Buddy]

Adams pinches the bridge of his nose,

"Yeah, we need to at the very least keep that hatch closed. Val, can you do anything from that console?" He asks.

He starts pacing the room and poking his head out to the hallway leading to the blast door, looking for any kind of access hatch to the electrical or hydraulic systems.

[John]

Max takes the final drag from his cigarette and drops it idly to the ground, crushing it beneath his boot after he does. The elf muses momentarily that there had been no compelling reason to stamp the ember from its tip on the non-flammable ground. Without the cigarette between his fingers, the elf suddenly feels very anxious and very, very useless.

[GM Nick]

Pandora's voice rings through the comms,

< Good news first or bad news first? >

[John]

Max responds grimly,

<Surprise us.>

[Conway]

Running through the sterile gray corridors, Sinjin marvels at the audacity of the brusque female Adept known as Pandora. To have infiltrated such a facility, alone, was a measure of cunning and proficiency rivaling plenty of the best spy stories he'd heard or exchanged in the bravado laced gossip of the underground. She might have tits, but she was born with balls... But then again, it may have just been an extraordinary spot of luck that the compound had been so thoroughly abandoned before her arrival. Who knows what she'd have been caught up in otherwise. Feeling fortunate to have an ally this far across the border, Sinjin continues onward, following after her.

<Pandora, this is Sinjin...Sit tight a moment if you can, I'll be catching up with you shortly. Over.>

[GM Nick]

< I'm just ahead of you Sinjin--you'll see me shortly. Well, the good news is that I found the way out. There's a large natural cave system that opens up a few klicks from the canyon. It looks like a straight shot to the tundra. The bad news is that Legion hasn't quite left the building. There's about half a platoon marching out. I saw a couple combat drones, too. Cargo truck just left the garage where I am, that's got to contain our mysterious package. >

[John]

Max comms back with some urgency,

<How many men are we talking about, Pandora?>

[Drew Buddy]

While still searching for a means to seal the blast door, Doc comms,

< Are they actually marching out? Are there other vehicles? If they happen to leave one behind, it might be handy to use it to 'catch up' to the battalion >

[Conway]

Slinking up beside Pandora, Sinjin gives a light touch to her shoulder and a friendly smile as he settles in behind the small outcropping of stalagmites that extend from the floor near the back of the cave. The two exchange brief hand gestures to signal the all-clear behind them before Sinjin nods and moves to get a look toward the cave entrance.

((Perception Roll, if Pandora doesnt already see/hear everything to share with the others. Looking for vehicles, enemy type/class, loose articles of any useful application, enemy activity, multiple exits etc))

[GM Nick]

Perception Test (Sinjin)

[Perception (3) + INT (4) + Vision Enh. (3) = 3]
1 4 3 6 6 3 2 2 4 5

The vertebral corridors of the compound end abruptly in the bowels of the cave structure. Sinjin hunkers down behind a boulder next to Pandora and scans the immediate area. He can make out the silhouettes of several Legion squads double-timing it away from the compound, illuminated by infrequent utility lamps. An open air garage is tucked in one side of the cave wall, which appears to have been ransacked with the exception of a pair of Hyundai Offroader motorcycles. The rumble of a truck engine echoes from somewhere much further down the cavern tunnel, intermingling with the sound of boots on rock and shouted, voice-modulated orders.

[GM Nick]

Pandora squints through the darkness.

< Unsure, but I've seen at least six squads pass through since I got here. >

[John]

Max has a thought, and comms out,

<Any chance of trapping them inside the cave and preventing the deployment of whatever their nasty little secret is?>

[Stephen]

Val speedily navigates the various menus of the control terminal, trying to find a way to seal the launch door and determining his level of control over the missile systems.

[Conway]

< I think thats a negative, Max. Trucks away already. We'll have to try and catch up.>

Sinjin relays what he sees to the rest of the team, noting the pair of motorcycles and meeting Pandora's eyes with questioning shrug.

<They havent left much behind, I think the party's moving on for good. Theres quite a few stragglers between us and the package, effectively cutting us off from circling in front of that truck. But with the noise theyre making we could pursue, no problemo.>

To Pandora he asks, "What do you think? Know of any other routes through these caves? We could try to use those motorbikes to get ahead of them, and cut them off. Or we can try to join the procession and keep an eye on them...leave the bikes here for the others catch up. But theres no way we can fight our way out if they realize I don't quite fit in. You, at least, look the part."

[GM Nick]

Pandora kneels, one hand balanced on the hilt of her wakizashi.

"This cave is a kill zone. Nowhere to retreat to if things go south and Legion no longer has any concern about collateral damage. Once the convoy hits the outdoors, we could try to thin their ranks in the blizzard. The odds are stacked against us, no matter how you dice it."

[GM Nick]

(( From the central command console, you can control the logging, primary ignition circuit, fuel delivery system, and hatch operation. ))

[Elliott]

"<Doesn't sound like we have a lot of time. Do you have what you need to deal with the rocket, Val? Once that is done we need to hustle together and get out of the complex and ahead of the convoy somehow. Seems like using the blizzard to separate and disorient the Legion troops is the only way to manage them, otherwise they are too many. Sinjin, can you secure us some transportation somehow? Preferably something that will let us drive away without it being obvious we are not part of the Legion exodus?>"

[GM Nick]

Pandora comms,

< Well, I am wearing Legion armor. Nobody would bat an eyelash if I hopped on one of those bikes and joined the convoy. I could relay information about their position as I ride with them. >

[Stephen]

Keeping one ear on the comm chatter, Val navigates the complex menus of the control terminal.

"Doc, I like your idea of leaving one of those personnel blast doors open down here to keep the silo intact while the fuel burns off. I'll try to work that out from here. Can you break off a small chunk of your HE compound to attach to the payload canister? Strong enough to punch a hole in the missile and expose the nanites to the fuel vapor, but weak enough maintain the integrity of the silo wall? If you can get that set up, I think I have everything we need to flood the silo and light this fragger up."

Val works furiously to try and create a wireless backdoor with user credentials on the control console for a command that he'll have to touch off later. Ideally, to best contain the nanites, the blast door to the facility shouldn't open until Doc is ready to touch off his piece.

[John]

Max comms out over the group channel,

<That's good, Pandora-- get on ahead and feed us info. You might even be able to slow them down if the opportunity arises. Stay in touch.>

[Drew Buddy]

Adams moves over to the door, and tests it.

"Might need help unsealing this thing!" He calls back.

[John]

Max responds promptly, having clearly been itching for something to do, and says,

"Gimme some direction, amigo."