[Aria]

[Saturday September 14th, 2075; Ruins of Graham, Puyallup, Seattle]

@Al (car 1): 

”But if’n ya wanna light muh fire, baby, howzabout startin’ with this here smoke?”

“Nah, darlin’ ya ain’t got wat I need, not yet anyway”

@Morgan (car 4):

The encryption on the ‘link is pitiful and easily parts to the slycers in your deck…

Intercept:
<<These bastards are crawling all over us, when does the courier get here?>>

<<Inbound, fraggers will turn up soon, you know they got Chris and his crew in the back?>>

<<Yeah I got that, let’s get this passage delivered and then I’ll take great pleasure in teaching these fraggers not to mess with us!  Oh frag there’s a fire spirit…finish it and we can get the package out of here, warn those bastards off again, they don’t seem to be listening too good>>
 
@Alicia (car 5):

Your spirit gleefully engulfs the poor fool in the corridor and the stink of burnt flesh washes back to you.  Beyond you can just about see the aura of the runner turn back into car 6 and his message comes across the security channel, your ‘link providing the audio sounds odd from the astral

<<@Team [Ghost]: The Fire Spirit and I finished off a clown near the seer.  The area seems to be clear>>

No, no, no, your spell is clearly still showing you three humans in the seer’s chamber only a few meters from where you are and as far as you know she travels alone…that’s not to mention the six or seven ghouls that you feel approaching from the west…

With the benefit of your astral sight you clearly see the spirit bolt coming from inside the seer’s quarters and slamming into the fiery form of your ally…

@Ghost (car 6):

As you are assessing the state of the unfortunate roustabout the fire spirit screams out behind you in anger and possibly a tinge of fear…

@Luz (car 3):

Oblique meets you as you board the admin car

“This is going to hell!  My people are dying at the hands of fellow performers… this is a nightmare!”

@Flicker (car :

This second train seems to be clear of clowns, only panicked circus folk remain…through one of the side windows you can see that the first train has bounced off the road and come to a stop near one of the ruined buildings, through the murk you can see the sloping forms of the ghouls as they approach cautiously…

@Betsey (car 9 roof):

The strange spirit you were pursuing looks fiercely at you and promptly disappears back to whatever metaplane spawned it…ah well so much for studying it… the ghouls on the other hand, their sickly auras are bright on the astral…

@Harrier (Yellowjacket):

Banking east you try to follow the signature of the incoming bird

<<@Harrier [l’Ombre Zep]: Confirm contact, fragger’s hugging the ground but we see him, swinging round to approach from the east, ETA 30s at the speed he’s coming!  No, wait, slowing up…damn, lost him but he’s out there!  Watch your back Harrier>>

@Cutter (west side of the convoy):

One of the ghouls breaks into a loping run and it bears down on you out of the gloomy rain…

@All:

The clown’s transmission shows an extreme closeup of the woman’s breasts and the trickle of blood running between them

<<@Circus:  You fraggers haven’t been listening…back the fuck off or this bitch will die!>>

[All4BigGuns]

Seeing the ghoul break into a run toward him, Cutter again lines up a shot on the creature before squeezing the trigger. He sends over comms <<@Team: Ghouls are active. Repeat. Ghouls are active.>>

[Jayde Moon]

Ghouls are indeed active.

Course, they were just ghouls, no tears to be shed for those flesh eating miscreants.  Sure, some kept to themselves and tried to maintain some level of civility and sure they deserved consideration.  She wasn't prejudiced.  But this pack didn't belong to that group, feral beasts that could barely keep their appetites in check.  Best to neutralize them quickly.

Rodeo brought her right arm up and curled her fingers, leaving her index finger extended and her thumb up.  She cocked her head to the right and closed her left eye, sighting the group along her arm.

"Get along, lil' dogies," she whispered and she drew her hand up and back as she released a concentration of magical energies directly upon the ghouls.

[Lusis]

@Luz (car 3):
Oblique meets you as you board the admin car, “This is going to hell!  My people are dying at the hands of fellow performers… this is a nightmare!”

"Señor Oblique, this is what happens when you keep knowledge of threats from your security!" Luz glared at him from underneath her mask. She then took a breath and spoke calmly but firmly, "Now, who else did you hire recently, where are they located, and what else are you smuggling?"

She grabbed the inside of his arm and led him back towards the admin car, "Now is not the time for secrets."

[saithor]

<<To: all: We still have three metas besides Ghost in Car 6! One has Magic. Also, we got multiple Ghouls coming in towards the Train!>> Alicia thought as she watched in horro as the spell hit Irongut. Hopefully the best they could do is Disrupt him, because if they killed him, she would track them down and kill them.

[adamu]

[Saturday September 14th, 2075; Ruins of Graham, Puyallup, Seattle]

Dammit, this one talks riddles worse than the Tattoo Witch, Al thought as he soldered the last two wires. And all I wanted was a consarned light. There, he felt the cab shift slightly as he confirmed he had rudimentary steering back.

The ghoul in the building was futilely stabbing at the windscreen with a wooden broomstick.

Down on the floor, the accelerator had taken a lot less damage. Shouldn’t take long.

The ghoul had disappeared back into the apartment and reappeared with a big fire extinguisher. Started smashing the windshield again, now with slightly more effect.

Al was working on the floor again, and chewing on his unlit cigarette while the mysterious woman loomed over him, he decided he’d had enough, and unloaded with both barrels. Growling while he worked, he said, “Listen, hon, ol’ Al ain’t gon’ pretend he knows what in the name o’ blessed creation yer on about. Don’t know yer bizniss with this here circus, and shore as hell don’t know yer bizniss in this here cab. But dammit all ta hell, there’s a code among smokers, ancient, universal, and fucking inviolable. Feller asks ya fer a light, then ya damned well give the sumbitch a light, or shore as shootin’, baby, you are messin' with the natural order o' things an' there gon' be hell to pay.”

Almost there on the accelerator and they’d be on their way.

Above him, the windshield started to give.

[8-bit]

Ghost's head whips up at the sound of the unearthly screams of the wounded spirit. He pulls up his shotgun and carefully walks towards the Seer's room, his eyes searching for any signs of intruders.

[Csjarrat]

//<<To:team>><<Begin forwarded message>>, @Harrier; that fast mover is likely to be a courier for those hostages.
They're planning to move them and soon.

[Aria]

[Saturday September 14th, 2075; Ruins of Graham, Puyallup, Seattle]

@Al (car 1): 

“Listen, hon, ol’ Al ain’t gon’ pretend he knows what in the name o’ blessed creation yer on about. Don’t know yer bizniss with this here circus, and shore as hell don’t know yer bizniss in this here cab. But dammit all ta hell, there’s a code among smokers, ancient, universal, and fucking inviolable. Feller asks ya fer a light, then ya damned well give the sumbitch a light, or shore as shootin’, baby, you are messin' with the natural order o' things an' there gon' be hell to pay.”

She cackles at your outburst…it as a sound like warm treacle flowing over fingers down a chalk board and does nothing for your peace of mind 

“Litl puppy man, ya think Ole Meg gives a tom tit about ya code?  Now, ya gunna do somfink about that pen ‘n ink…?” and she indicates the rabid looking ghoul clawing at the front canopy…

<<@Team: Ghouls are active. Repeat. Ghouls are active>>

No shit!
 
@Alicia (car 5):

You feel the wrench as your spirit takes the hit from the spell, the mana discharging in a wash of sparks to your enhanced sight…

@Ghost (car 5):

<<To: all: We still have three metas besides Ghost in Car 6! One has Magic. Also, we got multiple Ghouls coming in towards the Train!>>

Damn, the view is crap… you can see the open doorway and the writhing form of Alicia’s spirit but not the foe inside…

@Luz (car 3):

"Señor Oblique, this is what happens when you keep knowledge of threats from your security! Now, who else did you hire recently, where are they located, and what else are you smuggling? Now is not the time for secrets."

“There is always time for secrets and I certainly don’t have time to tell you all of mine.  If I had known the damn clowns were a security risk don’t you think I would have told you?  Their appointment was agreed by the Owners and they don’t usually make mistakes like this… as to who else we’ve hired, there were a couple of roustabouts some six plus months ago, before that nobody for two years…

@Flicker (west side of the convoy):

With the rear train appearing to be clear you are making your way forwards again, but where to?  The reported clowns in car 5?  The ones in the RV?  That’s not to mention the ghouls bearing down on Cutter and the now stationary lead train

@Betsey (car 9 roof):

Your spell seeks out the astral forms of the ghouls and slams home into the flesh with a satisfying pyrotechnic display viewed on the astral… the meat world is awash with ash soaked rain and looming clouds and the grey fleshed ghouls are significantly harder to see…

@Cutter (west side of the convoy):

Your shot lifts the ghoul off its feet and it disappears into the sludge in a sliding lunge…thankfully it doesn’t then stir.  It’s compatriots suddenly stagger and look confused but then charge with renewed fury

[All4BigGuns]

Seeing the now-dead ghoul's compatriots continue the charge, Cutter lets out a curse before putting on the gas to try moving forward to harry the ghouls and lure them away from the train trusting his bike's speed to keep him just out of reach.

[Lusis]

“There is always time for secrets and I certainly don’t have time to tell you all of mine.  If I had known the damn clowns were a security risk don’t you think I would have told you?  Their appointment was agreed by the Owners and they don’t usually make mistakes like this… as to who else we’ve hired, there were a couple of roustabouts some six plus months ago, before that nobody for two years…

"I do not presume to tell you what is important in your art, Señor, and you should not presume to decide what is important in mine. Thus far, that arrogance has compromised this operation twice and has cost you the life of one of your troupe. How many more are you willing to sacrifice to save face?"

Luz turned, giving the office a sweep with her electronic senses, before turning to Oblique. "Stay here, lock the door. Once we clear the area, we will let you know." She then turned and headed towards the sounds of gunfire.

Demonios! Did this man seriously think he could leave his security in the dark? What is his game?

With a mental command, doors on her right leg part and a Savalette Guardian emerges into her waiting right hand, reaching in between the slit in her armor. With her other hand, she reaches into a pouch to secure a grenade.

Leading with the barrel of her heavy pistol, she quickly begins to clear a path to the 5th car.

[Ericen]

Flicker jumps from the car and sprints toward the broken down train drawing throwing knife as he runs.

Message To Team:
On my way to the stopped train, multiple Hostiles closing on the train.
Message Complete:

[adamu]

[Saturday September 14th, 2075; Ruins of Graham, Puyallup, Seattle]

And with those words, the big fat whatever-she-was confirmed the worst of Al's suspicions. He was a bit disappointed; he'd wanted to think better of her.

No matter. He slapped a patch on the pneumatic hose under the pedal, pumped it a couple of times, and the thrum of six hundred horsepower engaging with the drive train gave him a buzz no amount of nicotine could match. Manipulating the resuscitated controls took a bit of coordination, but just as the windscreen started to buckle he turned the wheel hard to the right and, scraping the building face more than a little, eased the cab away from the apartment block and back onto what passed in these parts for a road.

Waving sayonara to the forlorn flesheater, he offered the lady at his side his most wolfish grin. "Sorry hon, no light," and he shrugged, "then no fight." 

[saithor]

Still Astrally percieving, Alicia saw Ironsides ram into one of the auras inside the Seer's quarters.

[8-bit]

Ghost quickly made up his mind. There was no way he was about to walk into that doorway and make himself a target. He mentally sent out to his team.

<<@Team [Ghost] I'm going to toss a Flashbang into the Seer's quarters. Hopefully, that will be able to flush them out. It will be noisy. Ghost out.>>

Ghost lifted his shotgun and took a short breath. He knew he couldn't close his eyes or cover his ears, as he had to aim his shot. These damn dampers and flare compensation better work; they were expensive as hell.

As he pulled the trigger, there was a brief pop as the flashbang flew through the air. Followed by a blinding light and an overwhelming noise. Ghost reflexively raised his hand to shield his eyes, even though he knew it was too late to help.

He muttered under his breath, "Not my best idea."