[SgtBoomCloud]

Arc looked surprised, legitimately so as she took a step back from the strong reaction she got from her team.  It was far from their mess to clean up, but here they were wiling to pitch in.  She lowered her gaze, lips curling into a little smirk as she fought back a few tears.

Taking a breath, she looked up to Tuskaloosa's helmeted visage.  "Yall right about that.  Wouldn't do to have me seen in there.  I'll pitch him on the way to meet outside.  Safer that way, and leaves Yall in a position to cover outta sight.  Just don't get caught, cuz I'm claimin ignorance yo"

She nodded her head, their words ringing in her ears as she gained some confidence, straightening up.  Shifting her head back to Blake, she gave a nod.  "I think I'm good for a ride, omae.  Keep an eye on me, and we see what happens"

Back to her team, she wiped at her face once before clearing her throat.  "we good?"

[ismilealot]

Blake nods to Arc and then turns slightly to the side and says, >>Ok team rolling in one, all in.<< He looks back at Arc. "I'll have her buttoned down and be avail. in fifty minutes."

[gilga]

Marco looks at Arc and say "We're good Omae". He then adds "You are a good person Arc, be safe ". He suddenly understands the risk that Arc faces for not delivering the mage.  Marco feels a bit selfish that he did not think about Arc's point of view before. "I should have used the chaos after the fireball, steal Dana and deliver her myself. Some invisibility and nobody had to know what really happened. That way, Arc would have been better off right now as she would not have to lie.  Oh, Agrat please give her the power to lie well enough to survive this ruse."

 

[Duck N. Cover]

"Too bad we can't have a fake mage running loose for you Arc," Tuskaloosa sighed.  "at least that way you could keep some semblance of street cred."

Arc perked up, "Say again?"

"What I mean is...well, given what she tried to pull, it's not that big a stretch that she could frag your car and get free.  But if you could claim you got a tag on her before she took off, you could argue that you can still catch her...that even now your crew is on the hunt."  The troll shrugged.  "Instead of walking in with your tail between your legs, you could be the annoyed hunter, pulled off the hunt, you know?"

Yelena shook her head "No need for fake mage, Arc just lie."

"No, Tuska has a point," Arc argued.  "Ninelives'll want proof that I anin't blowin' smoke up his hoop.  A tracker ping would be solid proof."

"Problem is the wild goose for the chase," the troll continued.  "We know any number of players who'd want in on a piece of that action.  The longer the chase, the more time for the feds to get their acts together to raid the Dust.  But the longer the chase, the more players with deep pockets get wind the mage is still up for grabs and add to the pursuit.  A pretty dangerous position for the wild goose."

"A drone could do it."
All heads turned to Firefly.  She straightened up unconsciously under all the attention.  "Your wild goose just needs to move around, hide a lot and be trackable but not caught.  All things a drone could pull off."

[gilga]

"A drone would not have fooled me " Said Marco - "I'd catch on that ruse in a few minutes, we need someone alive and preferably awakened."
 

[SgtBoomCloud]

Arc straightened up at the inputs as Blake's team pulled out, and she caught a glance with the orc, wondering if he caught any of these ideas they were doing.  Still, their objective was clear.  She shouldn't be showing up at the Stardust for the next hour...which is feasible for one injured and without transportation as was her current state.  Turning back to the others, she gave a nod as the queries and the ideas came in.

Firefly's right...a drone could swing it if the recharge points can be properly planned.  Marco may be right on the stuff...maybe...wait a second...

Arc piped up, scratching her head, a few pieces of burnt hair falling off as she did so.  "Would you?  Looking at a map of the ping, could program a path setting that looks legit...and why awakened?  Because of that aura or whatever?  You yourself said not everyone can finna see that, Marco."  She paused a bit, her short term memory kicking in.  "And others can wipe that same trail or whatever, like y'all had Firefly do..."

She gave a little shrug.  "Besides, maybe awakened is the best option.  But I don't feel like it's one we got.  Only peeps we have is Firefly and you...and no offense to ya, girly, but Marco's the more mobile one.  But, he's got that thing tomorrow and this game a Chase the Devil Rat might be finna take two, three, maybe four days, drek I dunno" 

She paused, looking ahead as her eyes unfocused a sec before coming back in.  Lifting up her right sleeve, she launched one of her FlySpys from its holding bay, letting it alight on her hand.  "But who's to say our little slitch didn't have the means to a drone herself, huh...relatively cheap, easy to use, no real tech experience needed...and wouldn't be on us.  Yeah...I set this thing to a programmed route for a week, wipe all connection, and it's just a random bug..."

She smirked a bit, shaking her head as she straightened up.  "And that's only if Ninelive's ain't finna letting this go easy.  Ace in the slot, as it were.  I'd say have it ready as backup.  I can do without one of these for a week..."

She shook her head a little bit, turning towards the road as she put her hands on her hips.  "Either way, we should get moving...we'll take our time, in a bit when we're on the road, I'll tell the hoop I'm making my way there and we meet.  If things start looking bad...we'll use a plan B...but let's not work ourselves up over a maybe, huh?  Let's get the bikes warmed up..."

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena nods and slings the rifle across her back while making room on the bike for Arc.  She looks over to Marco, "Yelena see Marco at club."  When all are ready, she puts the bike in gear and heads off to the club.

[Shaman_Yuri]

"It's a shame we don't have Lexi and Bootstrap here. I bet they could play hopscotch with a tracker for days and leave Ninelives scratching his head the while time."

[gilga]

Arc piped up, scratching her head, a few pieces of burnt hair falling off as she did so.  "Would you?  Looking at a map of the ping, could program a path setting that looks legit...and why awakened?  Because of that aura or whatever?  You yourself said not everyone can finna see that, Marco."  She paused a bit, her short term memory kicking in.  "And others can wipe that same trail or whatever, like y'all had Firefly do..."

"Aura yes - living things have it and mages have different aura's - ask Firefly I only studied about these things never seen an aura myself. There is also matrix aura - amm icon -  If you can trace the drone so can deckers. Once they look close enough a drone will not look like a person.
Can a drone operate without any connection to the matrix? In that case the drone is invisible in the matrix - just like a mage would be, and perhaps if you keep it in very public places it is impossible to assense everyone there and note that the tracking device is not linked to an actual person."
 

She gave a little shrug.  "Besides, maybe awakened is the best option.  But I don't feel like it's one we got.  Only peeps we have is Firefly and you...and no offense to ya, girly, but Marco's the more mobile one.  But, he's got that thing tomorrow and this game a Chase the Devil Rat might be finna take two, three, maybe four days, drek I dunno" 

Marco replied "It is more dangerous with a flesh and blood mage but Firefly can be just as mobile as myself. If she can trust me enough as anything that I can do can also be shared with others.

So a bird with a tracking device and a mage aura can also hopscotch... there is also the possibility to cross the border to Salish Shidhe - I have some smugglers there that kind of owe me a favor. They can perhaps host Firefly for a few days. The logistics alone to cross the border after her - should delay the extraction in a few days. "
He looks at Firefly "It is okay to rule it out, I do not deserve your trust, I acted in a despicable manner and I apologize for that."



He was a bit confused about transportation and said "I can walk home from here, perhaps call a taxi from home after I dress for club, I cannot show up there dressed like this, I look like a shadowrunner..."

[Shaman_Yuri]

Firefly's eyes narrow at Marco's words but she holds her tongue as he finishes.  So many questions, but first the technical. "Can you maintain a spell at such a distance without your abominations?"

[gilga]

"She did not turn violent or yell like a maniac or smack me... so far so good"  Thinks Marco and say "Distance is different for mana, sustaining the spell is not the problem as things are closer in the astral.
What you should be asking me is how are you going to interact with people... I use the mindlink spell to do so when I am shaped like an animal. That spell only works with objects that I can directly sense - the only method to go around this limitation require a combination of both conjuring and sorcery“

“Yes!  I summoned while you weren’t looking youngster - that message from Blake was important and  this was better done telepathically half an hour ago.  Mojo was perfect and I created a unique way to use magic - something that I could perhaps write a ThD about one day and share with the world. 

It failed as I was so socially awkward that I failed. If it would have worked perhaps we could have had a better solution discussing everything openly and finding a compromise where the risk is minimal, my  failure tastes so bitter. "

[Shaman_Yuri]

"ホイ！ 私はどうなの"

Hey! What about me?  The protest from my deck echoes through my mind.  The very fact that my Aztlan deck reminding me of its own volition in Japanese that this plan leaves it behind isn't the most disturbing thing about this whole affair is testament to just how whacked out my life has gotten in just a few days. 

Oh Allah, what are you hoping to prove through all this?  Help me understand!

Sadly, the only response is silence from On High and grumbling from on wire.

Urusai! I admonish my distressingly gabby tech.  I have to think. 

A troll coming up with a technically sound tactical plan that doesn't rely on brute force and a demon shepherd making sense.  What is this world coming to?

"Hell will freeze over before I permit one of your monsters anywhere near me, Priest," I spit is disgust.  I then continue with a glare.  "But I think we can compromise.  I won't need to interact with others if all I'm doing is playing the wild weasel.  Unlike Yelena-sensei, when I decide I don't want the spell anymore I can simply counter it."  I look toward the woman in question, then back to the male elf.  "No, the biggest issue is that I will have nothing with me.  I'll re-manifest naked and without any funds or my deck.  I really will be at the mercy of these people you call smugglers.  Arc-sensei, Yelena-sensei," I continue, looking in turn to each woman.  "You know Marco-san better than do I and trust him even though I do not.  I trust your judgement and am willing to try and make the troll's good idea work.  What say you?"

[SgtBoomCloud]

Arc blinked and tilted her head, giving a smirk as she knocked a hand to her skull.  "Hoi, I may be half dead, but I still remember all the drek bout the Trix, yo.  But thanks omae..."  She paused and listened to the discourse as Firefly's opening words rung in her head.  An awakened person with the ability to move and stay outta trouble....no way, that might be it if needed...still...they kids...

At the end of the exchange, Arc shook her head.  "Nah, Firefly's got a point.  By putting yourself in these shoes, y'all give up half your skills if you take the bird idea.  I would rather throw myself in front of Ninelives than let that happen.  No..neither of you two are the right person for this job.   But Marco's right, too..as easy as it would be to pass off that the drone ain't mine, suggestin' that our slitch might have duped us would be stretchnsketch.  Our options are slim, omae..."

She gave pause as they turned the bikes on, and turned to sit on the back of Yelena's Scorpion to face the others.  "I hate putting anybody at risk, chummers.  If I can help it, I ain't going to let this go so far as to need this plan.  Brilliant as it is, the loss of life if it goes to drek..."  She averted her gaze, expression going hard.  "Well, we just ain't gon' let that happen, will we?  So, we reach out.  We got two options...contact Lexi and Bootstrap, and get their crew in on it...or contact my tusker boy Merlin from the Howlers.  He's been itching to get back at the Dust for Feathers.  Both options give us an awakened body to put the tag to...either way, we got an hour, and I'm surprisingly hungry...greasy spoon?"

[Shaman_Yuri]

My stomach growled awkwardly at the reminder that food was a distant memory.  "Food sounds good," I verbalize. "I think Lexi might still be a good idea. Their 'hopscotch' is nothing short of miraculous. Is there time to bring then in on this?"

[Mercy Merchant]

Yelena walks her bike to the stuffer shack just down the street, talking as she goes.  "Yelena ask why not both?  Send Rabbit out and use Merlin at club to help if need."