[JackVII]

[07 MAY 2075 | 14:30 | Feathered Territory | DFW]

Wraith grasped her head as trails of smoke and an electric stink issued forth from her datajack. Blood trailed out of her nose and from her eyes. She clearly had had an insurmountably difficult time in the Matrix.

[Jayde Moon]

As La Sombra approaches, she draws the pistol from out of her coat and draws a bead on the man holding the woman.  With the pistol set to burst fire, she slowly squeezes the trigger.

[Jayde Moon]

The quick pops are quite audible to those nearest the ork but the sound of the crowd all but covers up the suppressed gunfire from any measurable distance.

Three rounds impact the man holding the woman by the neck and his grip immediately slacks as he sways for just a moment before his legs collapse out from under him, the submachine gun clattering to the ground.

With one threat firmly out of the way, Gabriela prepares to dart forward as best she can through the crowd.  Normally the threat of gunfire would hold any rabble back, but she realizes that she's probably just lit the match under this tinderbox.

[SgtBoomCloud]

The smell of the heat in the air, fueled by the myriad of stirring bodies, their blood running hotly in protest of the woman on the car.  The sound of the wind rustling bits of trash, heard behind the shouting and hollering of voices.  The feel of the ground, bits of gravel cracking underfoot with each measured step.  The taste of her own adrenaline, kept in check only by carefully measured practice.  This was all the Phoenix and more at this point.  The sling of the shotgun crossed over her right shoulder, the AK's over her left, and her katana securely at her left hip, the redhead very much looked the part of a one-woman army, especially compared to the rest of the group here.  Leaving Mr. Hopeless and Wraith in the car, she made sure their mage had the MARK still, in case he needed to drive, shutting the trunk and stepping towards the focal point of the mob.

Best part is, Star shows up, I'm licensed for all this.  Gods, I love the bodyguard excuse

Sunglasses covering her eyes, Marissa's lips were curled into a smirk as she sensed the tension in the air, and as a man approached the woman barking atop the car, she almost missed it.  He crumpled, falling away..and not in a normal way.  The frag...okay, this is going down  Instinctively, the Phoenix slipped right into her element, the mana coursing through her as the qi focus tattooed on her back roared to life...literally.  On her back, the tattoo shone through, looking very much like a burning set of wings, while her aura seemed to erupt into her own personal inferno.  Those nearest that witnessed her immediately stepped back, giving her wide berth as she tilted her head, speaking into her microtransceiver.

"La Sombra, can't get a bead on you.  What's the spread, what we doin'?

That was all she said as the hairs on her neck stood on end, eyes and ears scanning the surrounds as she tried to approach, keeping a firm grip on her rifle, ready for the impending riot.

Suddenky, she felt her senses come in, her instincts telling her that an opponent was coming.  Something she could not see.  Her memory reminded her of Hopeless' warning of a spirit... her stance widening, she gripped the rifle loosely in one hand as she started to crouch a little, body lowered as her muscles coiled, springs ready to snap into action.
Actions: speak, approach, set rifle to Burst Fire, activate Focus, look awesome

[rednblack]

Salscha rushes back to Mr. Hopeless, a concerned look at the turtle's face.  "The fire spirit did not like the swaggering one's magic.  Shall I defend her?  I'm afraid that it will come to that shortly.

"Yes, ma'am," Ian answers, and the turtle nods her head with a slow swaying motion before turning and racing off to fulfill her duty.  Hopeless turns his attention to the back seat and the decker.  Her aura looks exhausted, and in pain.

"You . . . you ok?" Mr. Hopeless manages to stutter out.

"What, this?" Wraith answers with a crooked bloody smile before leaning forward as if to wretch.  Nothing comes out but a cough and a thin trail of pink spittle before she continues, "Definitely a techomancer, fraggit."

Knowing the situation is dire, Mr. Hopeless reaches out into the astral for Sammo, who obliges without delay.

The best/worst that The Phoenix was preparing herself for happens suddenly.  At first, she sees a little bend in the air, like looking through a magnifying glass sideways, and then it's a small disembodied flame, with the faintest wisp of smoke swirling into the gray sky, and before she can exhale the spirit stands before her, arching its feline back, its fur soot and ash, its maw blue with white hot teeth.  The fire jaguar lets out a low growl at the foreign environment of the material plane, and the enemy before it equally, but The Phoenix is the first to strike.

[Poindexter]

This is turning to drek real quick!

For a moment there, it had looked like the group might just drive past this unfortunate series of events, but then the ork woman must have seen something Ian's eye's didn't pick up on. It's no wonder. He's paying attention to three different worlds at once. It's no wonder he might miss one of the subtleties of one of them. But as soon as she bolts from the car, hand on weapon, Ian starts working feverishly in all three of his worlds. First, to Salsha, his stalwart guardian; Please watch my orkish friend's flank on the astral. She'll need it! Then, with both hands, he plops his old, beaten motorcycle helmet over his head and begins to power up it's systems. Before it's finished up, Phoenix leaps out of the car and pops the trunk with one motion. Great Ghost, she's going for the arsenal. He takes a deep swallow as his audio systems finish booting up. Well, then so am I. Through his implanted link, he sends a few orders to his drone in the trunk.

<<@Lil Rambo: Orders
   :Activate (silent)
   :Launch
   :Ascend (max weapon range)
   :Target (holder of marked ingram X)
   :Share video feed with team

<<@Team [Mister Hopeless] Astral backup on deck. Aerial video feed in 3 seconds.>>

A milisecond later, Phoenix slips past the car and into the crowd, packing enough firepower to take on a small SWAT team and Ian's heart drops into his stomach. Here we go! He can see her tattoos flare up on the astral and as soon as they do...

Salscha rushes back to Mr. Hopeless, a concerned look at the turtle's face.  "The fire spirit did not like the swaggering one's magic.  Shall I defend her?  I'm afraid that it will come to that shortly.

"Yes please, ma'am. Keep us all as safe as you can." With no more than a nod, she's off again, keeping a close watch on that fire spirit. A split second later, there's a cough, a sputter, and a small cloud of smoke from next to him.

"You . . . you ok?" Mr. Hopeless manages to stutter out.

"What, this?" Wraith answers with a crooked bloody smile before leaning forward as if to wretch.  Nothing comes out but a cough and a thin trail of pink spittle before she continues, "Definitely a techomancer, fraggit."

Flashes of the last run go through his head. The riot, the outclassed decker, everything. He thinks about the pistol stuffed into his waistline, and how it didn't do Breeze any good. Ian is utterly terrified, but he keeps his wits about him. He knows that if he's to live through the next few minutes AND keep his team intact, he's going to have to. With a tiny flick of his astral fingers, he calls forth Sammo, who appears on the astral sitting in the front seat, where LaSombra was just a moment ago. He turns his head slightly, just enough to make eye contact with Ian, and nods his head slightly, already understanding what will soon be asked of him. At that moment, Ian gets the ping that lets him know the aerial feed from Lil Rambo has gone live.

[SgtBoomCloud]

At first Marissa could hardly believe the appearance of the flaming beast materializing before her, the sound of its growls, and the heat coming from its very presence.  Three senses detect this thing...that means it was very real.  That was all that the Phoenix needed, her eyes narrowing as her head tilted forward.

Her next moves came gracefully to her, thanks to the tireless hours of practicing her moves, watching all those trids.  Her lips parted as she took in her breath, the rifle's butt coming up to her shoulder as she cocked the smallest smirk. "Got a light?"[/b]

One squeeze of the trigger and the rest of her breath exhaled, the Phoenix unloaded a short burst of fire from her AK-97, directing it at the materialized spirit as she started to move.  Darting laterally to the left, she made a short leap, another burst of fire coming from her and likely causing the crowd to flee as she shot at the spirit.  As she connected with the ground, rather than righting herself, she went with the motion, tucking into a roll as she swung her rifle around on its sling to her back.  And once her feet were again underneath her, her right hand pulled the katana from its home, arm extended as she held it point first towards the creature, ready for the counterattack.

[rednblack]

The flaming jaguar crouches low, avoiding the first burst of fire from The Phoenix's AK.  The explosive rounds pop and crackle against the cinder-block walls of a row-house apartment across the street, and the feline lets out a hiss that spits fire on the street.  The adept can't see her astral support,but she can see the effects of Salsha's attack, as the fire spirit's fur begins to slough off in ragged chunks which dissolve into the ether.  With the spirit occupied in two planes at once, The Phoenix focuses her second burst on the spirit's flank, dappling its side in a neat row of fire.  The spirit hisses again and leaps toward Marissa as she's drawing her katana, and takes a mighty swipe at her with outstretched red claws. 

In the face of the spirit's heat Marissa takes a step back, easily dodging the spirit's attack, which leaves it off-balance, giving her a wonderful opportunity for a follow-up strike.

[Jayde Moon]

The sound of automatic gunfire behind her draws her attention for a moment.  Gabriela frowns.  Idiota!  Should have left it alone, now I've dragged in the whole crew...

Still, in for a penny... she turns back to the individuals up front, looking for another shot.

[Poindexter]

Then the flaming jaguar erupted into life and the gunfire started, Just a few pops at first, then quickly followed up with higher caliber rounds in higher numbers. Lil Rambo hasn't gotten much height yet and so the video feed is still quite detailed, despite the poor quality of the camera. Mister Hopeless can see the action from above, and his stomach is in his throat. Everything is just happening so damn fast! Do I still wanna be sitting in this car when another fire spirit materializes in here? He eyes the cardoor and briefly considers leaving its safe bullet resistant womb, but thinks better of it rather quickly.

[rednblack]

A brief roar of approval erupts from the crowd as the feathered soldier tips backwards and off of the car unconscious.  The celebrations are short-lived however, and the yelling soon turns fearful as a Toyota Gopher barrels out of an alleyway about thirty meters to La Sombre's rear and over two people who couldn't get out of the way fast enough.  Trailing behind the truck are some lengths of three meter chain-link fence welded to wide axles and topped with razor-wire.  Ohshitohfragohfuckohfuckohno! Hopeless thinks in a panic.  They're trying to box them in.

On the bed of truck, crouched behind plastiboard and sandbags, three figures in ballistic masks with Aztec animal faces and automatic weapons open fire on the center of crowd.  Two are carrying submachine guns, and the third pokes the barrel of a Colt M23 over the barrier before letting off a long ten-round burst.  The crowd does its best to dodge the gunfire, but between the density of people and the walled-in surroundings, there are few options available to them.  Young and old alike fall to the automatic gunfire, only to be stampeded by those still standing as they try to make a retreat to nowhere. 

On the cars in front of La Sombre, the man pulls two Ceska Black Scorpions, and lets off a burst of fire from one at the men and women standing at his feet, striking an ork woman in the face.  Her head snaps backward, and she crumples.  Both the man and the elven woman scan the crowd, trying to figure out who had fired the shots that dropped their companion, but La Sombre does not see or feel their eyes land on her.  Before she can follow up with a second round of fire, however, she spots a blue arcing line to her left, perhaps five, maybe seven meters out.  If things weren't so chaotic, and if she didn't know how dangerous that arcing line is, it would be beautiful in a way.  It practically floats up in the air, a soft oscillating flutter in the wind before it swings down hard and fast and deadly.  On the second upswing, it's followed by a disembodied hand, cut off cleanly at the wrist.  Great, now there's some hoop out there with a monofilament whip, she thinks.

[SgtBoomCloud]

Gotcha

When the jaguar lunged at the redhead armed with the katana, it would be surprised to find she was ready for it.  Her legs releasing their stored energy potential, she lunged off to the side in a sidelong roll, tilting herself just enough to pitch herself around the flaming beast.  As she came up, the beast's flank lay ready for the cutting, and with her aura surging as the flames at her back, the sword made a glancing cut at the creature.

Had she known what came next, she may have reconsidered.

As the sword connected, a tongue of flame arced along the blade from the creature, and she simply watched in shock as it lapped at her arm, the woman feeling a searing of her flesh along her arm up into her shoulder.  Crying out, the Phoenix withdrew her arm, fingers trying deftly to whip the katana back into a reverse grip as she realized her folly.  Still, she had the momentum, and had no intention of wasting it.  As her feet planted, she sprang her legs straight, kicking off the ground into a backwards flip back and away from the creature, and as she reached the apex, her free hand whipped back, gripping the handle of her Predator and pulling it out with the effortless grace of a trid star.

The trio of blasts that ensued were the natural course as she reconnected her gaze on the fiery spirit creature.,.

Soak (10P Fire -6AP +4 Flame Prot): 12d6t5 5

Marissa takes 5P, wound modifier of -1

Gymnastics: 10d6t5 3
Just in case someone calls me on the stylish antics.  If not, disregard that roll. But, importantly...

Quick Draw Pistol: 12d6t5 4
Semi-Auto Pistol Attack: 13d6t5 4
Defender gets -2 dice

Errata: when I rolled, I forgot to take off the -1. I checked, taking a die off does not change the results

[Poindexter]

Fear is slowly turning to rage inside the scrawny little human man in the backseat. Once he sees the truck with the razorwire fence, his blood runs cold for a brief moment, then starts to run hotter and hotter by the moment. These motherfuckers! "Ghost fucking DAMMIT! he pounds his fists against the seat in front of him as the gunfire intensifies even further. "This is exactly what they were hoping for!" Through his rapidly ascending eye in the sky, he can see the massacre unfolding beneath him and it both terrifies and infuriates him.

[rednblack]

Through Lil Rambo, Mr. Hopeless watches on as the carnage unfolds below.  The elf woman who had previously been on her diatribe pulls a large pistol and fires off into the crowd.  Given the poor video feed he's unable to make out if any in the crowd are hit, especially over the volley of bottles and rocks that begin to rain down on the two feathered.  A bottle breaks over the woman's ballistic mask before she has an opportunity to seek cover behind the cars, and a few of the smaller and more aerodynamic rocks pelt the man with the machine pistols, but both seem largely unfazed.  The distraction, though, does give their prisoner a chance to break free with her guard now laying unconscious on the pavement behind her, and she rushes into the crowd, trying to make her way toward one of the doors to an apartment building, currently choked with sprawl-dwellers possessing the same idea.

A man in a black duster, shaved head covered in tattoos, and an AK-97 emerges from the alleyway across from the Toyota Gopher and opens up with a long burst of automatic fire directed at the engine block of the oncoming truck.  Bullets riddle the grill, hood, and headlights, and thick black smoke begins to pour out through the holes while the Gopher continues its advance.  To the south of the fence, anyone not caught in the shooting pen begins to flee the scene, dropping their rebar and rocks as they go.

[Jayde Moon]

Ducking down, La Sombra moved toward the end of the monofilament whip that wasn't full of murder.  She ducked behind a few individuals and saw a woman in a black jacker and mask swinging it about.

"Oy!  Puta!!!" she called out as she squeezed off a burst at the woman.  The whip-mistress looked over just in time to catch three capsule rounds in the face.  The DMSO laced Narcoject did its thing quickly and the woman tottered unsteadily.  The ork wasted no time in finding a position between two dumpsters on the street, looking down to see what else she might do.  The car was a problem and she wondered if she might be able to do something about it.  Behind her, she could hear a few members of the crowd plow into the woman.

That's what you get...