[Malevolence]

"I have a small list of items for your consideration." Ohanzee produces a sheet of paper from one of his pockets and places it on the small table between them. He had considered making the VR representation a napkin, but had reconsidered at the last minute. The file had more details, links to the specific model of RV that Katsina had been eyeing, or the specific items that Doc had selected for inclusion in the lab, for example, but the paper itself simply contained a neatly printed list of items:


Winnabego
trailer equipped with a mobile lab
Qi Focus imbued with reflex enhancing magics
Counterspelling focus of the Shamanic tradition of at least grade 4
Materials for a magical lodge (1 Wiccan, 1 Shamanic)
Records concerning potential pursuers
Guarantee of safe passage


"In addition, we will choose the time and place of the examination and exchange. Neither you nor Mrs. Jager are required to be present in person, though you may of course attend if you wish. We will place no restrictions on who you choose to be present so long as they are representatives of your organization. For obvious reasons we would prefer that members of some specific organizations be excluded and just to keep it simple are therefore excluding any other organizations. While you may otherwise send whom you wish, there will be a time limit on the examination of thirty minutes. For reasons that I prefer not to share at the moment, the exchange must take less than one hour."


Ohanzee paused while Cannon looked over the paper, and likely the more detailed information contained in the actual file.

[Tecumseh]

Ohanzee delivers his speech coolly and professionally. In the meat world, he can feel his Ace of Cups gently fondling his nuts while trickling a steady stream of upbeat advice into his PAN:

>> Don't be afraid to ask for what you want!
>> Aim high and expect the best outcome!
>> Stay frosty! Focus on the other side's pressure, not yours.
>> Show the other person how their needs will be met.
>> Don't take the other person's behavior personally.
>> Don't give anything away without getting something in return!

Cannon accepts the list. His persona is unnervingly still as he reads it. Doc realizes its because the persona isn't "breathing". Is Cannon holding his breath, or was the persona never programmed to breathe to begin with? Was the persona breathing before? Probably, if it was "smoking" a cigar, or is the overinterpreting?

Cannon exhales ever-so-slightly and puts the list down. Slowly he begins to nod as he quietly folds the sheet of paper and deposits it into the fireplace.

"Counterspelling foci require a category of spell," Cannon says. "Combat spells would be the most common but I leave it up to you.

"Very well. I agree to your supplemental considerations in exchange for one of my own: specifically, any and all research regarding the artifact you may have recovered along with the obelisk itself. Electronic records, documentation, and research. We will test the records for authenticity with the same rigor as the obelisk. If they do not stand up to scrutiny, the cost of the secondary requests will be deducted from the primary outlay. I calculate the value to be approximately ¥130,000."

Cannon's nut-cradling suit must have read him the same advice as Ohanzee's.

"Your terms and conditions are agreeable. Do we have a deal?" Cannon directs a steady gaze at Ohanzee. His cigar dangles from his left hand while his right hand extends for a handshake. The gesture is quite as empty and meaningless on the Matrix as Ohanzee's request for safe passage, but certain conventions never expire.

[Zweiblumen]

Doc keeps his stoic bodyguard persona smooth, but inwardly he's cautiously optimistic that there might be some light at the end of this tunnel.  He knows there's a lot that can still go wrong, and the coincidences that Cannon is presenting him are unsettling.  Even with that he's allowing himself to be slightly excited about the future for the first time since he can remember.

And with that, the cautious part of the optimism comes out and he does another scan on himself, the RV/uplink and Ohanzee for errant marks.

[Tecumseh]

Doc listens closely as Cannon's offer hangs in the air. The bodyguard's ears scan the room, listening for telltale pings or high-pitched hums that might indicate something amiss.

Doc hears the fire crackling. There's a grandfather clock in the corner that advances with a rhythmic tick tick tick as steady as a metronome.

He sees wisps of electronic smoke rise from Cannon's cigar. A bit of ash falls but disappears before it reaches the leather chair.

There's a snifter of Cognac on the table in front of Cannon, along with sherry glasses and a bottle marked Vieille Reserve. A bucket of ice has been pushed to the side, as if it's proximity to such a fine bottle is insulting. Doc hears the ice shift in the bucket as it melts from the warmth of the fireplace.

As best Doc can tell, everything seems safe. Cannon awaits Hanz's response.

[Malevolence]

Ohanzee lets out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "We have a deal." The dwarf edges forward on his seat and extends his hand for Cannon to shake. The old ways died hard.


"If you don't mind my asking, why do you want that information? Mrs. Jäger indicated that her organization was fully aware of the artifact and that her intel was top notch. It seems that if that were true, she would have all of this in her possession already."

[Tecumseh]

Cannon shakes, his hand warm and smooth, his digital fingernails manicured. He lifts his snifter of Cognac to toast the deal. He sips and puts it back down.

"I do mind you asking, Hanz, but there are several logical explanations. Perhaps my friend was lying. Or perhaps she was telling the truth but wants to know how good her sources are. Or maybe we're looking for other clues into the Atlantean Foundation, what they're doing and how they're doing it. It could be many reasons, or it could be no reason."

He stands from his leather chair, his muscular frame casting wide shadows in the firelight.

"I need 24 hours to arrange for your supplemental demands, particularly the mobile lab. We will await the directions to the meet. We will be traveling from Denver so please provide adequate time for our travel to your location."

He listens to any parting thoughts you might offer, then exits the meeting room. His footsteps echo on the marble flooring of the Library as he leaves.


Dropping out of the meeting, Doc and Ohanzee are greeted by Chino singing to himself while driving around Grand Junction. Once again, Doc wonders if he's listening to music on his commlink only to remember that Ohanzee is using Chino's commlink. The music, if any, must be in his head.

"One two three can you hump it like me?
Baby,
One, two, three, can you hump it like me?
Drop that fly,
Fly!
Baby,
Gigg-e-dy, gig-y-dac
Pick her up
Pound her back
Baby,
Gigg-e-dy, gig-y-dac
Hit her back, talk that smack!
You gotta catch the monkey by the crack
Punch that monkey's ball sack
Pick her up
Pound her back
Gigg-e-dy, gig-y-dac!
Pick her up,
Pound her back!
Do doo doo doo doo do do!"

Ace gives a look that says, he's been doing this since you left.

"Hey hey!" Chino says buoyantly, as if he's delighted that Doc and Ohanzee are back again. "How did it go? Let's put this one to bed so we can get our hoops to Fun City!"

Chino plots a course to the campsite to rejoin Sam and Katsina.

[Zweiblumen]

Giddy with the success of the negotiations, Doc can't help but laugh at Chino's lyrics.  "Ohanzee did it this time chummers.  Got us everything on the list and some hard jing to go with it!  O, do you want to tell Katsina and Sam or want me to send them a message letting them know we are inbound with good news?"

He heads to the fridge to look for any beers they may have remembered to grab when they left town.

[Tecumseh]

Chino says, "Jesus, take the wheel," and sets the Prometheus on autopilot. He then comes back and grabs a few beers. He shakes them up and, before anyone can stop him, rips the cans open with his thumbs as easily as if he were crumpling tinfoil. Beer sprays everywhere while Chino jumps up and down giddily, cheering like a school girl and waving the spraying beers like pompoms. After the celebration is complete, Ohanzee admonishes him for spraying beer around their new ride and sets Chino to work to clean up the mess.

The trip back to the campsite is dark but uneventful. Beers are responsibly enjoyed, mostly because the nanites process the alcohol before it has a chance to trigger a buzz. Still, the high from the successful negotiations provides much of the same feeling.

The RV rolls back into camp. Katsina looks visibly relieved, although it's uncertain whether it's because of the away team's return or because the negotiations were successful and the light at the end of the tunnel is in sight. She rushes up to Ace and hugs him just as he steps out of the RV. She high-fives Doc and Ohanzee and Chino. The ork accepts the invitation so aggressively that you're pretty sure you hear some of the bones breaking in Katsina's hand. Her eyes and mouth go wide in a soundless scream before the damage repairs itself a few seconds later. She shakes out her hand and exhales, "Oo, wow. Yeah! Oo," as she flexes her fingers.

"A Prometheus, eh?" she says with a her tongue in her cheek as she examines the RV. The others don't seem to catch the significance. "Prometheus, the fire-bringer?" she says, looking around at blank faces. "Alright, nevermind, Personal joke."

It's okay, babă. I get the joke, Hecate tells her.

Great, Katsina thinks.

Katsina ascends into the RV, checking it out. "Looks great!" she says, happily eyeing a proper bed and a shower, however modest. "Makes you wonder why we crashed the other one." She sniffs, her heightened senses tickling her nose. "Who spilled beer everywhere?"

She steps out and the group goes about concealing the RV under some nearby trees. Ohanzee summons a spirit to help cover it with snow to provide some both thermal and astral dampening. Once complete, Katsina asks about next steps.

"How soon are we going to make the transfer with the ASPS? What do we need to do before we're ready to meet?" She looks to Sam to see if he has any security insights.

"If we hand over the research, are we concerned that the composition of the obelisk is, ah, no longer the same as what's listed in the Atlantean Foundation's reports?"

[Malevolence]

After returning to camp and the elation calms enough to talk business, Katsina asks some questions about next steps.


"I doubt that the condition of the item matters much. If he's on the up and up, they've seen the photos we've sent that show the new state of the relic. We didn't exactly call attention to it, but I have to imagine that the photos were gone over with a fine toothed comb. They're aware of the change, though strangely - perhaps thankfully - Cannon didn't bring it up at the meet. That and the ease with which he conceded to our demands makes me wonder how earnest their offer is. But, I'm a paranoid old dwarf."


The wind picks up briefly, making a soft howl as Ohanzee mentally kicks himself for being such a downer so soon after the group had a moment of happiness. Can't be helped, he assures himself before moving on.


"I have some thoughts on setting up the met. Cannon wanted at least 24 hours to get our supplemental requests ready, or, more accurately, to get his team prepped and get any additional resources he thinks they might need to come out of the exchange on top. Some of those resources are probably the experts that will be examining the artifact, but most are probably soldiers, aircraft, munitions, etc, including magical and matrix support. They'll be coming heavy, you can count on it."


"Our only chance of surviving is to make sure they pay us. Once we have the money and have moved it out of their reach, there is little financial incentive for them to risk the deal. Of course, we'll be incentivising letting us go even more with the dead-man's switch. So, I feel we have the post-pay part of the exchange largely covered. We set the switch, disarm Sam's toy, and get out of Dodge. Doc scans for trackers and we shake any pursuers, but those are details we can hash out later. Getting paid is the trickier part."


He's not really saying anything the team doesn't already know, but they are paying rapt attention anyway. "The RV we have requested will take much longer to get from Denver to our campsite than the aircraft part of their force will certainly be using, not to mention the spirits that will almost certainly scout the area slash lead the charge. So, we have to send them to a nearby spot before revealing the location of the artifact. This will give us an opportunity to observe their numbers and possibly their intent, but also it will allow the slow vehicles and the nearly instantaneous spirits to arrive at the meet within a handful of minutes of each other. This means that less time on the bomb clock is wasted waiting for all of our requested items to arrive."


"Once we give them the location of the meet, we can reveal the existence of the explosive device, that way they don't just show up and start shooting. I'm thinking that an illusion might be handy - nothing subtle - to help mask the obelisk and perhaps our numbers. Even if the illusion is obvious, it still blocks line of sight on the astral plane as well as the physical - if I do it right. Perhaps Katsina can help with that."


"Once everybody is present, we put all of our cards on the table and give them time to examine the artifact. This is perhaps the most dangerous part of this whole endeavor. They will almost certainly try to disable the explosive in order to deny us our leverage, so Doc will have to stay especially frosty." He eyes the cold, crisp winter scene around them pointedly. "And this brings us to the biggest hole in our plan - the dead-man's switch. Who will be the lynch-pin? Do we maybe have two? If it is one of us, where will they stay while the meet happens?"


The dwarf falls silent, hoping that the questions he has posed are not as tough to answer as he fears.

[Tecumseh]

Katsina nods as she listens to Ohanzee.

"I think we need to be careful about when we do the reveal for the explosive device. We don't want them to show up shooting, sure, but if we tell them too early they might just turn around and bug out without ever bothering to scope out the artifact.

"If any of us knew there was a huge bomb at a meet, would we go to the meet? We have to remember that this is optional for them. They want it, sure, but the principles of loss aversion are in play here. Namely, the human tendency to strongly prefer avoiding losses to acquiring gains. In this case they're risking two million and change plus a corporate security team. Nobody wants to explain a frag-up involving those levels of resources. I don't think 'oh but we were pursuing a mysterious artifact' will provide them much cover in corporate politics. So keep that rabbit in the hat as long as we can."

She looks around the group.

"I'm not a tactician but let's figure out who needs to be where. Correct me where I'm off-base.

- Ohanzee is our voice and our face so it seems like he needs to be front and center, with a sizeable spirit nearby.
- Chino and I are both effective up close but less so at a distance. Maybe we should be flanking Ohanzee as his muscle. The combined magical nature of the three of us might lend additional weight to our minimal numbers.
- Ace and Sam are both effective pretty much at any range. It seems like they should be fire support, since the rest of us can't fill that role as effectively, but maybe close enough to intercede in melee if necessary.
- That leaves Doc. Doc, as I understand it, can do what he needs to do from anywhere. As such, isn't he our logical dead man's switch? He could be sitting in the Prometheus anywhere. Rifle keeps him close enough to pick us up quickly once things are done; Grand Junction keeps him safer in case he needs to hit the road on short notice... without us. The only vulnerability is the satellite link connecting him to the campsite, but couldn't we pick up a few more to act as redundancies? They're not that expensive in the PCC, right?"

She looks for confirmation of this.

"I can do some Heal and Physical Barrier preparations in anticipation of the meet. The Heal preparations won't work without my command, so I would need line-of-sight on you - and you would need to tell me that you need it - but it might help knit you back together if things go sideways.

"I can do some Physical Barrier preparations too. They can either acts as impromptu shields or cover, or even a bubble to give you a pocket of air in case the avalanche is triggered. I could also use one to put up a shield around the obelisk, which would double as some astral cover until we're ready for them to see it. It would only last a few minutes but that might be long enough for them to arrive and for us to make sure they're not shooting before we lift up the kimono.

"Alternatively, I could use reagents to create a temporary magical lodge around the obelisk. Or, Ohanzee, you and I could do a circle of protection ritual, or a ward ritual. We have lots of options."

Katsina looks up to the sky, past the trees providing cover overhead.

"Remember that Knight-Errant HTR team that came after us the first night with a Nissan Hound? We should probably expect them to have aerial support too. Drones, for certain, if not a helicopter. I know if I just paid two mil for something I'd rather fly it out rather than risking it on snow-covered highways where the shoulder of the road is actually a cliff." She pauses to remember waking up in the shot-up Bulldog with the obelisk a few days before, plus sending APB over the side in a funeral pyre shortly after.

"Plus spirits and magical support. It's the DIMR and the ASPS. I suppose the biggest knock to having me and Ohanzee in the same place is it makes it tricky for us to provide counterspelling to the whole group simultaneously." She exhales. "It's possible, but it might change how we arrange ourselves."

She looks around the group again. "What do you all think?" she asks.

[rednblack]

"I agree with your assessments," Ace says to Katsina.  "There's a big part of me that would rather do the hand-off in a city.  They're not going to want to cause a ruckus around civilians any more than we do.  Last anyone would need is PCC SecForce getting involved, and doing it here is just a little too much like eating where we drek for my taste.  That said, we've already made this location defensible, so going off the assumption that the team wants to work it here, Sam and I will take cover and provide ranged support.  Now, we're both pretty good close up, and I don't have a weapon that's really suited for long-distance anyway, so I say we dig in close by.  Katsina, how many centimeters of snow would we need on top of us to cloud our astral forms?  I figure that and some space blankets for thermal damping -- as well as general comfort -- and we should be able to stay hidden until we would need to make our presence known.

"The big hole in our defenses is aerial support.  I'd want it if I were them, and not being them I'd rather they didn't have it.  I say we tell them no copters, no nothing.  Can we get a big spirit on standby to frag up anybody who gets in our air space?  We can allow them one drone to check things out ahead of their convoy, no more than half-a-click ahead.  I'm not unreasonable," he says with a smile.

"Once the hand-off is complete, it's probably best that we head out first, and request that they give us a half-hour head start before making tracks themselves."

[Tecumseh]

Katsina considers the question about snow suppressing astral visibility.

"Not much would be necessary, especially if we're pairing it with a space blanket. If we sew you a sleeping bag of sorts, you would only need a few centimeters of snow on you to suppress your aura. Let's say five centimeters, although we can experiment ahead of time to make sure we use enough.

"Little igloos would be very effective sniper blinds, I would think."

[Poindexter]

His heart had felt torn in two as he saw the RV rolling back into camp. Half of it was overjoyed to see everyone returning safely, and the other half, terrified of the shame he might be forced to feel when confronted with his actions. He hadn't really spoken with anyone but Bear and Katsina since everything went down. He's still worried, so he stays quiet and he stays busy. Once the group has caught up with one another and everyone gets down to planning, Sam feels a bit relieved. He's able to sit quietly and listen to what everyone has to say and really give their opinions some thought and some weight.

"Our only chance of surviving is to make sure they pay us. Once we have the money and have moved it out of their reach, there is little financial incentive for them to risk the deal. Of course, we'll be incentivising letting us go even more with the dead-man's switch. So, I feel we have the post-pay part of the exchange largely covered. We set the switch, disarm Sam's toy, and get out of Dodge. Doc scans for trackers and we shake any pursuers, but those are details we can hash out later. Getting paid is the trickier part."

Sounds solid. Good steady working plan. I love it.

"The RV we have requested will take much longer to get from Denver to our campsite than the aircraft part of their force will certainly be using, not to mention the spirits that will almost certainly scout the area slash lead the charge. So, we have to send them to a nearby spot before revealing the location of the artifact. This will give us an opportunity to observe their numbers and possibly their intent, but also it will allow the slow vehicles and the nearly instantaneous spirits to arrive at the meet within a handful of minutes of each other. This means that less time on the bomb clock is wasted waiting for all of our requested items to arrive."

Does he remember my promise to not detonate the bomb? Does he still expect me to keep it? Perhaps he does and it using the whole thing as a grand bluff, just like I am. I wonder if I actually have the balls to throw the switch, even if I really wanted to...

"Once we give them the location of the meet, we can reveal the existence of the explosive device, that way they don't just show up and start shooting. "

"I think we need to be careful about when we do the reveal for the explosive device. We don't want them to show up shooting, sure, but if we tell them too early they might just turn around and bug out without ever bothering to scope out the artifact. If any of us knew there was a huge bomb at a meet, would we go to the meet? We have to remember that this is optional for them. They want it, sure, but the principles of loss aversion are in play here. Namely, the human tendency to strongly prefer avoiding losses to acquiring gains. In this case they're risking two million and change plus a corporate security team. Nobody wants to explain a frag-up involving those levels of resources. I don't think 'oh but we were pursuing a mysterious artifact' will provide them much cover in corporate politics. So keep that rabbit in the hat as long as we can."

At this, the large spikey giant clears his throat and speaks, briefly interrupting the dwarf. "They may already know about the bomb." Sam does not look up from the ground, nervously shifting back and forth. "I dropped a series of burner phones on the way here. They contained a message; A request for help/dare to come try something to any and all concerned parties. I mentioned the bomb. Not only might they already know about the bomb, but they might already have a fairly good idea where we are."

"Once everybody is present, we put all of our cards on the table and give them time to examine the artifact. This is perhaps the most dangerous part of this whole endeavor. They will almost certainly try to disable the explosive in order to deny us our leverage, so Doc will have to stay especially frosty." He eyes the cold, crisp winter scene around them pointedly. "And this brings us to the biggest hole in our plan - the dead-man's switch. Who will be the lynch-pin? Do we maybe have two? If it is one of us, where will they stay while the meet happens?"

"I believe I'm the hardest to kill, among the group. I'm willing to be the lynch-pin.

"Ace and Sam are both effective pretty much at any range. It seems like they should be fire support, since the rest of us can't fill that role as effectively, but maybe close enough to intercede in melee if necessary."

A nod.

"There's a big part of me that would rather do the hand-off in a city.  They're not going to want to cause a ruckus around civilians any more than we do.  Last anyone would need is PCC SecForce getting involved, and doing it here is just a little too much like eating where we drek for my taste."

Sam has been thinking about this very point a great deal over the last few days. At first, our decision to do the tradeoff out here was due to our desire to limit civilian casualties, correct? But if we are threatening to detonate the artifact if things go wrong, why do we care about civilian casualties anymore? Aren't we threatening to kill them all anyway, regardless of where they happen to be at the moment? He still believes this is the best place for the meet, seeing as how they've already put so much work into it, but he fears the choice was made for naive reasons.

"Little igloos would be very effective sniper blinds, I would think."

Sam smiles a little bit, imagining his massive dripping form, hunkered down in an igloo, taking chunks out of people's heads.

[Zweiblumen]

Doc nods in approval of each step of the plan.  When it comes to the Matrix overwatch he pipes up.
"I can do overwatch remotely.  I don't mind keeping the rental at a safe distance while this goes down.  We've the two satellite uplinks.  Getting a few to scatter around seems like a pretty inexpensive safety ploy.  If nothing else, it'll slow the opposing side down if they try to cut off our comms."

Listening to Sam, he thinks the giant has a good point.  "I think using both Sam and myself as fall backs are a good idea.  I'm happy to act as the remote persona in this transaction, but giving Sam, actually all of us, access to the funds as well seems like a good safety precaution.  I do think that keeping Sam in the field of physical play makes more sense than having me there however.  Again, his survivability is greatest in a confrontation and we are increasing mine by having me physically removed from the situation.

We will need to do one more run into town.  Wish we had brought a smaller vehicle along as well for these small runs.  It's a little worrisome bringing the RV in and out of the camp sight so much.  Is there someplace not too far away we could get them airdropped to?"

He quickly starts checking the options for nearby drone delivery.

[Tecumseh]

Doc's search turns up many potential delivery spots. There are several ranches (and ranch houses) in the nearby vicinity. Excepting the cows, there are plenty of opens spaces around for a drone to drop something off, and enough residents so that it's not a suspicious location for a delivery. Doc doesn't think that there would be any trouble for the team to retrieve something dropped off for them.

While he's browsing some sites for satellite uplinks, an advertisement catches his eye:

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