[Jack_Spade]

[Friday December 13th, 2075; Hells Kitchen, Puyallup]
Thorn sighed. There was only one direction and that was forward. Without anymore hesitation he went across the field directly toward their contacts T-bird.

[adamu]

Al breathed a secret sigh of relief. For all his big talk, he vastly preferred the maybe-find-a-mmoment's-shelter option to the lying-in-the-mud option. Decision made, he fell in behind thorn.

He was getting way too old for all this walking around stuff anyway.

[Csjarrat]

Cog does his best to steady his rifle long enough to gaze down its scope but lost the battle and instead tried to keep his lunch down. His clothes retained a good amount of heat thanks to their insulation but being immersed didn't really help his cause for warm dry legs.
The deafening silence was pleasant, it was one of the things he enjoyed most about the wilderness; no hum of air processors, traffic noise or aircraft screaming overhead. He stared down the scope of the rifle, diligently keeping an eye out for any approaching trouble and the breakwater as the sub surfaced jolted him from his concentration.
shit the Fucking bed! Think that goes down as entrance of the year!
Slinging his rifle, he grabs his kit bag and drags it out of the stowage and helps the others with theirs

[saithor]

Gunther quickly pressed the healing and shadow preparations into Al's hands before he walked off. He pointed at the healing preparation. "Thisss one, if you get hurt, unssstop it and drink. The other one, if you need cover, ssmasssh it agaissssnt the ground." With that the changeling looked for a position from which he could see the exchange as it happened and and have a modicum of cover.

[ScytheKnight]

{Escort}

Ratchet sighed when she saw the boat sitting out in the water. Why couldn't they just got something that let us board from land? Likely because they are trying not to leave traces. the mixed race dwarf grimaces and sighs, Bear was of course right I know, doesn't mean I have to like it.. Without much else for it she easily wades out to the boat, even as the water comes up to her chest at times leaving her partly wading and partly swimming.

Hauling herself up onto the boat she takes some time checking her supplies, making sure none had been fouled by the water, thankfully she'd taken the precaution of putting everything in sealed plastic bags due to the weather and everything was fine. Shivering slightly she gladly accepted a swig of the drink, grimacing slightly at the burning down her throat.

As the boat traveling out into the chop the dwarf found an out of the way spot to kneel and meditate. It was difficult at first, but as her breathing slowed she attuned more to the boat and the water it traveled on. As her body stated to adjust automatically to the choppy movements of the boat her mind and spirit steadied, almost unconsciously she opened her mind to the Astral. The astral had always been a bewildering spectacle to her, even to the point of relying on magic to work out magical auras.

The astral turbulence of the water didn't help matters, but she could feel how her relaxed body was adapting to its movements. In a moment of insight she relaxed her mind as well, rather than trying to understand, she let understanding come to her, just as she was letting her body compensate rather than trying to move to compensate. As she did she could feel the astral currents of the water, how it rose and fell much like the waves. Turning her attention to her companions she could see the black scarring of augmentations on their aruas, the disturbance of the seasickness.

Again, she didn't try to understand, she simply let the understanding come to her.

In her state, she had a few moments forewarning, she could feel the disturbance in the astral, she could feel the weaving of magic as the submersible surfaced in complete silence. Her body, mind and spirit calm she closed down her astral sight and opened her physical eyes again, murmuring a quiet prayer of thanks to the Goddess for the new insight.

[SgtBoomCloud]

"Two and two...probably for the best.  Once the exchange goes down, if we want to hole up for some warmth and supplies, let me know.  I'm sure I can work something out here"   The older man gave a grin and a thumbs up as he and Gunther waved off Thorn and Al, the human joining the masked figure to find a vantage point.

Once they set up shop, Pinion nestled in behind some cover, nodding to the other.  "Let me have a look...people like tech, so we may yet know if they're walking into something..."  Going limp, the man stretched his consciousness out into the virtual word of the Matrix, taking a sweep around the meetup area for what icons populated it, his clockwork persona hovering about under what seemed to be personal helicopter blades.

Matrix Perception: 9d6t5 5

[adamu]

[Tech Fetch]

Al's eyebrows rose in surprise at the unexpected bottles shoved into his hands, along with Gunther's hissed explanation. Magic potions now? Damn, whenever he thought he'd seen it all...this must be what the guy was cooking up in his kitchen. Seemed a bit sketchy, especially the idea of drinking one, but he reckoned if Bit trusted the guy enough to read him in on this job, that was good enough for Al.

"Muchos gracias, amigo," was all that Al had the chance to mutter before the gas-masked fellow headed off for a rock outcropping, closely followed by Pinion. So they were going to have an overwatch, good, though he pitied the poor fellows stuck out in the rain.

Once they were out of sight, Al pinged them with a commcheck, making sure they had his commcode. <<Y'all see anything, yer as close as ol' Al's earbud,>> he spoke into his microtransceiver, which he kept linked to his comm, which in turn would send voice or convert to text, depending on the receiver's configuration. <<An' Pin, you gon' keep runnin' this mule, or else ya got a manual remote for us?>>

[ChromeZephyr]

[Friday December 13, 2075; Dupont, Ft. Lewis] {Escort Team}

Scrapheap scowled as he waded into the cold water of the Sound, holding his commlink and assault rifle over his head to keep them dry.  It didn't take long to get to the boat, but he knew the ride out to wherever they were headed would be miserable in seawater-soaked clothing.  He was right, and by the time the submersible's tower broke the surface his jaw ached from gritting his teeth against the numbing chill in his legs.  Need ta remember ta thump Nimbus upside da head f'r dis.  Who sends a team inta da damn Sound in Dec'mber?

A few choice curses slipped out into the unnatural silence of the submarine's arrival, and it took a second to regain his composure at the unexpected surfacing. Scrap took the Kalashnikov gladly when Cog handed it to him, slinging it back over his shoulder and frowning at the AR hovering over the hatch.  "First a cold bath, 'den a ride in a tin can.  Dis is jus' gettin' better 'n better."  He pulled himself onto the hull of the sub and headed up the ladder towards whoever Nimbus had sent them to meet.

[Aria]

@Tech Fetch
[Friday December 13th, 2075; Mayday Field, Hells Kitchen, Puyallup]

As you clear the notional border of Mayday field the few nonchalant looking guards perk up and take an interest in you, although nobody approaches you…it is assumed that if you are here you are here on business, and the less others know about that business the better for everybody!

You make your way out of the ash towards the Flying Dutchman.  It’s an older T-bird but for those with an eye for such things it is well maintained with just the right amount of customisation.  A fuelling bowser is pumping liquid gold, in the form of high performance jet fuel, into the short stubby craft.

The smuggler greats you with a wave and nods approvingly at the mule drone  “you’re gonna need that, she’s a heavy bastard and no mistake!”

Huddled down against the rising wind Gunther and Pinion can only watch wistfully as Al and Thorn approach a heated location…

@Escort
[Friday December 13th, 2075; The Sound, somewhere off the Seattle shoreline]

The Otter is tied off against the side of the conning tower, bumping gently against the side of the leviathan like a calf with its mother.  The sub, seen up close, is clearly old, perhaps pushing thirty years.  It’s a giant Maersk cargo sub, perhaps two hundred meters long and twenty five or so across the beam, gods only knows how deep she goes beneath you.  It is slightly surreal seeing the waves slap against its flanks and yet hear nothing…

A hatch opens in front of the tower and a figure emerges, battling against the wind and spray, to throw out a rope ladder to the bobbing boat.  The five of you, barring any sudden change of heart, cling on and hoist yourself up the side of the vessel and towards the waiting figure.  A quick scramble down a ladder and you are at least in to the dry and out of that pernicious wind driven spray that was making life so uncomfortable.

A couple of kids streak by you in the companionway, clearly chattering animatedly to each other, but without any sound, ARO communications seem to be the way to go here, and they are clearly used to it…

You’re welcome committee consists of one shortish human woman of indeterminate middle age dressed in loose fatigues

<<Welcome on board the Stillwater.  I am Helen, which of you is Clock?  Right, hydro is down there, they will be glad to see you, follow the AROs and you can’t go wrong.  The rest of you, you have the run of the boat except for engineering and medical, have fun.  We should be out of silent running in the next hour and then things will be a bit more comfortable.  Any questions give me a shout or ask whoever is about.  Thanks for bringing Clock out here, he will hopefully be able to sort our systems out and we can get you all back to dry land!>>

[adamu]

[Tech Fetch]

Mayday Field.

Sure it was a den of thieves and cutthroats. But watching the flurry of efficient activity swirling about the place, Al was reminded of why smugglers were his favorite kind of lawbreaker. Hell, he'd run a few borders himself, back in his London days, and had slept just fine at night. The smell of jet fuel, the splash of forklifts shifting cargo across ash puddles, the hum of productive activity all stood in stark contrast to the lazy degeneracy of places like the Crime Mall just a few clicks up north. That place was about exploiting the weak to feed the appetites of the depraved, with half the goods ill-gotten from the hardworking, and the other half designed to help pillage them some more. Everyone in that pit was about doing all they could to skate by for nothing. But here, these folks knew how to do a day's work. Of course he had no illusions about completely victimless cargoes, but mostly these people were filling a market need created by artificial rules and strictures designed to keep the fatcats and their cronies rich and the bureaucratic bean counters busy.

Of course, most would still rob him blind if he gave them half a chance.

So once the pleasantries were exchanged, he turned down invitations to go eat and dry off until the cell was loaded onto their drone, watching every step of the process. Jacking them here would be messy, and costly to reps. But the last thing he needed was some jackass to slap an RFID on their rig, track them back through Hell's Kitchen, and hit them when they were isolated out there. Only when it was loaded did he think about grabbing some coffee, and then he was quick, thinking of his companions out on the rocks.

[saithor]

"Remind me next time I work with you people, to never take the cold jobssss." Gunther said as he shivered, although at least he had managed to only have drawn-out S with that sentence. "How cold can thisss dump of a town get anyway. Ssseemsss asss sssoon asss it heatsss up another ssstorm comesss in." He said to Pinion. He was just trying to make small talk as he was forced to watch Al and Thorn enjoy the heat while his more cold-blooed body had to endure the freezing winds. Could be worse, at least he didn't live in London or some other place north.

[Jack_Spade]

Thorn helped to unload and secure their cargo - he even got warmed up a bit thanks to the hot air flowing from the idling vent of the T-bird.
He had lost Al from sight only for a minute but could smell the coffee when he came back.
"Oy, any chance you brought enough for all of us?"

[adamu]

"Daniel inna lions' den, boy, if'n ya think ol' Al's the sort ta leave his cold compadres hangin', then ya got some catchin' up ta do." The short man hauled a big thermos out from under his brown bomber jacket, where he'd been carrying it in an attempt to get a bit warmer. "Coffee were cheap. The thermos? Not so much - cost me our last three beers an' a pack o' Luckies ta boot."

He walked around the mule drone, examining the stowage.

"We ready ta vamanos? Sooner we leave, sooner we git back."

[Jack_Spade]

"Ah, good man. Jupp, as far as I'm concerned that thing won't budge even if the whole rig should fall of a cliff. Not that there should be a lot of cliffs on the way back." Thorn patted the taunt tension cord.
"Let's move back. No need to advertise we even were here."

[adamu]

Al didn't know this Thorn guy well, but he liked the way he thought.

As they started guiding the big drone back the way they'd come, he asked, "So I hear yer knockin' heads over ta that Red Place whorehouse back inna world. That a good gig, all that tail flouncin' 'round?"