[Jayde Moon]

As the team begins their introductions and all seems set, Lucien nods and leaves the team to it

[Turkish]

"I agree that time is of the essence. My tactical support drone is back home, so I'd have go clear across town to northeast Auburn if it will be needed. I'm hoping that for this first leg, we won't. I have plenty of room inside the Bulldog, but if you all want to take your own transportation, that is fine too. Either way, I think we shold start heading to the towers." Van Guard pauses briefly. "My console is pretty secure, but I'm sure your deck is more so. I will have my van follow your truck, so I can stay in range, if you prefer."

[Agleaca]

After the Johson leaves, he removes his helmet and speaks up, "My names Angus don't bother looking it up its not there. My skill set include what you would expect of a mob hit man because frankly I am one. I'm good with heavy weapons, knives, and explosives, but I can be quite if the need is there." He pauses for a bit thinking of anything he forgot. "And just because I'm good at killing doesn't mean I have to go that route if the group feels that the nonlethal option is best I will strive to follow suit." He pauses once more. "Here is my come code it is secure, it has to be. I'll head out now on my bike and meet you there. We can keep the conversation going in transit. Oh and I did bring my instruments with me in case we need percussion when we get there.' At that he puts his helmet back on and walks back to his bike and leaveS barring anything else comes from the group.

[obidancer]

She listened carefully to everybody introducing themselves and added.
As I mentioned you can call me Kachina or Kay. I am a Shaman of the Thunderbird Totem. I too have a special affinity with the Spirits and I am trained in all forms of interrogation techniques and was an efficient scout back in my time with the NAN Military.
But let's continue this conversation on our way. I came with a jackrabbit, but if you don't mind Vanguard, I will ride with you in your van. Options are great, but there's no need to arrive with too many vehicles.You and I in the Van, Forty and Revener in the Gopher, Angus and Henway on their bikes.

She followed Vanguard to his van after picking up a few "essentials" in her own car.

Once in the Van, and not connected to the PAN just yet, she said to Vangard:
Thank you for diffusing the situation with Forty. It was very helpful. Considering, we're still getting an ok deal out of it.

The group made their way to the SHiawase Tower while keeping the chatting on their Comlink.

[Beta]

"Hoi Kachina, Thunderbird sisters!

"Sounds like you know a drek load more about the magic biz than I do.  The one real teacher I ever talked to figured that decades tryin' to hide my magic fragged it right up; that's why he got me started on alchemy 'cause so much else doesn't work right.  He couldn't get me to see the spirit world, so most of the time I just have a spirit tell me what's what over there. That uses up services faster, natch.  If you can do all that astral stuff, I'll let you tell me what's what, or if you don't wanna open to that side just let me know if you want my spirit to report."

"Ah frag it--let's just say you call all the shots on magic.  My spirits will help support whatever your doin'.  Unless drek hits the fan and I don't have word from you; then I'll improvise.  Heh, I can almost hear everyone worrying about what that could mean. If we know we're going into drek and might be seperated, I can set up a Mind Link preparation that can give us a bit of safe communication, just to make everyone less worried about me blowing things up, but we have to start by touching, and the link will only last one to a few minutes.  Speaking of, I've one prep ready, should be good for anytime in the next close to three more hours -- way better than my usual -- dunno that we need it for this next bit, but if any of you got good use for it, just shout."

"Just so you know the shots you can call, right now I have up an Air spirit with fear and a lightning attack, that is good for a few services.  Air is what I'm best at by the way.  I can switch out to Water, Beast, Man, or Plant--but summoning this greedy bugger took a bit out of me, I should be careful what I do or I'll end up staggering around being more stupid than usual.  Just to make sure you know, Plant can help protect against spells -- since I can't do that counterspelling stuff, Plant is my go-to if I'm worried about magic.  The rest of 'em you probably know all about."

[Yok]

Henway nods and makes his way to his Harley, and follows the other vehicles towards the Shiawase Tower while checking in via commlink to the rest of the team.  Given his size and the throaty rumble of his bike, it's tough to not stand out too much but he avoids doing anything additional to attract attention to himself.

After verifying the security of the commlink, he clarifies his earlier comments about what he can bring to the table.  Just so's it's clear, when I say big toys I'm talkin' 'bout the Ingram Valiant wit a gyro mount.  If we needs ta be less obvious I can go wit' a FN-HAR, and like I already said I usually have da Ruger on me.  I know da streets pretty good, and I know how da orgs work but prolly not as good as Angus since it sounds like dat's his usual biz.  Youse make sure we get in, I'll make sure we get out.

[Turkish]

As Kachina is getting into the front passenger seat, VanGuard opens the side door and instructs the Fly Boys to land in the back row of seats and power down.  He then secures them so that any bumps in the road will not damage the drones.  He then closes the door and climbs his way to the front seat.

Thank you for diffusing the situation with Forty. It was very helpful. Considering, we're still getting an ok deal out of it.

"I did what had to be done, I need this pay day and I am glad that we were able to salvage it.  Lets go ahead and get this party started, shall we?"

With that, VanGuard gestures instructions for the van to follow Ravener's truck. Once in range of Ravener, he then gestures a few commands to his console to patch into Ravener's PAN.

>> Team [VanGuard]:  VanGuard here, is everyone connected? <<

Once everyone has confirmed their presence on Ravener's PAN:

>> Team [VanGuard]: Alright, the first order of business should be establishing a group leader to make the hard decisions. Once we have taken care of that, we can discuss the immediate concerns of the job. <<

[Jayde Moon]

The ride to Shiawase Tower is uneventful, allowing the team the opportunity to make the standard first meet small talk.  Once there, it is plain to see that something is going on.  News crews are congregated near the front, where Shiawase Corporate Security are keeping folks back.  Many of the folks appear to be wage slaves trying to get to work with an equivalent amount of curious onlookers.

Not wanting to be spotted out front, you quickly maneuver around the back and park, hopping out and heading to a rear entrance.  There are a couple of Shiawase CorpSec officers there and they stop you.  Mentioning Lieutenant Harris, they call him over and he quickly ascertains your purpose.  He nods to the two guards and then escorts you in through the back door.  He takes you up to the third floor.

"It's an odd thing.  They didn't go for any of the HVTs that work here, no extractions, just right over to the HR Department where we make assignments.  Who would attack an HR Department this viciously?"

And 'viciously' is correct as he opens the door and leads you to the cubicle farm, the smell of blood still heavy in the air.

[WillAsher]

Ravener nods to his fellow runners as he sends mark requests to their comlinks.  After getting everyone's comlink onto his personal PAN, he mentally adjusts the deck for maximum security and stealth.  During the drive he monitors the PAN for any intrusion, and generally keeps an eye out for trouble.  If we end up needing to get gear, I can help cover overwatch with my sniper rifle...but I will have to go pick it up.  Not something I bring to a public meet.  Otherwise I will cover Matrix investigations and overwatch.  Anything I should be looking for right away?

Turning to Forty, he mentions 'I understand about not learning magic til after you have already messed it up.  Didn't even know I was awakened until after I got my first Datajack and bioware.  That was the first time Raven came to me.  Not that I was every going to be a Shaman like my grandfather was, but still dealing with learning it.  Pretty limited, just an Adept focused on stealth and infiltration really.'

After arriving with the rest of the team, Ravener makes sure he is recording everything and looking our for hidden icons.  After seeing the devastation done to the HR Department he mutters, 'Someone really didn't like getting their pay screwed up.'  Turning to Lieutenant Harris he asks, 'Any chance I can get access to the camera feeds from the surrounding halls, and maybe a list of the people who recently had problems with the HR department?'

[Beta]

>> Team [VanGuard]: Alright, the first order of business should be establishing a group leader to make the hard decisions. Once we have taken care of that, we can discuss the immediate concerns of the job. <<

Upon hearing this suggestion, Forty tries to hide her eye-roll from Ravener, then chips in "Sure ain't me.  In a fight, sounds like the trolls know what's what." Only in her own head does she add And I don't trust as leader anybody who suggests giving power to a leader--especially not if that person is a human.  Maybe you just like a 'proper order' to things Vanguard, but I'm keeping an eye on you.
   
As Ravener is parking, Forty makes an effort to lock the man's scent into her memory--in the confines of the truck, even with the ventilation on, the scent seems clear.  She wills her sense of smell to fade back to its unenhanced state, just to be safe--then decides that on something else, she has to take a chance and not play it safe.

As Ravener is about to get out, Forty quickly murmers "I know deckers ain't like in some of the trids, where they are breaking into everything near them all the fraggin' time.  I don't think you'll be in the HR files while we're here, but I what I think and what happens don't always line up so well.  So I'm gonna ask this just in case: if you end up in there, and have the time, I'd pay you a grand for the files on a former employee, name of either Sylvia Sakamoto or Sylvia Peron.  Nobody important, except to me.  I don't want you taking chances that would make it worth more than a grand, 'cause this ain't why we are here.  But if you get 'em, you get the nuyen and I owe you one." To herself she adds Besides, aside from the grand of our advance, I don't have much I could pay you.

She stays quiet and with the group during the formalities of getting admitted, wondering if she did the right thing.  She feels like what went on while Shiawase is part of why her sister is broken, but was it right to ask an outsider to get involved?

She is still chewing over that thought, wishing she had made a logic preparation she could pop to help her think more clearly, when she realizes they have been escorted to the crime scene.  That in fact she's been blankly staring at mutilated bodies for several seconds already. Heh, guess they ain't so used to death around here--I've seen as bad when the Red Plague and The Lincoln Legion have it out.  Guess I better get my head out of the clouds and help figure out what's what, cause some of the other's don't look like they are doing so well. 

With that she looks around curiously, and wills her sense of smell back to full ability level.

[Yok]

Following the other vehicles to the rear of the building, Henway notes the looks he gets from the security officers as he climbs off of his bike, pulling himself up to his full height.  He remains quiet as the others speak, first to the officers and then to the Lieutenant that they had been told to find.

He relaxes slightly as Harris leads them inside, listening to his comments on the way to the third floor.  When the door opens, in spite of knowing what was on the other side he can feel his lunch starting to rise but forces it back down, thinking  Drek, dat chili soyburger wasn't so good da second time around.  Frag me, if I stay in here I'm gonna spew all over da scene.  Ain't zactly how I want da rest of da crew ta see me react. 

Doing his not very convincing best to conceal how disturbed the actual scene has made him feel, Henway turns around and steps back through the door, announcing I ain't much use lookin' for clues and dat drek, so I'll just make sure nobody bodders da rest of youse while you check da place out.  That said, the frame of the massive troll fills the doorway, blocking anyone not part of the team or Harris from coming or going.

[Turkish]

VanGuard thinks to himself, while awaiting replies, "This sure is a quiet bunch and no one is stepping up to take the lead.  This isn't good, I sure as frag don't want that job."

Finally arriving at Shiawase Towers, VanGuard opts for a parking spot with good line of sight of everyone's vehicles and gestures a series of commands so that the Van will ping his image link if anyone approaches any of the vehicles.  "Well, we are here.  Time to see just how horrific this attack was.  Hopefully we find a solid clue.  We should probably be careful of any red herrings though." VanGuard states towards Kachina as he gets the Fly Boys ready to go once more.

With the drones ready, he joins the group assembled around the Lieutenant.

"It's an odd thing.  They didn't go for any of the HVTs that work here, no extractions, just right over to the HR Department where we make assignments.  Who would attack an HR Department this viciously?"

And 'viciously' is correct as he opens the door and leads you to the cubicle farm, the smell of blood still heavy in the air.

VanGuard dry heaves a couple times before getting his gag reflex under control. "What. the. frag." VanGuard states while still covering his mouth and nose with one hand. With his other hand, he gestures his drones to begin surveying the carnage and to pipe their cameras to his image link. Perhaps if I can piece together how the attack went down, we can start ruling out (or ruling in, as the case may be) the potential suspects.  He makes sure to leave no stones unturned, including checking the ceiling and any ventilation ducts.

[Agleaca]

As they come to the building he gives his two cents on leadership, "The Leader should be the one who is most sensitive about how this job gets done. They ultimately will be the one that challenges whoever we put in place. My way may be a bit cold in comparison to one of you, but I'm used to working under someone instructions and can be pretty flexible. So if you feel this description fits, or you think you have everyone's best interest in mind i say have a go and we'll work from there."
Angus then enters the building with every one else, and to him viewing the scene is like a memory. The first day he held Lilith springs forward like a viper, blood everywhere, that same stench that never leaves you. He had become a full member of the family that day, and turned twelve though that didn’t seem to matter anymore. He came back to the scene shaken and a little queasy. Trying to shut out the memory he surveys the scene as a professional. It started to intrigue him. It wasn’t mindless enjoyment it was ruthless efficiency that lead this strike. “What could be in the HR department that anyone would want?  Employee tax information, homes of record maybe? Could they be searching for a specific individual? Could we check to see if they accessed anything in the hr system?” He sees a man to close to his memories and grimaces as his stomach does gymnastics. He's thankful for the full helmet covering his discomfort.

[Beta]

Looking at how queasy most of the group is, Forty has to wonder "Maybe they were right, and I am that cold blooded.  Shouldn't I be bothered by this?"  But then she notices that Kachina doesn't seem overly bothered, and decides "I guess Thunderbird doesn't mind entrails so much, that's all."  Thinking about Thunderbird, she asks her current spirit, 'Bolt,' to come join her, while staying astral.  It should be interesting to see if there are wards in its way or not.

And since Kachina looks like the most useful of the group for now, Forty moves closer to her and quietly suggests "Once you are happy with the magic check on things, I bet you could get a lot out of the Lieutenant.  I can help make nicey-nicey -- honest!  But I'm not so good at tricking people.  Too bad we couldn't get him in a cell for ten minutes, bet we could scare out of him everything back to when he stole a cookie in kindergarten." 

With that though safely out of her head, she starts paying attention to the actual bodies.  What races and what ethnicities are they?  Shiawase is infamous for prefering Japanese workers in its higher ranks, and the Japancorps are all a bunch of fragging racists about metahumans, so she's interested to see what kind of bodies have been left behind.

[obidancer]

Kachina didn't push the question of the leader. She had volunteered on the last group she ran with, and it went pretty well. She had the experience, knowledge and desire. Maybe a natural instinct of Alpha female, maybe the strength of the Thunderbird was in her. But she was still debating whether she should volunteer for this one, or take more of a back seat and observe. 

They arrived at the Shiawase Tower, and were ushered inside. As she expected after looking at the pictures, the scene just reminded her of her tribe massacre, minus maybe less fire damage and more cutting involved. She's had those images in her head for too long to somehow feel bothered by what she was seeing. Sadly.
She knew however that this place would be strong in emotion, she hoped the sooner she would assense it the less she'd be effected by it... giving it a time to settle.

Assensing the crime scene: 14d6t5 3

She let her senses drift into the Astral world. The dead had lost their aura but more was there...

She barely finished and switched back to her meat senses than Forty was by her side whispering into her ear. She looked at the Lieutenant. I'm sure we could, my dear. But  let's keep him on our side for as long as possible.

She walked passed and over a body to get to him. I am sorry for this vicious crimes, Lieutenant Harris. Why it happened here is indeed a mystery, but would you have already any information on 'how' they did it? Like is there any evidence of breaking in anywhere inside the building? or how security measures were bypassed?