[rednblack]

Initiative: 16+4d6 33

James will lose 1 off his Initiative at the beginning of CT4 IP3.

Right now he will keep on keeping on with the lock picking.  Once that's finished, he will use a Simple Action to open the back hatch and step inside of the Humvee.  The next pass will be spent hot-wiring. 

CT4 IP1
Continue Locksmithing
Simple: Tag cameras via ARO
Free: Comm locations of cameras to Illeana

CT4 IP2
Complex: Locksmithing

For Locksmith, James has: AGI (11) + Locksmith (4) - Proper Equipment (4) - Wound Mod (1) = 10 dice.
Locksmith: 10d6t5 2
Hopefully, James was almost there.

[rednblack]

In other news, I've been thinking about character advancement.  I'm considering picking up the Strive for Perfection Quality from Assassin's Primer, which will cost 24 karma.  It has the effect of halving the penalties for all Called Shots, but James would be unable to make non-Called Shots, with the exception of Suppressive Fire, if I'm reading it correctly.

I also think a point or two in Hacking would be a good idea.

Mostly posting this here for easy reference when the time comes.

[rednblack]

Is Illeana unconscious, or just collapsed?

Also, is the MARK granted one that James now has on the Humvee?  That will be my working assumption.  If not, he'd better reboot his gear.

Let's run through the next few CTs and then look at some options for dealing with the spirits.

If James has a MARK on the Humvee, he will use Control Device to change the Humvee's Wireless mode to Off.  Since it's an action that doesn't have a test with it, James will roll Electronic Warfare (4) + INT (9) = 13 dice.
Control Device: 13d6t5 5
Not bad.  It's resisted with INT + Firewall, or more likely DR + Firewall.  My understanding is that most vehicles and appliances Run Silent by default, so hopefully this won't automatically catch eyes when he enters the underground highway. 

I'm going to roll 2 Observe in Details.  The first is for Illeana, to see what kind of shape she's in, and the second is for the surrounding area, security, etc.  I'm not sure if Specifically Looking (+3) and Distracted (-2) can co-exist, so I'm going to forgo Environmental mods.  It's entirely reasonable that Towser and/or Hartman will be coming down the stairs as they start to drive off.

James has: INT (9) + Perception (6) + Visual Spec (2) + Vision Enhancement (2) = 19 dice.
Checking Illeana: 19d6t5 8
Checking Unfriendlies: 19d6t5 5
That makes sense.  Illeana is a primary concern right now.

Next, we have Driving.  James has Pilot Groundcraft (4) + REA (7) = 11 dice.
Pilot Test: 11d6t5 4

Next, James will check the glove compartment and central console for any weapons or medkits that may be stashed there.

So about those Spirits. . . This is tricky.  It's also largely dependent on what we consider the boundaries of the Spirit-Summoner Link.  By RAW, this link does not allow for the transmission of visual or auditory data, nor does it allow for telepathic communication between Spirits.  One would think that Spirits would be able to communicate Astrally, but at what distance?  Do they need astral LoS?  Anyway, this can be good for us.  All additional Spirits will need to find James and Illeana, which should be more difficult with them on the move and underground.  A Spirit, or Spirits, trailing them will be more problematic, but again as they move the information that the Spirit can provide the summoner will be more limited.  Ares workaround will probably be to send attacking spirits using the Search power to find the spotter spirit, and then they will be directed to the right blob of technology and can attack from there.

So long as the spirit is following, it won't have a direct LoS on James and Illeana, but considering how fast Spirits can move in the Astral, I'm not sure how best to throw them off the chase.  I would think that blobs of technology would be hard for Spirit's to differentiate, but a high Force Spirit should be able to follow with little trouble.  If James was to do some sort of stunts or try to cause a wreck, or otherwise create havoc on the highway, would that potentially throw their tails off the track?

The other avenue that I see if driving east, then to ground level near the Detroit River, and then into the river itself.  Even Astrally, I wouldn't think that Fire Spirits would want to head into the water, and even if they do follow, there's probably enough algae and other living matter (albeit probably rather toxic) for the pair to escape detection if there's any real distance between them and the Spirits.  After that, maybe some Stealth rolls.

Can James tell if there is a Spirit in the vehicle with them?  I thought that there was a test specifically for this, but I can only find mention of it under the Perceiving Magic section of the CRB on page 280.

For next steps, I see the female pair, if James isn't overreacting to their underreaction potentially trying to intervene, or the humvee catching a few bullets from Hartman and Towser as they descend the stairs. After that we've got driving and potentially dealing with incoming KE, though I would guess that James' approach is on a less-busy and less-obvious avenue of egress, so that probably works in their favor.  Then we've got to figure out the Spirit stuff.

I know you've been busy with work stuff, so if you'd like me to IC what's coming up next I'd be happy to, though the spirit questions need some GM oversight.   

[Tecumseh]

Kat is non-responsive. She is breathing and maybe moaning a bit, so she's not dead. James figures that the spirits have orders to take her alive, otherwise she'd be exploding blood right now.

James doesn't know why a vehicle that he hotwired manually would give him a wireless MARK, so he presumes that it's from another source.

I haven't spent any significant time with Data Trails or Rigger 5 so I don't know all the ins and outs of vehicles, but I always presumed that they had some sort of manual "Wireless On/Off" switch. Without one, you could never turn wireless back on if you turned it off. James can find that and flick it.

As for cars, I always presumed that they do not Run Silent by default, given the trouble this may cause with GridGuide and/or the other vehicles on the road. I think I read somewhere that someone manually driving a vehicle could incur additional intention from the authorities - somewhat akin to driving a red car. It's not illegal and there are enthusiasts who still enjoy manual driving, but might raise an eyebrow.

If you have references that contradict any of this, let me know.

You are correct that Hartman comes barreling down the stairs just as James pulls out and hits the accelerator.

Hmm, what's in the glove compartment. Good question. Let's roll James' Edge to see how lucky he is: Edge for luck: 5d6t5 0 hits, brutal! And nearly a critical glitch. James has hotwired the one Ares vehicle that doesn't contain any Ares products. I'll let you Edge that if you want. (Yes, you may Edge the Edge roll.) Every hit gets you one small item of your choice. Small = breadbox or smaller. So, heavy pistol, R2 medkit, survival knife, etc.

As for the spirits, Illeana made reference to the spirits "getting bigger". James presumes that means high-Force spirits that are the product of Ares' prime magicians. That makes them clever and difficult to trick. Presumably, as long as Ares has eyes on the Humvee - either via drones or security cameras - then they will always know where to send the spirits.

James might wonder why the spirits have not materialized to simply beat him unconscious too. His knowledge of Ares suggests that most of their wage mages will be hermetic, and hermetic magicians use fire spirits to fight. A materialized fire spirit is not necessarily the best tool to render someone unconscious and just unconscious. However, there's nothing stopping Ares from sending other spirits to accomplish the task in different ways, such as earth spirits to use their Movement power to slow down the Humvee, or spirits of man to debuff James, or water spirits to sew confusion or cause accidents. James takes a deep gulp and wonders if it would be easier to sneak out of a dragon's den.

There's some fluff that says that highly-trained operatives are trained to know when an astral form passes through them, since it causes a little shiver. I think that's fluff, not crunch. James does have that training, but it only applies to spirits actually passing through him on the astral, not just in the near vicinity. But, per the above, it's a safe bet.

The female pair does not seem to be intervening at all.

FYI, there are no car ramps to the east. Per the 9/27/16 post, the car exits are 100 meters to the north (toward I-75) or south (toward the river). There are stairs/footramps to the east, which you could drive toward if you wanted to get out on foot.

Hartman chases after the Humvee. He can sprint like a mofo, but - for reasons I may not ever fully understand - trolls sprint like dwarves. Maybe it's because they "lumber" more than they "sprint", but his only hope of catching the Humvee involves taking shortcuts and parkouring the other cars in the parking lot.

Hartman opens fire. Unsurprisingly, he is a superb shot. The back windshield shatters and the back of the vehicle is covered is pockmarks. The Humvee is armored enough that it doesn't slow down, but it's going to make remaining inconspicuous very difficult. However, he misses the tires.

I can turn a lot of the above into an IC post if you want. If you prefer to post, go ahead and take things up to the point where James would be at or near a garage exit.

[rednblack]

Ok, so enemy decker is fragging with James' link, 2 agents within shooting distance, any number of Spirits to frag with the vehicles movement, additional Spirits inside the vehicle, an unconscious Illeana, a car that has 1 been spotted and 2 looks conspicuous even if James could break LoS.  Wow.  This looks like we're pretty well hosed. 

My main ideas going forward are to try to contact the shadow community in Boston and ask for a decker/TM willing to do remote work, pay 5k up front and see if they can brick every camera in the area.  That might slow down response time for KE/Ares, but it still won't do drek against the Spirits.  The Movement power is especially problematic here.  I don't think the same plan could work for shadow mages -- unless they're suicidal, which is hard to come by.

I'm trying to think of who else James could tap, but I'm coming up empty-handed.  He could threaten suicide, but I don't see that one working.

James will be heading out the South entrance, toward the river.

[Tecumseh]

That's a good summary, although there's only one agent within shooting distance (Hartman), not two. James should probably be feeling like he is looking up at a very tall mountain to climb with a very short amount of time to climb it.

Reaching out for some emergency help isn't a bad idea. Doc might be the most readily available, unless you're worried about burning him. Or you can just post an urgent message on some board. Of course, doing either of those things requires you to be Wireless On, and someone is actively trying to tinker with your toys. That said, James probably has enough Initiative to juggle Pilot tests (1 per CT), Full Matrix Defense (1 per CT), with some time left over to place a call or write a message via DNI.

If you want to IC post, go ahead and have fun with it - i.e. narrate to your heart's content - up until the point where James is exiting the parking garage.

[Tecumseh]

Go ahead and give me a roll for Reaction + Pilot Ground Craft. You'll want to roll well.

[rednblack]

Alright, let's see how it goes. James has: REA (7) + Pilot Ground Craft (4) - Wound Penalty (1) = 10 dice.
Pilot Test: 10d6t5 3

Getting ahead of myself.  Let's see about some CFDness to bump up James' Reaction.  I figure he'll be doing this pretty much nonstop as he's trying to make his way out. 
CFD Woo: 6d6t5 2
And the Soak.
CFD Soak: 12d6t5 3

Additional REA dice for Piloting test.
REA: 2d6t5 1
4 Hits total.  I hope that covers it.

James is at 9/12 S 10/10P 2/5 Edge

Can one burn Edge if all Edge has been spent?

[rednblack]

Not sure how granular we want to be here, but James is going to do a Matrix Perception, then an Observe in Detail, and then turn Wireless Off on his link.  He'll reboot in a few seconds to make contact with who is hopefully a friendly decker.

For Matrix Perception, James is mostly looking to see if any of the cameras on the highway are currently offline.  He has: INT (9) + Computer (4) + MP Spec (2) = 15 dice.
Matrix Perception: 15d6t5 5

For Observe in Detail, James is looking for a Materialized Spirit or VTOL, other than the fire Spirit which may or may not be in LoS anymore.  He has: INT (9) + Perception (6) + Visual Spec (2) + Specifically Looking (3) = 20 dice.
Perception + Specifically Looking: 20d6t5 6

I'm going to toss in another Driving test to get that out of the way.  James has: REA (9) + Pilot Ground Craft (4) - Wound Penalty (1) = 12 dice.
Pilot Test: 12d6t5 3
Not great, but probably holding it together. 

What do things look like up ahead, and how far should I push the next IC?

[Tecumseh]

The highway cameras do not look offline. However, that's not to say that they are functioning normally. They could be looping or doing something else while still being online. James will just have to trust, mostly because he's not in a position to do anything else.

James does not see any materialized spirits. He is pretty sure that the Dalmatian drone is still somewhere up there. Whether it's camera is trained on the Humvee or not is more than he can tell.

James maintains control of the Humvee as long as he keeps it going in a (relatively) straight line and doesn't try to make any sharp turns which would cause the vehicle to roll.

The good news is that the rain is suppressing the number of pedestrians, so he doesn't have to worry about crowded crosswalks or babies in strollers. Playing bumper cars with the street traffic is an option, if you like.

The bad news is that the APB appears to have gone out, and security guards are stepping out of nearby shops and will start taking careful shots on the Humvee. The Humvee is armored enough that these will have no real impact (especially since the tires are already gone) but it will force James to keep his head down while simultaneously keeping attention on the Humvee (not that driving down the street on your rims wouldn't already do that).

Take it as far as you want, between then next 100 and 600 meters. Don't drive into the river, but maybe have James confront the question of whether he wants to turn left or right at the end of Woodlawn Ave, or dramatically plow through Hart Plaza.

[rednblack]

I'm going to roll Matrix Perception again.  This time, James is examining his own link for MARKs.  He has 15 dice, as above.
Matrix Perception: 15d6t5 4

For the Stunt, James is trying to drift the Humvee across Jefferson, and then take Bates south to the river.  I'm going to guess this is either a Threshold 3 or 4 maneuver, so here's hoping the dice will be kind to me.  Unsure what to do about the tire issue.  I'm going to call it a -2 and see where that leaves him.  James has: REA (9) + Pilot Ground Craft (4) - Wound Penalty (1) - Vehicle mods (2) = 10 dice.
Detroit Drift: 10d6t5 2
That's not going to do it.  Let's spend some Edge!
Edge Re-roll: 8d6t5 2
Hopefully, 4 covers it.

 

[Tecumseh]

Good use of Edge, as that would not have gone well with two hits. Is James' Edge count 1/5 now?

There are interesting things happening on the astral, but of course James isn't aware of them and Illeana isn't awake to report them. Why don't you give me a Willpower + Logic roll and we'll see if it comes into play.

A few days back you asked if Edge can be burned if the entire pool has been spent. I believe the official answer is "no" but in my opinion burning edge is drastic enough to allow it in some circumstances. I would not allow it for Smackdown (four automatic net hits) but I would allow it for Not Dead Yet (clinging to life). The karma cost of burning edge is usually a fair price to pay for keeping a beloved character alive while also being a reasonable penalty for getting themselves into a situation where they almost died.

[rednblack]

Oh no!  A Spirit escaped James' attentions.  Let's see how he does here.  James has: LOG (4) + WIL (7) = 11 dice.
LOG + WIL: 11d6t5 4
Well, that's not likely to resist everything, but hopefully it keeps James upright and in control of his faculties. 

[Tecumseh]

IC is up. Player 3 has entered the game. You should decide how you want to react to them, and what (if anything) you want to do about the spirits that have emerged. If you know what you want to do but aren't sure how far to push things, go ahead and give me your outline and I'll tell you what the immediate result would be.

[rednblack]

So, 2 metas in a Ford-owned vehicle, both wearing cowls and speaking German?  Interesting.

Let's see how James makes sense of this.  Most obvious interpretation is SK forces converging on them.  As such, they may be SK military, or a Corporate Special Forces -- SK Prime?  I'm going to make a Military Knowledge roll: LOG (4) + Military (4) + Special Forces/Corporate Spec (2) = 10 dice.
Military + Spec: 10d6t5 3
Forgot Wound Penalty.  Dropping from the right does not affect hits.

Does the Great Form Spirit appear hostile?  Rolling Judge Intentions.  I'm imagining a rather high Threshold for interpreting Spirits, combined with its size, which seems imposing on its own.  Judge Intentions is 14 dice, -1 for Wound Penalty.
Judge Intentions: 13d6t5 7
Attribute Only test means no Limit, correct?

I'm also going to make a Magic Traditions roll, to see if there is anything the pair are wearing, acting, etc. that might tip James off about what tradition they follow.  Even with a good roll, if no clues exist, it's perfectly fine to just hand wave this one away.  James has: LOG (4) + Magic Traditions (2) = 6 dice.
Magic Traditions: 6d6t5 1
No need.

Assuming nothing in those rolls comes up as game changers, James is inclined to go with them.  He'll leap over to the Rover, take cover, and start talking frantically about getting a mana barrier up around Illeana and him. Then he's going to ask for a gun.  Hopefully, they'll be on their way shortly.