[Raiderjoseph]

(As narrated by Morgan Freeman)

It had been a bad night. The Johnson… and his troll bodyguards. Had second thoughts about the job. Time to go home. Buts that’s how it is in the shadows though. One minute your doing million nuyen jobs. The next, the million nuyen job was testing Sader-Krupp security measures. Our runners step into a Stuffer Shack. Why? A question worthy of the great thinkers of yore. For who can truly understand metahuman nature? Who among us can truly determine the true motive of sentient thought? Who can claim such vast insight as to truly understand a man? Perhaps they saw the Stuffer Shack as a symbol of hope, something to hang onto to keep their spirits up. Perhaps they sought the unseen knowledge of experience. For the events that would happen in that stuffer shack would never repeat. Perhaps they themselves were unsure, simply drawn for the sake of going. Perhaps they wanted food, but this one was the most enigmatic of all. Stuffer shack is subpar at best. We may never know the real reason. It will remain a great mystery for only the deties to truly ponder. But they did go. Within they met with the aisles of product. Each a vibrant variation of its nearby products. A reasonably attractive elvish women is trying to sooth her baby as she looks at baby formula. A symbol of the motherly bond between a mother and child. A dwarf sipping on a soda on the opposite side. A symbol of the consumerism that drove the 6th World. But one thing was certain… the janitor was asleep in the far corner. Our runners decided to make the choices that could impact their entire future…

[Herr Brackhaus]

As he stepped into the Stuffer Shack, Marcus looked around at the aisles of consumer grade products and realized how much he missed the nutrient paste they'd fed him in the lab.

"Soy just doesn't taste... right... no matter how much artificial flavoring you put in it", he thought to himself as he studied the layout in the manner that had been ingrained in him by tutors during his early childhood. Security cameras; position and number of people in his immediate vicinity; doors, windows, and other entrances; possible obvious threats; all were visually scanned and committed to memory in short order as he walked down the aisles from the entrance, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

He took note of the elven mother holding her baby as he walked, thinking about how odd children were. "No cares in the world. Such strange creatures, but I guess we were all children once. Tiny humans. Blech..." Dismissing his disgust for the dregs of meat bags in the store as he made it to the end of the aisles, he turned around and gave each and every one of them a hard stare, looking for out-of-place mannerisms and possible concealed weapons. "These people and their daily struggles. How do they get out of the bed in the morning? How can they not realize that their existence is pointless?" he thought to himself as he looked at them, a slight sneer forming on his face at the mere thought of having to deal with people who were so obviously below him.


Not sure about the layout of this place, but Marcus would have walked straight to the end of the store from the entrance, looking down each aisle for anything that stood out, then taking a closer look at the other people there.

Looking around the store in general:
Perception (Visual) 5 (+2)  + Intuition 4 + Hawk Eye 1 [Mental 5]: 12d6t5 2 [4, 6, 1, 3, 4, 4, 4, 3, 2, 5, 4, 4]

Taking a closer look at the other occupants, excluding my own team members:
Perception (Visual) 5 (+2)  + Intuition 4 + Hawk Eye 1 + Specifically Looking 3 [Mental 5]: 15d6t5 4 [4, 1, 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 5, 6, 6, 5, 3, 2, 3]

Marcus would be wearing his Ares Victory Rapid Transit and Forearm Guards under the Lined Coat for a total AV of 14 (with Orthoskin), as well as a baseball cap with trodes and his shock gloves, a biomonitor, and a micro-transceiver earpiece and subvocal microphone.

Under the lined coat he would be actively concealing the survival knife with a concealability modifier of -4, the Remington Suppressor in a concealed quick-draw holster with a concealability modifier of -3, and 3 spare extended clips with a concealability modifier of -3.

Finally, he'd be carrying his EvoTech Himitsu in normal mode if the last job was considered over, with his rating 4 Fake SIN with appropriate licenses for his gear broadcasting, as well as a normal flashlight. This is his default loadout unless otherwise notified; the rest of his gear is stashed either in the car or the smuggling compartment of same. Any gear with a wireless bonus is slaved to his commlink, which for now is just the biomonitor. Everything else is wireless off at this time, and his pain editor is (always) active.

[Irn0rchid]

Jenny bounds through the door of the Shack, quickly passing up Marcus, "Move it man, a girl's got needs!" As she crosses the floor she gritches to herself, "That was a whole lot of wasted time for a whole lot of nothing! Everything seemed set with Mr. J, then suddenly, nothing! Now I need to wash this gak off my face..." Beelining for the sleeping janitor, she nudges him awake, "Hey chummer, you guys got a bathroom in here I can use?" She beams a smile at him.

Looks like we're all describing our current status, so assuming Jenny was doing facey things prior to this she'd be wearing her Mortimer of London set with the Colt Agent (gel rounds), silencer, and spare clips (APDS) concealed. Avalon is turned off and in a pocket, Sekretar is on with the rating 4 SIN and with the Agent actively monitoring her social media scores. She's got makeup/disguise on her face appropriate to the desires of the Mr. Johnson they just finished with and she's wearing her thermo contacts and earbuds. Respirator and slap patches in her pockets.

Presumably her car is parked outside with her backpack of the rest of her gear and the drones in their covered bays and we all caravaned over here?

[Bewilderbeast]

Zen floats* into the Stuffer Shack, his half-lidded gaze taking in the bleak, fluorescent-illuminated surroundings with all the serenity of a saint. Tonight was a colossal disappointment; the run had been a bust, and with nothing better to do with his evening, he decided to follow Jenny and Marcus to the Stuffer Shack. Not really his scene, of course, but Osada genuinely doubted if anyone truly wanted to be at a Stuffer Shack. It was the gastronomic equivalent of Purgatory, after all.

Having expected  a run, Zen was loaded for bear. He'd left his AK in the trunk of his Ford Americar outside (it was mostly for show, anyway, a prop to deter the inevitable calls of "geek the mage!"), but he was still wearing his bulky, letterman-style armor jacket. On the back, in between a couple of rather unsubtle pauldron-like attachments, was an image of a ball of flame, flickering a bit with AR enhancement. He'd picked the jacket as an homage to the fire-bringer of his dreams, but at his moment he wished he'd worn something a bit more comfortable At least his focus still thudded reassuringly against his chest with each step - a golden pendant twisted into an ouroboros, its sinewy contours etched with the full text of the Emerald Tablet in tiny, hand-carved font.

Jandering lazily through the isles, if Zen was at all curious about the other patrons of the Shack, he didn't show it. Osada eventually stopped by a display long enough to actually look at the merchandise. He picked up a crinkly package of "Megabeast Power Dehydrogenated Seaweed and Whey Protein Multi-Crackers," inspecting it like it was something he'd discovered on the sole of his shoe. "Well, tonight was pointless," he muttered in English to nobody in particular (though within earshot of his teammates).

*Not literally. Though he could have if he wanted to.

[Herr Brackhaus]

Satisfied that the other customers presented no real threat, Marcus put his hands in his pockets and started pacing up and down the aisles, looking for something at least semi-edible.

"Well, tonight was pointless" Zen muttered from a few shelves down, and Jenny seemed to be pestering the janitor for a restroom. He spared a glance for the girl as he made his way to the drinks dispensers, picking up a cheap bottle of synthahol on the way. "I have to give it to her; she's got some real skills. Don't think I've seen her wear the same face twice" he thought while browsing the meager selection. "What I wouldn't give for some Hurlg right now" he sighed out loud.

Settling for a soykaf he intended to make into a Seattle Screamer, half kaf half pure synthahol, the young man crossed his arms over his chest and stood stock still as he waited for the kaf to pour. The weight of the machine pistol in it's holster felt comforting, hidden as it was underneath the long synthetic trench coat he preferred. The Ares Victory Rapid Transit he wore under the trench coat wasn't too out of place for a joint like this, but as the elf woman he'd stared down moved away from him he wondered idly how these sheep really perceived him.

Zen was a different story entirely, and Marcus watched as he picked up some prepacked junk off a shelf. "Find anything good?" he said with a grin for the spellslinger.

[Raiderjoseph]

The janitor sleepily opens his eyes and looks at Jenny before nodding to a room nearby and dozing off.

[Irn0rchid]

With a quick "Be right back!" to her compatriots, Jenny heads to the indicated door and gingerly pushes it open with her shoe. Peering inside, she's pleasantly surprised to see that the janitor had apparently been doing his job before falling asleep. Shoving the door open the rest of the way she heads to the sink and promptly goes to work with water, towels, and makeup remover to purge her face of the disguise. Finally clean, she steps back and looks up into the mirror, grinning, as her skin color darkens noticeably and her hair morphs from long and blonde into a red pixie cut. "So typical! Blonde, Nordic... couldn't give him tall though! Guys are so easy," she thinks to herself before adjusting her outfit. "Bit too fancy for the Shack, but oh well, what can you do?" Feeling much better without the drek on her face, she finishes up her business and heads back out into the store proper.

[Bewilderbeast]

Zen nods vaguely in Jenny's direction, his eyes still locked on the bag of processed chips. "Find anything good?" Marcus asked him, and Zen was quiet for a moment. His expression was blank and inscrutable, as usual, but when he finally answered, his tone made his disgust clear. "This world is a pale prison of flesh, otōto," he said to Marcus with ironic affection. "Never forget it."

With that, Zen tossed the bag of "food" back onto the display like it was a fly he was swatting away. He moved over to the soykaf machine and poured himself a hot cup. This stuff was serviceable, at least. Gas station quality, but caffeine was caffeine. Reaching into his pocket, Zen fiddled with his commlink, paying for his purchase before sipping the beverage serenely. Making brief eye contact with the elven woman, he gave her a vacant, slightly creepy smile before returning his attention to his styrofoam cup.

[Raiderjoseph]

Waiting for Z to post.

[Zweiblumen]

Sorry for being late to the party, Wednesdays are long for me.
Scoping the Stuffer Shack: Visual Perception (Perception 1 + Intuition 5(7) + Glasses 1 = 9): 9d6t5 4 Limit 11
And in AR: Matrix Perception: (Computers 6 + Logic 5(7) + TM 2 + Spec 2 = 17): 17d6t5 7 Limit 7 (caught the limit there!)


Jonas follows the young street sam into the 'Shack.  The munchies haven't hit yet, he's still riding the high of the Pysche he took before the run.  Seasoned use, and his boosted liver, kept the Jazz crash from lasting too long or hitting too hard.  The depression has passed and now he's just acutely aware of each and every detail around him.  When Marcus glared at the mother, Jonas uncomfortably adjusted his overcoat.  The kid keeps staring people down like they are ants, which they might be, but sometimes you gotta keep the herd calm.

"Mr. J didn't take that too well," the junkie frets as he looks around the 'Shack.  Running over the events of the past few hours trying to piece together what went wrong . . .  this time.  Almost as a touch-stone Jonas reaches under his suit coat to make sure his auto-injector has his next cocktail ready if he needs it.


Loadout:
Mortimer of London Berwick suit with a Greatcoat over top.  Auto-injector with (now) 4 loads left in it (Warrior; Novacoke; Nitro; Jazz)
Ingram Smartgun in the suit under the Greatcoat (-3 for concealability)
Glasses (Flare comp; LowLight; VE (1))
Earbuds (Select Sound filter (1); SE(2))
MOAR DRUGS!  See character sheet
A few data/stealth chips/tags and a credstick or two

[Raiderjoseph]

The AROs are blinding. Products EVERYWHERE. The guards leave. Busy and uninterested. A sign of the times if there ever was one. However things were about to get interesting. As if a stone was thrown in the river of the night two gangers came out of the opposite shooting guns and throwing down aisles of food... one spoke with great insight into his motive... "OKAY! EVERYBODY GIT DOWN! TELL ME WHERE DA LADY WITH THE BABY IS AND NO ONE HAFTA GET HURT!" Behind them a dwarf covered in shaman tattoos followed. What was going through his head was an enigma...

[Irn0rchid]

The ganger's shout catches Jenny just as she's exiting the bathroom, "*sigh*, can't even escape these guys at the Shack..." Intimately familiar with gangers trying to assert their power, especially over women, she falls into her normal routine. First, information: Does she know this particular gang? Second, security: She boots up the Avalon into silent mode with Smoke and Mirrors and Stealth running and instructs the Roto-drones to be ready, run silent, and to load Targeting and the Virtual Machine running Smoke and Mirrors on 5 and their Smartsoft.  Third, defuse: "Oi, chummers! What's the problem? Let's not do this..."

Knowledge: Gangs: 5d6t5 1

Also, RJ, how big do you want to say Roto-drones are? (Medium Drone)

[Herr Brackhaus]

Marcus watched impassively as the loudmouth spouted off, and took a sip of his thoroughly spiked drink. The amount of alcohol in the cup would barely register in his system after his enhanced body filtered it out, but it was a nice way to relax even for just a moment. "Of all the Stuffer Shacks in all of Seattle..." he thought as he drained the rest of cup in one long drag and tossed it in the trash. He cracked his knuckles and took a good look at each of the three intruders. "Which one of you gets to learn what the meaning of pain is today, I wonder".

Just as he was about to spring into action he heard Jennny speak up. "Oi, chummers! What's the problem? Let's not do this..." she said, and Marcus grinned to himself as he subvocalized to the other members of his team. "Zen, you take out the sparker, I'll deal with the two gutterpunks. Jenny, you just say the word."

As he waited for Jenny to make her move, Marcus mentally drew a line to the two thugs and prepared to strike.


If Jenny gives the go-ahead, Marcus is going to charge the two guys with guns and... engage them both in close combat if they're close enough. If they're more than a meter apart, he'll go for the one with the biggest gun with a charge attack. Scratch that, can't use a free action to both run and call Multiple Attacks, so charging the guy with the biggest gun it is. He'll still try to position himself in range of both NPCs if he can get to within 1m of both and still attack, so he can make Interception attacks.

If it becomes relevant, here's the initiative and attack rolls. Feel free to incorporate it in GM text so you don't have to wait for me to post in initiative order.
Initiative: Reaction 6 + Intuition 4 + 3d6: 10+3d6 25 [6, 5, 4]

Unarmed Attack: Agility 6 + Unarmed Combat 6 (+2) + Superhuman Psychosis 1 + Charge 2 [Physical 7]: 17d6t5 7 [1, 6, 5, 1, 6, 4, 4, 1, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 4, 6, 3]
If the attack hits, the DV is 8P+net hits, AP0, Reach 0. If the unresisted DV is greater than the NPCs Physical Limit, or 10+, he gets knocked on his ass.

Where did the elf woman with the baby end up going after I stared here down? My character doesn't particularly care, she's just some random nobody, but he's not a sociopath and will beat these guys up if for no other reason than the fact that they inconvenienced him.

[Raiderjoseph]

Lets say Soccer Ball sized.

"Oy you bitch. Why don't you don't you piss off?" One said pointing the gun at Jenny. The shaman yawned and went to get a soda. "Oooh. The mundane has a drone... very scary..." He mumbles.

[Irn0rchid]

Jenny grimaces, You might want to pay a little more attention to your surroundings... She waves her arm to encompass the room, You do seem to be a little bit outnumbered? Reacting to the shaman's comment, she realizes there's no longer an element of surprise to be had from the drones, so she orders each of them to go ahead and launch and get ready in the parking lot. >>It doesn't seem like this is going to resolve well...<< to the rest of the team.

Have the drones hover outside, each doing Take Aim actions on one of the 2 gangers being belligerent until time comes that we throw down.