A Time for Secrets

Keeping himself calm, and completely ignoring the surprising outburst of Jeane, "Well, this particular aircraft that we had our eyes on is a Titan with Improved Takeoff and landing Capabilities, two additional Fuel Tanks, Hover Craft add on and a Drone Rack. The way i figure it, since we will more than likely be flying to various countries quite often, so depending on smugglers we will both be expensive and very hazardous if we need to go anywhere in a pinch and quickly. As for landing, with VTOL capabilities, that is not a problem, but if we do need an airport for any reason, than the cover of foreign dignitaries would be very useful. I'm bringing Elenore with me no matter what, so I'm going to need the plane at least."

Kesslan listens to Driver and nods. "Well, it's a reasonable enough plan from the overall sound, but are you sure something that big is going to be able to slip in unnoticed? Hell, I'd love it if it could, means I could take my bike with me too. It would be a lot cheaper, and handier if we could move all our gear around as needed while we chase this guy down."

Ashe listens carefully as Driver describes the airplane. She nods as he talks about the benefits of being able to bring everything.
"With that explanation, I can definitely see the logic in making an acquisition of that sort. Further, I completely agree that avoiding an honest transaction is an acceptable path to take." Ashe nods, and takes a sip of her drink. "But, who is Eleanor?" Ashe asks, looking at Driver.
"Ok, so we have a hacker who is skilled and capable, and has been trustworthy thus far. We have a plan in place, and it seems to be a reasonable one for the moment. As far as any information I have ever had, getting in to Japan in a plane without some sort of cover identity is an unreasonable expectation. Before we consider the Foreign Dignitaries potential, as that is the safest way that I know of to avoid any customs, we should figure out what needs to be transported. A car and a bike will only require an import tax, which is not likely to be sufficiently expensive to warrant posing as a dignitary. However, shapeshifters are correct to be wary of customs officials. I believe that this is reason enough to attempt the Dignitary cover identity. One of us must be the dignitary, and the rest may be staff, it will all fall under the Diplomatic Immunity. Since this is worth the trouble, we should now further consider carrying far more illegal equipment. Further, we should arrange the purchase of a base of operations; preferably one which befits the status of a Foreign Dignitary. This should be taken care of quickly, and quietly. I am not from, nor familiar with, Japan. I believe there are laws and customs to worry about in taking over property. Is this something that can be arranged, or even back-logged by a hacker?" Ashe asks, looking around the group.

Gives a sly smirk and bows his head respectively, "I was wondering if you were ever going to come to this part. My lady, you seem to be the one with the gift of gab, so it would stand to reason that the only face of our group, the only lady of our group, would be the best dignitary. Eleanor, is... complicated, but i do see a slight problem in our little party lacking any sort of on site hacker, which Eleanor maybe able to cure for us. As for any military tie ups, i know enough to get us in and out of the country safely, and thanks to our plane's VTOL capabilities, we won't have to worry too much about finding a suitable landing zone, but i would suggest we setup the plane itself as our main base of operations, keeping it mobile would be a very good thing for us."

Ashe nods. "I am glad to hear you can get us in and out. That is most definitely an important piece of this. That does not, however, exclude us from needing a "Reception Area" so to speak. We can, of course, rent space, but it needs to be arranged. As far as the 'Gift Of Gab' goes, I don't think I ever considered it to be ... uh... a gift. More a skill, which takes a significant amount of ongoing practice." She smiles, amused at the comment, and enjoying the playful tone.
"Next step, I suppose, would be to decide how we are going to keep our hides in-tact while we acquire the plane. Have we a working plan for this? Also, while we are at it, how will we manage and defend ourselves on the Matrix? Is there a plan in place to reserve the services of a Hacker?" She looks toward Driver, as he mentioned that there was not currently one on the payroll. "Because, if not, I am able to arrange the hiring of a hacker, or perhaps other methods."

"Not to mention." Lil'T puts in. "Me and kess's gear don't get here for like three more days"

Kesslan holds up a hand at the mention of gear "Only extra gear I felt would be useful for this job, and future jobs given the money we were paid. I have plenty of gear of my own at the moment. There is however, always room for improvement. I too would like to try and see if we can get the services of a hacker. It would be handy to be able to arrange for forged licenses for all our equipment. At least that way it's more likely to slip through any... scrutiny."

Ashe smiles at the Gear comments. "Ok, so, we have some gear coming in in 3 days? We all agree that a hacker would be a useful addition to the team... I will add that to my list of things to check up on when I get out. I do have some contacts that I can call on for something like this." She looks around, a curious look on her face.
"What kind of equipment did you order? And, if the delivery date is set, why would you have decided as a team to assault the military facility before then?" She asks, shifting her gaze toward Driver. "Wouldn't it make more sense to steal the plane when we are prepared to leave, and leave straight away?"

"There were some communication issues with previous members if I recall correctly." Kesslan offers up in way of explanation. "As to what kind of gear, just some basic tools of the trade, ammunition, a spyball, some other random odds and ends I thought could come in handy. Picked up some different sets of armour and clothing as well, just so I could blend in a little better depending on where we are called to go."

"Ok, communications issues. That's fine. The question is: can the attack on the military base be pushed back to coincide with your shipment? If so, that may be a wise idea. Also, will your former colleagues be an issue in this regard? Afterall, they knew your intentions, and will be capable, theoretically, of posing a threat to success. What are your thoughts on this? She quirked her eyebrow slightly, looking back toward Cat and Driver. It is never quite as comfortable to have to fight on two fronts as it is to have to fight on one front.

Jack is looking back and forth, reading the speech bubbles as they come, and though he composes himself well, it is becoming increasingly obvious that he is dissatisfied. <"Looking too far afield, one can miss what is underfoot",> he states with a shake of his head. <"These methods are so very grand, and are proper plans to be made without specific information?"> Leaning back slightly, he is frowns at noone in particular. <"We can meet again, once information has been gained, yes?"> It takes a second for him to pull up something, and Jeanne can see him open up another display inside of the current AR, that being a dictionary of English terms, and after an entry of a string that the translation software did not translate, he speaks again, a single word. "Kon-patamenta-lize?"

Going over an entire plan on a single evening of meeting did not sit right with him at all, even with Jeanne getting a vague outline, however much she seemed to deviate due to preexisting details. This was coming dangerously close to him not understanding what was going on.

LT translates Jacks concerns, and agrees. "We need a better plan for the plain. Just rushing an air field is not my idea of fun."

Ashe looks to Jack, nodding. "Jack, I could not agree more. I have been doing my best to engage in the detailed plans now for ..." She looks down at her half empty drink. "Well, for at least half a drink. You are suggesting ending the meeting for now, correct? I agree, but I don't even know what information there is to gain yet. They seem to have worked out a plan days ago, but are vague on the details of the plan today. I don't know what to think..." She sighs, sits back, and takes another sip of her drink.

"The more details I learn, the more troubling the situation is." She says, and shakes her head at some sort of internal struggle. Looking back to Jack, Ashe asks him: "Jack, I have tried to ask specific questions, I have tried offering a more private location, I am not sure what else we can do to get the details of the situation fully laid out for us. What would you suggest at this point? Start Fresh?"

It does not go unnoticed by Jack that the two that are having.. "concerns" about their current situation are Jeanne and himself. <"I will not move before having information. Pointless to plan without knowing. First part: Gathering Information. With information, plan transportation. Once transported, plan acquisition and retrieval.. Wanting for a nail midway is not advisable.">

That said, he looks at the rest of the group inquisitively. <"Possible to meet a time from now, elsewhere?">

Ashe nods toward Jack, agreeing, but preferring to remain silent.

Slowly comes to the solution that few people have his military training, and are quite hesitant to do something rather insane, "Rule 9, plan ahead. Our current information on our target says that he is more than likely not in this country, which would require transportation. Japan was the last location of our target, it maybe dated information, but it is a lead. As for the gear issue, our team members should learn to tell time better, their gear is do to arrive in three days... starting from two days ago. The plane itself will be finishing up a maintenance cycle before it will be put back into service, so stealing it at a later date is out of the question. As for getting onto a base, we have two options, one, we cut through the side gate and sneak onto the base, steal the plane, and land at an abandoned airfield that will be a out of the way enough for a get away, and give us a starting point for us to meet up before we finish business on this continent. The second option, which is far better, is that we go through the side vehicle entrance, I can pass for a soldier quite easily, although going alone would be more insane than i could wish, so i would need someone who is very good at convincing people. Takes a quick glance to Jeanne. "Then its a simple matter of getting to the plane and landing at the aforementioned base where we can plan further, the best part is, we can split up and have a few other members of our team gather up more information on our target if possible, and find a few more connections for us overseas, detailed enough for you?"" Leans over and shuts off the white noise generator that was blocking his connection to Eleanor, "Sorry, i have to make a call and get us a hacker."

--
To: Eleanor
From: Driver

Sweetie, i need you to get yourself a few more things, Jacob should be able to get them for you.

Programs:
Response Upgrade (5)
Signal Upgrade (5)
White Noise Generator (Rating 6)
Analyze (Rating 6)
Browse (Rating 6)
Edit (Rating 6)
Encrypt (Rating 6)
Reality Filter (Rating 6)
Scan (Rating 6)
Armor (Rating 6)
Attack (Rating 6)
Black Hammer (Rating 6)
Data Bomb (Rating 6)
Decrypt (Rating 6)
Defuse (Rating 6)
ECCM (Rating 6)
Exploit (Rating 6)
Medic (Rating 6)
Sniffer (Rating 6)
Spoof (Rating 6)
Stealth (Rating 6)
Track (Rating 6)
Agent/IC/Pilot (Rating 4)
System (Rating 6)
Firewall (Rating 6)

These should help you just fine, and round out to 105,000 nuyen, promise him 120,000 please.
--

LT counts on his fingers Job told him he'd need a week. At least to make it clean. Two days had past when there were five that left three day's. He spoke up "Nah three days left I'm pretty sure on this driver."

Havick1988 wrote:

for Tiamat

<< incoming message >>

Alright kid, i can get you what your looking for but it will take me about a week to get it to you and have it claen as well. also if your going to Japan i cant stress enough on beeing inconspicuous, if your caught doing things outside of the law there excecialy in Neo Tokyo the cops dont bother with aresting they will shoot on sight.

<< End of Message >>

"Driver, I don't mind being the smooth-talker. We do, however, need to make sure that our backs are covered when we get in there. do you have specs on the guard details?" Ashe asks. It could be fun to convince a military detail that I am entitled to the plane. That would be more of a challenge than what I am usually asked to do...
Ashe listens to the rest of what Driver has to say. When he turns off the Jammer, she does a quick check up on her Identity, to see if she had suffered from an Identity Crises of the Erased Kind. She also pens up an email to Sherry, her fixer, to let her know that she needed to meet soon about a couple of things. Then she nods toward the Jammer, as LT speaks up.
"Ok, then we need to figure out our dates, don't we?" She says, matter-of-fact. "Would you email your contact who helped you set up the buy, and ask your contact to confirm the delivery date? That should be simple enough, right?" Ashe smiles toward LT. - I have a few of my own rules... And a big one: The simplest solution is usually the best one. She thinks to herself. Her smile widens slightly, although it wouldn't be easy to tell.

Kesslan for his part goes quiet again, simply watching the others as they discuss what they felt needed to be done, the shapeshifter simply deciding it was best to let the others figure everything out. They knew their own kind better than he did at any rate. He was only beginning to understand the world around him by comparison.

Ashe chuckles. "Yeah, somebody really wants this guy... quite literally, at any cost." She says.

"Ok, so 2 guard details, and some roving bouncers... I have had to talk my way into clubs that were more secure than that. Difference is, these guys are fanatics. That does make it difficult, but difficult equals interesting. What's your angle? Are we going to take it out for a test run? Are you a visiting Admiral, and we are your staff on hand?" For her part, Ashe certainly does participate as much as possible in the planning stages of the runs. "Also, what do you suggest we do to prepare for when the shooting starts... uh, if it starts."

"I can provide sniper support." Kesslan offers in regards to the question of what to do if the shooting starts. "Got a stealth suit too so should be easy enough to setup somewhere with a good view."

Ashe nods toward Kesslan. "Sniping will be quite nice to have. I am not particularly effective in Melee combat, so it is good to know that someone can keep the meat off of me." She smiles. "Ahh, a stealth suit. Great idea. There are some really impressive suits which provide Rhubidium Polymer coatings and careful technological control to affect Chameleon capabilities. They are not as efficient as an "Invisibility" spell, but do not require the concentration from your available magician. Also, they don't show up in Astral, which is quite helpful. I think I will head over to WallMart and see if they are on special after this. I would suggest everyone else do the same. Those things can be infinitely useful when stealth is required." She nods again at Kesslan for having provided the idea. - Tack one MORE thing onto my list of things to do after we are done here... She thinks to herself.

"uuhh? what do you guys want i should do during all of this?" LT chimed in. "There not going to believe I'm UCAS, And I don't have a stealth suit sooo where do I fit in?"

Ashe looks makes a point of looking LT up and down. She has a dangerously thoughtful look in her eyes, somewhat akin to the look she had before suggesting that we impersonate Diplomats. "Well, actually, they may believe you're UCAS." She allows a sly smile to creep across her face. "We could easilly get you a full suit of Light Military Grade Armor, with a helmet. As long as we have an insignia, no one would question a ranking Admiral with an honor guard, particularly from his own unit. Unless this is more than just a "special project," in which case: we will have to be a higher rank than Admiral." Ashe looks back to LT, the sly smile mingling with the thoughtful expression. It is not hard to tell she is playing out the scene within her head.

Ashe lets a few moments go by before adding to her statement. "We could get all of you Light Military Grade Armor, which would simply add to the illusion. With the exception of you," She looks to Kesslan. "We could all fall in behind Driver and myself to board the plane. The only problem then becomes picking you up." She maintains her gaze on Kesslan, still looking thoughtful, trying to figure out the tactical problem inside her head.
"And, I like the idea of having some backup immediately available."