A Time for Secrets

As soon as LT identified himself as "with them" referring to Ashe and Driver, the gate guard's face paled slightly, and he hurried back inside the guard-shack to open the gate. It occurs to both Kesslan and LT that this is not a particularly well managed situation, since he didn't even seem to have asked for ID, at all.

"Well, I didn't leave specific instructions, but I don't think that will be a problem." Ashe responds to Kesslan's point. She seemed to have taken care of it, somehow, without leaving instructions. She also was clearly not looking back to notice that the gate had opened shortly after he comm'ed her with his question.

Driver pulls Eleanor up in to the space in the front of the building marked "Reserved" as Eleanor does her message spoofing. With LT and Kesslan walking in to the parking lot behind them, the four of them were just about prepared to move in, and hopefully, out. Driver, being the conscientious driver that he is, leaves some space in the front of the car for Kesslan to park his bike. Ashe gets out of the car first, smoothing her skirt over her legs as she stands and stretches slightly, looking somewhat bored. Driver follows, before Ashe moves, and the two of the approach Kesslan and LT together in the parking lot.
The four of them are now standing a little more than 10 feet away from the front door of the small base, in clear view of the forward cameras. Just inside the door there is a small commotion, where clearly the messages have been received and are being reviewed. The first message, from the gate guard, the second from Eleanor, confirming it.

"I would expect the Admin to be opening that door in only a moment or two," Ashe says, looking at Kesslan and LT. "Got any last-minute concerns we can air out?" Ashe finished.

Before either LT or Kesslan has a chance to respond, the front door opens. "Good evening Maam, your inspection has caught us off guard. Please, follow me." Ashe nods at the Admin's comment, and turns to lead the three inside. She steps through the door first, and fully inside to allow Driver, LT, and Kesslan to step through behind her.
Once inside, you can see that Ashe took a few steps forward, giving her a full view of the small sitting room, a desk, somewhat in disarray, and a hallway behind that leading to several closed doors, and finally terminating in a glass door showing the runway. There is some noise going on inside the building, which can be heard. Through the glass door there is clearly quite a bit of activity on the runway.
Ashe steps forward to the desk, and leans against it lazily while the rest of the team steps in to the waiting room.

"Ok, do you have the lists that I asked for?" Ashe asks, looking down at something, and starting to move her fingers indicating an active VR link. She projects her fingers in front of her slightly, and starts flicking them all, somewhat like typing.
"Uhh... Yes, we have them. They are currently with the base CO. If you'll follow me..." The Admin replies, looking somewhat harried.

Ashe nods, as the Admin scurries past her toward the hallway behind the desk. She looks at LT and Kesslan, trying to make some eye contact, and using her finger movements as a distraction, she points to the desk, and quirks an eyebrow. She then points upward toward one of the cameras, perhaps indicating that they should be careful of it? She turns and lazily walks down the hallway toward the Admin, who is already tapping on one of the doors.

LT takes note of the Camara and positions hemself in the middle of its view his gerth blocking most of the camaras view, moreover LT tride to make sure his face was not in view of the camaras eye. that done took a gander at the desk then looks for exits should it become necessary.

perception: 4 intuition 3 = 7 dice = 3 hits

For his own part Kesslan remains uneasy but he had little choice but to follow along with this strange ruse and trust in Ashe not to get them all in very, very deep trouble. Still, once he had a chance to take in the bases surroundings he found himself growing a little more comfortable. This wasn't all that different in some ways to his time with the company. The Azies version of corporate security often just melted right into the military, given that they ran pretty much everything, and anything they didn't run, they controlled with an iron fist.

Still... this wasn't Aztlan.

Perception: 3 hits

It turned out that Ashe's finger flickers were not just a ruse, intended to confuse or distract the Admin. While that clearly was the primary intention, and it worked, she had been up to something else as well. The Admin kept glancing nervously at Ashe's fingers as he waited for, presumably, the CO to answer the knock.

Each of your 'links pings with a highest priority message.

An answer to the knock comes after a short wait. The CO was likely still filing away anything he didn't want the team to find on cursory inspection, and in the hopes that the inspection be relatively quick.
"Come on, let's meet the CO," Ashe says over her shoulder. She clearly didn't mean it, since the message countermanned the verbal orders. It must have been for the benefit of the Admin, who she waved in to the CO's office ahead of her.
"Good afternoon," Ashe's voice can be heard clearly through the open door. Driver also seemed to have recieved his message, since he was just visible standing in the doorway. Her voice dropped slightly as she must have taken a seat, but the buzz of conversation begins almost immediately.

LT and Kess both figure they have a maximum of a minute before the CO notices that they haven't joined yet. Or for the Admin to get too nervous to not ask to be let out.
You both notice that there are a few pieces of paper scattered on the desktop, and a neat stack of file folders on the corner of the desk. There is a shredder off to the right, somewhat hidden by a plant. In the shredder is a partially shredded piece of paper, which Ashe could not have noticed while she strolled through. There is also a very old flat-vid screen which seems to have been left on and without a password lock. Also, the desk is a very old design, with one long thin drawer across the top, and 4 drawers down one side. Three drawers are fairly short, while the fourth, on the bottom, is file-depth. There is a lock at the top of the desk, which likely locks the entire column of drawers at once. It seems to be of a very old manual lock design.

OOC: This is Ashe's post, as they pertain to the last two GM/Combined posts

Ashe, for her part, felt like she was being swept along in events already set in motion by the plans, and events, that were laid out ahead of time. If ever there were a reason to believe in fate, now would be a compelling argument for it!
Getting out of the car, Ashe looks around, pleased at their parking space. This would be most convenient in the event that a getaway would be required. It would also give Eleanor the option of piloting herself to the aircraft, should a hasty retreat need to be set from there. The bikes would be a less-than-convenient side issue, but hopefully LT and Kess were prepared enough to be using bikes that can't be traced. The money involved in this mission tended to bring up her already paranoid reflexes, and raise her hackles in a less than normally healthy fashion.
She smoothed her skirts out over her legs, making sure that her physical presentation matched the persona that she was trying to portray. This will not be a simple situation, even with the help of the influence spell. It had worked quite well, however, on the gate guard. With some luck, hopefully it will continue to work on the important people they would be interacting with. It certainly has served her well in the past!
Ashe looked up to take in the parking lot, and the other two approaching team mates. LT and Kesslan were both every inch the Mil-Intel backup that would complete this picture. Driver, in fact, was going to be the most difficult one to fit in to his slot, since he was far too well dressed to appropriately match the "Chief Of Staff" position, and if this occasion were to have been a formal one, he should have been in mess-dress, not a civvy suit.

After addressing LT and Kesslan, they were interrupted by the Admin opening the door. Walking up the steps, Ashe had the first brilliant idea so far. She realized that, in her attempt to look distracted, a projected keyboard would nicely complete the ensemble. The flash of insight left her feeling slightly more relaxed about the situation, which gave her just enough edge over the Admin that she was able to get by his defenses without the aid of a spell. - Less spellcasting, less chance of failing a drain test! Ashe thought to herself as she started to type up a short note to the team. Clearly the Admin assumed that she was already cataloguing her notes on the "inspection"; which was precisely what Ashe needed her to think. She followed the Admin at a leisurely pace, mostly to avoid tripping over anything, since writing a note in AR was not one of her normal habits.
Shortly, she found herself staring in the door of the base CO. Ashe was immediately uncomfortable as she counted the stripes on the shoulder of his jacket. He technically outranked her persona. Well, except for the fact that Mil-Intel outranks mostly everyone, but that meant that the base CO would still have some power, and his orders, which don't directly counterman my own, will have to be followed.
"Good afternoon sir," Ashe tried to make her voice carry, in an attempt to conceal the turmoil that was starting to build within her. Her stomach was a roiling mess at this point, and she worked hard to maintain the outward calm.
"Good afternoon. How is it that we can help you, Maam?" The CO replied calmly and slowly enough to project his relaxed stature. Ashe, knowing his timetable, also knew that he was hoping he would be able to stall her into missing the plane's projected take-off, and it would be her job to make sure that that did not happen. "Please, be seated." He said, indicating one of the chairs in front of his desk. His eyes flicked toward the door as she heard Driver step in, and stop as he made eye contact. Ashe's relative turmoil was somewhat overcome in that instant, as she realized that he would be quite happy to leave Driver in, or even outside, the door. "Can I get you anything? Water? Coffee?" His smile was coming over quite confidently.
Choosing that taking the seat, at least for now, was the smartest choice, Ashe stepped forward as his other offer washed over her. She pulled out one of the two chairs and seated herself comfortably, crossing her legs and arranging her skirt. She then looked up to the CO and returned his smile. As the role started to settle in around her shoulders, her fears were forgotten, and her confidence in her experience and capacity both started to take over.
"Why, thank you. No, I won't be requiring any refreshments. In fact, I was hoping that I would not need to be staying long. My primary responsibility today is to inspect the aircraft you are currently pre-flighting on the runway, and observe your procedure throughout the preflight, take-off, and post take-off." Ashe paused somewhat, waiting for his reaction. He was clearly prepared for this, as he did not react, and held the silence, waiting for Ashe to finish. "Since I was somewhat behind schedule arriving here and the preflight is already started, I am hoping you can ask your men to stop, so that I can inspect the work completed already. Then they can resume their activities while I observe on-going procedure. Also, I need to do a careful inspection of the cargo on the plane. I am, from my orders, to understand that there is some sensitive material there." Ashe stopped there and relaxed in to the chair ever so slightly, giving him the queue that it was his turn to speak.
"I am afraid that that will not be possible, Maam. My orders state specifically that there should be no interruptions this afternoon, no matter what." Ashe was stunned, since that is entirely out of the norm. She sit forward somewhat, trying to make sure that she took control of the situation.
"Am I to understand that you are refusing my inspection?!" Ashe asks in a quite, but cold voice. She leaned in to the question somewhat, giving her body language a chance to emphasize her position. Knowing that it was a rhetorical question, Ashe continued before the CO would have a chance to respond. "Very well then, I will need a copy of those orders. And with this in mind, I will take a coffee: black." Ashe said, relaxing slightly back in to a very upright position. Ashe allowed her face to display a slight smile, the kind you give to a colleague as you crush them, and they know it. Hopefully he will be enough surprised by this to be susceptable to her Influence spell, since there was clearly no way to complete this without the use of magic. Ashe waited for his attention to shift to the Admin, and then cast the spell.

LT stood between the camara and the desk and motioned for kesslen to hit the desk. He was pretty sure they only had a few moments, and he took a concernd look at the door to the Admins office. Trying his best to listen for what they were saying to each other...

Kesslan wasn't exactly sure where he was expected to begin. He'd try to find a key or something since the drawers were locked, beyond that he had few options in all honesty. He didn't know the first thing about picking locks as he was no locksmith, and even if they were electronic based he was no electronics specialist either. Indeed such seemingly simple things still confused him. He'd grown up mostly around people sure, but he was still rather naive when it came to such things, along with a great deal of how humanity conducted itself. And if there was something computerized, well... he wasn't a hacker either, so he was a little confused as to why he was the one being picked to do all this.

Still, maybe he could find something of use some how.

Perception: 6 dice = 2 hits

Being an Armed Forces base, physical security is usually taken for granted, and the obvious camera is the only one either Kesslan or LT were able to locate. LT's large frame does a very handy job keeping the camera from being able to see Kesslan, while he pitches around for a key.

Kesslan, in an attempt to locate some sort of hiding place for the key, tries the top drawer of the desk first. It opens, and inside is a key that should fit the locks. Kesslan tries it, quickly, hearing the din of voices dropping off a bit as a conversational lull seemed to be taking place.
The Key Worked! Someone has GOT to re-train this admin...
Kesslan opens the bottom drawer, and starts to rifle through the files, not quite clear on what he was supposed to look for. The final file, at the back of the drawer, is titled "X-Manifest". Certain that that was strange enough to be what they wanted, Kesslan pulls out the file, and tucks it into his vest. He figures that since they were stealing the plane, there is little likelihood that the file would increase their relative impact noticeably.
He just manages to stand up straight as Driver stomps slightly on the floor, and backs out of the room.

"Well, Captain, I am glad that we were able to work that out." Ashe says, as she follows the base CO out of his office. "If you won't mind leading the way toward the plane, hopefully I will be able to catch up a bit on our inspections?" She smiles as the CO nods, and starts off toward the back door, and the noise beyond.

Just as the rest of them start to file out, Kesslan notices a piece of paper in a shredder on the other side of the desk. Being partly shredded, he wouldn't get to read the entire sheet, but he snags it as he hurries to catch up as the whole group heads out the back door.


The small building opens on to a very large 4-helipad landing site. The 4 distinct cement landing pads clearly mark the 4 possible locations for a helicopter to come in on landing. 3 of them are occupied, 2 by large helicopters, and the third by the VTOL plane they were planning on hijacking. The VTOL Jet is on one of the two further Heli-Pads, and seems to be just about loaded up, and getting ready for final Pre-Flight checks.

Kesslan quickly stuffs what ever ill gains he's acquired down the front of his chameleon suit and moves to follow the others. Given his unfamiliarity with what ever seems to be the plan (Was there even a plan?) he just trails along, still nervous but trying to keep himself calm. It didn't help that he kept worrying some awakened type or the like would eventually question just what he was doing there, but at least so far, that hadn't happened.

- The Spell Worked! Ashe rejoices to herself. She looks at the CO, a captain, of the base while the "Influence" settles in to his unconscious. She didn't force him to do anything, nor will the spell allow her to directly control him. Instead, it is more like a really powerful hypnotic suggestion, it essentially makes him really want to help, which makes it a lot easier for her to manipulate him.
She blinks her eyes a bit as her eyes get used to the dusk of the late afternoon. The sun had already set, but there was still the flat ambient half-light, sometimes referred to as "Twilight". With any luck, her and her team would soon be on the path to the ghosts, probably to disappear into the twilight like the stories her mother had told her all those years ago.

"Captain, if you don't mind waiting for just a moment. I need to make sure that my team has their orders with them for reference." With a curt nod to the captain, she turned to Driver, Kesslan, and LT.
"Are we all clear on the objective and the plan?" Ashe asks, knowing that the answer to that question would likely be "no".

It doesn't take long at all for Kesslan to respond with a simply shake of his head. He's been well and truly lost since before they hit the gate given that Driver was the one that arranged this whole thing supposedly, or.. something. He was never in the loop. Not that he seems to particularly mind, but by the looks of things he's starting to show that sort of outward 'I have no idea what the hell is going on' kind of look. Of course given that he's supposed to be playing subordinate to Ashe as part of some intel related thing, that may well actually play to the part. It's only all the more confusing to him when he only has the barest grasp of understanding metahumanity to begin with. Something like this is well beyond his league.

The captain, otherwise known as the base CO, turns to peer at Ashe's back as she turns to her colleagues. Driver turns with her, completing a small circle with LT and Kesslan facing the landing strip, and the captain, and Ashe and Driver with their backs to the landing strip. The captain peers at her quizically for a moment, then nods to himself slightly, almost imperceptibly. He turns, and gestures over his shoulder for his Aide to join him walking a few more steps onto the nearest landing square.

Ashe looks around, making sure that there was no one close enough to be listening with unaided hearing. She then nods to Driver, who reaches up to his Commlink and presses a button. It starts to emit a white noise, loud enough to be bothersome. Ashe smiles in satisfaction, and starts to speak, her voice barely audible with the white noise background. "Ok, here's the basics... Get on the plane. Get everyone else off. If we can, we get them off alive." She meets each person's eyes carefully, making sure that each one had heard what she said, and what she didn't.
"Any questions?" Her face is clear, and expressionless. This is all business.

OOC: Perception rolls from each of you.

LT Nods in aggrement thinking to himself, And there off! But plays his position bringing up the rear of the group.

Perception 4 intu 3 = 7 dice = 4 hits



GM Edit: The Cyan color has been established as GM-Edit colors. I switched that out with the red that you usually use

LT was playing his part perfectly. He allowed his eyes to roam widely, playing the Rear Lookout position, while coming back to meet Ashe's gaze frequently. As a result of his "position" and playing his part, LT manages to catch an interesting interchange going on. When Ashe turns her back, the base CO turns to watch her walk toward the group for a moment. At a very slight eye movement, LT notices that the CO looks toward his Aide for the briefest moment, before nodding almost imperceptibly. To a casual observer, the nod may be in agreement with Ashe's actions. LT, however, seemed to be watching at just the right moment to note that the nod was directed to the Aide.
Curious, LT continues with his slight paranoia, seeing as it seemed to be serving him well. When Ashe makes a slight nod to Driver, and he reaches up to his Commlink to turn on the white noise, LT quickly looked up at the CO and Aide, just to see their reaction. The captain had no reaction at all, from this angle. Which makes sense, since his back was turned. The Aide, however, was facing the captain slightly, and an obvious frown comes across his face.
LT is a little interested in what this might mean.

Ashe, seeing LT nod, but also that he was somewhat distracted, turned her attention to Driver and Kesslan. She quirks her eyebrow slightly, letting them know that she expects an answer, one way or another, from them. Driver, meeting her gaze, nods clearly, and keeps his mouth shut. Ashe now turns her raptor-like gaze on Kesslan alone, waiting for his response.

Before Kesslan can respond LT steps in and in a low grumbling tone says that he is “Afraid the jig is up, there communicating silent like.” and throws a “madam” in just to keep up the visod incase anyone can hear. “I say we play along till they give us reason for other actions everyone stay frosty though” with that he nods to her. And back steps into his original place eyeing the area intently.

Ooc: subvocals are on.

"Hmm... I am afraid we have little choice at this point..." Ashe responds to LT as he steps back. She turns her look back toward Kesslan, knowing that the few moments he was taking to think meant that he had something to consider.


OOC: Even though Ghost already noticed, and responded, to what there was to see... I still need your perc. roll Kesslan, to know if you saw; and since Ghost responded physically, you may have noticed a response from "them" on that too.

Perception: Int 4 + Per 2 = 6 = 2 Hits
+Audio Perception +3= 1 Hit (3 total for audio perception)

Kesslan quietly considered Ashe's words as he keeps an eye out on both sides of the world, both physical and astral. That was one upside of being a dual natured creature, the downside however was hopefully something he wouldn't encounter on this job, though he very well might. Such as how astral walls almost as much of a barrier as a physical wall, or how you couldn't turn it off. That however wasn't what was on the top of his mind at the moment, but rather a mental inventory of his weaponry. His sniper rifle, being far too obvious a weapon had been disassembled. That left his SPAS, loaded with gel rounds, or his pistols with the stick n' shock rounds. The shotgun however would take too long to draw quickly and he couldn't set up without drawing unwanted attention. That left the pistols, and so he mentally flicked the safeties off using his AR interface, being greeted with a vocal signal over his PAN 'Safety Off' in his native Aztec.

Kesslan, paying attention to the Astral, missed the little interchange between the CO and his Aide. However, he did note something far more valuable to the team. He noted that there didn't seem to be a single awakened being among the army personnel on base.
When LT steps forward, Kesslan was viewing in the material plane, and happened to catch that the Aide's frown deepened. Not only that, but as the Aide's frown deepens, he leans somewhat toward the group, almost trying to listen in.
Kesslan notes, fortunately, that based on the Aide's facial expressoins, the white noise from Driver's speakerphone seems to be adequately foiling his attempts to hear the conversation.


Ashe maintains her eye contact with Kesslan until she sees the recognition in his eyes. She decided that he probably didn't realize he was supposed to "nod," but under the circumstances, her scrutiny of his body language was more than enough to satisfy her that he understood the plan.
Ashe turned her attention back to the group as a whole. She looked around again, giving just a few moments for final statements, then turned to Driver and nodded to him again. He reached up and pressed a button on his Commlink. The white noise discontinued. Ashe then turned back toward the CO and started walking toward the landing pad.
"Thank you Captain, that will be all the time we need." She said, stepping up next to him.

Kesslan and LT both notice the Aide snapping his posture back upright as Ashe turns, and maintaining his posture as she steps past him. His frown returns momentarilly after she passes him, before he remembers to keep his face expressionless.

Kesslan for his part tries to look bored as he pulls up his AR and taps out a quick message to the team. He's not sure what to say at first but in the end decides to just keep it as simple as possible. 'Jigs up, their onto us. Astral's clear.' He doesn't go for his guns yet however, that would tip their hands too early, besides that was one thing he felt confident about, that even here on a military base he could match the reflexes of just about anyone alive. Short of a dragon or something...

LT also hopped on his com and sent a quick message “Just a suggestion we got the two best hostages on base right here. Seems Ta me we make the first move we might make the last. Say the word i'll put a pistol to the co's skull. ” And he kept his eye out for snipers.

Ashe, for her part, continues to walk forward with the base CO by her side. She seems to either not be receiving the messages, or completely ignoring them.
Kesslan, switching in and out of Astral sight, notices that from one moment to the next Ashe's aura lights up quite astonishingly. She clearly has cast a spell on herself, and is sustaining it. Having noticed that, Kesslan takes a slightly closer look at her in the physical plane, and notices that her movements have become smoother, and more graceful. She is clearly preparing for battle...

Driver continues to let his eyes roam the landing pads. LT and Kesslan, since they are paying close attention, notice the slight finger flicks that indicate he is interacting with his AR. A few moments later, Driver's response to the two of them come through.


After a moment another message from Driver pings.

Following the messages from Driver, both LT and Kesslan, due to their hightened perception, notice Ashe nod slightly to herself. It could easilly be ignored by any casual observer, since there is no way to know she had just recieved any messages. But you did, and you know better.

As you all approach the VTOL jet, you notice a hubbub of activity. Large crates being stacked outside the plane, more still were already loaded and organized. Clearly, with the furious pace of the workers, the loading was on an expedited basis. Time, at the moment, was of the essence, for both you and the base.
"Captain, if you would please ask your men to clear out the plane. I would like to inspect it, with your presense of course, without any major distractions. Also, please select your two or three largest men to assist me and my team by moving around the larger pieces of inventory for our inspection?" The smile on her face looked genuine, and her seeming poise and relaxation would be nearly impossible to see past. Being somewhat familiar with her by now, however, Kesslan and LT could see through her guise. Or, at least, knowing the situation, they thought they could.
Ashe slowed somewhat, to allow the CO to pull ahead and begin to pick out his men. Ashe the Aide hurried to keep up with him, Ashe reached out a restraining hand toward him, meeting his questioning gaze with another request.
"I believe that our orders, which were sent along ahead of us, included a request for the complete details on the plane, the cargo, and the crew. Now would be the perfect time for me to review those, since the Captain will be somewhat busy for the next few moments." Unlike her previous smile to the Captain, Ashe's current smile was almost predatory. Her plan, Driver's plan, was starting to fall together, and it was working beautifully.

The Aide blinks his eyes in some surprise, perhaps feigned. "Uhh, of course Ma'am. I have them right here." The Aide said, pulling out a small manilla folder from his binder-notebook. He handed over the manilla folder to Ashe, and stood at rest next to her waiting somewhat patiently for her to review the documentation. Ashe, for her part, flipped open the folder and began to read through the paperwork presented to her in earnest.
Shortly thereafter, your 'Link pings. Opening the message, it seems that Eleanor has set up a live feed from Ashe's camera, feeding the paperwork in front of her to the group.

OOC: Perception rolls again please. And actions. Kesslan, please include an Astral Perception roll, it can be separate. If you have Assensing, you may include that as well, since it may be useful for you to know what spells Ashe is holding on herself.
I will post the details of the paperwork later on this morning, as soon as you two have your perceptions and initial actions posted.

Aircraft:
Original Model: Renraku Titan
Modifications: Improved Takeoff and Landing 2, Improved Vectored Thrust Acceleration Package 2, Improved Weapons Holds, Increased Fire-Control and Launch Capacity, Increased Carrying Capacity, Increased Glide Ratios, Improved Atmospheric Shielding, Reduced Air Resistence, Improved Camouflaging, Improved Armor

Crew:
[None]

Cargo:
[None]

Visual
intuition 3, perception 4, Vision enhancement 2, = 9dice 2 hits
Audio
intuition 3, Perception 4, = 7dice 1hit

(OOC: ill take action after i find out what i see or hear)