Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - IC

Alexia sees the man coming at her, she curses herself for not using the cover, she tries to move out of the way but wasn't fast enough and got hit by the slug
5d6.hits(5)=1
Soaking Damage: 13d6.hits(5)=4

she growls as that hit will leave a bruise for the next few seconds but she turns it around and looses another 2 shots at the aggressor
Shot 1 & 2: (12d6.hits(5)=5, 12d6.hits(5)=5)
Ares Predator IV damage: 9P

In short order, several bad things, and several good things occurred.

The first of the bad things was another series of missile strikes. The first missile finished off the other drone Alexia had brought in and had been loitering around, while several more blasted the vehicle surrounded by the sprits with enough force to not only disrupt the remaining 3 spirits Adrelauphus had with him, but also collapsed a good portion of the entrance and sent dust, ash and debris scattering through the air, much of it harmlessly pelting Edgar as he was the only one still outside. Moments later Spawn found himself receiving a pop up message from The Exchange 'Karma has sent assistance your way' Oddly however it wasn't a message that flashed up only on Spawn's comlink, but the whole team's perhaps thanks tot he shared channel everyone was using. In the end it was assistance Spawn might very badly need however as the grenade he clutched in an attempt to protect Chasky detonated only seconds later, having been deliberately set once the man being attacked by the giant possessed cat had armed it. (Jagger: Please roll to resist 8P impact damage at -4AP using impact armour. Note: Regardless of the results of the damage resistance test you will take a minimum of 3 boxes of damage as you will be loosing some fingers, and probably your hand. At absolute worst however you will be knocked into overflow and unconscious due to GM fiat on damage results and the fact I don't want to be killing players in their very first scenario. Still, let this be a lesson not to grab live grenades that are in the hands of the suicidal! Also technically the grenade should be doing far more damage than just base in this instance, but I'm being nice.) Chasky on the other hand got off with but a few scrapes and bruises along with being flung half way across the room by the blast (-1 box to Chasky.) and in the end it was the simple fact the cat was possessed that had saved it as the spirit inhabiting the great cat was able to shield the feline from the worst of the blast (Chasky and Spawn are knocked down and must spend an action to regain his feet. I have also taken the liberty of spending one of the spirit's services in helping protect Chasky from the blast.). Fortunately for Spawn, the spirit's large and enhanced form shielded him from the worst of the large blast, but he too went flying off into some wrecked furniture (Jagger: You are knocked down, if your still conscious pending damage roll you will need to spend an action to get up).

That second blast also happened to catch Darkkon and Andrelaphus in the blast near the stairs, though Darkkon had been almost entirely shielded, Adrelaphus was not so fortunate and the mage went down under a hail of fragments from the stairwell literally exploding from the force of the blast. (Darkon, you are uninjured but the stairs leading down are now badly damaged and Andrelaphus (Faust's character) is down. Additionally the stairs on the way down are now partially missing. You will need to make a gymnastics test threshold 2 to safely jump the gap).

Meanwhile Sha'hgrim and Alexia have their own issues as the wall is partially blown out, pelting them all with debris while the enemy trooper attacking Alexia manages to pin her before she can get a shot off and knocks her to the ground. (Starcraft: In the future please pay attention to what is actually happening. You were not being shot at, you were being engaged in melee combat. Additionally as your pistol has no recoil compensation in the future please remember that your second shot in a pass adds a -1 recoil modifier. Additionally when using a firearm in melee combat you need to apply the appropriate penalties as well). Before Alexia's attacker can press the advantage however there's a sudden series of additional 'thumps' across the warehouse, mostly drowned out by the other blasts. However one of them happens directly infront of Alexia as her attacker's head suddenly splatters the inside of his own helmet and his still warm, still partially moving corpse collapses down on top of her. (Starcraft: you are momentarily pinned, and it will take 1 complex action to get out from under the body and back up to your feet)

Edgar, being the only one outside is additionally treated to another, much larger flash far off in the distance up in the sky as something way above explodes and debris starts raining down to the ground off in the distance. With the ash storm having picked up however he can't tell where exactly the wreckage is falling, nor what it was but what ever it was, it was fairly large. Small aircraft or perhaps even a large drone.

Regardless of if Spawn remains concious or not, his comlink is still active and the team channel from his link once more sparks up:
Enemy drone destroyed, you have one friendly contact heading your way to lend further assistance.
A military satellite is locked onto this location and is preparing to fire a Thor round.
You have 3 minutes to reach minimum safe distance.
-The Exchange


GM Note:
Initative no longer applies but actions and passes are still being tracked to an extent to help account for time spent on site.
There are no more hostiles left in your area, any suriving attackers are dead. One of their vehicles is still intact as is a fair bit of weaponry and other gear.
Faust's character is being removed from play due to lack of contact for over two months and being replaced by a new player. Andrelaphus is still presently alive (A basic first aid check, threshold 1 is required reveal this)
Spawn's injury will require immediate aid (First aid or magical healing applicable. Magical healing of at least 3 boxes will heal over the stump and prevent further blood loss)

Most important of all, remember you have limited time on site. If you stay past this point you WILL die, but you still have enough time to grab a few things. A Thor shot instant kills everything in a 200m radius. The safe minimum distance from a Thor Shot is considerably further away than that but may be survivable past that point if your really lucky.

What had turned out as a difficult day of trekking out into the middle of nowhere to track down an older military sat that held potential clues turned into something much more sinister when the hacker exploring the system via a sat link established with the use of a disposable portable satellite dish found that while the system that had once been assigned to his unit lacked the clues he was hoping for, some one had activated the partially spent weapons platform and given it a target not too far away. Going by the sat feed it seemed to be an old abandoned warehouse with several vehicles about it. Communicating with the satellite's additional features were several drones and other units and with the discovery of that information The Exchange stepped in with a request. Destroy the drones and head to the warehouse to assist a member of the Exchange and his team mates escape an apparent trap. The Exchange didn't know what was going on but clearly it paid to know what was going on, especially when some one apparently decided to start using military space based weapons platforms to step in. These were the sorts of weapons that could rarely be used without drawing significant media attention, all the more so when it was so near a major inhabited city (as the area was still technically part of Seattle). The dust clouds alone would likely be visible on the outskirts of the city proper depending on what the satellite fired, and it's present weapons selection constituted one fo the most destructive, non nuclear weapons around. The Thor Shot. A massive tungsten pole fired by mass accelerator towards the ground the kinetic impact created by the weapon was on par with a tactical nuclear strike, without any of the radioactive fallout. Additional weapons on the satellite allowed for more tactical and precise, less noticeable strikes but this time it was set to use the big gun.

What the hacker in the system found most surprising of all however was that the satellite in question wasn't supposed to exist anymore as the UCAS military had reported it's loss several years ago while the hacker's team was out on a mission. Fortunately it had little impact on their overall goal, but this was definitely the same satellite that he'd been interfacing with at the time as it still recognized his old access codes. That had also given him an edge, for while he was unable to stop the satellite from locking on and firing, he was able to hack access to the drones communicating with the satellite. However, the ICE on most of the drones turned out to be far to dangerous to try and hack with his outdated software by and large, though access to one overwatch drone proved fruitful as basic access was granted, and from there the drone's payload of drone missiles happened to be partially accesible and those were much, MUCH easier to hack into. It also happened to be the main link for all the other drones to the satellite's feed, so a little creative tweeking of some of the drone missile parameters promptly caused them to self destruct, knocking everything else 'offline' or at least to local control only, if there even was such a controller.

It was about that point that The Exchange contacted the hacker asking for an assist to a fellow Exchange Member in trouble in the warehouse. At this point The Exchange assessed that there would be likely minimal enemy resistance but time was crucial for evacuation due to the weapons satellite about to fire, and The Exchange very much wanted to get a hold of some of the military hardware that was left laying about as part of the battle's aftermath.


Assist and you will be karmically rewarded.
Retrieve the military vehicle intact <<Map inset with vehicle location inside of the warehouse>> and you will be karmically rewarded.
Retrieve monofilament grenades and you will be karmically rewarded.
-The Exchange

Son of A!! Alexia exclaims at seeing the last message pop up she shouts to everyone GET THE FRELL OUT NOW!!!! she puts as much emphasis and commanding into that as she could wishing now that she had trained her voice for that now but hoping everyone would take heed.
Gods i hope they get out fast, and it looks like Sha is in no real condition to take herself She starts heading to her vehicle to put Sha safely inside cursing that she had lost both her new drones but that was for another time right now it was time to get the hell out of there over the link she informed the team if you can make it to your vehicles do so now, if not get to mine. hurrying as fast as she could to her vehicle she looked to Sha you want to send your vehicle somewhere safe and ride with me or you want to take yours? seeing as both of there vehicles were in the same direction which was away from the warehouse she started for her's first just incase Sha did agree to it
Crap, i might have to shift here to be quick enough to make sure everyone is safe and get out of here in time.

"Hungh?" Sha'hGrim asks, looking at Alexia with a bit of confusion in her eyes. She clearly didn't fully understand the situation. Sha'hGrim had witnessed Alexia being tackled, and the very strange aftermath. She was under such tremendous pain-induced disfunction that she could barely step in to help. Sha'hGrim wasn't sure if she had helped, even, at all; though she had tried. Either way, somehow the attacker was killed, and Sha'hGrim and Alexia were now facing a gaping hole in the wall, Chasky picking himself up and licking his wounds, and 3 of their teammates still inside.
"Oh, right. I'll take mine." Sha'hGrim said. She could easilly pull out behind Alexia and follow. She wasn't sure she was in any condition to make any decisions; but following is still easy enough.
"But hold on a sec; we gotta get everyone out." Sha'hGrim said, heaving in time with Alexia so that the corpse would roll off the top of her. Sha'hGrim then reached down a hand to offer Alexia a hand up; blinking in surprise when she realized that Alexia had stood up faster than Sha'hGrim had offered support. She then reached up to rub her head. She was hurting.
Sha'hGrim turned, following Alexia out of the hole in the wall, stumbling slightly over the rubble and debris which she wasn't coherent enough to handle. As an afterthought, and likely entirely due to training, Sha'hGrim turned around real quick and snagged the belt of the fallen soldier, dragging his body out of the warehouse behind her. There would be something salvageable on him; his chameleon suit and his weapon at least. Though Sha'hGrim wasn't thinking about it one way or another - it was purely habit. She put her head down against the Ashe falling, having completely forgotten that she was wearing both a respirator and goggles, and started to trudge forward toward her car.

"I'm coming." Chasky stated over their link, as he hauled himself back to his feet. While he hadn't been much the worse for wear from the grenade, he was certainly shaken up. That was not damaging, but it was definitely painful. Sha'hGrim's head snapped up, suddenly remembering Chasky, and that she could actually assist her teammates a bit.
"Chasky!" She sent back, encoating the welcome with warmth and comfort. She was delighted that he was there; partially the reminder, and partially the support.
"Would you go check on Spawn, Darkon, and Andrealphus please? We need them to come out as quickly as possible. If need be; grab them and drag them out." Sha'hGrim sent Chasky. This was a somewhat complex message, containing the "retreive" request, which was simple enough, as well as a recollection of the Astral Signatures of each of her teammates. Chasky, the actual beast, would recognize them in the physical world, but Sha'hGrim figured that the Spirit would appreciate the confirmation by being given an Astral Signature too.
"On it." Chasky responded, sending back a feeling of both understanding and acceptance. Sha'hGrim knew that this would actually cost her, as it most definitely did not fall under the "Protect Sha'hGrim" command which she still had in affect. The spirit was more than happy to assist, feeling like it was part of the team; but this would count as a requested service - and acceptable one, but a service no less. Sha'hGrim nodded absent mindedly, continuing to trudge forward, dragging the corpse of the soldier behind her. She hadn't really given any thought to what she would do with it; but considering the space she had available, as long as she tied it down, she could carry several of them without infringing on Chasky's comfort in the back.
"Heads up Darkon; Andre. Chasky's coming to help you get out. If you're hurting, or just want some added speed, he'll drag you out if you hold on." Sha'hGrim sent out the message to the team, letting them know that they would have some assistence shortly. Sha'hGrim kept trudging toward her car, certain that she would be able to make it to her car before Chasky was finished with helping the team. Perhaps she would have completed her thoughts on the soldier by the time she arrived there. Or, even, remembered that she'd grabbed one and was dragging it.

[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3356799/ ]Grenade Damage 8P - Damage Resistance 2P = 6P[/url]
(Kesslan, do I add the 6P to that 3P you mentioned?)

'Dre-'
The thought was cut off suddenly and completely as the resulting grenade blast knocked Spawn unconscious and flung him into some old and battered office furniture. After, there was only blackness...

As his blood spewed from his seriously wounded hand, memories played through the changeling's mind like familiar, if not happy film clips: the look of horror on his parent's faces at what their son had become; the finality of the slamming door when his father walked out of his life forever; the faces of his mother through his adolescent years, first determined to stand by her son, then loving as the realization came that his disfigurement was only superficial, then the fear and misery as the hate mongers persecuted and hounded them, and ultimately the peace as she was laid to rest.
A name floated through these images; one that was both hauntingly loved and comforting, and unfamiliar and reviled...Milo... The name seemed to mean something to him, but when he reached for it the meaning slipped away again and again.
Then the once buried memories were gone and in their place rose the image of his home, his underground 'lair.' This he seized with what force of will he could still muster. Instinctively he knew that - they(?) - he was still in danger. He couldn't grasp the whys and hows, but he felt it nonetheless. He - they? again - had to get somewhere safe. With his conscious mind temporarily offline, though he did not know this in any practical sense but primal survival instincts, he focused his subconscious on that one image, adding the imperative 'safe place' to the image and concentrated on it. He could not know if anyone - who? there is no one but me - would be able to sense his thought, but he made the attempt anyway. His distracted perceptions could no more than have glimpsed the Exchange message as it popped up in his peripheral field of vision, nor could his cognitive faculties have but vague impressions of what the message entailed, but some sense of preservation had kicked in when the grenade went off, enhancing his reasoning to the subliminal survival sharpness that is common in sudden life-threatening situations. And his senses were telling him, 'get underground! get underground!'
So he used what will he could muster in his unconscious state and tried to 'broadcast' a warning and a message to - nobody - his teammates.

Andrealphus was down. Scheiße! With a pet, Darkon activated his raven staff. He could feel the additional capacity.

((Activating Focus, simple action))

The gap in the stairs was uncomfortably large. I hate sports. Why am I in this business again? Oh right, excitement, money, and survival. Oh and the girls... Not to forget the girls. Now for the difficult part.

The shaman reached out into the mana and wrapped it around Andrealphus body carefully. When he had the man floating next to him, Darkon extended the energies, engulfing himself, lifting both up virtually weightless.

((Spellcasting levitation on Andrealphus, complex action))
Levitation Spell Force 5 cassting (Andrealphus) Magic7 +Sorcery(group)5 +Spellcasting focus 2 =14d (14d6. hits(5)=5) 5 Hits
Drain for Levitation force= force/2+1= Threshold 3 Charisma7 +Willpower6= 13d (13d6. hits(5)=6) No drain

((Spellcasting on Darkon himself while sustaining the levitation on Andrealphus, complex action))
Spellcasting Levitation force 5 Magic 7 + Sorcery(Group)5 +Focus2 -sustained spell 2 =12d (12d6. hits(5)=6) 5 Hits. (limit of force)
Drain for second levitation spell force 5 f/2+1 = Threshold 3 Charisma 7 +Will6= 13d (13d6. hits(5)=5) No drain

Only moments later, both were airborn. Darkon began to steer them both down the all but destroyed stairs and then through the big hall. One arm holding the Staff, the other wrapped around Andrealphus limp body, as to make steering easier.

Using his throat mic, he replied to Sha'Grim on the group channel: “I have Andrealphus with me. He is hurt, maybe dead. I will get the two of us out and take care of him then as time is of the essence. I will take him to my car and leave the vicinity.“

Despite his concentration on getting both of them out without collision, Darkon couldn't help but think: Now I owe the exchange. Something I have avoided for a long time. Thank you very much Spade. He growled. I will get back at you for this. Live and let live had always been a credo for Darkon. But if he gained a grudge, he tended to hold it.

Downstairs, in a pile of debris, Darkon spotted Spawn. Possibly in an even worse shape than Andrealphus. “Gosh my. What did you do with your hand?” He exclaimed.

Sha'Grims pet seeed to be there too, but Darkon thought he could handle this better. Again the shaman reached out into the mana, the constant pull on his concentration becoming even bigger.

((Spellcasting levitation on Spawn while sustaining Darkons and Andrealphus levitation. Complex action))

Levitation spell force 5. Magic7 +Sorcery(Group)5 +Focus2 -Sustaining4 = 10d (10d6. hits(5)=2) 2 Hits

Drain for Levitation force 5 F/2+1= Threshold3 Cha7 +Will6 =13d (13d6. hits(5)=4) No drain




Spawn lifted up from the debris and floated towards Darkon. He tried to hold the two injured as parts of a triangle, steering all three of them as one item instead as three separately moving parts.

“Ungh.” An unarticulated grunt escaped Darkons throat. The drain was no problem. Darkon just stomped right through it. But juggling with the manastreams and coordinating the movements took quite a toll from him.

I got Spawn too. Now everyone get out of here. Fallback point at Joes Stuffer Shack in Tourist Ville. Public enough that they won't try anything as blunt, I hope.

((OOC: Sorry Kesslan, but Darkon simply isn't a gymnast. ))

Glancing over his shoulder at the flash of light off in the distance he wonders for a moment if he'd gotten up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. As he makes his way to assist the others he does a quick review of the events that had just finished unfolding, with a slight mutter he realizes he could have made more 'meaningful' actions though out the whole thing. Shrugging he continues on his way knowing that at this particular time there are more important things at hand. With a quick nod to Alexia and Sha'hGrim, he continues past them to assist Darkon in getting Spawn and Andrealphus out of the warehouse.



ooc: Sorry for the late post, was sick most of last week and got kinda behind in my school work.

Floating outside, a few meters above ground, Darkon noticed Tenaka following them. When they arrived his ash covered car, the shaman called out: „Come on! You drive!“ while opening the doors and getting Andrealphus and Spawn on the back seats. They touched the soft leather seats and relieved, he ended the spells that held them airborne.

Quickly, he took a piece of cloth from the glove compartment and hastily cleaned up the windshield and the side windows, probably with Edgars help.
Leaning through the open drivers door, he put his hand on the steering wheel for a moment so it could get his biometrics. Through his comlink, Darkon instructed the car: Activate. Authorisation for guest driver. After that, he jumped onto the back seat. It already vibrated from the starting engine. „Come on Edgar. We don't have all of eternity... yet.“

Only then, he closed the door and turned to his injured team mates.


Spawns hand was still bleeding profoundly. All over the leather seats, as Darkon noticed regretfully. But only with a side thought. Life is more important than gear.

„Life is magic, and magic is life.“ He murmured. The shaman pulled the mana out of the air, out of the ground. Through his spine into his shoulders, into his arms, into his hands. „Life is magic and magic is life.“ When Darkon touched the stump with his energy filled hands, there were muscle spasm running through Spawns body. The raven staff next to him still helped him in guiding these energies, this pure life force, making it a bit easier for him to channel them into Spawns injured hand. And by instinct, if not by knowledge, Darkon knew he would need it.


Healing spell Spawn. Force 7 Edge used. Mag7+Sorcery(group)5+Focus2+edge3=17d (17d6. hits(5)=5) ((Forgot to reroll sixes))

Rerolling sixes on the previous roll. (3d6. hitsopen(5,6)=3) (8 hits alltogether!)

Drain roll for healing spell spawn threshold= half damage value of 6 = 3. Cha7+Will3=13d (13d6. hits(5)=4) (No drain if I calculated correctly)

The shaman was utterly concentrated on healing the hand, or what was left of it, that he didn't even notice if Edgar managed to get the car moving or not. But in his mind, he could see bones snap back into place, sinews reconnect and flesh grow over.

If Edgar was looking back at the shaman, he would be able to see the shaman mask appear, as Darkon went full throttle with his powers. The hands were scaly claws, emanating blue fire, the visual sign of the life force that was transfered here. His head was overimposed by a dragons head. Black and red scales. And a red, diamond shaped gem was embalzoned on the forehead.

It took a long while. But Darkon knew that Spawn would at least not unspawn today.

When he was finished with Spawn, he turned his attention to Andrealphus. There were cuts everywhere over his clothes and skin. „You got hit hard my friend.“ A few deep breaths helped him to find his balanceagain. And once more [color=blue]the energies flowed into him, through him. Darkon collected them in his hands to release them as a stream of pure life. Andrealphus didn't twitch like Spawn had, which concerned Darkon even more.


Healing spell for Andrealphus, force 7. Magic7+Sorcery(group)5+Focus2=14d (14d6. hits(5)=4) (Only 4 hits)

Drain for healing spell. Threshold half damage value (Unknown) Cha7+Will6=13d (13d6. hits(5)=2) (No idea how much drain that gets Darkon)


He pushed and pushed, The flow draining on his own lifeforce. But he kept pushing. A friends life was at stake. But somehow, he felt that he could not do much for Andrealphus. Finally, Darkon sat back exhausted. After a moment, with a dry, not happy, grin, he asked Edgar: „Are we there yet?“

"Oh..." Sha'hGrim said both out loud and through her link to Chasky. She had just recieved the same information from both Chasky and Darkon as Darkon's levitate spell allowed him to sweep through the building in a near-sprint, without tiring. They both told Sha'hGrim that there was no need to concern herself with the rest of the team, as Darkon had taken care of it.
"Huh... Then return to the truck." Sha'hGrim told Chasky, by way of sending him a picture of him hopping back in to the truck. At this point she was nearing the doors of her truck herself, so she quickly flicked her fingers in the pattern that was required to unlock her Commlink, and quickly sent the follow-up pattern to unlock her vehicle. She opened up the rear driver's side door, pulling out her belt-knife and started to methodically strip the body of everything he had on him. Sha'hGrim wasn't anywhere near conscious enough to decide what was worth keeping, and what was not. Nor did she care much about further damaging clothing - a repair job is a repair job; she can get cuts repaired just as easilly as bullet holes or grenade tears, if not easier. She threw everything on the floor, knowing any blood wouldn't damage the rubberized flooring, and she could sort through everything later, once she'd had a chance to heal up.
"Oh, uh, guys... I can tow that truck that didn't blow up. I just can't hook it up for Towing... Can one of you?" She asked, finishing up with stripping the soldier. She had stripped him down to his underclothes, not concerned with the few nuyen those might be worth in a donation bin (nor conscious enough to remember that there may be more goodies hidden under them).
"Also, push the bodies that fell out back in; we can strip them for parts later." She said, intending her comment to be taken in regards to the weapons and armor they were wearing, and not realizing that it was just as valid to take their actual body parts to a black market chop shop as well.
Sha'hGrim went around to the rear of the truck and opened it up for Chasky, closing it behind him. Possessed as he was, he would be able to get out without any issues at all, so she didn't worry that the truck's door would impede his capacity to protect her. She went around to the Driver's seat, dropping the Reflexes spell on Chasky, and climbed in. She needed every shred of concentration she had to be able to drive well enough not to attract attention. Even sticking to the back roads, as she intended to do, and allowing for the 50% extra time it would take to get home, she really didn't want any attention.
Sha'hGrim started her engine, and got ready to head over in front of the remaining truck, ready for whatever was about to happen. It didn't occur to her that one of the team might be able to slave the truck to their own and allow it to operate in remote "chase" mode. Though, the truck may not even be able to start at the moment, given the lightning blast she'd hit it with.

(Alright, hope I got this gist of this right...)

Rufus "Sidney" Russell broke the connection with his mouth drawn into a thin line. Minimal Enemy Resistance. Yes, well- that was comforting. The Exchange made it sound almost like he only had to pop down the local corner store for a jug of milk. If by 'corner store' you meant a secret military warehouse, and by jug of milk you meant a military vehicle and some explosive ordnance. All guarded by 'minimal resistance'...

And a weapon of mass destruction about to blow up this dilapidated shack. There was that too.

And soon.

Rufus tossed the dish into the back seat of his car, and climbed in behind the wheel- calling up the map as he shifted into gear. He only hoped that whomever his kindred member of the Exchange was that needed his help wasn't already too badly torn up to drive. He sure as hell wasn't going to be happy if he had to ditch his car behind to drive this military vehicle.

As he peeled off in direction of the warehouse, gunning the engine up as fast as it would go, he ground his teeth together.
Ah, well, this day had been going down the crapper ever since he drove out here and started on that damned satellite. What else could go wrong?

Karmically rewarded.

Heh. Karma indeed.

As everyone started racing their way towards the vehicles and began to prepare to bug out, the question of how to get all the vehicles soon arose, though no one had yet managed to gather their wits sufficiently to really tackle that problem. Survival after all, was far more important. With the one member of the group being part of The Exchange, and the same entity trying to accomplish it's own goals a small window popped up via Spawn's comlink: <<Zinzin: The Exchange would like to assist you, if you are willing to help us in turn. If you accept please download this temporary chat program. [Link: Karmachatlite 3.21.7] >> Anyone accepting the offer would find the download was small but once run (a matter of mere moments) a small additional AR window would open up putting them in contact with the incoming Sidney. Handily it would also provide an actual count down to how much time the team actually had to get out of the area safely, among other details. (To be revealed only to those who accept)

meanwhile Sidney's approach was a little hard to miss, for even in the heavy downpour of ash, there was still the rather loud and hard to miss roar of a turbocharged engine from a Ford Spiral heading towards the 'abandoned' warehouse. Even with the ash however, the smoke plumes from the fires started by all the explosions would be hard to miss at his distance and it would be a matter of mere moments before he was there. On Sidney's side of things, The Exchange handily provided him with the GPS co-ordinates for Spawn, as well as an AR overlay giving a rough estimation on the location of the vehicle The Exchange wanted to get. (Note for Sid: As some one with a rigger control module, you can actually potentially remote control some of the vehicles. Additionally with your skills you can at the very least subscribe vehicles to your comlink and order them to drive to a set point on your sat map. It's important to note however that they are still very stupid unless upgraded and very literal. However given where you are you only really need them to drive more or less in a straight line to some point beyond the blast radius. Towing, as many ahve considered would also work if people had the right items to use.) As Spawn was already being rescued The Exchange's priorities shifted to trying to salvage the military truck inside the warehouse. The hacker wouldn't have much time but at least the path was fairly clear with all the recent explosions and the already open loading doors. If he counted on his run flat tires to work he could just run right on through and come to a stop next to the abandoned vehicle and get right to work with about a minute and a half of time to spare before he too would have to make haste in getting the hell out of there. That would possibly give him time to either try and bypass what ever security there was and just drive out, or if he did well possibly even program his own vehicle to get out too. Of course if he wanted to take the risk, the armoured vehicle would probably handle being in the edge of the blast well enough... hell, most of the cars probably would... maybe.

Darkon meanwhile did his best to heal the others (Netting 3 boxes of stun damage from Drain in the process). But it was eating up some very precious time along with his full concentration. It also meant that by the time he was done, rounding everyone up, getting the unconscious bodies together and healing them, he only had about one more minute left to clear the blast radius. It was doable, but he'd have to floor it and pretty much forget about the rest. Even that was only possible thanks to Edgar's help (As a note, spells with permanent effects take a long time to cast. Some of your hits can be used to reduce the time taken, but by the same token also reduce the effectiveness of the results. In the future, when being timed, please indicate how you wish to split up the hits.) in the end however while Spawn would never get his natural hand back, the wound at least healed over quite well and a cloned or cybernetic replacement would likely be fairly easy for a skilled surgeon to install. (Spawn may also make a will power test to regain consciousness at this point. 3 hits required)

Shah'grim, like wise focused on her own tasks soon found she was also quickly running out of time. She'd managed to strip the corpse before leaving but the man had a lot of gear, as well as heavy armour. It wasn't just a simple case of undoing a few snaps, but more like a lot of them leaving her little time to actually search through what she'd gathered and even skipping that step it had still taken her a good minute to strip the body, and a little more to drag it all the way to the vehicles in her present condition. She had at least managed to get Chasky loaded into the vehicle and her own vehicle started up in that time as well.

Alexia and Edgar meanwhile at least had time to get to their own respective vehicles and start them up, even after aiding the others, leaving them a more luxurious two minutes to spare, but unless decisive actions were taken, time would run out for everyone.

The grin faded and Darkon paled. Edgar was gone. He thought he could see the man run for his own vehicle. But maybe it was just the ashen rain playing tricks on his vision. „Ach verdammt!“ With a jump, Darkon got out of the back and into the pilot seat. A well trained move later, the shaman had put his staff into a clamp that would hold it while he drove.

Is everyone out of the blast zone? Does everyone have a ride? Darkon Andrealphus and Spawn are accounted for. He tried to coordinate the team. Making sure nobody was left behind.

He hit the gas, while waiting for a reply. He hoped to be in a safe distance in time. But his conscience kept nagging about his comrades. On the other hand, he had two comrades in the back of his car, unconscious and thus helpless. I'll take care of you, he thought grimly.

Come on, reply. We need to get out of here.

Darkon steered the car on a course that would first bring it close to the building, and then away from it quickly. Just in case he had to take up more passengers.

Driving roll for careful recklessness;) Reaction4+Pilot ground craft1=5d (5d6. hits(5)=4) ((I thought a roll would be appropriate))

Sha'hGrim, knowing she had little to offer the team at this point but another seat in her car, turned her head looking out the windows and reviewing the situation. No one had volunteered to hook the military truck up to her vehicle, and she didn't have the know-how without a head-ache. There was no way she would be able to put together a tow-line with the headache she was dealing with now.
"Yeah, looks like we got everyone out." She responded a few moments later when Darkon asked if everyone had gotten out. Mentally she went through the names, ticking them off.

Myself and Chasky? Check.
Darkon? Check.
Andrealphus? In the car with Darkon. Check.
Spawn? In the car with Darkon. Check.
Edgar? Uhh...
Alexia? Umm...

Sha'hGrim realized that there were two names on the list that hadn't consciously checked in with the group; or been checked in for.
"Lex? Edgar? What's the deal? You two clear already?" She craned her neck, trying to look back at the warehouse through the fog of the falling ash; but the 50 yards or so she was from the place was far enough that all she could see was the shadow of the building, and the bright light of the still-building explosion/fire in the huge bay doors. There was no way she would be able to tell the shape of a human in all that ash from this distance.

Alexia having "long sense" left the area she stoped her vehicle about 10m outside of the greater blast zone, however just before she got there Darkon had sent a message to the team Yea, i'm out, holding up on the greater edge of the blast radius. Just waitin for yall to so your cute faces. she decided also at that time Well the exchange has helped us out this much, and were in there debt now as it is it cant get much worse she accepted and downloaded the small client onto her com and had it set to auto open on completion. Once she got close and got the message from Sha' she replyed It's alright i'm safe, and i'm sure Edgar is going to be as well, by the way did you think about sending a spirit to the vehicle to get it out? i knwo you were wanting it at least

Sha'hGrim sighed when Alexia responded, though that still left Edgar unaccounted for. Thankful, Sha'hGrim realized that no one was going to help her with the military vehicle, and she didn't think she had the time to deal with it; not to mention the equipment or skills. Sha'hGrim gunned her engine, pointing it out in the direction of the rest of her team, not even hardly noticing that there was one vehicle heading in the "wrong" direction. Sha'hGrim was barely able to focus on one task, let alone other potential threat sources, or new teammates to deal with.
"Ahm... What do you mean?" Sha'hGrim asked, when Alexia suggested sending a spirit to get the vehicle. Spirits can't drive... And she didn't have a homunculus that she could put a Spirit in to to have it drive for the spirit.
Sha'hGrim shook her head a bit, half trying to clear the cobwebs from her mind, half trying to figure out what Alexia was really getting at. There was an inkling of understanding, buried beneath her pain, but it wasn't rising to the surface at this moment. Sha'hGrim was suffering from a case of "Tip Of The Tongue" syndrome - where she knew that understanding Alexia was within her; but that it was playing hide and seek right now... Not coming out.

Seeing that Darkon was almost finished with Spawns hand, he makes his way back to his own vehicle. Remembering the need to get one of the military vehicles out intact he takes a moment or two to rummage through the back of his van to see if he had anything that might work as a tow chain. For a moment, as his eyes pass over the case holding his climbing kit, he ponders if perhaps the rope would be strong enough. After downloading the program from the Exchange and noticing the remaining time Edgar drops the case and makes his way to the drivers seat.

"On my way now" he responds over the commlink as he starts the engine, slams it into gear and floors it hoping he hadn't taken to much time.

After receiving the all clear from his team mates, Darkon steers the car away from the blast zone with maximum accelleration.

On the team channel he said: Alright. Everyone get out safe. We will regroup afterwards. Do you all know the Joes Stuffershack in Touristville? I will be there in about an hour. Then we can plan. First I will get Spawn and Andrealphus to a doctor I know.



With a voice command, he switched the comlink and sent a message to Frank Miller, who happened to be a streetdoc and one of his friends in Seattle.

Frank? This is Darkon. Friends of mine have gotten into trouble and would need a good physician. Are you free?
I can get them to you in about twenty minutes. I have already done for them what I could. But I'm afraid it is not enough yet.

On the ashen fields, Darkon drove a straight line. Going at top speed and aiming for the city, waiting for the big blast behind him, hoping to get enough distance covered to be safe.

Seeing Sha's reply Alexia sighed realising that she might be worse off than she realied. I mean, i hope you had thought of sending a spirit of yours to poses the vehicle, they can do that right? take control of it to drive it out? hoping that that was as straight forward as could possibly be she waited at her location for the others to pass her by

"Of course! I can't believe I hadn't thought of it!" Sha'hGrim exclaimed distractedly. Her limited capacity for focus was already being reassigned to working with her Spirit.
"Would you please exit Chasky's body, and Possess that vehicle there? I need you to take that vehicle, and follow me with it." Sha'hGrim asked of her Spirit. She asked it by sending the spirit two pictures in her head: The first was a picture of the Spirit merging with the vehicle. It was shown mostly from the Astral perspective, as that is the perspective that the Spirit would have until it had completed the Possession. The second was from the perspective of the truck, racing after Sha'hGrim through the fields of ash.
I Believe I have 3 services left; this will cost 2: 1 for the Possession, and 1 to follow Sha'hGrim with the truck. Each action will take 1 Complex Action: exiting Chasky (no service), Possessing the Truck (1 service) and driving the truck (1 service).
"I can try." The spirit responded, knowing from Sha'hGrim's picture that she didn't expect the vehicle to be Prepared, otherwise the vehicle would have shown up brighter, rather than the living-shadow that she showed it as. Since it was not previously Prepared, the Possession would be a challenge for the spirit. It immediately set out to take care of it's Service, leaving Chasky's body. Sha'hGrim was given confirmation of that when Chasky emitted a high-pitched wine, finally taking full control of his body again. He had been stuck, watching, while the Spirit controlled his body, and there had been nothing he could do about it. Worse still: Sha'hGrim didn't have the concentration available to comfort him at the moment.

Knowing that this would be a challenging test, the Spirit schooled itself with all of the strength of it's force that it could muster; even reaching for that extra "Luck" that the metahuman's liked to draw on so regularly. The spirit dug down deep, knowing that highly processed objects like this one, further from their natural state, were harder for the Spirit to possess. Or even to understand. Perhaps that was the commonalilty.
Forcex2+Edge = 8 Hits; target=5+ That certainly looks like a success; but it's up to you. The book lists the Object Resistance (SR4A P.183) as 5+ for highly processed objects.
"I think... I've got it..." The spirit relayed to Sha'hGrim as it began it's Possession. Sha'hGrim wasn't entirely certain how it could tell either way until it was finished, but figured she would have to wait until later to ask. At the moment, she was focused only on speeding away from the Warehouse.

Rufus gunned the Ford as fast as he dared. It was admittedly pretty fast, but as he eyed the countdown, time seemed to be going too fast. His estimate wasn't exact, no, but he was confident enough that it was pretty close. If he wasn't on his way out of the blast radius when it displayed a bright red zeros, things would get...well, best not to think about that.

As he swung into the compound, heading for the warehouses' doors, he spotted headlights and forms moving. No combat- at least- not anymore. So much for any resistance, it would seem. One less thing to concern himself with.

He was late to the party, though.

And he didn't see a military vehicle that the Exchange spoke of on its way out. Trusting the others he had yet to meet to take care of themselves, he sent the first thing that came to mind to the chat.

I'll get the truck.

The first thing that came to mind- to the point. Simple. Clear. After a moment, he added:
Sorry I'm late.

He slowed down as he entered the warehouse, heading straight for the location on the map- on the lookout for the truck- there it was! He gritted his teeth, as it was hard to miss the chaos that had clearly befallen these other runners. It made the truck stand out, however, as it seemed to be one of the only things still intact...

Throwing the car in reverse, he maneuvered his Ford backwards, up beside the truck. Stepping out of his car, he glanced around the warehouse quickly, before letting his hand drop from his holstered handgun. The truck was clearly an older model, and he let out a soft sigh. His luck was still holding- he must be doing something right. Older models were easier to hijack. Grand Theft Auto wasn't exactly his area of expertise, afterall, but how hard could it be, really?

Security would be simple enough. He didn't expect a problem there- the question was getting it started. Grabbing his toolkit out of the car, he slammed the door shut, sending ash falling to the asphalt, and walked around to the truck.

Accessing the truck once it was started, again, he assumed would be easy enough. Child's play. Sending the signal to start the engine he wasn't too sure of. Yet. With the eye on the timer, he popped the hood and surveyed the engine...maybe...no...unless...?

Aw hell, he didn't have time for this. He commanded his Ford to retrace the route he had taken into the warehouse (minus the turn around, of course), and stop at the doors where anyone that still needed a ride out could climb in.

With that last bit taken care of, he began his 'sophisticated' attempt to get the truck started up.

"Hey 'Lex, I asked the Spirit to give it a try. Since the truck isn't a Prepared Vessel, it may not be possible for the spirit. But he's trying. I'll let you know shortly, one way or the other." Sha'hGrim said, hoping that the Spirit would succeed. If the truck wouldn't start, the spirit was the team's only hope to get the vehicle out of the blast radius. And, that aside, the Spirit was really the only hope the team had at any rate, since there was so little time left. Sha'hGrim, of course, didn't know how much time they had, but it was only just enough... Just barely enough.
"And thanks for that, 'Lex. I wouldn't have thought of it." Sha'hGrim added, making sure Alexia knew that her help had been appreciated. 'Runner's can get prickly about other people suggesting what they should do. But right now, Sha'hGrim knew that everyone on the team would take all the help they can get. Especially when it comes from another teammate; someone already at least partially trust worthy.

The one problem normally facing a spirit possessing a vehicle is that it can control the purely mechanical aspects of the car, but generally none of the electronics. By the same token, as outdated as the military vehicles used in the assault were, technically speaking, this one had been upgraded over time though it was still woefully inadequate to keep out a really determined and knowledgeable hacker or rigger. (GM: in order to save time, I've done the appropriate skill rolls for Sid and get everyone synced up while he gets used to the system). Fortunately, though it took longer than Rufus had felt comfortable with, he finally managed to locate and disable the vehicle's GPS tracker, as well as disable and bypass several connected security systems such as the engine imobilizer as well as bypass it's pilot program so that the vehicle would run on manual controls, just in case he'd missed something. After all, the one vehicle that had tried to unsuccessfully flee had clearly been tracked some how before it was destroyed by it's own side (A fact so far only Rufus seemed to have realized thanks to his own viewpoint on what had happened) The man had just enough time to hop in the vehicle with mere moments to spare in getting out of the area before the vehicle suddenly started on it's own while he was still getting ready to force the starter and the vehicle promptly started driving off on it's own, following the convoy, all without any input from the man that had intended to drive it!

Normally this would be attributed to the pilot program, but that was clearly still trying to control a vehicle it's control box was no longer even attached to and was just spewing out connection fault errors. Just like it was supposed to at this stage. Still, the vehicle at least seemed to be headed out of the blast zone and like everyone else, Rufus knew he had to get clear. While panic may or may not have set in for the new man on the scene, nothing untoward otherwise occurred to him and he found that The Exchange had at least gotten a few of these unknown runners to join a temporary, secure chat channel for him to communicated with them (Those that downloaded the program) In the end, everyone cleared the blast zone with minutes to, in a few cases, seconds to spare. Fortunately the area was fairly barren so even driving at top speed in a heavy downpour of ash was of minimal consequence and the vehicles sensors were able to handle the basics of the terrain just fine on their own, providing those that needed it with the really important information required to avoid collisions or pot holes.

Even with the heavy downpour of ash however it was hard to miss the roaring sound that soon filled the air as a red hot knife cut through the sky, turning the black cloud of volcanic soot a deep fiery red before an almost ear splitting boom cracked out as the Thor round impacted. Instantly the entire warehouse was just.. gone and in it's wake a small earthquake shook the ground while a huge bubble of air formed and pushed the ash and debris up high, high into the air leaving a notable, if otherwise relatively small mushroom cloud in it's wake while the fleeing vehicles were pelted with little bits of earth and small rocks before the ash started settling down again. Alexia recognized this event from her fractured dreams as the warning she'd divined but had at the time, lacked the experience to really understand.

Through the link to the Exchange provided from the application to those that had accepted it, the Icon that was 'Zazin' sent the following message:
<<Please deliver salvaged equipment to this location: <Map link> and you will be suitably rewarded. I will let them know to expect you.>>

The link indicated a storage complex about half way back to Seattle, but still out in the country side where there were only small towns and other tiny population centres.


GM note: The group is now basically synced up time wise once more. Free form posting goes on from this point but please at least try to consider that not everyone (especially our newest member who's also new to Shadowrun) can necessarily easily keep up with a large flurry of posts (That said, Sid, please try your best to keep up. If your struggling in the future, please let us know)

"I follow." The spirit's response came through to Sha'hGrim in the form of her own vehicle in it's view, and getting closer, indicating to Sha'hGrim that the truck was gaining on her quickly.
"Thank you. Once we're finished with this truck, I will be releasing you. Your service today has been exemplary; and it would have been far worse for me, and for Chasky, without your assistence." Sha'hGrim attempted to send him the highest praise she could muster through her pain-clouded mind as she continued to speed away from the site of the explosion soon to come. She wasn't sure if she was successful, but the Spirit sent her back some "mental pick-me-up" of sorts, in the form of a wave of comfort. It probably understand what she was currently going through better than she did; at least at the moment. The spirit, presumably, had been around a long time.

Sha'hGrim slumped back in the driver's seat of her chair, allowing her head to completely relax against the otherwise stiff "neck support" built on to the chair back. She had the vague notion that the neck support was theoretically designed to protect against whiplash in the event of an accident, but she suspected that one as stiff as this one would do more harm than good. Regardless, she was exhausted, in pain, and still a long way from a warm bath and a good night's sleep. Worse still: her current wounds were the result of Drain, and she knew from long experience that it was impossible to Heal from Drain damage; she would have to wait this out over time.
"Ahh... We made it..." Sha'hGrim mumbled in to her Commlink, knowing that the subvocal would pick up her muscle movements more than the actual audio pickup would be able to collect her voice. It didn't matter though. With events like the one they had just survived, you never knew if you'd made it until the explosion. And usually that was only the first step to survival anyway.
"What now?" She asked in to her commlink, too exhausted to make any of her usual suggestions. For lack of anything better to do with her hands, Sha'hGrim reached backward and gave Chasky some long slow petting. He had come out of this in significantly better shape than she had, and he knew it. He pushed his very large head in to her hand, returning the affection she was showing him in kind. The Ferrett, which had been otherwise ignored and sequestered started to chitter at her excitedly. Likely it was more interested in the impressive explosion which had just occurred too-close behind them than it was in any direct attention from Sha'hGrim. The explosion had been shiney, and Ferretts like Shiney things.
"Oh, the Spirit managed to snag the Truck." She added, as her fingers found their way behind Chasky's ear. It is a common misunderstanding that dogs like to get their ears scratched, and cats do not. The truth is that both dogs and cats like getting their ears scratched, and Chasky was most definitely no exception to that general rule. He purred deeply, showing his appreciation for her scratching. Likely, though, he was also purring to keep Sha'hGrim in the moment, and mentally comfortable; but she didn't know that. Cats are far more empathic than Metahumans.

Darkon wrote:

Frank? This is Darkon. Friends of mine have gotten into trouble and would need a good physician. Are you free?
I can get them to you in about twenty minutes. I have already done for them what I could. But I'm afraid it is not enough yet.

A response was slow in coming but then that was partially a mix of the time of the day, as well as possibly just how busy Frank was. Still the man was a close enough acquaintance and Darkon soon found his link ringing with an incoming call from the street doc. If he didn't pick up a message was left, otherwise the call went on live in much the same manner.

"Hey Ted, I've had my assistant shift around a few appointments to make room for the time slot you needed since you've been such a good client in the past. We've got walk in patients coming in right now but I'll instruct the staff to allow you to come in the back as per our usual privacy arrangements. If you need a different setup just let me know, if I have to do a house call I'll have to get some one else to take care of my patients for the rest of the day."