A Time for Secrets

When the sun was still rising.

What he had seen last night, was still hunting Viking even in these early hours. Almost everybody was still sleeping, only Jack, the mage Viking had met here, and Greifer were on guard duty. Even here in the forest he could hear how they were talking about their biggest adventures, the narrowest escapes and funniest moments. Come to think, Viking had never heard of someone trying to subdue a fire-spirit.

Unable to sleep and with the rising sun on the horizon, Viking decided to improve his chances of survival, and improve the ones of his teammates. It was time to summon his guardian, his trusted Valkyrie. The action had become something regular in the pas few years. He summoned her to help him in his magic, help him avoid the bounty hunters, who were after his head or just to talk when he was lonely. Viking had never thought of himself as a master or the spirit as servant. His summoning and binding of these magical beings was always a barter, giving and taking, sometimes very successful, sometimes a disaster. Now was it a time for a new one.

The stone circle he had spent a whole day preparing was his place of choice for summoning his best friend in the spirit world, the love, he could never share his life with. It took 15 min to prepare the small fire, then his song could start, love-song, as Viking called it himself. It might have been his lack of proper sleep, but the song felt different, instead of a cave as a portal to the world of spirits, this time around it felt more like a door. A door with someone keeping watch. This someone, or rather something was welcoming, opened even the door and Viking could go through, but while passing the door he noticed something in the hand of the gatekeeper, a glass of wine, and a smile, at least Viking believed to see one one, what should have been the face of the humanoid being of fog. Then it came to him, the offerings, the ritual. It had changed something here, on the island. The song fell apart and he awoke of his meditative dream. A moment of calm was needed, he ordered his thoughts and remembered how it felt to pass the door, then he took a look at the island in the astral... It was the same feeling, the same aura, as if the island had become the conduit of his magic, the magic that was performed here. With that in mind Viking decided to try once more. this time he knew there would be a door, and there would be a guardian he went through it all and was again in the realm he knew, the spirit realm, the home of his beloved Valkyrie. Now he stood before her, made his request, and she just watched, you could still feel that she was a bit upset about what had happened on the beach, where Viking had used all his energy to save Ashe. but on the other hand, his hands were scratched and tired of all the work he had done, to make them a home on the island, so in the end she agreed to come with him for a while. this maybe took up just a few seconds to get to the spirits, to win her trust back, hours had passed to convince her to stay for longer, to be bound to viking until his wished had been fulfilled. When he woke from the meditation dreams he knew he had a strong ally on his side it was one of those kind of dreams, that was necessary once in a while, and for the most part left you drained.

Later the fire called him to the group, long was he contemplation what had happened while summoning his spirit, but n the end he still had more questions, then answers. So he turned to Specter for some input, as the ritual was her idea. nothing much really became clear so the fire was the place where to think, he played a bit with it, made a small fire ball on his fingertips, burned some wood that was not in the fire yet burning, but more then that he could not do, he was as far from slinging fireballs as a fish from flying a jet, but he still liked to know the fire, the magic element this world revolves around, heat, energy, and love, around this fire was all of it, and it might be that this group still knew very little about each other, they still were in it together, still were fighting for one reason, money, in most cases you would think, but Viking knew better, it was a rebellion. as most could easily just become wage-slaves, cooperate puppets, but still choose freedom over safe life and nuyen. these were his kind of men and women.

Then the roll call came,

it was not hard to get everything ready he needed, so he was one of the first to be at the jet, he took a seating and went to sleep, his lack of sleep should not take away from the security and well being of others, so he made sure to get some more of the refreshing sleep he so desperately needed. as he woke up he was not really sure what to do, was he on guard duty, was he going in? so he just assumed they would call him if he is needed and started with what he could do while others were preparing transportation and gear - guard duty on the plane. for a while there was calm and peace, but then, the group notices uninvited guests and the hell broke lose. Viking wanted to help as well, but was not sure how much of a help he would be on the battle field in his state decided to scout out the opposition a bit. He called on his Valkyrie to guard this jet, and called a air-spirit to aid him in his work, to conceale him form everyone who could see him in the astral realm. Leaving his spirit as the guard Viking took a seat in the jet and left for the woods were all his team mates were engaged in the fighting. he tried to avoid the view of Kesslan and Alexia as did not want to startle them in the middle of the fight so he went around with a half circle, he just some managed to be at the spot when he saw the group get into, what he would see as a grey boys, and drive away, he decided to follow ...

Spoiler:

The two street Samurai had no difficulty crossing the street, and they did so without any indication, what so ever, that they were crossing, or had ever even crossed.
Stepping that last step toward the the pool of light cast by the overhead lighting on the road, Ghostmaker activated his chameleon suit, becoming challenging to see under the best of circumstances. No sooner had he turned on his stealth device, but the Spirit began to assist in his hiding as well, making what would have been challenging to see in to something virtually invisible. In fact, he might actually have been easier to detect had he had an invisibility spell on him, where the combination of his sneaky movements, the stealth suit, and the spirit were actually more effective than a straight invisibility spell would have been.
Seig followed immediately behind Ghostmaker, neither of them making the faintest sound as they crossed the street. In fact, Ashe had to activate her Astral Sight just to be able to see them at all, and she knew where to look for them!
The crossing of the street was fairly quick, and uneventful. No cars intersected their path, nor were there any other living beings. Once they got to the other side, they moved through the alleyway toward the gate to the warehouse.
No bullets came their way. No grenades went off.
"Ok... It seems they can get that far, at least, safely." Ashe said, breathing out a sigh of relief. She hadn't even realized she was holding her breath. A quick look around at everyone else, though, confirmed that everyone had been poised for reaction, ready for any little thing to have gone wrong. And nothing had. Yet.
"But they were almost completely invisible. Next up: Father. Is your army ready?" She asked rhetorically, stepping forward and expecting everyone else to follow suit. They were only 1 well-lit street, and a short block away from their target. And waiting longer now only contributed to the sense of suspense. Ashe had had enough, for now. Though more times than she wanted to count in her life, she had wished to be back in that sense of suspense; she was still ready to move forward.
"And, of course, last but not least... Us." Ashe said, looking at Specter.
"I would be more comfortable heading in there in the flesh than leaving my body behind... It's a bit too vulnerable here. What do you think? Invisibility spell to cross the street?" She asked, looking at Specter and wondering whether they would even be needed, or useful. Of course, experience dictated that they would be both needed and useful. But every situation was different.

Warehouse Gate:
LT looked checked his heads up display. The stealth tags he'd handed out were at least still working. He'd distributed them to core members, as well as anyone going in, so everybody was on his hud. He silently cursed himself for not having bio readers on the tags, so he could keep track of who needed him the most... Mostly as a shield LT had pledged to "get in the way of anyone getting in the core teams way..." That was in the beginning, now he was extending that protection to all members new and old guard. Though the old guard had not been on the job much longer then the others... Driver, Ashe, Kess, and Line, and yes even the AI were its core... LT included... He looked at Siege's right next to his own. The formation was tight as it should be for trusted comrades and it occurred to him with a faint bit of head pain from thinking to much that the team assembled had enough raw strength to level this building at least... Each team member was quite capable of handling themselves in the situation and Kess had called for silent entry he would have to have faith in the others two keep there heads... And he would have to believe in himself that he could keep his...

LT looked beyond the gate for anything that might have been missed by the recon from earlier. Before giving the all clear for the gate breach... He also looked at the lock on the gate, to see if there was anything he could do to help, but mostly he kept an eye out for the watchmen and cameras...

Perception test: Looking for anything or any persons impeding including the lock 2hits

Warehouse Gate:

LT squated down a bit when he peeped the guard on rounds he started to give the Silent codes for i see someone you know one fist up, two fingers pointing at the eyes, and the two finger walking motion as we as a head count with stubby Troll digits... but he stopped himself as he remembered the suit the spirit and the shadows no way this guy saw them but just to be safe he sub-vocal communicated what he saw to the others...

Sub-vocal to team: This is LT at's da gates I's Gots eyes on the Guard... Slow ands low ons the ways in guys, lock looks like old styles pads lock. Can one o' yous comes ands picks this?

"The multiplying villainies of nature do swarm upon him, disdaining fortune/with his brandish'd steel, which smoked with bloody execution." Father continued reading his book, letting relevant quotes to either the conversation or his opinion whenever he felt they were necessary, as the group decided to cross the street, which to Father seemed like an odd conversation to have in the first place. When it was his turn he simply strode across the street, finding no real need to hide. Who would suspect a priest crossing the street reading the bible. But nothing here is what it seems. he was not the plucky hero, there really wasn't just 1 evil empire, and this is not the grand arena, and he wasn't just reading from a book.

In all actuality, he had memorized the bible, verse and chapter, since a very young age, but it had helped center his mind on the AR screen that he put up in front of him, and any on-lookers would just think he were reading or turning a page, not moving windows and issuing commands. The Saints had passed on by Father, hurrying past rather, to catch up to LT and provide instant door kicking back-up. He had tasked the 2 Lynx's to do the same basic action, but only after Ashe and the rest of the group had begun to cross as well, to any one catching an eye that shouldn't be, it would just appear to be drones crossing the street, as would happen from time to time, from some random rigger somewhere else, certainly not a priest reading a book take in a midnight stroll.

Specter seemed deep in thought. Ashes question pulled her out of it. "If you can make us invisible, sure. I can't though. Maybe we should wait until they need our backup. Even invisible, I'm not really that subtle." She tried to keep an eye on the infiltration group, but to her, they were already gone. When they passed behind a parking car, it seemed as if they hadn't emerged from it again.

But then, LT commented on the group channel about their progress. "It's amazing what powers a spirit has. I can't see them anymore. Not even on the astral spectrum." She kept her voice quiet, but the amazement was hard to miss.

"Erm... Well, I could. But I suppose that's a bit unnecessary now, with Father walking directly through the streetlights." Ashe said, tensed, waiting for whatever trap might be coming to spring. None did. Yet.
"I suppose it's fine for now... And if we wait back here, we'll be that much further away when, and if, they do need help." Ashe said, stepping forward in to the edge of the pool of light they had all been standing just beyond moments ago. Whatever it was they were going to find up ahead, they were committed now. If there were hidden cameras, they'd been seen by them already. Now there was only hoping that any metahuman eyes didn't pick them out as "notable". Fat chance of that, though... A priest wandering across the japanese docks in the middle of the night? - I would notice that... Ashe thought to herself, steadily striding forward, trying not to look too out of place. Though, again, her clothing, bearing, and the time of day definitely didn't match a person who wouldn't be considered "out of place" here, now.
Alexia strolled out in to the street light just steps behind Ashe, picking up her feet a bit to catch up. Ashe hoped that the two of them travelling together would look slightly more natural than just her, alone. But she doubted it. If anyone was watching, she didn't have any expectations that they would go unnoticed.

"You mean..." Specter thought about it. The father indeed had given them away to anyone watching. On the other hand, she was rather certain that the first group had not been noticed, neither by metahuman eyes nor by any cameras. The spirit would make sure of that.

"We could take shelter in audacity." Specter mused loud enough for Ashe to hear. "Two girls who have found their way from Harajuku to the docks? I can do a good drunk impression." She grinned. "I mean, if they're going to notice us, they should notice us well. And miss LT and the others even more. If we really blow our cover, we should do it thoroughly."

Lil'Tiamet: Warehouse entrance gate

LT looked at the lock. It was not a frustrating situation, not by a long shot, but he had no idea what to do. Instead of using his minor skills as an escape artist, for a point of reference. He just got angry... He was not sure what the feeling was, or why it was there... but he let it flow through him, somehow feeling as though it was right... He reached out slowly and took hold of the lock. Then it happened... The loud booming voice in the back of LT's skull “I can help, focus on me” LT shuddered as rage spoke to him, he'd not expected this but he recognized rage's voice, and felt a swelling inside him an immense power surging up through him, his lungs were hot what was happening now...!?! Love had said his rest would not be disturbed, and wisdom had said he would need to find his way back to them for more, but maybe rage had found a way to pierce the vale... Or maybe he always could, but chose not too. It did not matter he spoke, and LT wanted too listen but he did not understand “Focus on him....? Focus on...? The lizard...? No... focus on... Raaage!!!" he concluded instinctively screaming in his mind the name of the apparition from his dreams, and then Something else happened... If you could see the astral it would seem as though the part of LT's Drake Aura that belonged to his front arm, flashed slightly! While in reality his right hand, and arm became Jet black, an scaled, increasing the girth of his arm slightly, and pushing his armor to its limits. His nails grew also becoming razor talons, and the semi claw ripped, and burst one of his AR gloves...! He squeezed, and pulled at the lock, while growling, and it sounded like no other sound the team had ever heard from him over the sub-vocal mic. It was not really loud, but in your ear it was eerie. It did not sound like a dog growling, it sounded like a hissing growl low, and malevolent growl... And lasted throughout the ordeal... Lastly LT opened his eyes, but he was not using them it felt like, like rage was? He looked on his hand which had changed he noticed his thumb was almost gone, and now useless, but for the talon that replaced it, his eyes clicked blinking, they had changed as well, under his helmet his eyes had become reptilian... The change was only slight out side, but inside rage had taken shape holding out a talon for LT to grab onto. LT had reached out, and took hold of that talon, and the Dragon thought form shrunk slightly, as LT grew a little... He did not get the significance of this... LT was none to inquisitive... Rage knew this so He did something to make sure he at least remembered this event... He spoke or screamed “Thunderhead!!! I will Lend you my strength, but i can only do this for a moment, you will need to find your way back to us, as wisdom told you... Don't forget... Find us! Your birth wright depends on it!” and a surge of energy raced through LT centered on the arm holding the lock. This was a sustained pull tug of all the arm, and minor dragon claw could muster, plus what help rage added...!!!

Strength test: modded pool 10dice = 3hits 5 1's hmmm?

The chain rattled during the pull from the strain on the chain, and lock that was attached, as well as the fence which also shook a little... lucky they were under the concealment of the spirit, because as a result of the ripped glove LT's Armor on his right arm was struggling to compensate, or so it read on the stealth meter on his AR display. They would have surly startled the night watchmen LT had spotted earlier who was probably on his way thier by now...

"Mmmm... Drunk, huh?" Ashe grinned wickedly. She reached out and hooked her arm in Specter's, leaning toward her visibly, though not placing any of her weight on Specter. Ashe took a staggering step forward, pulling specter with her and in to the light. Father had already passed through the light by now, and there still had been no obvious response to his presence. No guns, no additional noises.

LT pulled hard. The chain fence was rattling slightly at the effort of his pull, and it was clear that something was going to give way, sooner or later. As the growl grew in LT's throat, the links on the fence vibrated more, rattling louder. The lock was stronger than the fence, and the bar that the lock was attached to started to warp under the intensity of LT's strength and pull. As the strength inside LT was coming out, so did the effects of the effort. LT ripped the still-closed lock right off the fence, the steel of the fence in this case was not as strong as the steel of the lock. In the process, pieces of the fence fell off, clattering metallically about on the ground and making a general, and obvious racket. The group's fears were realized as the roaming guard seemed to notice the sound and started walking over in the general direction of the gate.

"Uh, what was that?" Ashe asked as LT's feral growl was transmitted over the commlink. It was certainly a new noise to her ears.

Specter giggled and put a stagger in her walk as she supported Ashe while hanging on her arm. Just a drunk girl on a night out with her friend. Or maybe her sister? Both girls were pale, elf and beautiful after all.

Grooooooooooowl

She looked up amazed. Her voice full of surprise. The shamaness knew that sound. Knew it no matter whether she was asleep or awake. Silently, maybe just loud enough for Ashe to hear it, she whispered: "Dragon..." The girl tugged at Ashes arm, staggering faster, going towards the gate. "Come. I must see this. And... they will probably need my help with the guard." On the group channel she said: "I can probably hex the guard to leave us alone. You lot just hide. Ok?"

Her thoughts commented on that: Oh yes, a great justification. Admit it, at least to yourself, you're curious how Dragon helped LT. It must have been him, given that he had Dragon in his aura for a while now.

LT was freaked out, his arm had all but changed shape, and his hand did change shape he breathed, and felt the heat from his own breath inside the helmet, and mask that went with it... For the most part he was starting to understand this was a manifestation of his will, as he knew Rage was... But what part of him was dragon or lizard or what ever the hell was happening... About then Specter cooed in that she would handle the guard, and he knew she would see his ripped glove when she got there, they all would... He had no explanation, he did not even know what the frag was happening!!! But he knew he could not afford another episode especially on mission... So he stood down, and thought over and over "Change, change back! jeez! What the frag change back!" but to no avail... LT had no real control over this evolution none at all... he shook his arm all the way until they got there then just tried too hide it...

- Dragon? Ashe thought, curious. She knew what LT was, but she had no idea that he may be changing, for the first time, right now. It just hadn't occurred to her.
"You mean... We're doomed?" Ashe whispered back, now more curious than ever before. She allowed herself to be dragged forward by Specter. She figured at the very least, if someone was watching, that would look every bit as natural as two girls staggering across the docks streets in the middle of the night. Two elven girls, at that. - I hope we're not being watched... Organized resistance may actually be better than the more likely alternative... She thought, realizing what would likely happen if a couple of bored guards were to see the two of them staggering across the street. And it would cost the group time, if nothing else.

The alleyway between the lit street and the gate was short and completely dark; a stark contrast from the well lit street. Ashe and Specter couldn't see anyone from the group, even with their natural low light vision. Ashe switched to Astral for a moment to orient herself. Thankfully, the fence and gate had been around long enough that they were visible on the astral as well. Ashe could easily see the street and Father, and had a little difficulty picking out LT from behind the concealment of the spirit, but managed to locate him after a moment of careful searching.

In the end Kesslan had opted on covering LT's approach with his sniper rifle, though having expected that he would be required to be fairly mobile and doubly so on having to actually engage targets directly he'd taken along the Desert Strike over the much bulkier Barret. With the breach having issues and apparently attracting the attention of the guard he mentally assessed the risk of discovery now or later. Taking out the guard would mean, assuming he reported in like he should, some one was bound to eventually notice he didn't. Risking exposure now guaranteed immediate raise of the alarm however and he decided he'd rather a minute or two of certainty over a seemingly higher risk of certain exposure. "Wait one, will take down the guard with gel." he said calmly over the 'link while he swapped out magazines from the much more lethal load. It wasn't that he really cared if the man died or not but he understood right now that the team didn't need the added attention a dead body would bring over some one simply rendered unconscious should this be the wrong place or something along those lines..


(OOC Gala, let me know if I don't have a good vantage point or what have you as I'm not quite sure where Kess has been assumed to be at the moment. He does have ruthinum coated armour with high thermal damping so could sit practically out in plain sight and not get noticed. If I do I'll do up a set of rolls for perception & the shot.)

Before they got into the light, Specter pulled off her hood and stuffed it into a pocket. Then she approached the gate, still holding onto Ashe. Still staggering as if drunk, she looked out for the approaching guard, ready to intercept him with a drunk little charade.

Perception roll Int3+perception1=4d (4d6. hits(5)=1) ( One hit and a glitch)

There he stood. Oh excrement! Was he wearing a red samurai armor? Copulate! No time to retreat now. We have to put up a good show then.

In a normal conversational tone, she said, as if tellng Ashe: "I don't know, the club must be somewhere around here." She was speaking english. "I wanna dance."

Her skins soft glow should be visible in the darkness. Hopefully, the guard would think of it as the newest body dye.

Kesslan didn't like uncertainties, he liked simplicity almost to a fault. But then this was the mindset of someone who wasn't actually a person despite his appearance but rather a very literally predatory animal. While he somewhat understood metahumanity he saw them as far too unpredictable and while he wasn't quite sure what sort of last second plan his fellow team members had cooked up, he decided he'd rather not wait and see if it worked or not. In the meantime at least the guard would be slightly distracted, all the better to use the time to line up his shot and hopefully knock the guy out. Noting the man had body armour on and what seemed like a fairly heavy suit was definitely a concern and it made him wish he'd gone with armour piercing rounds instead of the gel, but maybe... just maybe it would still work. Though he was pretty sure now he'd have to pump more than a few rounds into the guy.

Still, maybe with a headshot he'd be able to pull it off. Still he would need a little bit of an added edge and so, trying to 'move quickly' he gathered himself, preparing himself mentally for the task, imagining it in his head and then... pulling. Mentally pulling inward to enhance his normal ability and give himself that added edge he carried over all simply mundane individuals. (Attribute Boost Agility: 2 hits. http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3881262/)

With that done he took a careful aim at the guard's head, seeking to hit the man somewhere about the forehead in hopes it would potentially induce a concussion if not knock him out in a single hit and pausing to adjust his scope. That done he started to slowly squeeze the trigger as he let his breath out a slow fraction of a time like a gentle sigh. The chameleon coated weapon coughed once as the built in silencer and then a second time as he followed up the first shot with a second in hopes of a quick takedown.

Complex: Boost attribute
Simple: 'Lock Target'
Simple: Take Aim
Simple: Called Shot to Head (2 Hits: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3881269/)
Simple: Follow up Shot (Second shot recoil negated by recoil compensation) (3 hits: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3881271/)

The guard crumples to the ground, mid-stride. Kesslan's shots hit their mark, or at least close enough to be effective. The sound he made hitting the pavement was less noticeable than the sound Ghostmaker had made ripping the lock off the gate. But, then, if someone had been suspicious before, they likely noticed the guard falling over, seemingly dead.
Ashe inhaled sharply, letting it out slowly.
"Nice shooting." She said, her voice sounding somewhat mechanical over the subvocal mic in her ears. Of course, she was used to that, since subvocal was never intended to be a "perfect" recording; simply good enough. She and Specter had been there in time to see the action, though likely Kesslan would have had to wait a few seconds if he'd wanted one of them to do the same thing with a spell. He had clearly been ready for that, and they were not. Thus, and again, proving that magicians will always need muscle and guns. Always. And to their eternal consternation, muscle and guns do not always need magicians (though we're usually pretty handy to keep around...).

Specter heard the hissing shot and watched the guard go down. "Excrement." She muttered under her breath. And since she didn't want to draw even more attention to the group, she stopped speaking loud and used her subvocal mic, adding on the group channel: "What was that for? I said I can take him." She sounded at least annoyed. With a visible effort of will, she calmed herself down.

Composure test.(3) Cha6+Will5=11d (11d6. hits(5)=3)

The elf girl looked around, ignoring Kesslan for the moment. Her gaze falling on LTs arms. "Neat." She smiled at him. "We should talk later." Then she turned to Ashe again. "Either our cover is blown or we're still good to go. Anyway, we should proceed. The spirits concealment should still hold the others in its shroud. But we're in the open. We could draw possible attention on us and have them infiltrate deeper."

Lil'Tiamet: Warehouse side gate

LT tried to hide his arm in response to Specter's offer to talk... “Yeah sures moving ons right, good shot Kess...“ Bouncing the focus off Kesslen's prowess with the rifle was a defense mechanism. And while He needed to draw the attention, away from his problem, at least until he knew what was happening, his voice still had that his combative tone it was deeper and darker “Let's gos” he removed the barricade fence, and started in checking corners, leaving the downed guard for the others to check on...

"It's ok, he didn't kill the guard. Take a quick peak in the Astral - you'll see, the guard is just out cold." Ashe said in quick response to Specter. She didn't know if Kesslan had already been pulling the trigger when Specter spoke up, or if he was in some sort of shooter's trance and hadn't heard Specter say that she could handle it. Either way, the problem was solved for now, and it was a mostly non-violent solution, which Ashe was more pleased with. She didn't directly oppose violence, as it was often completely necessary in her line of work. But she did prefer to avoid it on those few rare opportunities when it was possible.

"We could draw possible attention on us and have them infiltrate deeper." Specter finished.
"That's a solid idea." Ashe responded, "lurching forward with Specter, acting on the idea immediately.
"Kesslan, LT, and Sieg, we're going "wander in" and draw any attention there is. Give us a couple second and then head in. You'll be at the back of anyone trying to surround us." Ashe said over her subvocal as she and Specter pushed forward through the now unlocked gate. The gate squeeked a bit as it opened, the sound of cheap metal on metal hinges, designed for strength but not stealth. Despite the noise, the gate was well balanced, and didn't seem to be any difficulty at all for Ashe to push open - it was clearly designed to be used.

GM Notes:
There is no immediate obvious response to the guard collapsing, if any other guards noticed.

LT put his weapons away and moved up his arm was pulsing... And since it could not hold a weapon he figured he'd just try and shear what ever got close to the girls... He followed after they were a good ways away, and he was sure any surprises that would befall them he would pretty much see in advance... if he did need a weapon LT would use his left hand that thought in mind His sub-Machine gun found its way there... With his COM he sent a command to it for Full Auto mode... The Supermach clicked, and clanked in an auto response to the PAN user's command... And he moved on to Shadow the others his birth right possessing his right arm... His own skill in his Ambidextrous Left, A Massive, and silent Defender off of the shoulders of the bait... "Ok's Ladies I's on your sixes..."

The group works it's way forward slowly, at the pace of the two stumbling girls leading some distance ahead of the rest. Ashe and Specter, clutching each other by the arms and wandering through pools of street-light approach the building and the collapsed guard, speak in exaggeratedly quiet voices, the occasional giggle piercing the otherwise completely silent night. By some stroke of luck, the guard had collapsed in one of the shadowy sections between street lights, so he was not obvious on the ground.
"I'm not sure there is any other "regular patrol" on duty here. If there was, we would have seen something by now..." Ashe said over her subvocal mic as she and Specter continued to slowly work their way toward the enormous warehouse doors, large enough to be an aircraft bunker, the small people-sized door at the bottom looked insignificant next to the warehouse loading doors. This was fairly normal for dock-side warehouses, where crates might be loaded and unloaded from the boats in large numbers.
"That doesn't mean we're not being watched... Just that it's not likely by any "regular guards" at the moment." She added, noting that she and Specter had actually passed the guard on the floor at this point. - Now would be a really inconvenient time for him to wake up... she thought to herself, letting the thought dissipate before it could take hold and play out in her mind.

Specter nodded at Ashes comments. "Right. And we should keep up the show just in case." She said subvocally on the group channel.

Speaking normally she added: "I can't even hear music. Are you sure we're right here?" She stumbled over her own feet. "The ground's really uneven here." A giggle escaped her throat. "Hello? Anyone here? I want to party..." There is no better hiding place than broad sight.

All the while, she looked around with her sensitive eyes.

It seemed like hours, it might as well have been,in the astral the time flow differently, but Viking was still following the Truck carriering the ones who had tried to attack the Jet. There had been no news from Valkyrie, and no feeling of her going away, so he was quite certain the jet was still safe.

The others, he was not so sure, but for now he could not change anything. Maybe he should go back? Should he make sure? hmm.... No, he has full trust in the team, more over, he knows Ash will not let anything happen to them, and Kesslan, Kesslan is the master tactician who will com out on top, and LT, LT is the most trust-able ally anyone could have.
LT Memories of the night have come back to Viking, a feeling of unease filled him.

They will be OK, he thought, or rather hoped as his attention turned to the truck in front of him. He will follow them till he knows from where they came, be it good or bad news, he will have them for when the others return to the Jet.

Viking
The truck followed a path Viking was not familiar with, though it seemed like it was intentionally circuitous. After a while, the truck came to a stop, and everyone got out. It seemed like the truck had come to a stop in an alleyway somewhere. They "huddled up" for a few minutes, or maybe longer, time is strange in the astral. Then they headed to the corner of a building, and started to sneak. Viking hadn't been detected yet, so it was likely that the people in the truck weren't checking Astral. They hurried across a street, down an alley, then across a major street, then down another alley. Then they stopped at a barrier of some sort. From the Astral, it was hard to tell if it was a cement wall, or just a permanent chain-link fence. It just appeared to be a barrier. Physical, not magical. But either way, it was mostly impermeable, and had been there for a long time.
Viking floated up a bit higher to check out what was on the other side, and could see what appeared to be a very long building, surrounded by water on three sides (and of course, he and the guys from the truck were on the fourth side). After spending a few minutes doing something or other at the barrier, a door opened up in the barrier, and the group filed through. It was a small door, and the troll had to inch his way through. Viking couldn't see any other obvious living signatures.


The group
Finally at the building, Ashe and Specter had to either continue to make slow time, or drop the Charade. As yet, the group had no way to know if it was their ruse which had gotten them so far, or if there was simply no further resistance. Ashe made a split decision, figuring if there were any remaining guards, they would have been out there by now.
"Ok guys, let's do this." She said, dropping down in to a crouching position and moving closer to the wall, and in to one of the pools of shadows. Next to her was the very large warehouse overhead door for loading and unloading, which was closed at the moment. And next to that was the smaller metahuman sized door for people to use entering and exiting under any other circumstances.
"We don't know what we'll find in there. But my guess is that if there was an army waiting for us, it would have come out already." She said, waiting for LT, Kesslan and Seij to lead the way through this next door.