10:21 <banana> The Northern Lights are dim in the sky, coronal bands perceptible as a blue-green tint to the stars. Ordinarily they wouldn't be visible at all, this far south. 10:22 <banana> The unusual 'space weather', as the papers put it, has a more dominating feature, one which outshines the rest of the sky: the Super Blood Moon. 10:24 <banana> It's all a bit of a laugh. Amateur astronomers are enthused and the public eat up variety articles about where you can best see the thing (far-western Europe or, ideally, Iceland) while joking about whether it represents some witch's curse. 10:26 <banana> The arbitrarily superstitious or highly informed might believe a night like this weakens the barriers between dimensions (a word with no scientific definition), suppressing the protections that keep one world invading from the next. Your clients called it the Gauntlet. 10:27 <Crion> VASCU is vaguely aware of Gauntlet Theory. Connected to folkloric traditions about literal lunacy -- moon madness. The legend of the Werewolf. So on. 10:28 <banana> It's all true, of course- malevolent spirits, creeping from the Shadow World through gaps and tears that elude the wounded face of the moon. This takes place at key points of spiritual influence, the twists and intersections of leylines, and you've already visited one tonight. This next is going to be more difficult. 10:29 <banana> The primary issue is that site #2 is usually inhabited. There's a farmhouse here, with a barn and equipment sheds; the exact intersection point is outside but it's right between the major buildings. 10:30 <Crion> Gauntlet Theory and the like was never a particularly viable area of study for Aster. Very little lab work to be done. Purely field. Speaking of: he's provided the group with two electromagnetic field (EMF) detectors. Will be interested to see how/if they function in this use case. Possibly completely useless. 10:30 <banana> The family who live here (agribusiness employees, but they put on a good farm-folk show for tourists) have been evacuated. The new cell, hunters-for-hunters, have prepared the site and themselves. How are they laid out as the moon throbs hotly and the air begins to bleed in tune? 10:31 <Crion> Aster will also rent the white panel van. Don't call it the 'Mystery Machine.' He'd prefer to stay in the van. 10:33 <tom> Bob's in full tacticool, complete with a stupid polo under his ballistic plate carrier vest. He's got a plexiglass shield bolted to the handles off some forlorn piece of patio furniture. He idly rubs the the colorful bandaid on his neck while his Visor boots up. It sure is taking a wh- oh goddamnit there's still dozens of old browser tabs full of arguments. A twitch of the eye and they're 10:33 <tom> gone. He checks the bolts on the ballistic shield a third time and rolls his shoulders. Pre-op nerves. 10:33 <Crion> Might not be an option. He's got the Glock, but it feels more and more like a security blanket. 10:34 <banana> This is probably going to involve property damage. The Wolf-Mourners promised to take care of cleanup, chagrined as they were to outsource; you won't have time for it yourselves. 10:34 <hrolf> Rolf is crouched in some bushes with a clear view of the AO. He has etheric googles on - does he see anything with them? 10:34 <tom> Bob's patrolling outside the house, periodically checking in by radio. The visor's finally booted up, and the friendly green square is ping-ponging across his field of view trying to pattern-recognize monsters in the static. 10:36 <tom> He sweeps his weapon across the pane, and the system boxes the barrel and adds a wobbly little red dot downrange. Fully sick. 10:36 <banana> The last time Rolf wore these things, back when he was still getting regular work from the government, he saw the ghosts of Irishmen seeking righteous vengeance. Tonight's stranger, with purse-shaped twists forming in space; the forms that are beginning to climb through them don't resemble human beings. 10:38 <Quaker> Badawi reaches the top of a rickety, bare windmill about thirty feet off the ground. Avoiding the slowly spinning blades, she slings the duffel bag off her bag and onto the little maintenance platform. In a few moments, she’s got the stock unfolded, telescopic sight attached and adjusted, and her bipod planted on a railing. She pulls a walkie-talkie from a vest pocket, checks the frequency, and toggles the talk button. “Five is 10:38 <Quaker> ready to go.” She sits on the edge of the platform, her legs dangling in space, and brings the sight up to her eye. 10:38 <Crion> He's handed out one of the detectors to Badawi, and is holding the other one himself. Are these things working? 10:39 <VoxPVoxD> Willie's on-site as well, hidden behind a haystack, wearing a beat-up tracksuit, trainers, and whatever the best armor they had at their fingertips was (if nothing else, some slightly stiff leather padding beneath her suit). She's got an orange pocket knife cradled in one gently shaking palm. Her mouth tastes like adrenaline, which makes her think of grappa, even though they're nothing 10:39 <VoxPVoxD> alike. Really, she's thinking of Milan, and the first time she saw a monster burn. 10:40 <banana> The antenna on the detector is beginning to spin and twist in an invisible wind. That's bad, but it's working. 10:40 <hrolf> Rolf whispers into his talkie: "Spotting some kind of weird portals in 'ere. Looks like targets comin through 'em. Reckon we should act fast before they get to be too much, like." 10:40 <tom> "Location?" 10:41 <Quaker> Badawi looks down at the EMF hanging around her neck. What is it doing? 10:41 <tom> Bob's voice- passed through a vocodor as a precaution against getting tagged by attentive listeners, comes through the mic garbled but intelligible. 10:41 <Crion> Never has a kevlar vest felt more superfluous. "Getting readings on the EMF. Something's building." 10:43 <tom> Oh, right. Bob switches on his GoPro. You never know, maybe they'll get a sick short film of him getting dragged off into the darkness. Could be useful. 10:44 <Crion> Sensible. 10:44 <banana> Rolf sees: by the barn, a tear widens. Two tangible things drift fully through the gap and into the world, not yet manifested, rapidly bleeding away their own substance. There's a thing that looks like a double-ended pitchfork with googly eyes and a heavier more abstract thing, the same volume as a hay bale, that thumps to the ground. 10:44 <banana> The detectors spike, pinging the same location for Aster and Badawi. Roll initiative. 10:44 <Crion> We can review the footage later. Or someone can review it off of our corpses. 10:46 <tom> "Goddamnit I'm still not getting anything on my Odin." 10:47 <hrolf> Rolf carefully watches to see if there’s any more, then raises his talkie again. He speaks again, even quiter: “Spotted two bogeys, in every sense of the word. Ugly lookin’, like somefing Picasso dreamed up on ganja.” 10:47 <Crion> Aster: "They're here They're HERE" 10:48 <Quaker> Badawi: “There are two signatures twenty meters to the north of the front of the barn. Not visible to the naked eye yet.” 10:48 <Crion> He demonstratively points in the direction the EMF goes wild in -- dimly realizing he is in the open and acting as Badawi's stalking horse and spotter. 10:49 <hrolf> Rolf: "Negatory, I can see em. One of em looks like a pitchfork - its upright. The other's some kind o lump...can't describe it, its on the ground." 10:49 <banana> The lump looks liquid, like it should be oozing, but is somehow held together into a rectangular block. It's moving very slowly, unlike the floating implement. 10:50 <tom> "You've got the ghost paint." Rolf can hear Bob racking the slide on his weapon before the radio clicks off. 10:50 <hrolf> Rolf: "Lump's on the move." Is it moving towards anything? 10:53 <banana> Aster asked Opal, since the wizard had already clocked him, whether spirits have minds. "Small minds for small spirits," was the answer, "and the royalty of their race could contain each of you as a thought." 10:54 <Crion> Aster: "I'm foot-mobile." He thinks about taking cover behind the van, but it could just possess the van. Should he attempt to attack its mind? The wizard was distinctly unhelpful. 10:55 <Crion> Well. Let's take the leap. 10:55 <tom> Aster can see Bob sweeping the AO with his flashlight in frustration. 10:55 <banana> The fuel spirit (oozing lump) isn't going anywhere yet. Aster's on the case. 10:59 <Crion> Aster steps away from the van, then, straightens, attempts his best imperious face -- difficult, he can't SEE this thing, not like a normal thing -- and stabs with his brain. 11:00 <Crion> At first it's like stabbing a sword into a breaking wave, and he feels it overwhelm him...but then everything focuses, and it's like stabbing a ballistic dummy, and he drives fear and agitation into it. 11:01 <Crion> When he feels that all that emotion start to flip back on him, Aster wonders if he's made a terrible mistake. 11:01 <Crion> Clinically speaking, the findings will be novel. 11:01 <VoxPVoxD> "Does it have a trajectory?" Willie hisses into the comm. 11:02 <Crion> Aster: "I suspect...one of them...will be coming towards me." 11:02 <hrolf> The lump seems to be seething and pulsing with increased agitation. "Negatory. Somfing's made it mad...it's looks like its bubbling over with rage." 11:02 <tom> Bob, who is responsibly not littering comms with his little anguished cries of frustration, continues to hold station. 11:02 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Get near something flammable. Not too near but." 11:03 <banana> The black mass wobbles like jelly. Rolf sees part of its substance stripped away - a substantial amount, somewhere less than half - and the remaining lump is moving dazedly. 11:03 <Crion> Aster assumes the gas tank on the van is not what Wellesley means. He continues looking about... 11:05 <banana> The floating pitchfork turns in the air blinking its large eyes comically and a jaw dropping into existence - this is a great skit, it's a shame only Hughes can see it - and bolts for the barn. 11:06 <hrolf> Rolf: "Bogey numbah two's starting to become more...concrete. 'uman like. Its making a break for the buildin'." 11:10 <banana> The cartoonish appearance of the thing gets to him. For a moment, his legs won't move. 11:12 <hrolf> Rolf’s legs won’t move, but his hands still do out of reflex. His handgun is whipped out and fires. A blurred bullet, glowing softly blue, whistles through the air at the seething lump. 11:13 <VoxPVoxD> Willie strafes (this is a lie; she just runs to the right) to get a look into the barn. 11:15 <banana> There's not much in there. Two empty stalls for animals, one with fresh dung, parking space where the farmers' cars were, large bins full of harvested vegetables.. and a rack of tools, shovels and hoes and the like. Rolf described this spirit as looking like a pitchfork, so you wouldn't exactly be surprised if it has some influence over those. 11:17 <banana> Bob still can't see anything but people moving frantically. Badawi from her perch has moving pings - not so accurate at this range, the EMF - and witnesses incipient, partially-controlled chaos. Fighting an enemy you can't even see sucks. 11:19 <Crion> Aster is moving his arms like weathervanes, trying to keep one pointed at each of the spirits as far as his EMF can ping them. 11:19 <tom> Bob's crouching behind the shield, weapon raised in his free hand- an ugly little stub-nosed number with a matte black suppressor can while his Reticle boxes Willie's run toward the open barn. "Fuck you, Raytheon!" 11:25 <VoxPVoxD> It's moving too fast, and too oddly shaped. She's never going to be able to hit it. But she can draw it out. Willie unfolds the knife, steadies her shaking hand, and rakes it across her right palm. It stings and burns. The veins in her hand redden and glow, illuminating her cold, angry face from below. Spine straight, stance square, right hand out, and hate— 11:26 <tom> "Holy fucking shit!" 11:26 <banana> Rolf's gunfire is dead on. He puts etheric rounds into the centre of the fuel-mass, which goes up in ghostflames. Splashes of burning oil are temporarily visible to everyone, 'painted' by the specialised ammunition as they flare up and fade away. But speaking of burning- 11:26 <VoxPVoxD> A screaming lance of white-hot flame cuts across the barnyard, burying itself at the base of the barn wall. The air smells of smoke and brimstone. The fire begins to rise. 11:28 <Crion> Aster reflexively ducks behind nothing as the barn goes up. 11:28 <banana> There's the property damage. 11:28 <VoxPVoxD> They're insured. 11:29 <hrolf> Rolf would normally report the confirmed kill in at this point, but his tongue is still tied. He opts for silently pumping his fist. 11:29 <banana> Startled cries ring out - including an ethereal wail from the spirit which now needs to book it back OUT of the barn or experience serious issues. There's also an answering moo from around the farmhouse corner. 11:32 <banana> One outbuilding crackles with the fires of, uh, hell, but the moon hasn't finished throbbing in pain. 11:32 <Quaker> Badawi takes her eye from the scope to look at the now burning barn. 11:32 <tom> The camera shows a wobbling image of a barn growing larger- then the whole frame is bathed in searing light that fades as the software adds contrast for the sudden shift in lighting. The next image on the frame is the sillhouette of a woman- framed on all sides by hungry flames. 11:33 <tom> Bob's eyes are bugging the fuck out under his sunglasses as he braces the Riot shield on the floor just past the barn's threshold. 11:33 <banana> The instruments continue to go crazy as another two tears open in the Gauntlet. One of them is almost directly behind Bob; Rolf sees a small bloated body clamber out of that thing, grey skin and all-mouth. 11:35 <banana> The other new arrivals are on the other side of the farmhouse from the burning barn, where the tractors are. One is a complex-looking spirit, something like cobblestones from an old street arranged into floating rocky columns which move up and down like pistons. 11:36 <banana> The other isn't an enemy at all, just a curious house-cow. The pet animal lumbers out of the shadows of the house but shies away from the flames. There's a collar around her neck with a hand-painted wooden nameplate: "DAISY" 11:36 <Crion> Aster: "Cow! Cow in the AO!" 11:37 <banana> The EDF pings are starting to settle down, and the moon continues its procession. If you're lucky there won't be any more incursions after these... one at most. 11:38 <Quaker> “There’s one behind Mr. Goreman.” Atop the windmill, Badawi puts the sight back to her eye, places the sights on the center of the fucked up little mouth goblin, and breathes out. 11:38 <tom> Bob's first question on seeing Badawi's gun: Where the fuck did you get a Puff the Magic Dragunov in England? And where can I get one? 11:41 <hrolf> Rolf attempts to scream out a warning to Bob but all that comes out is a muffled "mwaaaaa-" 11:42 <Quaker> The report cracks out across the farm, but the bullet just thwacks harmlessly into the ground. 11:42 <tom> "Additional contacts? Fuck," Bob twists in place. "Sorry, Daisy." Clicks on the radio: "Smart move's to KO the cattle before they can Ride it." 11:43 <Crion> Aster: "I can attack these things on their own merits. Someone else shoot the cow." 11:43 <tom> "Please don't make me shoot Daisy." 11:45 <VoxPVoxD> "I'll tag it." 11:47 <banana> The thing like a series of rocks drifting between piles moves itself- stacking and restacking - onto and into a tractor. 11:48 <Crion> Aster: "Fuck." 11:48 <Crion> "TRACTOR!" 11:48 <tom> "I fuckin' knew it." 11:49 <banana> There's only the one functioning vehicle (apart from your van...) - two others are hulks being scrapped for parts. This thing purrs smoothly to life and begins to roll out into the farmyard, toward the burning barn (and Rolf, and Willie, and Aster...) 11:49 <tom> NEXT TIME REMOVE THE GAS ON SPIRIT POSESSION NIGHT! 11:53 <banana> The horrid goblin tries to grasp at Bob's legs, passing right through them. It quivers, belly shaking with rage, and gnashes intangible teeth, then seems to swell; power disperses as farts, and the whole farmyard takes on an odd tint, a metaphysical resonance of hunger. 11:55 <banana> The barn's flames, infused with darkness, do not change their essential nature. 11:57 <Crion> Aster stabs out at the associated region of hunger that's manifested on the burning front lawn of this old farm and once again is almost overwhelmed by feedback. He got a hit in, though, he thinks, as his nose starts to bleed. 11:57 <hrolf> Rolf: "-aaaa, mate! Bob! It's next to you! Get away!" 11:58 <tom> "Oh shit!" 11:58 <tom> The camera jerks around with its wearer. 11:58 <banana> It looked like Aster was glaring at him for a moment; good to know it's actually the spirit. 11:59 <hrolf> Rolf can feel sensation return to his upper body, and then his legs which feel like they have ants crawling all over them. He hops from foot to foot, trying to stamp the feeling out. "And it looks hungry! move! move! So I can get a clear shot!" 12:00 <Crion> Aster is backing off to the best of his ability, but he's gonna be in the middle of a crossfire. 12:00 <tom> "It's just Ghost Paint! I can take it!" 12:04 <banana> In the burning barn, most things that could be dangerous are already alight. Or melting. Willie can't *see* the spirit, but its panicked possession lookd to her like poltergeist activity. All of the brassica oleracea rise out of a sprout bin, dozens and dozens of them, and come pelting out of the barn as they begin to crisp at the edges. 12:04 <tom> "KALE!" 12:05 <banana> The farmyard now contains: Aster, Bob, Rolf and Willie; a slowly revving tractor, turning side to side as it prepares to charge; Daisy the house-cow; an invisible hunger spirit; a swarm of flying sprouts. 12:05 <banana> Well, Aster's somewhat out of the way of all that. But not far enough to be truly safe. 12:07 <tom> The camera catches a storm of leafy greens slapping off the plexiglass barrier at high velocity while Bob curses. 12:15 <hrolf> Rolf crouches and carefully takes aim at the giant walking mouth, doing his best not to hit the hapless Bob right next to it. Another blurry bolt of blue whistles through the air...and direct hit! 12:16 <banana> Only he can see how the thing pops, exploding apart in a spray of grey guts, capering to the last. A ping fades from EMF. 12:16 <VoxPVoxD> Willie rakes her smoking hand again, and extends her palm toward the improbable congeries of vegetables. Hell's own heart stabs at them! Her veins burn so bright it's starting to look like she tucked an active torch under her sleeve. The wound, once cauterized, rips open a bit wider. She'll need to use the mandoline to cut vegetables for a few days. 12:17 <Crion> This is, frankly, insane. 12:17 <Crion> But he's going to make six figures if he walks away. 12:17 <hrolf> Rolf whoops over comms. "That's 2 confirmed kills, 5 including the last job. Get on me level lads!" 12:18 <Crion> And so Aster remains standing out in this stupid lawn, as a tractor prepares to run him over, they try to protect a cow, and the charming young lady from the bureaucratic services sets a swarm of sprouts on fire. 12:20 <tom> "Don't tell me you're going to -AUGH!" The camera catches Willie's hand welling up with blood before vanishing again behind hyperexposed flame. 12:21 <tom> Bob turns away from the heat baking his back, slapping Daily rudely on the flank with a talisman, hopefully startling the creature off if the gunfire and flames hasn't been sufficient cause for her to bolt yet. He rounds the van and couches his gun- it looks like a small population of stens became isolated on an archipelago and became degenerate- at the oncoming farm equipment and rakes its 12:21 <tom> front wheels with bullets. 12:22 <banana> The Brussels sprouts hurtle and whirl, bouncing harmlessly off Bob's riot shield before half of them catch fire. The tool spirit wails again; everyone with a knife feels it vibrate in sympathy. 12:24 <VoxPVoxD> Willie's still got the bloody blade in her left hand; when it thrums it almost matches the burning throb of her right. The sensation since a tiny prickling chill dancing up her spine, and her lips twitch upward just a bit. 12:26 <tom> The camera jerks back and forth as Bob pivots between the bleeding woman and the possessed tractor. Panic starting to creep up into his voice: "Heh, you okay kid?" 12:28 <banana> Daisy: "Mruuuu..!" There's a chain around her neck now, that's fine, she's used to the collar. The tractor is moving - also unremarkable. In general Daisy's approach to any situation is to stand around quietly and move food between her stomachs. The gunfire and sprout-battering, though? She runs, more or less at random, trying to bolt past Aster and the van to the empty driveway where flame isn't. 12:29 <Quaker> “Mind the tractor.” Badawi slowly pans her rifle over to the lumbering engine, settling the sights over its exposed gas tank. *crack* 12:29 <VoxPVoxD> Willie's voice is distorted. Thick, smoky, with an almost metallic bass reverberation. Is that Bob's audio setup? Feedback from the comms? It must be, right? "Lovely." 12:29 <tom> "Coool." 12:30 <hrolf> Rolf: "That thing's leaking petrol- mind the fire..." 12:30 <banana> Perfect aim. The tank cracks, the tractor creaks, gas begins to spill and catch alight. But it a big machine with a big gas tank and it's possessed by a completely inappropriate spirit. Inside the cab, dials flicker back and forth - 1-3-5, 1-2-6, 2-2-4. Eppur si muove. 12:35 <banana> The tractor wheels back and takes aim... 12:35 <banana> It doesn't actually know Badawi is there, is the thing. Bob's the one standing there and emptying bullets into the tyres. 12:35 <Crion> Here it comes... 12:35 <tom> Bring it on you Cars looking motherfucker. 12:41 <banana> Bob's fast and tough. He's got a flak jacket and a riot shield. The vehicle is too big to dodge and it weighs 15,000 pounds. 12:42 <banana> He's on his ass, both conscious and active but in need of medical attention. 12:42 <tom> The camera catches the burning, driverless tractor as it bears down on the wearer. He jerks left to run, too late! The footage is confused for a second, but someone is hooting wildly as the frame tumbles through the air. 12:43 <VoxPVoxD> "BOB!" 12:43 <tom> As soon as he can speak again:"I'M FINE!" 12:44 <hrolf> Rolf: "Well done, that lad." 12:44 <Crion> That's not good...but it's something managable for all the hunters who have guns. That cloud of sprouts on the other hand? 12:44 <Crion> Aster will reach out and try to make it understand fear and pain. 12:44 <Crion> His other nostril begins to bleed. He feels like that was marginally effective. 12:46 <banana> All the sprouts drop out of the air at once. 12:46 <Crion> ...Perhaps more than marginally effective. 12:46 <Crion> Excellent. 12:46 <banana> Rolf can actually still little wisps of spirit-stuff connecting them, but it's fading fast! They shouldn't be a threat anymore. 12:46 <Crion> Now he's getting blood all over his shirt. 12:47 <banana> The burning tractor begins to wheel around, slowly positioning for another pass across the farmyard. It's far enough back to line up more than one of them in a shot. 12:47 <hrolf> Rolf squints at the mouldering veggies. "Bogey 3 appears to be down." 12:47 <tom> "Guh, grreat." 12:54 <VoxPVoxD> Willie breaks into a dead sprint towards the tractor, hand streaming fire as she goes. It looks a bit like a Cirque du Soleil thing, if you're at an angle that the giant burning barn isn't in the background. But when she gets up against it and lays on hands directly on the tractor's hood, the whole thing goes up in a fulminating spire that rises higher than the barn. Willie is silhouetted, 12:54 <VoxPVoxD> then enshrouded, then engulfed. 12:54 <VoxPVoxD> God, this feels so fucking good. 12:54 <VoxPVoxD> Why would you ever run from this? Why wouldn't you want to feel like this longer? 12:54 <Crion> So this is the power of Hell. 12:55 <hrolf> The tractor's picking up speed and zagging in ways no normal tractor could. Rolf fires off another shot, which glances off it. "Bollocks! Bogey 4 is almost done for, anyone else in range?" 12:55 <Crion> Intriguing. 12:55 <Crion> Aster, through bleeding sinuses: "Overwatch has the go." 12:57 <tom> Gah. "Guh." Bob lies there for a minute, blows the smoking bits of vegetable from his face. Breathes. The gently bobbing green box resolves & turns off, having not successfully acquired a target. A chime sounds in his ear. "Thanks, Odin." 12:57 <tom> "Ouuuahhh" Bob rises like Count Orlock. 12:58 <tom> What's the damage? Is my knee busted for life? That's a thing that starts happening in your thirties. 12:58 <banana> Bob lies in the dirt amid a shower of falling sprouts. He isn't quite trampled by the cow. A shot rings out. 12:58 <banana> (This is good.) 12:59 <tom> Where the fuck did she get a Dragun- Whatever. His adrenaline's ebbing now, which means, fun fun, the searing pain his joints is just beginning. 13:00 <tom> Distorted and synthy over the radio: "All clear." 13:00 <tom> He taps the GoPro and cracks his neck. 13:00 <hrolf> "What do you mean? Its still moving!" 13:01 <Quaker> Badawi had taken her eye from the sight. In the back of her head, she could feel her frustration rising. FUCKING thing - she switches the walkie talkie off, until there’s just the crackle of the flames and some distant shouting. Under her breath, without even thinking about it, she’s muttering - “me cago en tus muertos, vete a cajar, anda a la concha de tu madre” - and then she breathes out, puts her eye to the sight, 13:01 <Quaker> sights over the thing’s engine block and pulls the trigger. *CRACK* 13:01 <Crion> And there it is. 13:02 <banana> The tractor fucking explodes in streaks of petrol and molten metal. Willie is blotted out by the spray of flame, then silhouetted against the darkness and the aurora - glowing red-hot. 13:02 <Crion> Aster backs up against the van, far enough back that it's reflex not force. 13:02 <banana> Good work, everybody. Daisy is fine. But you're going to have to really book it to site #3. 13:02 <tom> He smacks his forehead. "All clear." 13:02 <Crion> Then he slides down the side of it into a sitting position, holding up the EMF. "Confirming all clear." 13:03 <hrolf> "Bogey 4 is down! Evacuate the AO - is the lady alright?" He breaks into a wheezing run towards the flames, trying to get a visual on Willie. 13:03 <Crion> "Ugh. Rolf, you're driving." Aster opens the side of the panel van and rolls inside. "I need to do something about the bleeding." 13:03 <Crion> "She's fine." 13:03 <Crion> "She's from Hell." 13:03 <Crion> "Or some part of England." 13:04 <Quaker> Before the metal hits the ground, Badawi is packing up her gear, tossing the telescopic sight off the bag, folding the SVDS’s stock and bipod, slinging them into the duffel bag, tucking the walkie talkie in her vest, and then she’s sliding down the ladder. She hits the ground and runs towards Daisy, whacking at the cow’s hindquarters until it stops and she can get the dog tags off its neck. 13:05 <tom> Yeah, no need to ask after Bob- he limps over to the others, shouldering the shield like a crutch. "Nice shooting Rolf. Real artist with ghost paint." 13:05 <Crion> Aster's got a stuffed-up nose pretty quickly, so he'll sound a bit funny from here on out. 13:05 <Quaker> Badawi jogs over to Willie. “Give me your things to carry and bandage your hands.” 13:06 <tom> Ah, shit: "I got some bandages." 13:06 <hrolf> Rolf points to the van. "Do it in there - we got to move, lads. More sites to hit tonight. Go go go!" 13:06 <VoxPVoxD> For several seconds there's no sign of Willie in the blast. But a dark figure fills the space, a woman's silhouette craning its neck to the sky and spreading its arms wide. There's a long, luxurious stretch. When the dark shape solidifes into a woman, that woman looks like the survivor of a building collapse. Clothes torn and sooty, hair a mess. But the branchwork of veins pulse and burn 13:06 <VoxPVoxD> beneath every inch of her skin, and her eyes glow a featureless, lurid deep red. 13:07 <tom> He unshoulders his bag and starts fumbling around inside. Please tell me there's an adrenal. 13:07 <Crion> Aster, over the radio. "We haff to movff." 13:07 <tom> "Yeah, yeah." 13:07 <VoxPVoxD> She hands Badawi the knife, which is hot but not unbearably so. She's still glowing and radiating waves of heat as she climbs into the van, but nothing's catching fire, not even the gauze she wraps her wounded hand in. 13:08 <Quaker> The thief tosses her bag into the van and climbs in, slamming the doors shut behind her. 13:10 <tom> Bob makes up the rearguard, hauling up the dirtied and scuffed plexiglass behind him. 13:10 <Crion> Aster seems mostly unhurt, but there's blood down the front of his shirt. He considers the coal-glowing Wellesley as she gets in. "So that'sh the power off Hell?" 13:10 <Crion> Fuck this. He takes out the plugs. "Remarkable." 13:10 <Crion> Blood resumes pouring down his face. 13:11 <VoxPVoxD> "Just a drop." The burning lattice of her skin and the pitiless glow of her eyes seem absurd, almost parodic when knit into an expression of concern as she sees Aster bleeding too. The menace ebbs from her voice. "How bad?" 13:11 <tom> "We've got another wounded," Bob chuckles, dragging his finger across Aster's bloodstained shirt. 13:11 <Crion> Aster smiles. "Cosmetic." 13:11 <tom> "That makes you one of us grunts, pal." 13:11 <Crion> It's already closing up. 13:11 <VoxPVoxD> She actually winces at the sight of Bob, but says, "I'm amazed you're still walking. That tractor hit you." 13:11 <hrolf> Rolf jumps into the drivers seat of the van and starts it, slamming on the accelerator. The van peels off into the night. 13:12 <Crion> Aster: "Yes. Hopefully we don't have to swing by the hospital." 13:12 <tom> "It takes more than a Deere to move two hundred pounds of corn-fed dumbass." He roars with laughter. "How's the hand?" 13:12 <Crion> To Badawi: "How did the EMF work? How well, I mean." 13:12 <banana> The final site is further east, ten minutes away. No reason you can't talk as you ride. 13:13 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "It'll heal. If we're going to be making a habit of this I'll need to move up my sleeve. Wearing a bandage half the time won't do. Not even on my off hand." 13:13 <banana> The fields north of Manchester are pretty empty at the time of year, harvest largely done, but a few counter-seasonal crops are in and the pastures have more cattle quietly ignoring the chill. The moon continues to burn overhead and its throb is accompanied by frogs - bararum, bararum, bararum. 13:13 <Quaker> Badawi: “Just fine as a general warning, basically useless if you’re trying to aim at something. In the future, we all need the goggles that let us see them.” 13:13 <tom> "Yeah, I'll just put in a requisition order, lady." 13:13 <tom> Bob mimes typing on an invisible keyboard. 13:14 <banana> Could be useful to steal some. Haldane might know about Human Office storehouses... 13:14 <Crion> Aster nods, getting more blood on his collar. "That's basically the use case. But agreed." 13:14 <Quaker> “We can find out who has them, and take them.” 13:15 <banana> Carrey said incursions were likely at each site, but not guaranteed. The first one was trivial little spirit-escapes out in the fields and just meant playing whack-a-sprout, nothing like you had to endure at the farmhouse. The place you're going now should be similarly free of built-up infrastructure, although... 13:16 <hrolf> Rolf turns his head back and speaks through the grate separating the passengers from the front. "Well that was easy innit?" 13:16 <tom> "I'll let Soyjack hit me with tractors all night for 200 K." 13:16 <banana> There's a hindrance. A gate where there should be none. Was none, when you scouted the route earlier this week. It's modern, covers the exact road out into the countryside that you need, and is chained up. 13:16 <Crion> Aster: "It's not easy until the bank transfer clears." 13:17 <hrolf> "Can't believe we're gettin paid this much for this. Us human office peons had to do little janitor jobs like this, quick 'n dirty, for peanuts." 13:17 <banana> It's not like the wizards wantedto pay you a million pounds. 13:18 <Quaker> Badawi: “Stop here. I’ll get it.” 13:18 <banana> They grumbled, negotiated and wouldn't go a penny over the minimum. It took the intervention of the one called Zeno to get them to agree - promising to fund the whole thing for some obscure reason. 13:18 <Crion> Aster: "That's the benefit of the private sector." 13:18 <hrolf> Rolf isn't the greatest of drivers. He slams on the brakes instead of coming to a smooth stop. 13:18 <Crion> Aster: "But you also weren't the man hit by the tractor." 13:19 <Quaker> When the van jerks to a halt, Badawi hops out the back and moves towards the gate, lockpicking gear in hand. 13:19 <tom> Bob, incredulously: "I can dance all day and night. No worries nerds, you're not rid of me yet." 13:20 <banana> Frogs: bidirum bidirum bidirum 13:20 <banana> It's wetter country up here. A patch too swampy for fields. 13:21 <tom> Bob groans, pulling up his jeans to reveal a rapidly-spreading set of purple welts. Those get slapped with the little adhesive pads. Nothing else to be done about it. 13:21 <tom> "How're'ya'on ammo, Rolf?" 13:21 <tom> He checks. "I got a mag n' a half." 13:22 <hrolf> "Doin' fine, mate." 13:22 <tom> "Sick." 13:22 <hrolf> "Are you?" 13:22 <tom> "Oh I'm just getting started, don't you fret." 13:23 <Quaker> In a few moments, the chains and locks are thrown over into the fields, and Badawi pushes the gate open. Closing the van doors behind her: “Carry on.” 13:23 <Crion> Ah, operator chat. 13:23 <hrolf> Rolf has no idea what the yank means but shrugs it off. 13:23 <Crion> Aster has not missed being in the field. 13:24 <banana> According to your map - insane scrawls in glowing ink indicate leyline twists and intersections, scribbled notes in a language you can't read - Site #3 is just up ahead. When you scouted it, there was a sort of natural intersection of dirt paths, but nothing actually around apart from a big flat rock. 13:24 <hrolf> "We goin in on foot?" 13:25 <Crion> Big flat rocks have resonance. 13:25 <tom> "Alright kids, who wants to bet we get swarmed by wolves or whatever?" 13:25 <banana> The van is unmarked, registered to Manchester Pest Control. It can hold all of you, usually comfortably but right now the interior is very hot. Willie's radiating. 13:26 <banana> Bad news visible at the extreme range of the headlights: you're not the first ones here. 13:26 <tom> Bob is sweating already before the van heats up. 13:26 <VoxPVoxD> Willie's skin has cooled down; the veins have faded and only the barest glow remains to her ash-grey eyes. But it is terribly hot in here. "You're all rather good at this." 13:26 <Crion> Aster will push open the passenger's side door and stand behind it as cover. 13:26 <tom> Bob hauls himself out of the van, the shield latched to his back like a Dark Souls character. 13:27 <Crion> Aster: "Sourjack knows his business." 13:27 <VoxPVoxD> Willie shivers a bit as the cool night air touches her skin once more. 13:27 <tom> "Possible civilians in the AO." 13:27 <tom> "Look sharp." 13:27 <VoxPVoxD> Willie makes a mental note to ask what AO stands for. It's obvious what it means from context, but. 13:27 <VoxPVoxD> Afterwards, though. 13:27 <Quaker> Badawi: “Goreman, are you good to walk and shoot?” 13:28 <Crion> Aster will roll down the window and vacate the passenger side door, gesturing to Badawi: the window is a great place to set up her rifle. 13:28 <tom> "Never better." 13:28 <banana> There's a lorry, larger, less-reticent about its ownership. It's backed up toward the rock and facing you, but you can still see the advertisement on the side: 13:28 <banana> Chiral Service 🐚 Just-in-time Retrievals 13:28 <tom> Oh christ not a truck. 13:29 <Quaker> Badawi: “Then Rolf, take Wellesley and Goreman and creep forward. Aster will drive and I’ll set up here.” 13:29 <VoxPVoxD> Willie nods. 13:29 <Crion> Aster moves around to the driver's side, which is the wrong side to his instincts. 13:29 <Crion> But he climbs behind the wheel. Still hot in here. He unbuttons the top two buttons on his shirt. 13:30 <hrolf> Rolf unholsters his pistol. "Alright lads, lets go." 13:30 <tom> "Rolf, reload for possible anti-personnel." 13:31 <hrolf> "Already done, lad." 13:31 <banana> The frogs murmur: idigam idigam idigam 13:31 <VoxPVoxD> Willie, sotto voce: "That's a Cheiron brand." 13:31 <Crion> E-brake engaged. He keeps a hand on it. 13:31 <Quaker> Badawi puts her rifle back together, trying to find a good spot to rest the feet of its bipod. To Aster: “Just give me a warning if you’re about to floor it.” 13:31 <tom> Who is closest to Bob right now? Well whoever they are, they see the pointman flinch. 13:31 <tom> "Oh good god damn." 13:31 <Crion> Aster nods. "Open the panel door behind you. It'll let me check the woods to your back and left." 13:32 <Crion> Aster will split his attention so Badawi can keep her scope. 13:32 <hrolf> Rolf notices. "What's crawled up your undies?" 13:32 <Quaker> She slides it open, letting her rifle hang down for a bit. Then, she puts the sight to her eye and tries to peer into the darkness past the truck. 13:33 <tom> Bob is suddenly ice cold: "Get ready to shoot." 13:33 <tom> "These are illuminati boys." 13:34 <VoxPVoxD> Willie whispers to Rolf: "Corporate hunters. French." 13:34 <tom> Quietly: "Plenty of Americans on the payroll." 13:35 <hrolf> "Frogs *and* yanks eh? Delightful." 13:35 <banana> Three of the hunters creep closer. About as close as you can get without them seeing you. But at least you know who them is now, and what they're- actually you have no idea what they're doing. 13:36 <tom> Actually, hold on. "Actually, hold on." Bob reaches into his pack, pulls out a small crumpled card and a felt-tip pen. Uncorking it with his mouth, he makes a pair of marks: https://i.imgur.com/gwkNmDj.jpg 13:37 <banana> The truck is spilling out light into the night but it's mostly full of complex equipment. One of the two guys is rolling out tubes and connecting them up. The other's over by the flat stone, which is arched, its back being broken by the- again, what is that? 13:37 <banana> It's like a carpet made of sparkplugs. Blue and black, some sort of gel, with hundreds of little points drilling into the rock, creating microfractures. 13:37 <banana> The whole thing is contributing, somehow, to the door opening in the Gauntlet, and it *is* a door to etheric vision; a rectangle of insubstance being cut out by specialised tools. 13:38 <banana> Cheiron Guy #2 is connecting up what looks like a very large vacuum cleaner to where that door will be. 13:38 <Crion> Aster, sotto voce: "This is going to go bad. I'm going to check our perimeter, you stay on target." 13:39 <tom> "Do we escalate?" 13:39 <hrolf> Rolf holds out his hands, physically blocking Bob and Willie. "'old on a mo." 13:40 <tom> Bob toggles his visors through a few settings. "Ahah, Okay, we got some Thaumotechs." 13:40 <tom> "Guy 1's heat signature fades out at the hands. Maybe that's a Hand of Glory?" 13:40 <banana> Aster scouts a little, peering in various directions. There's movement a long way to the east, on the horizon; other than that, you're out in the country, nothing around but you and these guys. And what they're trying to summon. 13:41 <Crion> Well, he'll keep an eye on the east to the best he's able. To Badawi: "We're clear close." 13:41 <hrolf> "That fing's working like...some sort o' contraption, like. Opening the door to the spirit world, and opening it wide. They're trying to gather whatever's comin' out into a bloody vacuum cleaner!" 13:41 <banana> Much more talking and they're sure to notice you. 13:42 <Quaker> She whispers back: “So what, they’re cutting a door to hell and trying to bag whatever comes through?” 13:42 <hrolf> One of the men seems to prick up like heard something . Rolf holds a finger to his mouth and emits a small shush. 13:43 <tom> Bob immediately returns it in absolutely unintelligible hand signals. 13:43 <tom> Realizing no-one understands him, he slumps back gooberly. 13:43 <Crion> Aster: "Not my discipline. But...yes." 13:43 <Crion> "Aesthetically, this is your classic bonafide ritual." 13:43 <banana> The Gauntlet is calm apart from that artificial door. The ancient stone, the plugs, it's all related but there's not enough context for how. The Wolf-Mourners were skeptical you'd be able to deal with a real magical threat - skeptical, and desperate. 13:43 <tom> How long until T=0? 13:44 <Quaker> Badawi: “That equipment looks complicated.” 13:44 <banana> Thanks to decent driving and rapid lockpicking, you're on time. The moment of greatest weakening of the spirit-realm barrier is still a couple of minutes away. 13:45 <Quaker> “As in, maybe it stops working if a part of it goes missing.” 13:46 <Crion> Aster: "Your meaning is, if it goes missing, when shot, with a bullet?" 13:46 <Quaker> Badawi: “No, as in I drink my invisibility elixir and start taking things off it until it goes dark.” 13:46 <tom> Bob rechecks his weapon and shakes it to make sure the Odin's AR overlay is still feeding right. 13:47 <Quaker> “You’re the better shot, anyway.” 13:47 <Crion> Aster: "I have never fired a marksman's rifle in my life." 13:48 <VoxPVoxD> Willie whispers: "It's tearing the veil between realities open. We need to shut it down before something comes through." 13:48 <Quaker> Badawi: “It’s basically the same as any other rifle. And can YOU turn invisible?” 13:48 <banana> Aster closely examines what he can see of the equipment from this angle.. unfortunately the interior of the lorry is mostly occluded from you. But the connections are not; the "carpet" is independent, but all the "vacuum" equipment is connected through some sort of transformer. 13:49 <Crion> Aster: "...No. But give me the rifle." 13:49 <Crion> "I need the scope." 13:49 <Crion> He'll slide out and examine the proceedings more closely. 13:49 <Quaker> She hands it over, and reaches into her satchel. 13:49 <tom> Bob quietly slips his ears in. 13:49 <banana> As for the carpet thing.. none of it stands out. But it looks light. Could it be simply lifted as piece, or has it burrowed too deeply into the rock? 13:50 <hrolf> Rolf points to his pistol, then points to the men, and then holds up three fingers, mouthing a countdown. "3...2...1.." 13:50 <Crion> Aster, over the earpieces: "Grab team don't respond or acknowledge. Badawi moving in behind you. Cause a scene." 13:50 <Quaker> Badawi falls in behind Aster, holding what looks like an open can of Monster. Well, it IS an open can of Monster. 13:51 <Crion> Then he begins examining the set up. To him, an analyst, where should Badawi exert pressure if she wants to skunk up their works? 13:52 <tom> Bob's eyes twitch under the sunglasses, still cool as ever. 13:52 <tom> Whispered, viciously: "Let's humiliate these pricks." 13:54 <Quaker> While Aster is using his big brain, Badawi slams whatever is in the energy drink, and puts her hand on his shoulder to brace herself. 13:54 <Crion> A bit more collegial than he had imagined this first job getting, to be frank. 13:55 <Crion> He doesn't flinch away or anything, however. He has a site to survey. 13:55 <hrolf> On counting down to one, Rolf moves forward and begins screaming, the absolute madman. "HANDS UP! GET YOUR FOOKIN HANDS UP YOU FOOKIN WANKERS OR I'LL BLOW YOUR FOOKIN 'EADS OFF. HANDS THE FOOK UP!" 13:56 <tom> Bob springs up, sweeping the fuckers with the barrel of his crude weapon. 13:56 <tom> "We've got you boxed, it's fucking over, shitheads!" 13:56 <Quaker> Badawi shudders as the fiery liquid seems to drop right into her stomach. She fights back the urge to vomit that always comes with it, and then she feels the warmth spread to her extremities, then rebound in a sort of euphoric echo into her brain. The world sparkles as she disappears. 13:57 <Quaker> She sprints forward, tapping Aster’s butt as she moves past. “Tell me what to yank out over the headset, habibi.” 13:57 <Crion> Aster: "Mmm. Go wide, cut back. Avoid crossfire." 13:57 <Crion> "I'll talk you in." 13:58 <Quaker> In a few moments, she’s at the truck. 13:58 <VoxPVoxD> Willie scowls behind Rolf's back, but when she steps out from behind it, beautiful woman looking bizarrely like a plane crash survivor in a tracksuit, her voice is even, and everyone who can hear her hears her in the language they think in. "What utter nonsense is this? This is private property!" 13:58 <Crion> "You see the thing that looks like a rolled-up carpet, stuffed with sparkplugs? That's the target. Disconnect or destroy." 13:59 <Crion> "Lots of tubes connected to it. Can't assess the danger of disconnecting them." 13:59 <Crion> Aster, meanwhile, has moved the scope of the gun over the Chieron men. 14:00 <tom> Fucking CHEIRON motherfuckers! They're in the UK too?? 14:00 <Crion> Aster: "Grab team, if you need me to fire a warning shot, I'm on the rifle now. But keep them in position." 14:00 <banana> The guy massaging(???) the spiked carpet jumps and turns on the spot, throwing up his hands. The other.. claps a hand to the bulge at his waist and doesn't drop the 'vacuum' that he's connecting to Thin Air. "We're authorised," he sneers. "Privately." 14:01 <tom> "We've got you marked and outgunned by a wide margin. It's time to pack it in, the heat is here." 14:01 <banana> Surrendering guy: "Marc, do we-" 14:01 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "And with these new tariffs and Dover customs checks... you might as well leave the gear. You can't afford to send it back." 14:02 <tom> Bob is glaring down the barrel of his gun, his free hand steadying himself on the scuffed plexiglass shield in phalanx formation. 14:02 <banana> Marc: "You don't know who you're dealing with. I don't know you, which means you're not important." 14:03 <tom> "I absolutely do know who I'm dealing with, you wagie scum." 14:03 <banana> Not Marc: "Marc, one of them is augmented and there's another with power behind the truck." 14:04 <tom> "Oh cool you got the one red eye, huh? The cyborg eye one? I haven't plucked that one off you fucks yet." 14:04 <Quaker> Badawi doesn’t hesitate. Hesitating is what gets you caught. 14:04 <tom> Bob is getting heated. 14:04 <Crion> Aster smiles slightly as he watches things unfold down the scope. 14:04 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I advise you to leave before my American friend strips you for parts, and my English friend sells the rest for scrap." 14:04 <banana> The 'carpet' comes free easily as Badawi, unnoticed, silent, rips it from the stone. With a bit of juggling she's able to roll it up into a huge squishy bundle with none of the 'sparkplugs' making contact with her own skin. Something in the lorry begins to go beep beep beep and all the frogs and insects still. 14:05 <Quaker> Now, there’s being invisible. And then there’s internalizing the fact that you are, in fact, literally invisible. The second is the key to really exceptional work, which is what Badawi does just now. 14:05 <banana> Marc: "It's called an optic thorn, idiot." 14:05 <tom> "It's called a belt-buckle in a minute." 14:06 <hrolf> "You lads got a death wish or somefink? Hands up and drop to your fookin knees!" 14:06 <tom> "You better listen before Everett True over there jacks you up." 14:06 <Crion> "Grab team, keep it up. Asset is almost clear." 14:07 <banana> Not Marc: "What's- where did the Manipulator go? Shit!" 14:07 <banana> Marc: "Shit, shit, shit, merde." 14:07 <Crion> Aster: "Well. I guess we're weapons hot." 14:07 <banana> He does drop the vacuum now - Rolf can see the outlined Gauntlet-door closing rapidly. 14:07 <Quaker> With the freak carpet thing bundled over her shoulders, she moves back to the van, passing Aster. Presumably he sees it kind of hovering past him.“Got the carpet thing. Let’s vamonos.” 14:07 <tom> Let's FUCKING go. 14:08 <banana> Not Marc: "No!" He flings up his hands again. 14:08 <hrolf> "Looks like the quantum or whatevah door's closin." 14:08 <banana> The leader doesn't say anything, just glares, but he's not attacking. 14:08 <Crion> "We have the package. Pull back or open fire. Your call." 14:08 <Crion> Aster will cede the rifle to Badawi here, and get back behind the wheel. 14:12 <hrolf> Rolf, to Bob: "You got any rope on you lad?" 14:12 <tom> Bob shakes his head. "Sorry pal, I didn't plan on taking prisoners. Shit. I should get zipties next time, good call." 14:12 <Quaker> The rifle just kind of lifts itself up and points in the direction of the Cheironeers. 14:13 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Gentlemen, get our friends comfortable in the dirt. I should warn you that if you hesitate, prevaricate, or resist, not only will these two strapping men be on you, but our crack sniper in the back will as well. And if they don't kill you, you will simply burn." 14:13 <VoxPVoxD> "And how much are you being paid, really?" 14:13 <Crion> That's going to take getting used to. 14:13 <hrolf> "Well, I do. Don't wanna take this gun off em though. Can one of you be kind enough to reach into me jacket pocket and tie these lads up? It's the big un on the inside." 14:13 <banana> The frog calls resume (barabum barabum). But the Gauntlet is still, now. The arc of the fallen menhir at the dirt crossroads shines in the blood moon's light. The cracks inflicted on it by your captured carpet are nowhere to be seen. 14:13 <tom> Bob grabs the cord. "Nice, good thinking." 14:14 <Crion> Aster will examine the...thing...Badawi brought back. What is this? Some kind of spiritual regulator? 14:14 <banana> The two Cheiron are loosely amenable to sitting down and not being killed. They really don't like it though. They're having a furious whispered conversation, partly in code and partly in French, but it's clear a) they don't think they can fight you b) they intend you to Pay for this. 14:15 <VoxPVoxD> What are they saying? 14:15 <tom> Unless they try to resist, Bob will go up and bind their wrists and ankles. 14:15 <banana> Marc, to Willie: "By whom are you being paid?" 14:15 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "You, once we have a look at your gear." 14:15 <VoxPVoxD> She'll check the truck once the men are secure. 14:16 <banana> In the van, the thing: up close it mostly is little metal plugs, hundreds of separate jabbing instruments. They have coils around them, could be magnetic or some other kind of signal manipulation. Embedded into the top flat end of each plug is a piece of quartz underneath which you can see a tiny PCB. The whole thing is held together by blue-purple gel which is cool to the touch and thankfully not slimy. 14:17 <banana> Their lorry's main cargo is a very large and high-tech crate. It looks a bit like the kind of mobile stall you use to transport horses. 14:17 <tom> He stands a few yards back from them- behind them, so they have to twist to see what evil he's up to. He's got them dead-to-rights with his machine pistol, and he passes the time bouncing the little virtual reticle on his visor between them. 14:17 <Crion> It seems clear this thing is supposed to mediate the passage of an incredible amount of Energy. 14:18 <banana> Marc: "If you touch any of that you'll be tracked down." 14:18 <Crion> But Aster might need a lab to learn more. 14:18 <tom> "Oh, haha." The recorder goes on again. God damn, he clipped the start off of both- 14:18 <Crion> Luckily, he's building one. 14:18 <banana> There are chains in the crate, five of them, which terminate in handcuff-like structures made of warm rubber. 14:18 <tom> Bob, hushed, into his radio: "Are there any documents? Cheiron docs?" 14:19 <Crion> Aster can clock the conversation over the mics and he's glad these guys haven't seen his face. 14:19 <banana> Badawi's back on overwatch, and sees: the rush movement to the east is a lot closer now. Hopefully it's your allies. Should be a couple of minutes away at the rate they're approaching. 14:19 <VoxPVoxD> Any sign of documents? 14:20 <VoxPVoxD> Five manacles... four limbs and a tail? A long neck? 14:20 <Quaker> To Aster: “Whatever that contact to our east is will be here in a few minutes.” 14:20 <tom> "Should I redploy?" 14:20 <Crion> Aster: "Grab team, prep for contact in from the east. Hopefully friendly." 14:21 <Crion> Aster leaves the rug...? be and steps out with his Glock, putting ear protection on. 14:21 <banana> Willie manages to get into the cab of the lorry from the back; it's cramped in the container but there is an unlocked door from there. There's a set of tempting-looking papers on the passenger seat, which flares and turns to dust literally as she looks at it (and presumably for that reason). 14:21 <VoxPVoxD> Ah, drat. 14:22 <VoxPVoxD> "There were. Very robust copy-protection." 14:22 <tom> "God damn." 14:22 <tom> Bob sound shaken. 14:22 <banana> Cheiron guys in a huddle again: "..catch hell for this.." "..the fuck ARE they.." "..have to recover it or we'll never build another in time.." 14:23 <tom> "Knock off the grab-ass!" 14:23 <VoxPVoxD> What was that movie with Tom Cruise where the Kremlin exploded? The messages all burned up in that too. 14:23 <hrolf> "One more word and say goodbye to your knees, lads." 14:24 <tom> "Look man there's two types of people in your world right now, people who are allowed to talk, and people who don't have guns." 14:24 <VoxPVoxD> Well, 14:24 <tom> Admittedly it's not a perfect system. 14:24 <banana> Something happens in the open grassland east of the forking dirt paths. To Bob and Rolf it isn't anything sensical - they find themselves looking away, distracted by the prisoners, briefly overwhelmed. When they look back there are two figures, one panting with exertion. 14:24 <VoxPVoxD> Once she's checked every compartment for anything odd or valuable she'll climb down from the lorry. "All clear." 14:25 <VoxPVoxD> She'll be talking like Aster and Bob in no time. They're all so experienced. She has ever so much to learn. 14:25 <hrolf> "What-" 14:25 <Crion> Aster: "Don't shoot, don't shoot." 14:25 <tom> Bob lowers his weapon. 14:26 <banana> The others, if watching, see: a great furred beast runs up at what must be hundreds of miles an hour, shake a woman off its back. In a flash of dust and compressed time it transforms into a tracksuited man. The woman's earrings glitter and her eyes narrow at the captured Cheiron. Zeno and Carrey are here. 14:27 <tom> "Blue Team?" 14:27 <Crion> Aster and Badawi saw that down the scope. 14:28 <tom> "Easist 200 Thou of my life, boys" 14:30 <VoxPVoxD> Incredulously: "What was the second easiest?" 14:31 <tom> "Oh, that one's easy. Robin Hood." 14:31 <Crion> Calmly, over comms: "Probably firing a Reaper missile into the Chicago projects." 14:31 <Crion> "Hellfire missile, sorry. From a Reaper drone." 14:31 <VoxPVoxD> One of those is much funnier than the other. 14:31 <Crion> "Such are the wages of the Task Force." 14:32 <tom> Bob's not laughing anymore. 14:32 <tom> He pulls back the slide, ejects his mag, stows his weapon. 14:32 <Quaker> Badawi is already thinking about her weeklong vacation in the Lake District. 14:34 <tom> "Hahaha, yeah, uh.." 14:35 <Crion> Just as calmly: "No judgment. Once upon a time, in the Eighties, we called something like that in." 14:35 <Crion> "You do what you must." 14:35 <Crion> "Going off comms." 14:35 <Crion> There's a click as Aster removes his earpiece. 14:37 <tom> Well, Bob, for his part, just pulls a crumpled back of smokes from his bag and lights up. 14:39 <VoxPVoxD> Willie makes the gimme hands. 14:40 <tom> He tries his best, but his hands can't help but quiver just so as he puff-passes the lit cigarette to Willie. 14:40 <tom> "So, that's your deal?" 14:41 <VoxPVoxD> Willie takes a long, long drag. "In a word? Breeding." 14:41 <tom> What? "I uh bro I have a g-" 14:42 <VoxPVoxD> Willie rolls her eyes. Americans. Maybe Grandmama was right. 14:42 <VoxPVoxD> "I apologize. That was unduly figurative given the night we had. I have the blood of Satan." 14:42 <tom> "Oh cool, more wizards. I can roll." 14:43 <tom> Bob exhales; he's coming down off the adrenaline still and the throbbing in his knees is just really starting in earnest. "Just nerves, sorry." 14:44 <VoxPVoxD> Willie passes the rest of the cigarette back. "After your performance, you owe an apology to no one." 14:44 <tom> "What, that Jackass stunt? No way, you S-Ranked that shit." 14:45 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "'S-Rank'?" 14:45 <tom> He gestures with the lit cigarette. "How's the hand?" 14:45 <VoxPVoxD> Willie flexes her bloody-banadged hand a bit and winces. "Better than it'll be tomorrow, I expect. But worse than it'll be the day after." 14:46 <tom> "Cheiron? Cheiron, here?" 14:47 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "They're multinational." 14:48 <tom> "God damn. I should kill them. They saw my face." 14:48 <tom> The cigarette burns. "I'm not going to, though." 14:49 <tom> He gestures toward the assembled manacles. "You see one of these in use before?" 14:49 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "They definitely saw mine." 14:49 <VoxPVoxD> She shakes her head. "My guess is it was for whatever was supposed to come out of that gate." 14:49 <tom> Bob fumbles around with the equipment until he finds the release. Click. 14:50 <tom> "Some of 'em are sized for people." 14:51 <tom> Don't forget that before you judge me for wanting to waste these fucks. But that goes unsaid. 14:51 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "...most are, I expect." 14:51 <VoxPVoxD> "Easier to snatch a vagrant, an abject, even an in-bounds, respectable person than... this." 14:52 <tom> "Look, I might have to talk to Jack about something. I don't know- but you guys gotta know before you roll with me." 14:52 <tom> "I can't have these French fucks breathing down your guys' neck on my account." 14:53 <tom> He lowers his sunglasses. Willie can see his eyes: https://i.imgur.com/lrQYdmp.jpg 14:54 <tom> "I think I already slipped up, so you know uh.. that associate of mine. Spent some time in one of these." 14:54 <tom> "Please keep that in confidence." 14:55 <VoxPVoxD> Willie looks into Bob's eyes for a long moment and then reaches out to put a hand on his shoulder. "You are not a liability. We would have died out there without you." 14:55 <VoxPVoxD> "It doesn't matter who hates you. We all have enemies. That is the nature of this work." 14:55 <VoxPVoxD> "Doubly so for us." 14:55 <VoxPVoxD> "And we do our accounts jointly." 14:56 <VoxPVoxD> "This kind of account, anyway." 14:56 <VoxPVoxD> "I might need to set something up in Switzerland..." 14:56 <tom> Bob pulls himself back up. "Yeah, yeah.. good uh idea." Bob suddenly feels a gigantic knot in his stomach unclench. 14:57 <tom> His glasses go back up; smile's back. "And kid, next time... tell me when you're about to throw a magic missile." 14:57 <VoxPVoxD> Willie grins. "Call me kid again and you'll catch it in the chest." 14:58 <tom> Gahaha. "You got it, Lady."