The Evernight Chronicles, Chapter I: Usual Suspects

[sirpercival]

"Hell if I know. Shots, lots of them. Tore you up pretty good"

He continues mending Zero

"Automatic rifle fire. This wasn't an amateur hit. Got most of the guys upstairs, so I think. The door is locked behind us. Do you have any ammo left?"

Zero checks his rifle.  "A little... not enough.  Damn.  Do you have a radio?  I saw Ash leaving earlier with some dude, maybe he's okay and can give us some backup."

He hesitates, looking sideways at Trent, then dropping his eyes and squaring his shoulders.

"Look, man -- I gotta go up there and see what's happening.  I have to see if they got the Boss.  You sit tight and call Ash, okay?"

[Sneaky_Sable]

She gave Ravage a smile as they headed out, and even gave Ash a smile as he filed in behind them. Were he still alive, in the fullest of senses, she'd suspect him of ulterior motives by taking the back spot, but as it were, he was probably just watching THEIR rear, instead of just her's. With her arm locked with Ravage's, she followed Worm and Cecilia.

[sirpercival]

Worm leads the crew to an extremely shady hole-in-the-wall diner called the Greasy Arsehole.  The waitress seems to know him and seats everyone immediately.

When she leaves, Worm mutters, "Don't touch the food unless you want dysentery... but the coffee's real good."  Then he leans back and smiles widely, seeming relaxed for the first time.  You notice that one of his premolars is missing.

"Damn but I love making new friends.  I'm Worm.  I know this is Cece, but what are your names?" he gestures to everyone else.

[Sneaky_Sable]

A shitehole is more like it, but this *is* Evernight, and beggars certainly cannot be choosers. Plus the coffee was supposedly good, and that was a plus. A gleaming diamond in a pile of draco-manure.

"The name is Unique." she said with a smile, "Perhaps you've heard of me?"

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This dice roll has been tampered with!
Rolled 1d20+9 : 13 + 9, total 22
If Worm is not from Evernight, which I suspect he is, then the above gets - 5.

[Nanshork]

Ravage nods in greeting.  "I am Ravage, I fight in the arena."

[Wrex]

"Hell if I know. Shots, lots of them. Tore you up pretty good"

He continues mending Zero

"Automatic rifle fire. This wasn't an amateur hit. Got most of the guys upstairs, so I think. The door is locked behind us. Do you have any ammo left?"

Zero checks his rifle.  "A little... not enough.  Damn.  Do you have a radio?  I saw Ash leaving earlier with some dude, maybe he's okay and can give us some backup."

He hesitates, looking sideways at Trent, then dropping his eyes and squaring his shoulders.

"Look, man -- I gotta go up there and see what's happening.  I have to see if they got the Boss.  You sit tight and call Ash, okay?"

"We don't need any martyrs, Zero. I'm not letting you go up there without some protection."

I sound the familar incantations, forging a bond between us, linking our unlife forces together in an aura of shared power. Then, carefully, I shape a force of raw protective energy over him, shielding him with discreet plates over over his vitals. It's not much, but it should help.

"Be careful, Zero. I'll call for backup."

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I cast Shield Other, and Shield of Faith on him. He gets plus 2 deflection bonus to AC, and I take half of his damage. I am reaching over for the nearest handset or Oracle port to send a sending to Ash. Duration on Shield of Faith is four minutes, and Shield other will last for four hours

[sirpercival]

Zero smiles humorlessly.  "You got it, sir."  Then he heads through the door and up the stairs.


At the diner, Ash's radio crackles.

((Wrex, go ahead and post what you say -- it's essentially per the message spell.))

[Wrex]

"Ash, Emergency code red. unknown assailants, firing, massacre, SOS. Zero is alive, others unknown. Low on ammo. Require immediate assistance, do you copy? "

[Flay Crimsonwind]

If Ash's body had a working circulatory system, his blood would have run cold. This call couldn't happen. Not for the Heavenly Dead. His arm with the specialized gauntlet flew to his ear, as if pressing a button that wasn't there. Though, as a lifetorn, he does not exhibit emotion, and though his face remained sternly, professionally blank, if you listened carefully enough, you might swear there was worry in his voice.

"Agent Wednesday copies, requesting location. Which cell was attacked?" He was getting a message from Trent, but Zero's party wasn't supposed to be in a combat-likely scenario, and Trent wasn't a member of that cell. A small operating group must have been attacked, with Zero responding.... but why call him for help? This made little sense.

He rises quickly, barely pausing to excuse himself. "I do not recognize the coincidence that there is a combat emergency with my company. I have to respond; I will not force you all to accompany myself." Without waiting for a response, Ash made it quickly across the room.

[Wrex]

If Ash's body had a working circulatory system, his blood would have run cold. This call couldn't happen. Not for the Heavenly Dead. His arm with the specialized gauntlet flew to his ear, as if pressing a button that wasn't there. Though, as a lifetorn, he does not exhibit emotion, and though his face remained sternly, professionally blank, if you listened carefully enough, you might swear there was worry in his voice.

"Agent Wednesday copies, requesting location. Which cell was attacked?" He was getting a message from Trent, but Zero's party wasn't supposed to be in a combat-likely scenario, and Trent wasn't a member of that cell. A small operating group must have been attacked, with Zero responding.... but why call him for help? This made little sense.

He rises quickly, barely pausing to excuse himself. "I do not recognize the coincidence that there is a combat emergency with my company. I have to respond; I will not force you all to accompany myself." Without waiting for a response, Ash made it quickly across the room.

""Agent Wednesday copies, requesting location. Which cell was attacked?"


"We are at Hotel Quebec, I repeat, we are at Hotel Quebec" He pauses, to collect himself.
"It's a massacre."
He pauses again, looking around to see if there is a gun nearby. There isn't.
 "Zero is shielded, but this looks bad. What's your ETA?"

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They are at headquarters. We're boned 

[Flay Crimsonwind]

HQ was a bit of distance, but he had to get there as quickly as possible. He exited the building as quickly as he could, trying to hail transport, not even checking whether the other targets he'd met were nearby. "Wednesday is inbound, but stranded. Advises you focus on escape, do not try and hold. Repeat, do not try and hold. I'll come to you, you meet me as close as you can."

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I have no idea the distance between the diner and the hotel, so let's assume I'm on my way.

[Sneaky_Sable]

"That sounded dreadful. I hope they're alright." Unique mentioned. It really wasn't her concern, and her's wasn't the station of trying to stop an assault. She'd provide comfort for the survivors eventually since afterall... everyone knew the way to Carousel.

"So Mister Worm, was it? How is it that you get by?" A friendly way of asking what it was he did.

[Wrex]

"Wednesday is inbound, but stranded. Advises you focus on escape, do not try and hold. Repeat, do not try and hold. I'll come to you, you meet me as close as you can."

Understood. Over and Out.

 With a click, the Oracle terminal falls silent.

"Shit"

 Quickly, he follows Zero up the stairs, keeping a solid wall between him and the rest of the room as long as possible. He needed to tell him the new plan, suicide was not an option.
He focuses, muscles tensed at the thought of an oncoming gunshot.

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Looking for Zero. If he is still in the stairwell, I'll tell him our new orders (GTFO), and wait for him to respond. I ready an action to take cover if there are gunshots Zero is not firing.

[sirpercival]

Ignoring the departing Ash, Worm leers at Unique.  "Heeeyyy... you're that doll from Carousel, right?  Nice, I know some guys who've seen your, uh, work."

Then he turns to Ravage.  "And I saw YOU at the Coliseum!  Awesome!  You really tore that guy's head off last month.  When are you going to fight again?"

He sips his coffee, and sighs.  "Anyway, down to business.  My boss wants me to, uh, acquire something.  I know a guy who has what I'm looking for, and I could always use some friends, you know?  So they don't try to push me around just 'cause I'm a kid.  So, whaddya say?  Shouldn't take more than a couple hours..."

Quickly, he follows Zero up the stairs, keeping a solid wall between him and the rest of the room as long as possible. He needed to tell him the new plan, suicide was not an option.
He focuses, muscles tensed at the thought of an oncoming gunshot.

At the top of the stairs, Trent can see Zero standing and staring at the shot-up wall from 20 feet away.  The man notices him and beckons.  "They're gone, as far as I can tell.  Check this out."

When Trent moves over to Zero's position, he can see that the machine gun chewed up the wall to form words.



Ash arrives on the scene about 5 minutes later -- if he were alive, he'd be out of breath.

[Nanshork]

Ravage nods at Ash as he leaves but stays with Unique, he told he that he would protect her after all. 

"I do not know, those decisions are not up to me.  It's always a pleasure to meet a fan though," Ravage says to Worm in response to his question.

[Wrex]

At the top of the stairs, Trent can see Zero standing and staring at the shot-up wall from 20 feet away.  The man notices him and beckons.  "They're gone, as far as I can tell.  Check this out."

When Trent moves over to Zero's position, he can see that the machine gun chewed up the wall to form words.



Ash arrives on the scene about 5 minutes later -- if he were alive, he'd be out of breath.

Trent is stunned for a moment. "Who? What?". If he had functioning lungs, he would have gasped.  He is going to check over the bodies, and see if any of them are still unliving with a charnel touch, and observe the extent of the casualties.

[Flay Crimsonwind]

Ash, with his assault rifle in hand, and his gauntlet scanning and ready, kicks the door in and starts combing slowly upward. "ZERO! TRENT!"

[Wrex]

Ash, with his assault rifle in hand, and his gauntlet scanning and ready, kicks the door in and starts combing slowly upward. "ZERO! TRENT!"

"ASH!"
 He looks towards where Ash is coming from, tending to any still alive from that viscious barrage.

"Building clear. All hostiles fled. I....think they sent their message. Leave surviors to spread the word. Must have been skilled. All dead before I even heard anything. Ash, you need to look at this."

He glances over at the poor bastard he was checking. Dead before he hit the ground, most likely. Jagged shards of ballistic crystal protruded from his injuries.

"I have stabilized those I could...but..."

Anger momentarily registers on his face, before sliding back into the neutral expression so often favored by those without a pulse.

"For many It was too late."

[sirpercival]

"I have stabilized those I could...but..."

Anger momentarily registers on his face, before sliding back into the neutral expression so often favored by those without a pulse.

"For many It was too late."

The attackers were very thorough -- all of the bodies littering the ground had died the final death.  The total remaining tally of crewmembers:

1) Ash
2) Zero
3) Trent
4) the Boss (hadn't been around)
5) Dorn, the magitechnician gunsmith (missing)

[Wrex]

He stands up, and begins to think out loud.

"Ash, this must have been an inside job. Think about it: We are mercenaries, and damn good ones at that. There is only one way this could have occured so quickly, and that is if we were taken by complete surprise. Therefore they made use of extensive magic, or someone led them in, someone familiar. We are, as far as I know, not highly important targets, so the use of such a quantity of resources is unlikely. Other than us, only the Boss and the repairman are unaccounted for. The Boss likely had little to gain from a betrayal. Therefore, Dorn is the most likely suspect. From the visciousness of the assassins, I can only conclude that they are unlikely to leave a job unfinished. Therefore, we need to be VERY careful."
His eyes snap to Ash's face
"Quickly, were you follwed? We need to found out where the Boss and Don are, NOW. I can only surmise that they are tying up loose ends as we speak. "
He notices the rather hefty injury gracing Ash's arm
"You were attacked as well?"

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In case you forgot, cloaky guy hit you for a heafty 21 points. I as assuming an injury of that magnitute would be visible. I'll heal it up ASAP with some touches.