Supercape

The Red Rat Lead! They sure are paranoid! Alert! Lead lined walling preventing Superior Soviet Scanning! commented SLAVE, unhelpfully although lamentably accurately. Her X Ray vision was effectively useless. Still, she thought, the mere fact that they had taken such precautions was interesting and telling. Something, surely, was up! More usefully, Infrared scanning did make out some blurred heat signatures of people working. She ignored the almost predictable activities of one of the offices (with two people engaging in what looked like carnal activiities). The interesting stuff, as far as she could see, was the corner office with three heat signatures, arguing something or another. They looked important. ++Akhona, heads up...I'm getting imaging of three people arguing in the corner office in front of me....can you pick anything up?++ "Venomax, I think we should try the office in front of us..." she whispered carefully to Venomax. It was a calculated gamble, but in her mind everything was a calculated gamble right now.

I have a busy week this week so wont kick off anything for the next few days. Feel free to have a few posts chit chatting IC. Broadly speaking, I think Dreadnought is best equipped to monitor the wild cannon of Morgen, and I am happy to have a think about that. Might not be the best choice to invite Forever Boy? Frost or Voin or Murk I guess. Would be interesting for me to see how one of you guys approach and discuss! As for the HK mess, anyone but Voin - not because I have anything against Tiff, its just the Scarab is dealing with an arms dealer in Cairo, and might end up following the trail to Hong Kong where the Hornet is keen to get in on the action! Thoughts?

GM The man stepped into a crack of light. It was not easy to see him, but Justice could make out he was a tall, broad man, with a grizzled look. He had a beard and short hair flecked with a little grey. He was wearing IR goggles and wearing paramilitary gear, with a SMG at his side and what looked like a bandolier of grenades. Probably had some other equipment, too, by the looks of him, but it was too dark to tell. He fingered his gun carefully, but didn't look like he was going to shoot. Shoot back, maybe. Quite probably, in fact. "Whose asking....?" he grumbled, dirty and deep voice. He waved his gun broadly at the two thieves. "Looks like these scum are with Finnigan if you ask me...." "Two guns in one day? This is some luck...." sighed the orange haired thief, despondently.

GM The mighty telekenetic prowess of Synapse held the plane in the air, impossibly, against all laws of physics. Synapse, Replica, and North could hear the fuselage grinding under the opposing foprces of gravity, momentum, and psychic power. But...it held! "I'm glad you're here...." whispered an almost petrfied Doctor Norris North, his face just as white as the snow that lay below them. Metal creaking and grinding, that same snow was excellent bedding for the 747, and it landed - apparently with little damage - softly on the snow, with the forests and icy rivers around them. If it were not for the empty fuel tanks, it could probably even still fly! "Youve saved WEST a couple of million pounds, and its directors life...." said a grateful Dr North to both Replica and Synapse, exhaling slowly. He wiped his brow. "Although we aren't out of the woods yet. Literally and figuritavely" he added. "What happened?"

GM Setho paused, taking another step down from the central throne. "Will you? Yesss....yesss....I believe you will. Or at leasssst, you will try...." he hissed, softly. "And I ssseeee you believe you have some...authority...given to you to make ssssuch judgement. I wonder....are you so certain? are you so ssssure of the will of the mesa? Are you sssso sure it even has a will?" He was silent, still, reptillian eyes fixed on the dust devil. "Who is to say it is not the fate of the mesa to open eyes and grow leaves? Who is to say that one way is forbidden, and the other fair? Thissss place is a place of doorways, is it not? And doorways should be open, not closed!" he finished, firmly. "I sssseee that you will oppose my will with yours, whatever I sssay, but when you do, remember.....it is certainty, not doubt, that is the road to the ruin of civilisation, asssss it was with ancient Lemuria!"

How does the extra effort play out in your head-understanding of Synapse, Thevshi? The rules look slighty fuzzy on this so its up to you - long enough to fly the plane to Moscow? To crash it safely? or to pilot to some air field nearby?

Snakebite "Wait!" snapped Cassie, soft but firm and sharp - her hand reaching out across Neil to block him from proceeding. "There is something down there...." she explained, slowly pulling out her Tranq-gun. "A snake, maybe..." Maybe something quite different from a snake, too. Although she did not say that aloud. "Be careful. Its not just the architecture we should be wary of...." she added, although as Neil had said, they should indeed by wary of the architecture. This place was ancient, and she didn't want to get caught in a landslide. "Lets stake a rope here" she added, caution - at least transiently - overcoming her eagerness. "Make sure we have something leading us back to the surface...." if they could tie it around a tree or a relatively stable part of masonry, then take the other end with them, at least they had a better chance of crawling out...

Starshot Starshot had no intention of frightening the Ul-Mor with the flier. They would think it comandeered by pirates, or some wrathful God, most likely. Instead, as soon as he caught sight of the Ul-Mor, he landed the Flier on the sands. "Loreen, stay here. Come get us if it gets ugly" he commanded. He didn't think it would turn ugly. But he would rather have the Flier swoop dramatically in if it did. He slung his plasma rifle over his shoulder and took Laark outside onto the dunes. They had trudged so many miles in worn boots through the desert it was almost second nature now. Weapons clearly slung, with nothing pointed to the Ul-Mor, Starshot and Laark advanced towards the oasis hands open, as peaceful a pose as they coud strike. He had no idea if the Ul-Mor would know him. Where these the same ones? Did they have some gestalt - mind? Impossible to say...but he did indicate his forehead as an invitation to commune...

GM "Sure sure...just don't shoot!" There followed a windy and at some times dangerous little walk through Trumble street, where every step held the promise of collapsed buildings. It was hard to see any building which was not condemned in some way or another. Not that that stopped the poor and dispossed living there, however transiently. And the last part of the trip? Yes, a sewer. If the stench was bad before, this was an olfactory assault that disintegrated memory of previous discomforts. And it was dark too, the sewer on lit by intermittent cracks leading to the grey skies above. But whilst it was hard to see, the abandoned sewer was plenty easy to hear in. The echoes resounded well. And, in front of them, Justice (and her two new freinds) could hear the crunching of footsteps and the scuttling of rats. "Who goes there?" came a deep man's voice from the darkness ahead. "Uh...that's not Finnigan!" whispered the two young women.

GM "Whoa!" They dropped their little knives and put their hands up. No sense bringing a knife to a gun fight. Especially with that type of gun. "Look! We didn't steal nothing!" blustered the orange haired theif. "Nothing! we didn't nothing look!" blustered the more confused green haired theif. "I mean, don't shoot!" they both echoed, looking at each other. "Finnigan...he lives here, down below ground. Doesn't like the sunlight. Says thieves should stay in the dark" explained the orange haired one. "He runs the whole gang...." explained the green haired theif. "But you don't want to go messing with Finnigan" she added, honestly. "He's dangerous!"

GM "Revenge....justice...it's the same thing. Just sometimes justice don't do the job right" said Mr. Sting, pleased with his work. "The Dust Devil....yes....yessss....." hissed Setho the snake, standing up from his throne and taking a step or two forward. "Guardian of this ancient place, in one form or another. Whatever that means. Guarding it from...what? I wonder...." "Maybe you think from me? hmmm? I was here uncounted years before you. The mad sorcerer-priest of the Lemurian empire. Driven mad by this place, they said, although all wanted it's power...." he slithered. "Sssoooo, I came to this age, travelling through the tunnels and turns of this rock. You ssseeeee.....I have no loyalty from snake or man, for the snakes spurned me and men are fools. And yet, maybe I can open their eyess....." he said. It was hard to see if the Lemurian was smiling or not. "I cultivated the leaf over thousands of years. Grown in the harsh soil of the mesa, connected to the centre of the universe, beyond time and space, where the pipes of idiot Gods float, and the yellow sign frees of from ourselves...." he added, hypnotically. "All should take it, yet I force it on no - one. You can only open your eyes for yourself!"

Cool. Lets move out of combat for now, anyway - seeing as nobody immediately wants to fight.

GM The pick pockets scuttled through the tumbledown masonry like rats in a sewer. And as Justice followed (in more ways than one!), the smell of the place strongly indicated that the sewers were not far away, or that the abandoned building was being used as a sewer. And most likely, rats were not far away either. Literal and metaphorical rats. As fast as they scuttled, Justice leaped and vaulted faster, and cut them off, ending up with a neat jump of a wall to stand on some fallen masonry three feet above them. Very dramatic and intimidating! The pick pockets responded by pulling out small knives. "Back of missy! You don't know what you are getting in to!" "We are Finnigan's crew! You don't want to mess with Finnagan!"

You catch up with them!

A chase through a crumbling building or two! That means its time for some opposed DEX rolls! Opposed DEX roll chase: 1d20+2 13

GM The Crystal was corrupted and unstable as it was, and needed but a carefully calibrated nudge to crumble in Yassers hand. Crumble, yes. And then...explode! The delicate and old walls cracked, the glass shattered, the furniture splintered as the crystal exploded in his face. Surely a whole block of the city had heard that! Amazingly, Yasser seemed to take the explosion right in his face and didn't even blink. He absorbed the strange Daka energy which sparked around his body. He sat there, shocked, gawping at the Daka - dust in his hands, not quite able to process his loss....

A big boom is made Tough Save: 1d20+10 30 and he gets lucky on the save. So, whilst not in combat now, it would be good if you could throw a pre emptive initiative as we are not far off at all....! You do however have some time to act.

What is the Scarab attempting to do with Science? (It sounds cool, but wasn't sure!)

GM Busy little fingers were not busy enough today. "You sure are stupid, miss!" said the green haired thief. "Who do you think is doing all the pick pocketing?" The orange haired kid pointed both her index fingers proudly at her chest. "We do!" Both orange and green puffed out their chests proudly and gave a little laugh. However, they did of course realise that they had been caught red-handed. "See ya!" they echoed. Sure, they could fight, they reasoned. But why fight if you could run? And run they did, scrabbling into the crumbling building behind them...

Snakebite "I say its not safe to stay or to leave" replied Cassie. "Look, the ring is on my finger, not yours. You don't have to stay around, I won't hold it against you. But I have far more chance of working out what this ring is, and how to get it off, right here. Not stuck in some dusty library in Cairo or Timbuktu" she said. For all her academic skills, it was in the field the Cassie felt she belonged. "Besides, this temple is a red rag, and I am a bull. I can't stop now" she said, more eagerly. It was true, everything was disconcerting, even for her, but she simply couldn't live with herself if she just walked away. "Ill just have to be careful" she added, with a smile. And with that philosophy in mind, she started to look for an entrance...

That works for me! Ill edit the IC to give you a chance to post that IC! (I hope that makes sense!)

Starshot Strashot flicked on the power and heard the soft rumbles of the flyer. He had half - forgotten about Phalen - what to do with him? He is still half - crazed. He wondered if the telepathic Ul-Mor could start knitting his head back together. It was a long shot, but, he thought, in the absence of anyone with psychiatric expertise or indeed treatment, it was probably the only shot. The ship seemed familiar enough in principle, but principle and practice were a different thing. He wobbled the ship on take off. "Just getting the hang of it..." he reassured his crew as he straightened up. "To the Ul-Mor then" he said, plugging his helmet in. Full charged, its computer map pinged up on his HUD. Even if the Ul-Mor were nomadic, the map would guide them to where they had met... And thus, he activated the G-beams and set proverbial sail to proverbial wind...

GM "What are you doing?" demanded Mr. Sting, taking a step back from Venomax doing his best to neutralise the poison in Abdul. "He deserved it!" he protested, wiping sweat from his brow and cautiously holding up his knife. Whatever cruelty possessed him, it was blended with some rogue sense of justice. Venomax hadn't stabbed him, and he wasn't - quite - ready to stab Venomax in the back. Besides, it was a step more foolhardy a course of action than his stabbing of Abdul had been. "Behold!!!" The voice was reptilian and bold. On the stone throne in the centre of the cave, a man now sat. Tall and robed, his skin scaled, his head that of a snake. His eyes glinted in the pale light, his mouth a serpentine grin. He sat regal and intelligent, surveying the chaos around him. "What brings you to this place?" he demanded. "The snake! the snake!" whispered Abdul, still holding his bleeding belly. "I told you he was here!"

Mr Sting will use total defence this round, gaining +4 to his dodge till his next go. He will, however, appeal to Venomax! (as per IC) The last remaining Giant Snake will snap at Dust Devil, but since the Dust Devil has insubstantial this is pointless! And then...as per IC! You may wish to pause at this juncture to talk and dance, I will leave that to you. Round 3 24 Dust Devil - Unharmed - 3 HP 22 Venom - Unharmed - 2 HP 12 Mr. Sting - Unharmed 10 Setho the Sorcerer - Unharmed 9 - Giant Snakes - 1 Unharmed, 1 Stunned 1 - Abdul - CON at 2 (Poison effect round 11)

Thats up to you...even with a -5 penalty for no medkit that reaches the DC 15 criteria to treat poison! so knock yourself out with whatever narrative you wish! Technically that gives a +4 bonus to his next save (Venommax Medicine rank) but ill add a +5 bonus to that for his chemicals feature etc to give him a might +9 bonus when the next save kicks in. EDIT also, earn an HP for being so heroic in saving a scumbag like Mr. Sting! Venomax - 2 HP