ic The Hades Complex(IC)

[Ari]

GM

 

Meanwhile, the communications picked up the relieved voice of the Australian officer, the words drifting easily up to Stormbreaker's ears. "Really? I-I didn't think it went that smoothly, okay! Coordinates are being transmitted as we speak..."

 

"South ocean-side docks of Freedom City, captain!" Thundered the navigator's familiar voice "Arranging course, nothing looks likely to get in our way!"

 

At about then the cruisers and a formidable armored truck emerged from the dark streets, officers piling out and hustling the unresisting collaborators into the backs after a quick questioning that turned a positive on the guilt-o-meter. The sky-bound galleon got a lot more looks than in Freedom City, and the two supers were given a polite, deferential berth besides tips of the hat(to Vector) and a few tersely shouted thanks(to Stormbreaker). A carefully-worded request for the floating smuggler crackled over the radio waves, along with a "We'll be keeping the stuff at a warehouse nearby, not leaving space rifles or whatever in the open."

[Blue Rose]

"Captain Silvia, the Stormbreaker, of Ages Lost. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Vector," she bows, mail clinking down and back. "Your proposal sounds... equitable; I assist in eliminating the source, and you permit me to ensure their equipment is never a threat to your planet again."

The qualifiers Vector put on the possibility may as well not exist, as far as Silvia is concerned.

She offers her crew a hand gesture from below, a silent indication that she received the navigator's report, her ears picking up even a normal speaking voice from that far away.

When they ask for the captive, the captain is quite receptive. "Certainly. One moment, please." She flies up to the man, needing to disarm him first. "I suggest handing me the weapon now." Assuming he has the good sense to comply with the woman who could drop him several stories with a stray thought right about now, she takes the gun, adds it to the stockpile, and floats the thug down to the waiting authorities before getting on the radio with what she assumes to be police HQ.

"Understood. I recommend keeping the weapons under close watch. However, once this situation is resolved, I shall be forced to confiscate the weapons. They are far too advanced and unstable to be left on Earth; I will take them off world to be safely dismantled." And repurposed. At a profit.

[horngeek]

Vector smiled at Silvia.  "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Captain.  It'll be a pleasure to work together."

 

She looked at the weapons.  "According to the other two men- who've been very helpful- they were told that the weapons were being smuggled out of Australia to remove them from the reach of the Omega Mob.  I'm pretty sure they don't really do high-tech weapons, though."

 

The heroine frowned behind her mask, thinking for a moment.  "How did you know that the weapons were here, by the way?  Tracking them by their energy signature, or just noticing the fight and the firing of one of them?"

[Blue Rose]

Well, that is a vague structure of things. "The hyplothadrooga scanners picked up their energy signature," she answers off-hand, her brow furrowed. It would be best to break every link in this chain; it might reveal more goods hidden about this rock than just following sensors.

With a wave of her hand, she grabs the man she'd just delivered to the police in the wind's grasp, pulling him from half-way into the cruiser and floating him over in a tumbling, precarious arc, not particularly concerned with his comfort.

"You." she levels her gaze at the man, "You will tell me of the one who told you about these weapons, and how to make contact with them."

[Ari]

GM

 

Stormbreaker/Vector

 

Now fully awake and alert to his peril, the smuggler was almost serene as he looked out from the cracked glasses perched on his bloodied nose, gazing up at the outlandishly-dressed alien and speaking in the confident voice of someone totally certain that they're screwed.

"A bloke called 'John McGruther', never got his real name. He left Sydney for Darwin," he added, catching a glimpse of Stormbreaker's distinctly non-human crew "a week back, told me to find him at a place called Marsha's if I needed help. I'm sure he'll keep for a while, next shipment's not due here for another month."

 

Meanwhile, in Freedom City...

 

Panic was beginning to turn into grim determination in Graft's attackers, the hulking green biobeast surrounding Mendoza only giving the untested gangsters a little pause as they fired on him, trying to drive the organic tank into a corner with a hail of howling fire!

 

Another steel crate smashed beside his head, the gauntleted young man growling in frustration at missing the enormous target. "It's over, man!" he shouted as he dove into cover, the concrete where he'd been torn up in the path of a purple cyclone fired by one of his friends "We've got you right where we want ya!"

Edited May 3, 2014 by Arichamus

[Blue Rose]

"Lovely."

A flick of the wrist, and the man goes flying back towards the wagon, stopping just in time to not break several bones, back in police custody.

The insect out of sight and out of mind, she can return her attention to the cape at her side.

"Well, Miss Vector. I suspect you have a greater understanding of this area than I. I ask that you show me the way to this... 'Marsha's.' I suspect this matter will require some small measure of subtlety. I would rather not afford Mr. McGruther sufficient opportunity to get away before we speak with him."

[Ari]

GM

 

Flying to Marsha's turned out to be a quick(even accounting for the speed of the Ages Lost) trip, the mighty galleon soon soaring above Darwin and lowering into view of its mighty harbour's west wing.

 

The bar itself, according to what Vector could recall of it, was mostly famous for being raided twice last year by police on suspicion of patronizing local crime family members, and for its ownership being passed down from mother to daughter, the name originating from the enterprising Irishwoman Marsha McCullough sometime in the 1900's who founded it. It was seated at what was now a conflux of roads spanning from one end of the city's ports to the other and drew considerable traffic, keeping the style and dinginess of a roughhouse bar mostly to cater to its exceedingly masculine clientele and tourists looking for an authentic Australian good time.

 

Drifting serenely in the lower atmosphere, the outlandish starship was high up enough that most people outside wouldn't have noticed it even if they had thought to look up into the cloudy night sky. And nobody indoors would be any the wiser.

[horngeek]

Vector conveyed the information to Stormbreaker as they traveled, thinking.  "This doesn't all add up to me, though.  What do you know about those weapons, anyway?"

 

Flying on an honest spaceship was certainly an experience for the Australian superheroine, although it was tempered both by the situation and the fact that... well.  Stormbreaker had been a bit patronising towards the locals since she was here.  Left a bad taste in Vector's mouth, although she was careful not to show it.  No use in aggravating their ally for this.  

[Blue Rose]

As Vector speaks, the good captain leads her guest to her dining hall.  "Please, take a seat.  This shall be too short a trip for a proper meal, but I can till offer refreshment.  Would you like a glass of wine?  Water?  Cider?  Tea?"

 

Not until the matters of hospitality are tended to does Silvia set to discussing business.

 

"Terminus technology is dangerous.  And not just as a weapon.  Without the technology to properly maintain the containment equipment, it will degrade and release Terminus energy into the environment, with unpredictable and dangerous results.  Thus, they must be disposed of, and Earth does not have the equipment or knowledge to do so.  Which is where my services come in."

[horngeek]

Vector nodded.  "Water's fine.  I don't like to drink while on the job of any type."

 

She listened to Silvia's explanation, nodding.  "I get what you're saying, and I have no desire to keep Terminus technology on earth."  Her expression darkened somewhat at the reminder.  "Not after the harm it's caused this world, or Mu-"

 

The superheroine broke off for a moment.  "Anyway, I'd rather see the stuff gone than stored.  Couldn't we throw it in the sun or something, get rid of the bloody stuff?"

 

Vector sipped at the provided water as she looked out a view port.  "Huh.  That place gets raided by the police pretty reguarly from what I remember.  They must get warning or something before the raids, if they're able to conceal the sort of stuff we found out about.

 

Let's see... if we don't want him to run off, we need to get in there quietly."

 

Thinking, Vector looked up.  "Actually, do you have any holographic projectors or something like that?  Just walk in through the front door disguised as friends on a night out.  It is a bar, after all."

[Blue Rose]

With a gesture, the pair are provided with two glasses of ice water, served in silver goblets. It has that pure, refreshing edge to it that can only be found if drinking from real silver.

Silvia raises her glass to Vector, and lets her guest take the first drink.

"Throwing it in the sun would be rather excessive, and wasteful. While I sympathize with regards to Earth's history with Terminus, the fact of the matter is, these are mere pieces of equipment, and not even especially outstanding in the larger universe. Simply a power cell routed through a focusing assembly." Though both rare and valuable in their own rights, to be sure. "I should sooner see them broken down and put to peaceful use in the hands of civilizations equipped to use them safely. Industrial applications, most likely." She looks distant for a moment, remembering a story. "There is at least one incident on record of Terminus power cells being disposed of in a star, and infecting a previously undetected stellar being. The results were... monstrous. Quite literally."

As the ship draws nearer its destination, the captain gives the order to contact local authorities for permission to set down outside the immediate area of the bar.

"If such a disguise is our professional recommendation, then it shall be done. I do not have any equipment of the sort you describe, but I should think it unnecessary. Simply purchasing a change of clothing should suffice. Or, if that is inadequate, a change in hair color as well. Traditional methods still have their merits."

[horngeek]

"Ah.  In that case... all right."

 

Vector nodded, thinking.  "True enough.  While I'm... not exactly unknown, my face isn't one of those that everyone would know, so a change of clothing should be fine.  Jeans and a t-shirt should do."

 

She looked at Silvia.  "I'm... not exactly familiar with this kind of thing, though.  If going in some other method would work better..."

[Blue Rose]

Doubt.

This is not a time for doubt, but for decisive action.

"If you question the disguises, then I shall, of course, respect your judgment on the matter, but the choice must be made." She sips her water as she considers the conundrum. "If subtlety should prove inadequate, perhaps bold action and speed shall do in their stead. They have their sources to tell of an impending raid from the local law, but my ship can come in at low altitude faster than a runner could send word. A full broadside to the front of the establishment, and we have a clear line to enter and claim our target before he can react." Her tone is entirely cordial and sincere.

The ice in her goblet clinks as she sets it down, one hitch occurring to her. "Though even more than with the subtle approach, we would need to know what this Mr. McGruther looks like. Might you have a trusted connection within the police who might check their records for his picture? I would rather not ask directly, as this establishment's source of advanced warning may well be a mole from within local law's own ranks."

Edited June 20, 2014 by Blue Rose

[horngeek]

"No need.  I know what he looks like, I've heard recordings of his voice.  Heck, I can even tell you that he never sits with his back to a wall."

 

Vector grinned for a moment.  "My memory isn't quite perfect, but it's pretty close."

 

Then she gave the Captain a sharp look.  "That said... a broadside?  That seems like it has a pretty high chance of killing someone, and we don't want to do that."

[Blue Rose]

That earns a raisd eyebrow. Such an uncertain girl. It is unbecoming, and does not inspire much confidence.

"You are the expert," the captain points out. "I am following your lead. All I offer are suggestions; however, what we need is a firm, settled plan. I need you to make a decision. Preferably before I am forced to make one on your behalf. One of which I doubt you would approve."

The patience running thin in her voice is plain to hear, but her tone is closer to a mother's reproach.

"So tell me, Miss Vector. How will we take this Mr. McGruther into custody?"

[horngeek]

"Fair enough.  

 

Okay.  The un-subtle approach it is.  My primary concern with a broadside is the risk of killing people, but I admit I'm not familiar with how precise your guns can be- if you're confident you can stun the patrons without killing them, then let's go for that, then we'll enter by the hole created.  The other issue if we go for an obvious attack is the fact that with two people, we can't cover all the entrances and so we run the risk of our suspect running out.  If your crew can set a watch on the entrances..."

 

Vector looked at the building.  "My abilities allow me to reflect most damage away from me, so I'll take point if we enter by a hole we create.  Otherwise, I would advise that we both enter by different entrances, make sure McGruther doesn't run."

[Blue Rose]

Silvia raises an eyebrow. She hadn't expected her to go with the direct approach when confronted. Perhaps she underestimated this one's spine.

"Very well. I shall scale back the initial barrage and handle the firing personally." She gives her goblet a shake, ice clinking against the sides as she considers the assault. "We have six sides to consider. The four walls are a simple matter; we shall make our hole in the front, and you shall immediately charge in to confront Mr. McGruther. I shall fly around the rear of the building and enter that way. A landing party will fan out to either side. For the roof, the ship merely needs to gain a small amount of altitude. That leaves one potential exit. Down. We have no way of knowing if they have an escape route below the main floor. Without this knowledge, the best counter is speed, observation, and aggression. Get in quick, find the mark, observe his movements, and neutralize him. Wherever a backup exit may be, my entrance through the rear is likely to cut off such an escape. Is this agreeable, Miss Vector?"

[horngeek]

Vector nodded.  "You're probably better at the tactical planning side of things, so let's go with that.  After that, we just need to find out what exactly his game here is."

 

Her expression darkened.  "And where he got these things from, for that matter.  All right, let's do this."

[Blue Rose]

Silvia sets down her goblet and nods, then flips a switch under the table. "All hands, to the main deck."

The announcement can be heard echoing on speakers throughout the ship. The captain makes an inviting gesture as she moves to exit the room and address her gathered crew.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to conduct a raid on an Earth building. Resistance unknown; expected to be minimal. The arrangement shall be simple. Fly to the front of the building. I shall handle an initial volley to the target. Afterward, the raiding party deploys. We will retain atmospheric navigation, gunnery, and emergency damage control. All other hands shall be part of the raiding party, and shall flank the building to prevent any escapees. Miss Vector shall enter the breach. I shall go around back. Our objective is one man. A Mr. McGruther; Miss Vector knows his face and shall be responsible for identifying him. She and I shall capture the man, and when he is in our custody and aboard, we shall depart. Raiding party's job is purely containment. Casualties will be kept to an absolute minimum. Are there any questions?"

None.

"Helm, set a course," she commands, and dismisses the crew. "Miss Vector, I recommend you prepare to deploy."

With that, the good captain prepares to go belowdecks and handle targetting.

[horngeek]

Vector nodded, following Silvia, and listening to the speech.  She smiled at the last comment.  "All right."

 

She ran through some stretches, getting ready.  She wasn't overly concerned that anything could hurt her, really.  Not normal guns, at least- if they had any more of those strange guns, there might be some trouble... but on the other hand, she'd handled those all right.  

 

The major concern, really, was that McGruther didn't get away.  She'd have to move fast.  

 

"I'm ready.  Anywhere I need to be to deploy?"

[Ari]

GM

 

The Ages Lost soared from its sky perch like a many-sailed cruise missile, swooping into position above the glittering bar like a skimming wren, and halting with a rush of engine power like a readying hawk. The cannon-mounts slid into place, training on the hapless Marsha's below. 

 

The stellar eagle waited to pounce.

 

---

 

Meanwhile, inside

 

A mug of golden-brown beer slammed into the counter in front of the dour-looking man. "'Ere you go, mate!" beamed the bartender, her smile a little shakier than normal "Have another, it's takin' a while for your friend to get here, and all."

 

Giving the brawny woman a thankful glance, the narrow man slid the mug into his hand. Tipping his head back he drank deeply, throat working as the liquid poured down it. Slamming the half-empty mug onto the bar with a gasp for air, red-faced and thumping his chest for a moment, MacGruthers managed to get out "T-time?"

 

"12.25" was the prompt reply, the smiling face a little more nervous than usual. MacGruther's had asked that before, each time more and more anxiously. She watched him digest the news, then shrug and nod shortly "Thanks, Marsha. I'll be gone in another quarter hour. Here..." fumbling in his pocket, he slapped a small but meaningful pile of hundreds on the counter "...for your trouble."

 

A rumble shivered the air, but both were too absorbed in something else to notice, as were the other ten or so drinkers whiling the night away...

[Blue Rose]

"All hands, prepare for final approach," Captain Silvia the Stormbreaker announces, and moments later, they're swooping in. With a whoosh, they arrive. Hardly the slightest churn can be felt past the inertial dampers, leaving most to rely on sight. Or, for the good captain and her extraordinary hearing, sound. As they arrive, she reads the winds, taking in a layout of the building within. Then, a wall of blazing red erupts into the building at her command, spears of destructive energy annihilating the storefront. To all inside, it would seem a miracle that no one inside had been blown away in the broadside, rather than a deliberate application of skill.

With that volley, the assault has begun, and her crew starts piling out of the ship, flanking the building while the good captain flies out, circling above and behind, ears keen on the movements of the people inside, looking for an escape to below.

[horngeek]

Meanwhile, Vector nodded at the unharmed occupants, while still wincing slightly.  This would take... some explaining, wouldn't it.  

 

She jumped out, landing just inside the destroyed hole, and then casting a look over the assembled patrons to see if she could see MacGruther.  As well as looking for any weapons, anyone who might be about to cause trouble... she had to keep an eye out for a load of different things, and meanwhile make sure that this went off without anyone who wasn't directly involved getting hurt.  

 

Still, if it resulted in these weapons getting out of Australia, it would be well worth it in her view.  Just had to make sure that happened.  

[Ari]

GM

The first shots froze the crowd, the rest galvanized it into action, the patrons scrambling to their feet amid the dust and smoke and ringing explosions, mingled screams, oaths and useless attempts to coordinate their efforts filling the air below.

The cannon blasts laid open the bar to the elements, and to full inspection by the two heroines, revealing a panicked throng shoving and yelling and spilling beer(to screams of dismay) as they tried to escape into the night. Most of them didn't even bother looking to see what was attacking, they just wanted away from the horrible light, flying splinters of glass and ear-piercing booms.

A man jumped up from his chair the second the first blast streaked through the roof, whirling around to find the front door blocked. Then he lunged into the melee. MacGruther did great honor in his part of the shoving and cursing, fighting his way savagely out of the general mob, managing to elbow-drop a patron barring the back door and leap to freedom without missing a beat.

Running pell-mell, he glanced over his shoulder and caught a glimpse of the women on the deck. His eyes widened at the sight of the space galleon, but he paled at the familiar white-blue costume of Vector.

Stormbreaker, for her part, heard with great clarity his desperate stream of epithets and curses, evidently employed in the hope they would banish this awful vision to the depths it sailed from. His shock was so great, his face was kept straight at his hunters, clearly marking him.

[Blue Rose]

The game is begun.

The Stormbreaker tags their mark as soon as he gives himself away with his stare. This one isn't good under pressure, it seems. She considers a flying elbow check to the throat, but they have a plan. This is no time to go rogue; Vector can handle the front.

Instead, she does her part. With a leap, she drifts gracefully through the sky, landing at the back entrance. They're about to come out. She'll be ready to greet them with a storm. She raises her fist, ready to strike the doorframe and blow it in with a gale against everyone trying to escape as soon as they open up.