Re: Before Going To Horizon-Downtime Scenes IC Thread

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Serge's Apartment]

"I'm on my way." Serge said.

He hung up the phone, took his sketchbook, and then immediately left his apartment and rushed to the front door. While his mentor may have warned about keeping Master Babu waiting, Serge was much more concerned with keeping his Angie waiting.

A few of Steelhaven's mages gave you odd looks when you rushed past and a few waved to you but none stopped what they where doing to talk and soon you got out of the front door. A stylish, dark purple car drove up, you saw your Mentor in the front passanger seat and Master Baby warig a red and deep yellow sari, gold bracelets on hr wrists and her long, graying hair in a braid was in the back. A young man, xtremely handsome was driving the car, he looked like a Bollywood star and was wearing aloose, white shirt and a black west what you could see. The car stopped outside of Steelaven and the hadsome young man got out and bowed before he opened the door for you.
"Nice to met you young man, Master Babu and the Deaconess are waiting."
He said politely.

[Warpmind]

[Colin's Apartment, Monday 19.00]

The Etherite gave a laugh to this. As in, clearly laughing at Colin. 'And I thought you were smart. You fucking think the same strategy which will "clean up the police" will work here? All you'll be doing is skimming off a few of the worst offenders, leaving the majority of the not-quite-dumpable to continue as is, juiced-in and protecting each other. Just like the cops.'

Colin shook his head, "We're taking out the bloated spider at the heart of the web. Which is why timing is a bit critical... but trust me on this - the scope is not merely taking down 'the worst offenders'; Houses may come to an end, but the Order will survive. A better Order, hopefully less vulnerable to hubris and Fallen infiltration... but it's going to get ugly."

'Protocols ain't Hermetic, but there sure as hell are Hermetic interpretations of it - you've danced that line with your dalliances with vampires. And I have little faith in getting a fair shake off a Hermetic judge.'

He shrugged, "Depends on the judge. D'angelo? Wouldn't matter if the twins were Hermetic or Etherites, they're rotten to the core, the both of them. Tolle? The 'shake' would be impeccable, and so fair and precise you could refer to it as judicial precedent for millennia. Adimari? She's fought tooth and nail on behalf of the defendants she has represented for 545 years, that shake might not be completely fair, but it would likely be merciful and lean in your favour..."

A moment's consideration, then a shake of the head. 'Nah. They won't listen. Chalk it up as more sass or some shit. Now, if the Chief pointed it out... that's another story. After all, he is the "offended one" on this. And he's too big to ignore.'

He nodded, "Touché. Would you like to suggest having that chat to him, or should I?"

'First, I want folks to read it this year, not in like 2020. And I said; I don't have the pull to crash Paradigma. Plus, Helmsman is the standard read of all who are in cybernetics, robotics, bionics and so on. Their editors will say my report is worth printing even if I'm just a nobody.'

He chuckled, "You might not have enough pull, directly, to crash the Paradigma, but you might know someone who knows someone who, well... let's just say that if I can leverage an appointment..."

'Oh, I have an ask from Prof Baynes to relay; can he have a genetic sample from Freddie? Says he's cracked most of the story now, but needs to do a few tests to prove it.'

He turned serious, "That... is not my place to answer. The damn plague was made because her tissues were stolen in the first place, and I'm not about to let anyone poke and prod at her without her explicit consent in the matter... but lay out the case well and ask her, when she's fully awake. I she says no, that's going to be it, I'm afraid."

'Well... can you...' clearly looking uncomfortable at this. '...sorta, do a proof-read of my report before I submit it? Gotta to a speech on it too...'

He grinned, "Happy to. I'll ask about the difficult words."

'Yeah. And not with a posting with the Fleet, or one of the off-world bases.' looking even more uncomfortable than before. 'Well... basically, I weren't good enough for that. Y'know, full Cavalry training. Without that patch, good fucking chance finding a Cavalry officer to take me on to show I've got the skills for a promotion. 'Cos Hadermann is kinda right and wrong here; every field has their own testing methods and shit and my one it's mainly practical tests in the field.'

He nodded thoughtfully, "So that's how it is... If you don't mind elaborating, how did you flunk out? The RAF's not quite identical, but I do recall my own share of future Ethership flying lessons in the coming months and years, so there are certainly analogues. I might be able to help you out with, hm, cramming for the test, as it were. Depending, obviously, on where you fell through."

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Serge's Apartment]

A few of Steelhaven's mages gave you odd looks when you rushed past and a few waved to you but none stopped what they where doing to talk and soon you got out of the front door. A stylish, dark purple car drove up, you saw your Mentor in the front passenger seat and Master Baby wearing a red and deep yellow sari, gold bracelets on her wrists and her long, graying hair in a braid was in the back. A young man, extremely handsome was driving the car, he looked like a Bollywood star and was wearing a loose, white shirt and a black vest what you could see. The car stopped outside of Steelaven and the handsome young man got out and bowed before he opened the door for you.
"Nice to met you young man, Master Babu and the Deaconess are waiting."
He said politely.

"Nice to meet you too." Serge responded, giving the man a polite nod. He admired the car for a little bit before stepping into it, mentally preparing himself for the upcoming meeting.

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Serge's Apartment]

Nice to meet you too." Serge responded, giving the man a polite nod. He admired the car for a little bit before stepping into it, mentally preparing himself for the upcoming meeting.

"It is nice to meet you as well young man."
The driver said, he held the door open for you. Master Babu gave you a queen like od of her head when she saw you.
"Hello grandson."
The old maga said as the car got moving.
"Do you have all you need for what we ar to do?"

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Colin's Apartment, Monday 19.00]

Warp's Post:

'I'll believe it when I see it...' ending with a frown.

Warp's Post:

Nicole's features grew stony. 'I have little faith in getting a fair shake off a Hermetic.' she repeated.

Warp's Post:

'You do it. For what it's worth...' ending with a shrug. It's clear in her mind she considers it a fool's errand and thus wants no part of it.

Warp's Post:

Nicole shook her head to this. 'Hastings has her enemies, and I have no desire to throw my lot in with her. 'Specially as I don't even know what her lot is. Plus, how the fuck can I complain about nepotism and cronyism if I use it myself?'

'Anyway, why are you seeing her?'

Warp's Post:

'Baynes knows that. And there won't be no prodding or poking; just a vial of blood or even a decent mouth swab.' Nicole replied, draining her drink. 'As for the case... hmm... how much do you know about organ transplants? And why most Sleeper ones fail? gesturing that a refill of her drink would be appreciated.

Warp's Post:

'There shouldn't be - mine is simply a report on the timeline of events and so on. I expect Hadermann is gonna put in a proper report on it all from a medical side, like.' giving a little shrug. 'Though I still don't get what link was between the plague and the kidnappings... if any.'

Warp's Post:

'For the record, I didn't flunk... Academy simply declined to offer me a place for any of their advanced courses.' she replied, a little defensively. 'Not that I really minded... service on some cramped-ass ship or some off-world base hardly appealed, like.'

'Anyway... they said I lacked minimum educational level. And... insufficient GPA from course. Also, failed the psych test.'

[Since when has Serge's apartment had a car in it? Plus, no day/time stamp?]

[Warpmind]

[Colin's Apartment, Monday 19.00]

Nicole's features grew stony. 'I have little faith in getting a fair shake off a Hermetic.' she repeated.

Colin nodded, "So you do."

'You do it. For what it's worth...' ending with a shrug. It's clear in her mind she considers it a fool's errand and thus wants no part of it.

He nodded.

Nicole shook her head to this. 'Hastings has her enemies, and I have no desire to throw my lot in with her. 'Specially as I don't even know what her lot is. Plus, how the fuck can I complain about nepotism and cronyism if I use it myself?'

'Anyway, why are you seeing her?'

He pointed to the drawings, "The zeppelin carrier Shara there will be part of her upgraded defense system for Concordia - along with the Heart of Horizon and St. Victoria's Blade. Magnificent feats of engineering, really, and I'll be offering her my support and gratitude for, hm, well... that hasn't happened yet, but she'll want a few pieces of data on the Nephandi battlecruisers that I have."
He grinned, "Plus, I like what she'll do with your Tradition when Dr. Spence retires."

'Baynes knows that. And there won't be no prodding or poking; just a vial of blood or even a decent mouth swab.' Nicole replied, draining her drink. 'As for the case... hmm... how much do you know about organ transplants? And why most Sleeper ones fail? gesturing that a refill of her drink would be appreciated.

He frowned, getting up and refilling Nicole's glass, "I gathered it would just be a fairly... superficial sampling, but the issue of wayward samples stands. Not my decision to make. Hum..."
Placing the glass back on the table, he arched an eyebrow, "I was under the impression most transplants are successful these days, but there is a substantial amount of matching required, twenty-some or thirty-some blood groups, and so on? You can't just take a kidney from a random kid on the street and implant it in someone with kidney failure and expect it to work..."

'There shouldn't be - mine is simply a report on the timeline of events and so on. I expect Hadermann is gonna put in a proper report on it all from a medical side, like.' giving a little shrug. 'Though I still don't get what link was between the plague and the kidnappings... if any.'

He scratched his head, "At a guess... he might've been looking to use ratkin immunities as a basis for an immunisation against his own plague."

'For the record, I didn't flunk... Academy simply declined to offer me a place for any of their advanced courses.' she replied, a little defensively. 'Not that I really minded... service on some cramped-ass ship or some off-world base hardly appealed, like.'

'Anyway... they said I lacked minimum educational level. And... insufficient GPA from course. Also, failed the psych test.'

He nodded, finishing his own drink, pondering briefly, "I can't fix your grades, obviously, but I can help you with some of your studies, I suppose. As for the psych eval, I'm no psychiatrist, but let me guess... short temper, doesn't play well with others, tendency to let things pile up and become a bit of a mess from a seeming aversion to throwing things out, forgetting about basic self-care, impulsive snacking, difficulty trusting others... does that sound about right?"

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

(OOC: I believe it should be pretty obvious it is the same scene but a different location Nicole nto every one of us is as concered with always keeping the scene title 100 prcent accurate what scene it is are obious, also a time stamp is nto really neccesary here.)

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Master Babu's Car]

"It is nice to meet you as well young man."
The driver said, he held the door open for you. Master Babu gave you a queen like od of her head when she saw you.
"Hello grandson."
The old maga said as the car got moving.
"Do you have all you need for what we are to do?"

"Hello Master Babu. Hey Angie." Serge said returning her nod with a polite one of his own, feeling much like a peasant standing before royalty. Although technically he would also be royalty in that analogy.

"I have everything. My sketchbook is usually all that I need to bring out the most of my magick." he said gesturing to the notepad sized book he kept under his arm. "Has there been any new development with the plan?"

(OOC: I'd rather keep the date and time ambiguous. It's not as important for these mini thread and helps keep things flexible.)

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Master Babu's Car]

"Hello Master Babu. Hey Angie." Serge said returning her nod with a polite one of his own, feeling much like a peasant standing before royalty. Although technically he would also be royalty in that analogy.

"How are you doing child...are you eating enough?"
Master Babu said and she reached outt o pat your hand with one of her own, something that made her many bangels rattle, she sounded like a concerned grandmother, though a noble one who looked favorably on one of her many decendants, she was the head of her family and she knew it.

"I have everything. My sketchbook is usually all that I need to bring out the most of my magick." he said gesturing to the notepad sized book he kept under his arm. "Has there been any new development with the plan?"

"The plan is simple enough, I will drive us into te Umbra, will will go to where the Banshee is likely to attack, once she do appear I wil sed her intended victim to sleep and try to keep the girl out of harms way, the Banshee will likely then turn her attention back to you, now your job is to keep her attention and try to remind her of the magic and wonder of big fae, tis wil hopefully anchor her while me and Mastr Babu try to complete a rather...experimental working to try to both bring the woman back to life and rturn her to her fae nature, she will need that anchor you can provide though since you are a true dreamer."
Ange explained as the car got moving.
"Any questions?"

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Colin's Apartment, Monday 19.00]

Warp's Post:

'What, like hiding those huge fucking gasbags? Or increasing the acceleration so it actually has the ability to move? We could have got four frigates from each of these bloated battlewagons.' Nicole replied, giving a scowl. 'And now you want to fit parasite craft to one? What's wrong with the fighter wing operating out of the dock?'

Warp's Post:

'Yeah, well... what is "successful"?' she replied, taking the drink. 'In this case, the bar is you don't die. Not that you become well again. A person with a transplant has a kind of crippled half a life. Main reason being; your immune system has to be torched to stop your own body rejecting the transplant and attacking it. It's why they prefer to take skin grafts off other parts of your body, rather than someone elses' - no chance of rejection, see?' taking a sip of drink.

'Well, this happens with cybernetic implants too; it's called "FBR" - Foreign Body Reaction. At least, close enough for this conversation. You can do shit to reduce risk of FBR, but not eliminate it. Big cramp for Muggle cybernetic tech. With me so far?'

Warp's Post:

A frown to this. 'His goal was the creation and inhabitation of an Awakened body with some extra benefits, yes? So, where does the cybernetic plague come into this? How did it forward his goal?' a short pause before commenting;

'Thank fuck he didn't know about me, eh?'

Warp's Post:

'Don't know - wouldn't tell me.' she replied, a little sulkily. 'Anyway, what do you mean - "impulsive snacking"?'

[It's a good habit to get into. And I never buy the 'it's is obvious' line.]

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

(OOC: This is a scene Nicole is not even in so og the two players who are in it feel it is marked well enough that will do.)

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Master Babu's Car]

"How are you doing child...are you eating enough?"
Master Babu said and she reached out to pat your hand with one of her own, something that made her many bangles rattle, she sounded like a concerned grandmother, though a noble one who looked favorably on one of her many descendants, she was the head of her family and she knew it.

"Yes Ma'am." Serge said, feeling a tinge of excitement at something so mundane. He couldn't actually recall if he had ever met his actual grandparents before. So being able to answer such a mundane grandmother question was actually quite a exhilarating experience for him.

"The plan is simple enough, I will drive us into the Umbra, will will go to where the Banshee is likely to attack, once she do appear I will send her intended victim to sleep and try to keep the girl out of harms way, the Banshee will likely then turn her attention back to you, now your job is to keep her attention and try to remind her of the magic and wonder of big fae, this will hopefully anchor her while me and Master Babu try to complete a rather...experimental working to try to both bring the woman back to life and return her to her fae nature, she will need that anchor you can provide though since you are a true dreamer."
Ange explained as the car got moving.
"Any questions?"

"No actually. It is a pretty simple plan all things considered." Serge said running through the plan again and again in his head. A small flash of apprehension ran through him. After everything he had seen in the last couple of days, he knew it would be a little more difficult to earnestly speak about the positivity of magick and dream in the world. "I'll have wards on me right?"

[Warpmind]

[Colin's Apartment, Monday 19.00]

'What, like hiding those huge fucking gasbags? Or increasing the acceleration so it actually has the ability to move? We could have got four frigates from each of these bloated battlewagons.' Nicole replied, giving a scowl. 'And now you want to fit parasite craft to one? What's wrong with the fighter wing operating out of the dock?'

Colin looked into his glass, "What is wrong with the fighter wing operating out of the dock is range. The Shara, and those like her, give a significant multiplier to the operational range and deployment speed of Concordia's defenses."

'Yeah, well... what is "successful"?' she replied, taking the drink. 'In this case, the bar is you don't die. Not that you become well again. A person with a transplant has a kind of crippled half a life. Main reason being; your immune system has to be torched to stop your own body rejecting the transplant and attacking it. It's why they prefer to take skin grafts off other parts of your body, rather than someone elses' - no chance of rejection, see?' taking a sip of drink.

'Well, this happens with cybernetic implants too; it's called "FBR" - Foreign Body Reaction. At least, close enough for this conversation. You can do shit to reduce risk of FBR, but not eliminate it. Big cramp for Muggle cybernetic tech. With me so far?'

He nodded thoughtfully, "Ah, yes, I see where you're going with this. Interestingly, one of the doctors who performed Freddy's surgery has offered to examine her and help research how she might revert her incompatibility with cyberware... with Freddy's blessing, I'll put the two doctors in touch. Sound good?"

A frown to this. 'His goal was the creation and inhabitation of an Awakened body with some extra benefits, yes? So, where does the cybernetic plague come into this? How did it forward his goal?' a short pause before commenting;

'Thank fuck he didn't know about me, eh?'

He shook his head, "A perfect body was his personal goal, yes. He's still working on that, this time he's going for vampirism, the bastard, and he means to drain an entire bloodline unless I can stop him... but the plague was his work, a commissioned job for Eric Dahl, who just wanted to screw over the Iterators, apparently. You know, the smarmy fuck of a Fallen Technocrat who ended up in a couple of buckets in the cellar?"

'Don't know - wouldn't tell me.' she replied, a little sulkily. 'Anyway, what do you mean - "impulsive snacking"?'

He smiled wryly, "Ah, hit a nerve, did I? Impulsive snacking, as in a predilection to always have something easy to nibble on at hand, and grab a bite any time your hands are idle... It was a question, though, and not an accusation. A combination of traits I've seen all too often in the past 25 years... so, did you recognise any of the suggestions?"

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Master Babu's Car]

Yes Ma'am." Serge said, feeling a tinge of excitement at something so mundane. He couldn't actually recall if he had ever met his actual grandparents before. So being able to answer such a mundane grandmother question was actually quite a exhilarating experience for him.

Master Babu gave you a warm smile.
"I still think you look a bit thin...I will have my chef prepare a few treats to send you."
She promised.

"No actually. It is a pretty simple plan all things considered." Serge said running through the plan again and again in his head. A small flash of apprehension ran through him. After everything he had seen in the last couple of days, he knew it would be a little more difficult to earnestly speak about the positivity of magick and dream in the world. "I'll have wards on me right?"

"I am going to ward you as best I can kid, but know there is still danger, hopefully the wards will buy you the time you need to reach the Banshee."
Your Mentor said.
"If all go wrong we can get you out but for this to work you need to rach the poor creature ad remind her of the wonder of what she was."

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Colin's Apartment, Monday 19.00]

Warp's Post:

'You are aware the Shara is barely capable of moving itself as it is, right? They're basically floating batteries, not ships.'

Warp's Post:

'Baynes thinks he's already got that answer. FBR was cracked on our side ages ago with gene therapy. His theory is that Freddie simply has the luck of having a very aggressive natural FBR. If true, he'll be able to treat her the same way as he did with me. Well, easier than me, actually; he had to basically torch my immune system to get it to accept the therapy.'

Warp's Post:

'So... it didn't forward his goal. It was just a coincidence that Dahl used the plague provided by him at that time for his own purpose, yes?'

Warp's Post:

'No, object to the idea it's impulsive - I need that energy intake. Though didn't think it was that obvious...' not overly happy someone had realised her consumption was around the level of three "normal" women. 'Anyway, you have no idea how hard parts are to get hold of these days; when was the last time you saw a decent electronics store like the old Radio Shack about? When I or Miles or whoever needs that 555 chip, a power pack connector or some resistors it's either cut it out of a pre-done board or wait a week or three for it to come from China.'

[Just that I like to know the continuity order of scenes so I know what can/cannot be commented on by my PC at that point, so avoiding plot-snarls and so on. Is that such a bad thing?]

[Warpmind]

[Colin's Apartment, Monday 19.00]

'You are aware the Shara is barely capable of moving itself as it is, right? They're basically floating batteries, not ships.'

Colin shook his head, "About as mobile as a hangar ship. But it does mean we get our fighter wings out far enough to harry battlecruisers outside their firing range. And we don't want Nephandi battlecruisers to get close enough to fire upon Concordia."

'Baynes thinks he's already got that answer. FBR was cracked on our side ages ago with gene therapy. His theory is that Freddie simply has the luck of having a very aggressive natural FBR. If true, he'll be able to treat her the same way as he did with me. Well, easier than me, actually; he had to basically torch my immune system to get it to accept the therapy.'

He nodded thoughtfully, "Alright, you've convinced me. We'll have a word with Freddy, when she's lucid."

'So... it didn't forward his goal. It was just a coincidence that Dahl used the plague provided by him at that time for his own purpose, yes?'

He nodded, "Fortuitous timing, indeed. Though I am not certain as to whose network was employed to spread it. Either way, Eric Dahl is dead, and unlikely to return. Wallace Jace, on the other hand, has bloody well gone and reincarnated again, though without an Avatar for now. That's only going to be a temporary impediment for him, unfortunately, but, hum, it would appear he is using another clone of his - not Thomas - which means we should be able to track him again, especially after we take out Lily and get the Psychopomp..."
He sighed, "Wallace Jace is a bloody nuisance, but he found himself a quite enthusiastic Nemesis here... I have enough pieces of him to hunt him across the globe and into whatever semblance of an afterlife he means to hide in... and I will not stop until I am satisfied he can't bounce back one last time."

'No, object to the idea it's impulsive - I need that energy intake. Though didn't think it was that obvious...' not overly happy someone had realised her consumption was around the level of three "normal" women. 'Anyway, you have no idea how hard parts are to get hold of these days; when was the last time you saw a decent electronics store like the old Radio Shack about? When I or Miles or whoever needs that 555 chip, a power pack connector or some resistors it's either cut it out of a pre-done board or wait a week or three for it to come from China.'

He smiled wryly, "Well, aside from maintaining muscle and burning through energy with exerecise, I suppose you do need fuel for your arm; glucose conversion, was it? I believe you mentioned something to that effect... And you don't have to justify the component store, just answer this... are the assorted bits somewhat neatly sorted into drawers and shelves, or just piled up in boxes and on available surfaces that you have a rough idea of where everything is? Is your apartment tidy, or do you keep clothes, magazines, and take-out boxes scattered everywhere because you have more urgent things to worry about than tidying up? And I'm not criticizing you, Freddy has the exact same... predilection as the one I'm describing."

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Master Babu's Car]

Master Babu gave you a warm smile.
"I still think you look a bit thin...I will have my chef prepare a few treats to send you."
She promised.

"I look forward to it. Having food cooked by a personal chef sounds thrilling." he said with a smile.

"I am going to ward you as best I can kid, but know there is still danger, hopefully the wards will buy you the time you need to reach the Banshee."
Your Mentor said.
"If all go wrong we can get you out but for this to work you need to reach the poor creature and remind her of the wonder of what she was."

"Time is my main concern. I can't do much convincing if she rips my throat out first." Serge said grimly, showing that he was aware of the danger he was putting himself into. "I don't have any other other concerns. We should head there as soon as we can. Better to be early to this tea party rather than late. "

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Master Babu's Car]

"I look forward to it. Having food cooked by a personal chef sounds thrilling." he said with a smile.

"Oh it is, Ravi do wonderful work. I can not praise him enough."
Master Babu said.
"We will get some meat on your bones child."
She said patting your hand again.

"Time is my main concern. I can't do much convincing if she rips my throat out first." Serge said grimly, showing that he was aware of the danger he was putting himself into. "I don't have any other other concerns. We should head there as soon as we can. Better to be early to this tea party rather than late. "

"I will construct a rote that will take your mental body ad make it into a hard shell for a moment, well the top layers of it, so it do nto affect you, that man she should not be able to feed on your. I will also weave what the Hermetics call a Kinetic shield over you as well, though as you know I am bettr with the mind that with the forces of the physical world."
Your Mentor said.
"Is there ay particular protections you think would be useful child?"
Master Babu asked.

[Warpmind]

[Steelhaven Chantry, Monday Morning]
After his morning run and breakfast, Colin steeled himself and gently knocked on Adley's door, wondering how things were going in there...

((OOC: Since Nicole's not replied for a couple days, I might take care of some other matters that fit in here, just to keep things active.))

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Steelhaven Chantry, Monday Morning]

After his morning run and breakfast, Colin steeled himself and gently knocked on Adley's door, wondering how things were going in there...

Your Cabalmat himslf opened the door, h was prtty pale and looked rather exausted but h was on his feet.
"Amicus."
He said with a smale.
"hm...do come in."
The Hrmetic seamed a bit uncomfortabl wa tey alway whre the letting someone into their privat space.

(OOC: Sounds good. I hope Strife would be ok with me portraying their character.)

[Warpmind]

[Steelhaven Chantry, Monday Morning]

Your Cabalmat himslf opened the door, h was prtty pale and looked rather exausted but h was on his feet.
"Amicus."
He said with a smale.
"hm...do come in."
The Hrmetic seamed a bit uncomfortabl wa tey alway whre the letting someone into their privat space.

Colin smiled to Adley, "Good morning, Amicus... I see you're up, I gather things went well? I... am sorry I wasn't here for support, but I was rather exhausted after a long day yesterday. Way too long story..."
He stepped inside the apartment, gave a small, approving nod at the meticulously organized room, "So, how are you doing now? I don't know how much you've been briefed on yesterday's events?"

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Colin's Apartment, Monday Evening]

Warp's Post:

'Hmm... doubt the small edge in reaction time shall be worth the heavy cost of conversion - normally ain't.' she replied uncertainly.

Warp's Post:

'Thanks. How is she?'

Warp's Post:

'Ah, that's easy; hired help, outside of the Union. Using in-house assets risked discovery; there's always a chance that somebody, somewhere would ask questions and it all falls apart. Also, several of the Boston targets were Mirrorshades; even the most dense operative might ask questions why they were attacking their own.' she replied thoughtfully, sipping her drink.

'Though truth be told, the plan was shit - alerted people waay too early. Dahl clearly knew jack about diseases, or what his vials did, or both. If this had been my mission, I would have infected a load of rando Sleepers as my first wave. Tainted botox vials, variants of old poison umbrellas or something. Then, if Baynes' theory is right, them will become virus-spewing distributors. By the time implants started to pack up and people got wise, containment would have already become impossible.' giving a grim little smile.

'I hate to think of Dahl's plan if he'd spent some time playing Plague, Inc beforehand...'

Warp's Post:

'Why? As in, why you?'

Warp's Post:

A short silence before replying. 'Sorta. Subdermal TEG patches, running off a tuned-up metabolism.' tone crisp, a brief foray into the little-explored zone which which was the Etherite's... enhancements.

Warp's Post:

Nicole rolled her eyes to this, both knowing full well the answer. 'There ain't no actual garbage in my apartment.' she replied, a little sulkily.

[Please let us not forget https://chantrysteelhaven.forumotion.com/t268p25-downtime-planning-thread-ii#46090 and https://chantrysteelhaven.forumotion.com/t259p100-forum-update-working-thread#45953.]

[Warpmind]

[Colin's Apartment, Monday Evening]

'Hmm... doubt the small edge in reaction time shall be worth the heavy cost of conversion - normally ain't.' she replied uncertainly.

Colin shrugged, "Being able to deploy defenses at several times the current range, at the same speed, is quite valuable."

'Thanks. How is she?'

He smiled warmly, "Better... Exhausted, but better. She lost a couple of days of memories in the operation, unsurprising, but... I've got good hope she'll not have seizures, or at least that she'll suffer them significantly less in the future."

'Ah, that's easy; hired help, outside of the Union. Using in-house assets risked discovery; there's always a chance that somebody, somewhere would ask questions and it all falls apart. Also, several of the Boston targets were Mirrorshades; even the most dense operative might ask questions why they were attacking their own.' she replied thoughtfully, sipping her drink.

'Though truth be told, the plan was shit - alerted people waay too early. Dahl clearly knew jack about diseases, or what his vials did, or both. If this had been my mission, I would have infected a load of rando Sleepers as my first wave. Tainted botox vials, variants of old poison umbrellas or something. Then, if Baynes' theory is right, them will become virus-spewing distributors. By the time implants started to pack up and people got wise, containment would have already become impossible.' giving a grim little smile.

'I hate to think of Dahl's plan if he'd spent some time playing Plague, Inc beforehand...'

He arched an eyebrow, "They went straight for where they'd get the plague to spread in the target demographic the fastest. People with implants tend to associate closely with other people with implants. And the bastards had lists. And I'm not entirely convinced it was Dahl's hired help, rather than Jace's... but you're likely right, Jace would probably employ somewhat more specifically competent underlings."
He frowned, "What's Plague, Inc?"

'Why? As in, why you?'

He smiled wryly, "He's set himself up as a stepping stone to help Moloch come about... I've been working to prevent that doomsday scenario for some time, you might say I've done that all my lives. Plus, the bastard rather made it personal, last time, when he tried to use me to give him an alibi as 'finally killed'. Bloody nuisance... clever plan, but he's not a good enough actor to pull off that maneuver. Also, in a future timeline I hope to avoid, he made it even more personal in attacking the Arthurian's court, and murdering my... adopted niece, of sorts, right in front of me. The bastard even had the temerity to smirk at it."

A short silence before replying. 'Sorta. Subdermal TEG patches, running off a tuned-up metabolism.' tone crisp, a brief foray into the little-explored zone which which was the Etherite's... enhancements.

He nodded, "So keeping up the caloric intake is perfectly justified, not a worrying sign in itself. Well, I wasn't concerned you were over-eating; not with your impressive physique and exercise regimen."

Nicole rolled her eyes to this, both knowing full well the answer. 'There ain't no actual garbage in my apartment.' she replied, a little sulkily.

He chuckled wryly, "Nevertheless, the little things add up. I can't claim expertise in the matter, but... I've seen so many fellow veterans with similar habits and little tics, so I have to ask, have you considered consulting someone like Dr. Boudavich to get yourself assessed for PTSD? It... might help you reframe a few things, and perhaps close some old wounds of your own."

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Master Babu's Car]

"I will construct a rote that will take your mental body and make it into a hard shell for a moment, well the top layers of it, so it do not affect you, that man she should not be able to feed on your. I will also weave what the Hermetics call a Kinetic shield over you as well, though as you know I am better with the mind that with the forces of the physical world."
Your Mentor said.
"Is there ay particular protections you think would be useful child?"
Master Babu asked.

"Something to protect and something to protect me physically. That's definitely enough." Serge said struggling to think of something more to add. This usually happened when he was with his mentor-no it seemed to always happen on mission. Everyone else would do most of the work and he would just do the small part assigned to him and never anything more. He just noticed this deficiency more when he was around his mentor.

"What prevents the Banshee from running away?" he asked finally. "Will we have a ward around her to contain her? Or will we be solely relying on her hunger towards me to keep her anchored while you guys cast the big spell?"

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Steelhaven Chantry, Monday Morning]

Colin smiled to Adley, "Good morning, Amicus... I see you're up, I gather things went well? I... am sorry I wasn't here for support, but I was rather exhausted after a long day yesterday. Way too long story..."
He stepped inside the apartment, gave a small, approving nod at the meticulously organized room, "So, how are you doing now? I don't know how much you've been briefed on yesterday's events?"

"I was only informed that all wnt well and that no one was hurt."
The Hermetic said as he went to his kitched.
"I believe I have some tea can I offer you any Amicus...as for me, well the new Umbrood is born and he is perfect. My Avatar was ot sriously harmed but it was a complicated working and it...was..."
His voice trailed of a little.
"Master Telar have ordered me torest and not work magick other than the LBRP for at last a week."
Adley smiled a little.
"I guess I am a mother now."
He said a little wryly then he blushed a little.
"So how did the mission go yesterday Amicus?"

[Master Babu's Car]

"Something to protect and something to protect me physically. That's definitely enough." Serge said struggling to think of something more to add. This usually happened when he was with his mentor-no it seemed to always happen on mission. Everyone else would do most of the work and he would just do the small part assigned to him and never anything more. He just noticed this deficiency more when he was around his mentor.

Your Mentor nodded at that though she noticed your expression and frowed but she did not press the issue.

What prevents the Banshee from running away?" he asked finally. "Will we have a ward around her to contain her? Or will we be solely relying on her hunger towards me to keep her anchored while you guys cast the big spell?"

"We are relying on her being focused no you to keep her in place. We can both stop her from leaving probably but there is a limit to how muc we want to do all at once while working somethig extremely complicated."
Angie said.
"Yes your job will be to keep her where she is while me and my apprentice cast our spell child. I am sure you can do it, you are my grandson after all."
Master Babu declared.

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