Heroica: Glory Amongst The Stars - Mission #1: Mercenaries On the Boreal Express

[Classic_Spaceman]

16 hours ago, Kintobor said:

Zaria scowls at Yelana's attempt at humour, debating putting more pressure onto her but deciding against it.

"What, not your type?" 

16 hours ago, Kintobor said:

"You do not understand, do you? You get your hands on the cube, and then what? I have to trust in your plan? Your secret schemes to save the day? No: you put me in charge, Yelana! I remember very well you nominated me as group leader. You have since then disregarded my orders and talked down to me like I am some infant child, despite you having seen first hand what I am capable of! For someone whose analogy claims you are thinking ahead, I haven't heard you offer a single solution to how you intend to get the cube off this train, and that is because you do not have one. You do not know where it is being held, you do not know how to get it off this train once you have it. You can claim to be a spy all you want, but all I see is a child: one who has not had to learn humility!" 

Yelana stared directly at Zaria, keeping her hand firmly on the Elf's shoulder. 
"Up until about five minutes ago, we didn't even know what we were after. And we still don't - You catch the project's name? 'Exousía'; It's an ancient word for 'power', but not energy - It means 'Authority', power over others. Kind of a strange name for what's supposed to supply free energy to entire systems." 

16 hours ago, Kintobor said:

As Zaria believes she is finished, she glares at the bottle opener in Yelana's hands. Her glare turns to Yelana. Her anger rises like a roaring fire as her mind lingers on this act of betrayal, this breach of trust. She closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and exhales. Her anger subsides, but the embers of rage still flicker with heat in her mind. 
"I cannot even trust you to keep your hands out of my bag." She states coldly, almost remorsefully, as she removes Yelana from her position against the wall, lowering her arm and taking back the bottle opener. "Know that you are right about one thing: we must first deal with whatever is above us. We have a job to finish, and I doubt whatever is out there is friendly to either of us." Zaria moves through to Business, following the drone.

Yelana released her grip on the bottle opener. 
"Just proving my point - I could've kept it. Anyway, the drone's probably on its way to the engine room to shut down the reactor - Considering the train's speed and the density of the atmosphere, slowing the train down would be the only safe way for someone to board." 
"<Copy key card data files to external drive.>" 
"<COPYING. . . DATA COPIED.>" 
Yelana took a small glowing orange pyramid out of her backpack and started to hand it to Zaria, then thought better of it. Slipping the device into her backpack, Yelana started to walk away. 
"<Erase external drive data.>" 
"<DATA ERASED.>" 
Yelana looked back over her shoulder at Zaria. 
"If you need me, I'll be in the baggage car." 
 

Yelana hurried down the aisles of the train, looking for any other drones, and trying to see if anyone had noticed the first one. Upon reaching the baggage car's door, she crouched down by the lock. 
"Alright. . . <Scan me in.>" 
"<VERIFYING ACCESS CODES. . . >" 
 

Edited August 26, 2021 by Classic_Spaceman

[Waterbrick Down]

4 hours ago, Classic_Spaceman said:

"<Copy key card data files to external drive.>" 
"<COPYING. . . DATA COPIED.>" 
Yelana took a small glowing orange pyramid out of her backpack and tossed it to Zaria as she walked away. 
"This'll unlock the engine room doors - If you need me, I'll be in the baggage car." 

MM Note: Just as a note, while Yelana is able to access doors via her checks, she wouldn't be able to create a key for another person to use without finding resources to create the key. Saying "I pull an orange pyramid out of my backpack that works as a key" is equivalent to saying, "I pull an an orange pyramid out of my backpack that works as a weapon". It's creating a mechanical advantage, in this instance an extremely low DC that someone else can use, without spending the necessary resources to create the advantage.

4 hours ago, Classic_Spaceman said:

Yelana hurried down the aisles of the train, looking for any other drones, and trying to see if anyone had noticed the first one. Upon reaching the baggage car's door, she crouched down by the lock. 
"Alright. . . <Scan me in.>" 
"<VERIFYING ACCESS CODES. . . >" 
 

MM Note: If you still want to interact with Zaria to avoid the key issue mentioned above, feel free to ignore this bit.

Yelana Coding Proficiency (DC 1) - (1, 2, 4) 1 Success

Yelana passes through the remaining cars not seeing any other drones and fairly sure no one else had spotted one. She hacks into the final door's security system and passes into the baggage car. She finds Abam still tied up and asleep.

[The Legonater]

Soren glances at Yelana passing through the dining car, drawing attention to herself in her hurry. What was she up to now? He decided to mind his business - if it affected the job, someone would tell him sooner or later. He had to focus on the now.

6 hours ago, Classic_Spaceman said:

"Up until about five minutes ago, we didn't even know what we were after. And we still don't - You catch the project's name? 'Exousía'; It's an ancient word for 'power', but not energy - It means 'Authority', power over others. Kind of a strange name for what's supposed to supply free energy to entire systems." 

Not to nitpick, but as far as I'm aware Yelana absolutely does not know this. If we could let OoC knowledge impact our character's knowledge, you can bet that Soren wouldn't still be hanging in the dining car 

I'm also cautious about Yelana's ability to freely translate obscure, debated Greek words, but that one's more out of my hands.

[Waterbrick Down]

4 hours ago, The Legonater said:

Soren glances at Yelana passing through the dining car, drawing attention to herself in her hurry. What was she up to now? He decided to mind his business - if it affected the job, someone would tell him sooner or later. He had to focus on the now.

"Hmph, a lot of activity it seems. Can I get you a drink Soren? A drink helps to calm the journey and make it more pleasant or at least that's what my Dwarven traveling companion tells me. Between you and me, I think he's been drinking a little too much lately, claims to be hearing voices."

Edited August 25, 2021 by Waterbrick Down

[Kintobor]

OOC: So, I don't entirely know the ruling on Yelana's pyramid thing, so I'm going with the assumption Zaria does not have it.

Zaria makes her way through the train, trying to keep her mind off of Yelana's seemingly thick headed attitude. As she moves through the dining car, she notices Soren schmoozing with the quarm they heard of earlier. She makes sure to make eye contact with the pilot, motioning for him to follow her before making her way further through the car.

[The Legonater]

2 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Hmph, a lot of activity it seems. Can I get you a drink Soren? A drink helps to calm the journey and make it more pleasant or at least that's what my Dwarven traveling companion tells me. Between you and me, I think he's been drinking a little too much lately, claims to be hearing voices."

46 minutes ago, Kintobor said:

Zaria makes her way through the train, trying to keep her mind off of Yelana's seemingly thick headed attitude. As she moves through the dining car, she notices Soren schmoozing with the quarm they heard of earlier. She makes sure to make eye contact with the pilot, motioning for him to follow her before making her way further through the car.

Soren catches Zaria's eye as she passes. Both of them? Something was going down.

Thanks, Kish - get me something hard, why don't you? 'Scuse me for the moment, though; just need to stretch my legs for a bit. 

[Waterbrick Down]

"Sure take your time."

[The Legonater]

With a nod, Soren stands up and follows Zaria into the next car.

Alright, what the hell is going on?

[Kintobor]

Zaria, still fuming, paces through the train and into the business car. "Noujocca cakkco cuah, jkacc caadwi!" Zaria ran a hand through her hair in an attempt to calm herself down about one situation as she switched gears to discuss another.

"There is something above the train following us, likely a transport craft of some kind. Yelana and I heard the sound of thrusters while moving between cars, and I spotted a small drone, the size of a mouse, slip out of the baggage car and down this way towards the front of the train. As much as I and Yelana are having issues, I agree with her that the safest way onto to the train is to slow it down." Zaria pushes Soren gently to the side of one of the cars, her hand on his shoulder to speak in a hushed voice. "I have the documents we are here for in my satchel. Parsing through the files, M-Tek are keeping a cube somewhere on the train, roughly 8 inches across and 8 inches high. It is highly radioactive to the point where the suitcase I pilfered it from had a set of gloves to handle it." Zaria looks down the corridor in the direction they were heading to make sure no one was listening in, staying back between the corridor between the dining car and the business car with just Soren.

"Yelana has been trying to scan the files, although I have not let her. She also seemingly plans on trying to grab the cube. I- I do not think it wise to allow her, or either of us to get the cube. It's not worth it. We have no current means of getting it off the train, and based on what I have read this is something that will get noticed once it is stolen. If this was dug up from Aluriel's moon, we are not only dealing with M-Tek if this cube gets stolen." She pats her hand against her canvas satchel. "These, however? It will take them time to notice that these were stolen. With that all being said, I want you to hold onto the files, and do not tell Yelana you have them. This is between the two of us. I want her to continue to believe I have the files. Understood?"

[The Legonater]

Soren listens to Zaria's speech, running his hands through his thick hair as he did so. 

Sure, yeah. I can take them. The pilot grabbed the documents and hid them in one of the pockets of his jacket. 

For what it's worth, I don't know if I love the idea of Oc|Tan getting a hold on whatever it is we're dealing with. M-Tec is apparently planning to use it for some free energy initiative? 'Sounds pretty good to me, at least. I don't know about you, but our employer didn't seem like he'd be quite so gung-ho about sharing power. 

Edited August 25, 2021 by The Legonater

[Kintobor]

Zaria hands over the documents to Soren, relief visibly washing over her. "You are a godsend. Thank you for understanding, Soren."

She ponders over what Soren said about OcTan, and then shook her head slowly, somewhat amused. "I suppose, now, whatever happens to those documents is out of my control if we are to keep the charade up. In any case, I trust your judgement no matter what." Zaria moved out of the way, opening the door into the business car. "Let's move."

[The Legonater]

16 minutes ago, Kintobor said:

Zaria hands over the documents to Soren, relief visibly washing over her. "You are a godsend. Thank you for understanding, Soren."

Soren shrugs. Just a humble pilot, ma’am. 

Double checking that the documents were secret and safe, Soren follows behind Zaria. 

[Classic_Spaceman]

OoC: 

Spoiler

12 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

MM Note: Just as a note, while Yelana is able to access doors via her checks, she wouldn't be able to create a key for another person to use without finding resources to create the key. Saying "I pull an orange pyramid out of my backpack that works as a key" is equivalent to saying, "I pull an an orange pyramid out of my backpack that works as a weapon". It's creating a mechanical advantage, in this instance an extremely low DC that someone else can use, without spending the necessary resources to create the advantage.

OK. I considered it to be the high-tech equivalent of writing the code to a lock on a napkin, but if, due to checks/Proficiencies/etc, the information is not transferable, I can just amend the post accordingly. 👍
 

10 hours ago, The Legonater said:

Not to nitpick, but as far as I'm aware Yelana absolutely does not know this. If we could let OoC knowledge impact our character's knowledge, you can bet that Soren wouldn't still be hanging in the dining car 

Yelana overheard this when she was in the washroom: 

 

OoC: 

Spoiler

Post edited. 👍

 

Edited August 26, 2021 by Classic_Spaceman

[Classic_Spaceman]

On 8/25/2021 at 11:13 AM, Waterbrick Down said:

Yelana hacks into the final door's security system and passes into the baggage car. She finds Abam still tied up and asleep.

After entering the baggage car, Yelana closes the door behind her and ensures that it has locked. 
"<Scan for lifesigns, drones, and any potential points of entry.>" 
"<SCANNING. . . >" 
 

Edited August 26, 2021 by Classic_Spaceman

[Waterbrick Down]

1 hour ago, Classic_Spaceman said:

After entering the baggage car, Yelana closes the door behind her. 
"<Scan for lifesigns, drones, and any potential points of entry.>" 
"<SCANNING. . . >" 
 

Yelana Perception Proficiency Check (DC 3) - (3, 6, 5, 2, 1, +1) 3 Successes

Yelana investigates the baggage car thoroughly and finds a small crate with a small access door that a tiny drone could be stored in. The crate is empty and has no other identifying markers on it.

[Classic_Spaceman]

13 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

Yelana investigates the baggage car thoroughly and finds a small crate with a small access door that a tiny drone could be stored in. The crate is empty and has no other identifying markers on it.

"Shit. . . " 
Yelana walks over to Abam and shakes him a bit. 
"Abam - Wake up! Who hired you to plant that drone?" 

 

OoC: 

Spoiler

This is actually a Deception check, since Yelana is trying to make Abam think that he has been caught, in order to determine if he has any connection to the group who is trying to land on the train (based on how he responds). 

 

[Waterbrick Down]

The Tvilgard stirs.

"Huh? I don't know anything about a drone."

[Classic_Spaceman]

10 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Huh? I don't know anything about a drone."

"Then why are you on this train? Someone had to put it here, and you were the one - ones, I should say - hiding in the baggage container." 



OoC. 

Spoiler

12 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

Abam has an extra head! 😬

 

[Waterbrick Down]

MM Note: Right you are.

“We just didn’t want to pay. We didn’t bring anything with us.”

[Classic_Spaceman]

18 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

MM Note: Right you are.

“We just didn’t want to pay. We didn’t bring anything with us.”

Yelana crossed her arms, then paused briefly for effect. 
"Hmmm. . . Why'd you want to get on the train in the first place? What's on here that you want? Can't imagine you have a business meeting in Con'stap, so what is it?" 
 

Edited August 26, 2021 by Classic_Spaceman

[Waterbrick Down]

9 hours ago, Classic_Spaceman said:

Yelana crossed her arms, then paused briefly for effect. 
"Hmmm. . . Why'd you want to get on the train in the first place? What's on here that you want? Can't imagine you have a business meeting in Con'stap, so what is it?" 
 

Yelana Persuasion Proficiency Check (DC 1) - (2, 6, 4) 3 Successes

"Listen, we already told you. We were heading to Con'stap for a business transaction... Some rich dude was paying top credit for a bounty hunting contract."

[Classic_Spaceman]

3 hours ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Listen, we already told you. We were heading to Con'stap for a business transaction... Some rich dude was paying top credit for a bounty hunting contract."

"Go on. You don't seem like the bounty hunting type - Are you sure this contract was legit? What was this guy's name?" 
 

[Waterbrick Down]

15 minutes ago, Classic_Spaceman said:

"Go on. You don't seem like the bounty hunting type - Are you sure this contract was legit? What was this guy's name?" 
 

"Two heads are always better in the bounty industry than one. Heck we almost took you lot down and you had the numbers advantage. 'Sides, how are we supposed to know if the contract was legit, we were just replying to an add giving a location to show up at."

[Classic_Spaceman]

10 minutes ago, Waterbrick Down said:

"Two heads are always better in the bounty industry than one. Heck we almost took you lot down and you had the numbers advantage. 'Sides, how are we supposed to know if the contract was legit, we were just replying to an add giving a location to show up at."

Yelana sighed. 
"Well. . . You should start vetting your employers better. And what was this contract for, exactly? Who put the ad out?" 
 

[Waterbrick Down]

1 minute ago, Classic_Spaceman said:

Yelana sighed. 
"Well. . . You should start vetting your employers better. And what was this contract for, exactly? Who put the ad out?" 
 

"Standard bring 'em in dead or alive. Serious contenders were supposed to show up at the site, no other info. Now if you're done, I'd like to try and get some more sleep. It's at least quieter here than in a Space Police cell."