Human Perception and Awareness/Notice. Two skills, Keeper. 19 and 18 respectively. I'll PM you the results you can use in your next post.

Not a door, just a window that actually opens (though it is locked from the inside). But Awareness checks are advised. 

Following hot on the big cat's heels, Gib is immediately beset by images of horror breaking through the windows and doors. Zombies have broken into the city and are besetting the inn. Zombies have broken into the city... images of the poor watchman at the gate that Ch'dau had been overly generous to lying dead and devoured invade his mind, of people sleeping in their beds waking to the decaying flesh of the deceased, of children...

Drawing up short as the Silver Cat rushes on, Moreno sets his jaw as Ch'dau calls out, "You! Girl! Get yourself to the cellar and bar the way behind you! And if any of the rest of you do not care to spill blood, follow Nya!”

“Looks like the earth needs a hand keeping it's dead! Stay away from the door, friends,” the Cid’s voice breaks through the commotion, “and keep me safe. I need some peace!”

Assessing the situation, Gib knows he must call upon Therassor to fend off as many of these creatures as he can in order to give he and his companions a chance at defending these good people of Ertain. 

"Deloi bitr, gath minen pomnuria fjandi!" Midge calls out his arcane words and the warrior priest holds his sword up before him, the emblazoned silver disc with a brilliant sword displayed on the guard.

"In the name of the Great General, Therassor, the Battle Lord, I command you BEGONE foul creatures!"

(OOC: No matter the results...)

Seeing that Ch'dau has taken one of the windows and that Midge's magic is directed at the doorway, Gib advances on the remaining window calling out, "That cackling fiend is about somewhere! Watch yourselves!"

My post disappeared. 

I must have closed the tab before it processed. I guess I'm rewriting it.

All right, looking forward to your posts!

Outside the Upstairs Downstairs Inc. Building | Night City Integrate | Midcity | UrbanZone - March 9th, Day 3 (Sunday), 2:21 AM PST

Weather Conditions: High City (Thunderstorms, 15mph winds from the NE.) | Midcity (Rain, 10mph winds from the NE.) | Undercity (Fog and Rain, no winds.)

Air Quality Index: High City = 25 | Midcity = 42 | Undercity = 75 (masks required)

“Just what we need,” Vegas snarls. “Not like we weren’t already painfully aware of the clock we’ve got with the kidnapped kid, but now we’ve got to look over our shoulders for a clean-up crew?

“We’ve gotta wrap this, choombattas,” the well-dressed solo sweeps his eyes over his teammates. “Whatever reservations we’ve had about Charlie’s gotta go. Whatever hang-ups we’ve had about each other’s gotta go. We’ve got two objectives now: stay alive and find that kid before the clean up crew finds us. That means we’ve gotta work together, keep our heads on a swivel, and be sharp. So, now’s the time to really step up our game. How’re we gonna get our asses up to that office?”

As the group moves down the alley, Fixer receives a better look at the security on this side of the building while keeping a close eye out for anything useful. He also takes a closer look at the supposed camera in the doorway, keeping out of range of its vision if possible. He expects to see a standard security camera, but it doesn’t really matter, a camera is a camera. He thinks he knows the type.  

"The is, in fact, a camera,” he quietly shares his knowledge with his companions. “It probably has infrared and x-ray capability, but it is very unlikely that it can see anything out of visual of the doorway. I could be wrong, but it would be out-of-type for it to be able to do so, which means we can probably get to that fire escape without that camera detecting it.”  

He listens as the others discuss what to do now and the potential of the clean-up team. Crap. We don’t need that. What they need is to get in this damn building, "Ok, yeah, we are all in this thing. Linking it to the maid service is a big step, but we have to get in this place and quickly. If Charlie has vehicles coming, that is great, but it is great once we are done here, not before. For now, we need up on that fire escape. Anybody have a ladder in their pockets?  Something else?"

Nodding his head in agreement with his partner, Casino finally moves to get them into the building.

“I got this.” Moving to stand to the side of the fire escape furthest from the door alcove, he quickly pulls back the sleeve of his right arm revealing a stylish metal NuCybe bracer. Aiming it at the fire escape, he mentally activates the line of nylon cord with a grappling hook at its head. Aiming for the lowest rung he fires it at the ladder.

Fixer laughs out loud and raises his as well.  "Go ahead big guy and take the shot. If you miss I'll give it a go."

With a whisking sound followed by a small series of gears clicking, the line follows the hook to its target. Unlike a three-pronged grapple, this is a single hook that unfolds just as it strikes effectively making it into a two tooth grapple iron. It slips between the rails and clips on.

Quickly using the now attached cord, he scales the cord with muscular ease until he achieves the base and swinging his leg up he gains a foothold. Pulling the rest of his body upward, he uses his massive upper body strength to finally achieve the platform. Unclipped the cord from his bracer, the big solo throws the end down to the rest of the party.

“Care to join me, anyone?”

“Well done, old son,” Vegas acknowledges his partner’s actions and motions Blossom forward. “You’re next, doll.”

Taking her lolli from her mouth, the netrunner rewraps it in a saved purple wrapper and stuffs it in her pocket. Securing her bag over her shoulder, the little woman makes the climb with little difficulty and with the leather clad solo’s help is up and standing next to him in a little under a minute. While she continues on up the stairs as quietly as she can, Echo makes her move.

The athletic nomad quickly joins the blonde masked man before continuing past him to gain the lead on Blossom, taking the advanced position. Fixer is next up the line and he makes it look easier than any of the others. Watching the techie make his way up, Vegas can’t help but be impressed. His experience with these types of people is that they aren’t nearly as nimble as those the well-dressed solo spends his time with, but this one seems to be doing all right for himself. He’s already followed Ghlahn into heights unknown to the others and now he climbs the cable like a monkey.

Bloodbank here. I'm coming to you guys. If you're in before I arrive I'll wait a little ways outside. I've got a bad feeling that you all may need me more than Ghlahn will.

The radios in the crooner’s, Casino’s, and Fixer’s pockets all crackle with the medtech’s message. Great! Vegas thinks, taking the rope in his left hand. Well, then he’ll just have to get on board, because we don’t have time to dink around anymore.

“Hurry,” the Frank Sinatra look alike says into the mists as he watches back down the alley, producing the radio from his own pocket and keying the mic. “You don’t have much time, Bloodbank. Don’t take the straight approach. Go around back. Copy? I repeat. Go around the back way. Casino will be here waiting for you.”

Returning the device to his pocket, Vegas climbs up the cable as well, joining his partner on the platform. Wiping his hands on his coat, the smaller man turns to Casino and says, “You wait for Bloodbank and then come on up. We still need to get inside without tripping an alarm, so you got time. You good with that?”

(OOC: Assuming there’s no complaint&hellip

With a nod, Vegas continues past him and makes his way up the ladder after the others. At the head of the party, Echo makes a quick mental calculation to determine the floors she’s passing eventually settling on the one that she thinks is the eighth. Blossom arrives just behind her with Fixer on her heels.

They stand on a platform approximately six meters wide and three meters deeps. The stairs continue on up from the far right and the window to the floor is on the left when they face the building. Through the window, they can see the hall beyond. It is carpeted with a blue and black tile patterned covering. The walls are plain white and there’s very little by way of decoration. They can see the doorways to various offices along the length of the hall and at the end, it appears to break into a T intersection. There are no easily discernible security measures in place.

(OOC: March 9th, Day 3 - Sunday, Time is 02:40 AM PST)

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Near the Parking Garage two blocks from the Upstairs Downstairs Inc. Building | Night City Integrate | Midcity | UrbanZone - March 9th, Day 3 (Sunday), 02:19 AM PST

Weather Conditions: High City (Thunderstorms, 15mph winds from the NE.) | Midcity (Rain, 10mph winds from the NE.) | Undercity (Fog and Rain, no winds.)

Air Quality Index: High City = 25 | Midcity = 42 | Undercity = 75 (masks required)

Ghlahn is not nervous for he does not get nervous, but he is annoyed. The crowd is agitated and on the verge of boiling over into violence and that is not good. Violence brings security and security asks questions and makes break-ins very difficult. More and more people jostle him as they push towards the extremist on the platform.

"Doesn't look like we are gonna find an overwatch spot with all this going on,” the Cee-metal mercenary quietly informs his medtech companion. “Better warn the others."  

With a dark frown adorning his masked face Bloodbank turned back to Glahn. Casting another quick glance over his shoulder towards the frothing mob dispels any last shreds of doubt from Bloodbank’s mind.

"That's probably best," he agrees. It is only going to take a small push over the edge for this group to get really dangerous, and that will bring police and security swooping down on them faster than a... Well, faster then something really fast.

Bloodbank follows Glahn out of the roiling crowd, regretting his inability to do anything to quell them. For now, he has to focus on doing what he can; warning the group inside that there might be unwelcome company joining them shortly.

Making his way to the edge of the swilling crowd, M’haru Ghlahn produces the radio Fixer had built only hours before, "Situation has changed. Huge, angry crowd here likely to attract security in the next fifteen minutes at most. Either be quick or abort. We cannot cover you."

Bloodbank nods to himself. He'd rather abort now and wait to see if the crowd would disperse or at least wait until after the security came and went. But who knew how long that would take, and there was a boy missing. Every hour wasted is another hour that the poor boy could be moved further away, or hurt if it was really that bad. Bloodbank grinds his teeth, they need to go faster.

Requesting the radio from Ghlahn with an outstretched hand, the medtech waits on the delivery. (OOC: Assuming Ghlahn hands over the device&hellip Putting the radio up to his mouth and pressing the button, Bloodbank flatly states, "Bloodbank here. I'm coming to you guys. If you're in before I arrive I'll wait a little ways outside. I've got a bad feeling that you all may need me more than Ghlahn will." Stuffing the radio into his pocket, he asks the sniper, "Are you coming with, or do you intend to wait them out over here?"

“You might want to wait here and see how things unfold,” Ghlahn cautions, but the medtech has obviously made up his mind.

With that, Bloodbank turns and starts a brisk walk towards the Upstairs Downstairs building. Pausing at the street to await an opportunity to navigate through the vehicles that are passing by when he receives a response on the radio.

You don’t have much time, Bloodbank. Don’t take the straight approach. Go around back. Copy? I repeat. Go around the back way. Casino will be here waiting for you.

He recognizes Vegas’ voice.

(OOC: March 9th, Day 3 - Sunday, Time is 02:27 AM PST)

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Edgerunner Enclave | Night City Integrate | Midcity | UrbanZone - March 9th, Day 3 (Sunday), 12:10 AM PST

Weather Conditions: High City (Thunderstorms, 15mph winds from the NE.) | Midcity (Rain, 10mph winds from the NE.) | Undercity (Fog and Rain, no winds.)

Air Quality Index: High City = 25 | Midcity = 42 | Undercity = 75 (masks required)

Your friend, Yo Suk-Chuk, does not answer. Hui’s message is front and center on the screen having been prioritized by the AI in the device once Charlie’s thoughts turned to Hui’s instructions again. Maybe because it is after midnight? I’ll try the others. When will you be home?

Mentally changing his message recipient again, Charlie sets up instructions for Hui to make calls in the morning:

• Yo Suk-Chul, follow-up for some shoes (Passports) so that I can make a stop to drop them off before going to the SF fuel point.


• Fixer Tomás Japón to assist with picking up a vehicle or pick up “shoes” for delivery.


• Fixer Flore "Feathers" Messier to assist with picking up a vehicle or pick up “shoes” for delivery


• Rocker "Kelsey Dawn" to sign for a “Gig” for the battle of the bands at a venue.


• Message “Fluke” three minutes out before landing

Having accomplished that, the fixer turns his attention to some searches in order to further his personal business. He’s holding out hope that Starlight can come through for him with Spring Heel Jack—a mysterious man he’s only met once way back when Charlie joined his organization under Starlight—with the Tong, but in the meantime, he has an already approved business he might be able to automate with an identity printer.

Charlie reflects on this for a brief moment and plans to revisit it later.

Shielding his agent screen from the misting rain, he mentally activates the search feature and types in his search keywords. First, the regular Web, and then, if he doesn’t return anything useful, he’ll plans on diving the Dark Web. As the results come flooding back onto his screen, Charlie finds himself staring at price points of 4,000 cr or more.

“4 racks, damn...” Charlie mutters to himself, coughing a little as he draws in a breath that stings his throat and continues to seek a device that would be able to assist with shoes as well as credit sticks (spoofing). With such a device, he could potentially produce the merchandise himself instead of relying on the resources he’s been using.

A couple of minutes later and the air overhead becomes turbulent as the AV-4 slips into position before descending to the street level. The side door slides open and the comfortable passenger bench seat is presented. Unlike AV-4 evac service vehicles, taxi AV’s have the cabin completely closed off to the passengers with bulletproof lining the likes of which can take a .50 caliber round and probably still be sitting pretty. Climbing into the belly of the boxy beast, Charlie checks his agent for a reply from his new secretary.

“Where to?” the pilot asks over the interior comms system as the side door slides shut and the sounds of the city are neatly barricaded outside.

Your friend, Yo Suk-Chuk, does not answer. Hui’s message is front and center on the screen having been prioritized by the AI in the device once Charlie’s thoughts turned to Hui’s instructions again. Maybe because it is after midnight? I’ll try the others tomorrow morning. When will you be home?

“Hey!” the AV pilot calls through again. “It’s your dime, buddy. You wanna sit here while the meter is running, I won’t complain none.”

Luther pulls the meet location from his agent and relays it to his chauffeur. Dusting off, the AV surges upward causing the fixer’s stomach to lurch a little. Within the passenger’s cabin, he is completely insulated from hearing or seeing any of the pilot’s actions and the assumption is that he shares the same privacy. A screen embedded into the wall separating him from the pilot is playing a local news station but the volume is completely off but the street dealer knows he can control volume and channel with voice commands if he desires (without even having to look at the instructions plastered below the television). While the vehicle makes a beeline for the SanFran Integrate fueling station, he decides to try and fish out whatever potential there might be with the pilot.

“By the way,” he says after activating the internal communication systems, “you have any combat experience in this thing or are you just a regular driver that likes to do his fare and nothing else?”

“If you’re lookin’ for someone to take you into one of the combat zones, I can refer you to a troubleshooter service,” the pilot replies. “I got me a family, choomba. No more risk than necessary for me or the wife’ll have my hide.”

Rubbing his credit stick to emphasize his meaning, Charlie holds the device up to the camera.

“Not even for gold, man,” the offer is answered.

Taking his defeat in hand, the fixer returns his credit stick to his pocket and settles back for the ride. He’s seen the city before and isn’t interested in what it has to offer by way of a view, so his attention is returned to his agent’s screen. Accessing the Chinese Culture eBook he’s purchased, Luther begins to delve into his studies.

While he reads, the AV is navigated through hubs and levels to reach the recommended legal travel altitude for such vehicles with a straight shot by the skyway to the neighboring SanFran Integrate central hub. A ground car would take up to four hours to make the trip. By taking the AV, he’s cut the ride to a little over an hour.

(the Long Mile Fueling Station | SanFran Integrate | Midcity | UrbanZone - March 9th, Day 3 (Sunday), 1:18 AM PST --- Weather Conditions: High City (heavy rain, 20mph winds from the N.) | Midcity (light rain, 10mph winds from the N.) | Undercity (fog and drizzle, no winds.)

Air Quality Index: High City = 15 | Midcity = 36 | Undercity = 86 (masks required - Red warning)

“We’re coming up on your destination,” the pilot’s call rather abruptly interrupts Luther’s studies, drawing his attention to the windows and what lies beyond.

Kaleidascope colors blur past the rain-soaked glass, streaking and running in lines with the patterns of the wind-swept water. Somewhere along the trip the fixer became subconsciously aware of the van-shaped aerodyne hitting heavier winds and now he fully registers the effects. He’s missed the view of the Bridge, but then, all of the new structure is covered in suspension buildings so there’s really not much to see. He’s also missed the descent through the SanFran Central Hub and all of the traffic involved in that endeavor. Now, the AV is nearing what appears to be an opening in an air shaft that is also lined with suspension structures.

As he watches, they engage in the merging process with the other air vehicles making their way through the gaping maw in the side of the tunnel and the scene rolls out before him revealing a well-planned yet chaotic-looking array of prefab and AI constructed buildings. Here, the winds aren’t as strong and the shuddering of the vehicle is less pronounced. Another couple of minutes and a large platform is born in his eyes approximately twenty stories below with the flickering holographic image of a road passing by and various scenic objects like trees, boulders, etc. passing with it. Words hover above it, “The Long Mile” and below it are the words, “Fueling Station.”

Cred Stick Charlie is taken through this holographic image—right through the center of it—by the taxi as it lands. The doors remain closed with touch down and his agent notifies him that his bill is 2,010 NCDs or credits plus gratuity (15 NCD/mile at 134 miles). Life isn’t cheap when you take luxuries.

(OOC: March 9th, Day 3 - Sunday, Time is 1:31 AM PST)

Tres!

Gib's plans:

Offense - Sword and Shield, baby! Hackin' the beasties 'til they're dead.

Defense - Use the shield primarily and fight defensively for the defensive AC bonus. If that giggling thang infiltrates the defenses, Gib will call for everyone to regroup at the stairs. Hopefully, this will provide the warriors with a strong defensive position with Gib and Cedric further up the stairs to provide support and Midge to launch his magic past everyone.

Use of Spells -  If one of the party is noticeably close to death, Gib will do what he can to make it to their side and call upon Therassor for a miracle (Cure Light Wounds). If things are starting to go poorly, Gib will cast Chant.

I haven't decided yet. And I may still keep her in. It is easier to run a Netrunner as an NPC than a PC. We'll see. 

Not necessary, but helpful. I didn't check Roll20 as you had mentioned you rolled beneath the 7 to hook the grapple so I thought maybe you'd not rolled the other. I'll just check Roll20 from now on.

Looking forward to all of the posts! Let's bring this game to life again, please.

Great post, Tann. I need an Athletics check too, please.

Visuals are certainly something that assist the less imaginative. I would often draw scenes of what they would face.

Seems as though Aranwen had a half-night stand.

I have difficulty gaming with people who don't take it "seriously." And I agree. Why wouldn't you want an on-going campaign with a full-fledged storyline? I swear it's the video game influence in youngsters.

Sheesh. Gee-whiz! And all that other stuff.

I currently have a game that I run with my kids. I have all but one child who is interested in gaming and one of my sons' girlfriend plays as well. Seeing how they are in Utah, Idaho, and Connecticut I use Roll20.net. What I've found is that I'm out of practice as a tabletop GM. Giving descriptions is more difficult than it used to be, jumping in and out of NPC skins is challenging, and even the storyline has become troublesome.

Maybe I'm just getting old.

I have made a decision. I will write out the player characters that don't have active players starting with my next post. This means that the following characters will be removed from gameplay in the very near future:

1. Vegas


2. Echo


3. Blossom

I've posted in the recruiting thread for additional players but have had little-to-no responses, so I'm going to assume that there's no interest from other players and I'm not going to campaign for players that aren't interested or motivated in making the effort to post or get in touch with me concerning their challenges.

Just an FYI.

Serenity does not often come to the warrior class, but in sleep—in righteous sleep—a servant of the Battle Lord finally finds peace. At least, until the scream tears through his respite like an archer's arrow through chainmail.

"The inn is beset,” Ch'dau's snarling rumble echoes through the hallway, “To arms, my friends!”

Now sitting upright on the worn mattress of his rented bed, Gib responds instinctively and rolls to his feet, snatching up his shield and sword from the bedside as he does so. With a practiced swing of his sword, he sends the sheathe across the room revealing the well-cared for blade. In times of emergency, there's no time to don armor so he will rely on his shield, swordsmanship, and the oversight of Therassor, the Honored General, instead.

Trusting that the Silver Cat would have alerted him to any danger in the corridor, the warrior priest quickly exits his room and makes his way towards the direction from whence the scream came, shield in front of him, sword at ready. Battle Lord, grant me prudence, skill, and awareness that I may serve thee well.

Thanks for the info. Post forthcoming.

Interesting concept. Thoughts? CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE

Here, too, is another suggestion. 

How feasible would it be to do as Facebook or Google+, Twitter, etc. does and when you type a +Name or @name into the body it notifies that user that they've been spoken to via PM / Email?

I thought Ch'dau was wearing a breastplate too...

What are your rules for donning armor? How long does it take?

I appreciate the posts, y'all. Still have some more to go.

I was able to post. It ain't anything important but it does give some additional thoughts.

Nomad, I've replied to your PMs with information pertinent to your post. Thanks for reaching out! Keeper and Giddy, I need to know what Ghlahn and Bloodbank are going to do after reporting the pending riot.

Dio Lasad sits in the captain's chair monitoring incoming reports and doing his best to focus on the task of cleaning up after the failed sabotage attempt. Excitement and nerves have all subsided now and the crew of the Peregrine is now about responsibility. With the captain and the first mate attending the accord, Dio finds himself in command, and it isn't a position he's keen on messing up. With a dutiful eye towards detail, he pushes all ponderings about the progress on the Gamera Spaceport and addressed the latest incoming message. With the reply sent, he scans the department reports for anything that requires his immediate attention. Seeing none, he takes the PADD in hand and continues his personal report.

Captain Jacobs' insistence on pursuing his own agenda is apparent to me. Captain Jacobs ignored valid information, pertinent reports, and relevant data delivered to him by personnel that had it been acknowledged, could have saved lives. By insisting on threatening the...

Captain Drake is sure that he's going to wind up in a penal colony and while Lasad isn't as confident that his new captain is destined to be retired, he is sure that there will be an investigation. So, the Ops Officer is determined to get the details down on record while they are still fresh on his mind.

------------------------------

The threat might be over, but that doesn't mean that there aren't others. A single-pronged attack seems unlikely to the ex-Imperial Guard.

"I don't think we can expand the sensors any further without launching probes," Ensign Dalia Maize frowns and folds her arms beneath her breasts. "Do you really think that there's reason to worry? After all, Captain Drake is now on the station and he doesn't seem to be concerned."

"To put one's baskets in the same carton seems irresponsible," Asovil remarks, eyes on her screen with math flowing before her icy eyes and completely oblivious to her mistake. "Captain Drake has a lot on his mind and he's relying on his officers to assist him in achieving mission success.

"As an Imperial Guardsman, we often ran combat scenarios that included ambush. If the enemy can present one attack, it is only reasonable to assume that they can mount another... maybe even a third and fourth."

"Isn't this something that Security and Tac should be handling?" Dalia presses.

The Science Officer looks up from her algorithms and raises her thin, white eyebrows. Atop her head, her antennae swivel and press forward. "I am not ordering you to do anything outside of our purview, Ensign.

"Now, if we need to launch probes to extend the sensor range, I suggest we put together the proper figures and present the options to Lieutenant Lasad sooner rather than later."

"Yes, sir," Ensign Maize curtly remarks. It seems like paranoia to her, but she will follow orders.

Thanks for the post, Keeper.

Ooooo! Fun all around! Really glad you joined us, Blackthorn and we get Ayrn back! Huzzah!

Just to avoid the necessity of posting the mundane (which I have no problem doing), Gib will retire to a room if one is available where he's  going to be engaging in prayer. If he has to share a room, cool.