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Look Around You
Jan 19, 2009

The Stop Diner

The hostess seats you and hands you menus, which contain standard diner food: breakfast food, chicken strips, burgers, sandwiches and even some "real" entrees. Shortly after you sit down, the waitress comes over. "May I get you anything to drink, ma'am?" she asks. Seated in the booth in front of you are what looks like a concerned older couple, leaning in over their food, speaking in hushed voices.

Make a perception check! Anyone who went to the diner with Naivara is eligible to roll as well.

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TheArchimage
Dec 17, 2008

Kvardek

Kvardek was mobile for his size, but so was Stoaga and in absolute terms she was clearly superior. It was all he could do to keep her within visual range. He consoled himself by saying this was not an intentional slight; if she had been trying to lose him he would not have been able to follow at all. By the time he caught up she had already retrieved the information and was about to put it away for safekeeping. He caught only a faint glimpse but it was enough. Even with a brief glance at the list before Stoaga put it away he would be able to recall it with perfect clarity. He started walking back the way they came immediately, doubting whether Stoaga would tarry. He wanted to ask her what she thought about it, if only that perhaps if he struck up a conversation she would not fly ahead again. But this would have drawn too much attention; he was supposed to be acting as a helper robot, and those did not randomly begin harassing their masters. Moreover, even in the light foot traffic he doubted whether he would be able to speak loudly enough for her to hear but quiet enough to not be overheard. Stoicly, he prepared himself for another speed trial.

Unknown Quantity
Sep 2, 2011

!
Steven? Steven?!
STEEEEEEVEEEEEEEN!
Stoaga of the White Legs


Stoaga eyes the list for a moment. The information was fairly plain and the implications obvious. Not that she thought about them all that much. If they took over the station too early, the shipment might not arrive unless it was done so silently. Considering her present company, 'silently' was not going to happen. That said, she supposes she may as well do some recon work and confirm the direction that the shipments are coming from. Meaning she needs to find the highest possible vantage point. She begins scanning the horizon for whatever sticks out the highest. When she finally notices her companion catching up, rather than actually speak, she simply taps it, then points upward, resuming her scanning of possible vantage points.

TheArchimage
Dec 17, 2008

Kvardek

One finger pointing to the sky. Testing the wind? No, "up". Of course! It was true they had only three days to prepare, but that still meant they had three days to prepare. He nodded. "Excellent idea. Will you be alright by yourself? I will join the others if so." He was not under any illusions that he would be able to follow her vertically or stay hidden if he did. Best to let her do what she did best on her own.

Melchiresa
Jun 21, 2006

Nice guy.
Tries hard.
Loves hot dogs The Game.

Naivara Ulcahne

Luckily for Naivara, she'd managed to scare up a few credits so she could look somewhat like she belonged here.

"Just a coffee, please. Black."

She settles into her booth and turns her wrist over. She'd die a little inside if her squadmates knew about some of the small games she'd installed onto her phone. The particular one she was playing involved keeping a flightless bird in the air as long as possible by sliding along hills and valleys.

That being said, the game presented a nice cover. The whispering couple nearby happened to pique her interest..

perception: 1d20+2 11

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

Zivilyn

Perception 14 :pwn:

Ziv saunters up to the counter, giving each lit beer sign the proper attention it deserves. After carefully considering his options he offers some space bucks to the bar keep and grins real stupid and out-of-town-like. "Hey barman, can I get some extraTeristrial?" He points at the sign to help his case, a cheesy glam bottle logo set against a flat triangle of stars. Never quite made it off planet for some reason. He take a seat and smiles real wide, looking real chatty and just glad to be there. "Kind of a shame ta' get stuck here on my first visit. Might be a while, I reckon." Once he gets his drink he obliges with a big gulp. "Ya know any good work 'round these parts?"

Wahad
May 19, 2011

There is no escape.

Meriele

Meriele ponders for a moment as everybody else walks off. "Tell you want, Unsung. You wait here, I'll go get you something to walk around in. Be right back." She darts off at a brisk pace into the shopping street, looking for a clothing store of sorts. IF she can find something like a cloak for the anomalous entity, maybe he can be of use while they go about their mission. Fortunately, she's learned well enough how to get about town discretely while finding useful things. Finding a store and some clothing to hide Unsung's features in said store shouldn't be too hard.

Streetwise at 1d20+10=19.

Look Around You
Jan 19, 2009

The Stop Diner

Out of the many other customers in the restaurant conversing normally, you key in on those ahead of you. Though you don't catch much, you hear snippets of the conversation, including "Our poor Elen,", "I told her that apartment wasn't safe, the east side is a bad area, especially with all of the girls disappearing over there lately" and "I doubt they'll do anything to investigate, the Vular don't even seem interested in this town! Hell, the only drow in town work at the power station, and they're civilians!"


The Rough Edge

Out of the room you single out two drow sitting next to each other at a corner table. You head over to subtly listen in, hearing bits and pieces of their conversation. Some pieces of the conversation you pick up include, "the new catch from apartment 332 fought pretty hard, almost killed Joeln," "yeah, she knocked us around pretty good... knocked half my pack loose there, and I didn't even get a chance to pick my gear up before we bolted," and "I"m glad no one seemed to hear us, or at least didn't want to get involved if they did".


Valley's Department Store

Among the racks you're able to find a trenchcoat, a scarf and a trebly for Unsung. He may look particularly socially maladjusted, but he at least won't look (much) like a giant space anomaly!

PurplieNurplie
Jan 14, 2009

Unsung

Garbed akin to what it had heard described as 'private eyes,' it wondered whether such thick, heavy clothing ever hindered movement, freedom of the self.

<Certainly obscuring enough, but...our first priority should be investigation, correct? The rest of our team certainly took their own paths there. I suppose now we shall have to find ours.>

It couldn't stop adjusting the angle of the hat, the collar on the coat, the hems on the sleeves. How did sentient life put up with wearing this all day? A question perhaps better left unanswered.

Look Around You
Jan 19, 2009

The Rough Edge (pt 2/2 sorry guys :()

"Certainly, my friend," he says, grabbing him a bottle from the cooler beneath the bar. "Work? I hear the gas station needs a new manager. Old one just up and disappeared. No call, no showed and everything. If you mean serious work, and you're in to sleuthing, people around town like her are disappearing. Man, woman, elf or human, doesn't matter. No clue where they're going either. I wouldn't be surprised if their kind has something to do with it," he says, nodding towards the two drow.

Unknown Quantity
Sep 2, 2011

!
Steven? Steven?!
STEEEEEEVEEEEEEEN!
Stoaga of the White Legs


Stoaga finds her way to a tall building, the tallest she can reach without trouble. Which given her agility, means few buildings are trouble. Once up top, she produces a monocular to begin scanning the horizon, looking for any enemy ships that resemble the convoy she'd be looking for. Surely she can find it, see where it lands, and from there, meet back up with her compatriots after she finishes watching the procedures.

Passive perception, with Aspect of the Seeking Falcon, is 23.

Look Around You
Jan 19, 2009

The "convoy" you see is not one you'd expect. It seems that the Vular are running simple ground based convoys, probably because they don't see enough of a threat to warrant the added expense of areal transportation. The actual shipment today is but a simple hovertruck with a few armed guards in it carrying food through the main drag of town. From your perch, you see it make its way from the narrow, rocky valley immediately before the town, down along Ridge Street and out into the hills past town.

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

Zivilyn

"Thank ya kindly." He listens along to the barman's chat and subtly follows his gaze, making a point not to stare at the two with loose lips. "Ya don't say. Sounds like a real conundrum, innit. Only folks who can investigate anythin' are th' fellas doin' it." He gives the barman a long-suffering smile like they're all familiar with these drat Vular goons. "Keep 'em comin', thank you."

After about three beers Ziv heads for the can. Once he's certain he's whizzing alone he gets his radio ready and fires off some chatter. "Ghost Face, I got some darker knife-eared boys at the Rusty Edge here that need followin' once they head home. You roostin' yet? Over." Sure enough he's actually chatting while actually pissing. "Dunno when they'll go but they can't live here, I reckon. I'll pin a tail on 'em too but I could use an eye in the sky. Over." Drip, drip. He zips up and finishes the conversation before heading out... once he's back at the bar he'll do a nice slow burn with beer until those chatty Drow head out.

Unknown Quantity
Sep 2, 2011

!
Steven? Steven?!
STEEEEEEVEEEEEEEN!
Stoaga of the White Legs


Stoaga's eagle-eyed stare at the convoy continues until it has left line of sight, shortly after which she receives comms chatter. Taking another look with her scope, she's able to make out its origin's most likely location. Mostly due to the fact that she spots the nameplate on the place. She holds up the radio and begins communications.

"... Eight o'clock. Look as high as you can."

She intentionally angles her scope lens back and forth in the sunlight to reflect sunlight a few times as a silent signal that only people looking for it would really see.

"Also, found good roads. Bring map next time, will mark next place to travel."

... Her ability to give subtle hints over radio, however, needs some work, if only because it sounds too vague for either side.

Look Around You
Jan 19, 2009

The drow get up and leave the bar after a few hours, around 6pm. They hop into a plain silver hovercar and drive towards the west end of town. Stoaga loses sight of them behind a couple buildings but you both are successfully able to track them to a parking garage attached to a nondescript apartment building next to an office building towards the edge of town. The building is 4 stories and probably has 24 rooms in it. You see a couple other drow going into the apartment as well.


You two can roll Streetwise checks to supplement IC guesses and suppositions if you want

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

Zivilyn

Streetwise 17

Ziv pays his tab and tries to keep up with snooping around that block without being too conspicuous. Maybe ask around and see if anybody local lives in the complex. No point in guns blazing a dozen times in a row trying to find the right room or getting some civvies caught in the crossfire. He fiddles with his radio while watching the front door from a distant alley. "So Ghost Face, you wanna set up in the opposite building? Or are we gonna grab Brick Shithous..." Whoops. Oh well." "... and just check every room the old fashioned way? Over."

Melchiresa
Jun 21, 2006

Nice guy.
Tries hard.
Loves hot dogs The Game.

Naivara Ulcahne

Disappearing girls? Holy poo poo! Naivara makes a mental note for later about the distinct lack of drow in town. If it wasn't the Vular, who was taking the girls?

She's jerked out of her thoughts by her radio going off, making her acutely aware of her other callsign. Naivara sets her jaw and calmly places credits upon her table with plenty to spare for the waitress. It couldn't be easy making a living these days. She finds a quiet, out of the way place behind the restaurant and pretends to make a phone call.

"Listen up, 'Made Man,'" being sure to drip sarcasm from Ziv's callsign, "I am going to punch you in the face for that. But I'm going to make you wait for it. And you're never gonna know when it'll happen. You get me?"

She pauses, rather pleased with her threat. "Did you find out anything useful, or were you just trying find a reason to piss me off?"

Unknown Quantity
Sep 2, 2011

!
Steven? Steven?!
STEEEEEEVEEEEEEEN!
Stoaga of the White Legs


Streetwise!: 1d20 11

Stoaga gives her signature sniping hiss before rushing herself along to the next sniping point. It's a short sprint and a quick climb up to her destination: a balcony from which she can begin scanning the windows for any sign of the target. This time, however, she's got her rifle primed and ready. Due to this, she takes a crouched position and does her usual stealth routine.

Assuming there's no immediate danger, taking 10 is a thing, which results in Stoaga having a passive Stealth of 22 to go with her passive Perception of 23.

She buzzes back into her radio. "Can see everything. Trying to see friends. Have presents for them. Which sound better?" She carefully clanks against both a live round and a rubber bullet, giving Ziv an audio sample of each as she prepares to load a magazine.

Look Around You
Jan 19, 2009

Ziv:
You catch up with a particularly friendly (and rather open) drow leaving the building, asking him about the residence. "Yeah, this building is just for us drow who work at the [power] plant outside of town... I guess the Imperium doesn't trust civilians to operate it? It's not like it's hard work, but maybe they're worried about sabotage? I'm not sure everyone here does though, there's a few people I've never seen working there... the ones on the fourth floor, Tulaie and Eluris I know I've never seen," he says. He pauses before quickly saying "Oh, I'm running late for work! Have a good day!"

Stoaga:
You see the Drow park on the fourth (and top) floor of the garage. They get out and enter the building from a door that looks like it leads to the fourth floor of the building.

From your perch, you also notice a small, one story building on the outskirts of town that looks like Vular architecture (concrete, brutalist architecture incorporating lots of black steel), and is definitely newer than the rest of the buildings in town. It seems to have been constructed since the Vular took over the planet. Nothing else about the building is notable, and you don't sense an immediate purpose to it.

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

Zivilyn

Mulling it over for a bit, Ziv decides that regret is for fellas who have time to waste on moping about. He puts on a winning smile, on account of expression carrying through tone in radio communication, and speaks in his usual upbeat dulcet tone. "Well shucks Captain, I guess it's a date. Now lissen here, sounds like we're gunnin' for the fourth floor. Pair of spider-lovers by the name a' Tulaie and Eluris live up there... reckon they might be too important fer grunt work. You use the Thup-Thup on those two, Ghost Face. Cling-Clang fer anyone else... unless we're actually doin' this stealth style." He waits for the group to agree on a plan of attack. "For what it's worth, I guess this is suppos'ta be stealth style. Over."

Wahad
May 19, 2011

There is no escape.

Meriele

"Before we start giving out any presents," Meriele pipes in over the radio, as she makes her way over to where the discussion is actually happening, "wouldn't it be easier to send a door delivery? Even if Ghost-Face airdrops the presents, then what? We need some boots on the ground to ensure payment, to at least. Captain, what do you think?" She finds it easy to defer to Naivara on tactical decisions like this. With her silver tongue she might be able to talk her way into or out of a lot of things, but this is a little out of her league.

Melchiresa
Jun 21, 2006

Nice guy.
Tries hard.
Loves hot dogs The Game.

Naivara Ulcahne

I hate this code-talking poo poo, Naivara grumbles internally.

"I'll go in to ensure the deals go down. I have some questions about some...lost packages as well."

TheArchimage
Dec 17, 2008

Kvardek

Since separating with Stoaga he had been getting a feel for the layout of the town. As had been said, there were things which could be seen on the ground which could not be seen on any map. He joined the conversation with, "Perhaps Enigma and I could... accompany you for moral support, or at least be on hand. Some people are very picky about their gifts and might not appreciate ours."

PurplieNurplie
Jan 14, 2009

Unsung

This whole...radio thing was a bit strange. Surely, it had heard radio communications before. But it didn't necessarily have ears or a mouth. It focused its thoughts through the radio, trying its best to match the frequency at which it delivered messages.

<If I we were to attend, Tin...Can...>

a pause. Code names were also new. And strange.

<and I, should probably stay at a reasonable distance. The parties involved do not know us, and we are the most likely to be recognized.>

Look Around You
Jan 19, 2009

342 Oak St.

Upon walking into the apartment building, you notice that it's bright and well kept, and that there's an attendant at the door. You give her the drows' names and she points you to room 403. You knock on the door and a tall drow answers the door wearing a plain white tshirt, shorts and a pair of shower sandals. "Hello..? Can I help you?" he says, visibly confused.

Stoaga
You can see inside the apartment from your vantage point, and can see the drow open the door. The other drow is hanging back in the living room, standing up and looking just as confused as the one inside.

Look Around You fucked around with this message at 19:14 on Oct 9, 2016

Melchiresa
Jun 21, 2006

Nice guy.
Tries hard.
Loves hot dogs The Game.

Naivara Ulcahne

Naivara flashes a wolfish grin at the Drow. "Sure you can. In fact, I think you're just the person I need."

She takes advantage of the open door and blinks into the apartment. When she reappears, she has the drow that greeted her pinned by the shoulders against the nearest wall, his feet unable to reach the ground.

Intimidate: 1d20+9 28

"I need information from both of you motherfuckers, now. And I hate repeating myself, so I need you both to listen real loving good." Naivara proceeds to glower at her captive and his roommate, activating her intracranial augmentations to force their focus onto her, whether they liked it or not.

She presses harder into the drow's shoulders - currently taking advantage of their psionic linkage to allow the unrestrained drow to share in his roomie's discomfort (hopefully). She orders,"don't try anything loving stupid and this'll be over quickly."

Naivara glares at the drow she's pinning. "Now don't think I'm stupid and play dumb when I ask this. Where are the girls? Be honest. Or this is gonna suck for both of you in ways you can't even fathom," she snarls in a harsh whisper.

Look Around You
Jan 19, 2009

The drow Naivara slammed into the wall trembles in fear, his legs seeming as though they would give out from under him were you not pinning him to the wall. His companion bolts for the door, but is stopped there by Kvardek and Ziv. He freezes in place, stiff as a statue. The pinned drow responds to Naivara, "Ohgod... G-girls?" he manages to eek out, his voice quivering with fear. "Th-they're in the l-lab on Elm Street.* Pleasedontkillme pleasedontkillme pleasedontkillme," he says as he begins crying.

* The building Stoaga saw is on Elm Street

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

Zivilyn

Ziv decides to play back-up and loiters in a nearby hall until he hears the tell-tale signs of Naivara making somebody's day a lot worse. He checks his pack for something before heading for the door with Kvardek...


Zivilyn

He stops the runner at the door, now wearing his suit's helmet. He speaks with the usual light distortion as he and Kvardek lead the free Drow back inside, Ziv making sure to close and lock the door. "Sounds like our next stop. Would be a real shame if these fellas sent word before we got there..." He shoves the runner towards his massive robotic pal and does a quick case of the place, destroying anything used for communications with small shocks from his forearm cybernetics. "A real shame. Kinda thing that might make some of my friends mad... ya know, mad enough to kill?" He looks to the drow and tilts his head, then raises two fingers and gives them a friendly lil' salute.

"We're in kind of a hurry so I reckon the only thing left to do is knock 'em out or bury 'em. Yer choice. Looks like that closet locks."

Melchiresa
Jun 21, 2006

Nice guy.
Tries hard.
Loves hot dogs The Game.

Naivara Ulcahne

Naivara drops the drow to the floor and bends over to look at him. "Please don't kill you? Well since you said it so nicely and you cooperated with my very simple request, I don't see why I can't show my thanks and let you live."

She sighs, putting on an air of sympathy. "Though, I'm not sure what the gently caress your bosses are gonna do to you when they find out you squealed. Hopefully you can beg your way out of whatever they come up with for you. But...I really doubt it."

Before the Drow can respond, Naivara strikes at him with a solid right hook to knock him out. She turns to Ziv and orders, "get the other one and let's get out of here."

TheArchimage
Dec 17, 2008

Kvardek

Kvardek looked at the drow in his hands. Self-defense was one thing, but cold-cocking was another entirely. "Morally speaking, I am having a difficult time justifying the use of force against someone who is not a direct threat to me when other options of pacification are available. Could I have some rope or manacles so his movement might be restricted without risk of harming them?"

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

Zivilyn

Ziv gets out his staff and gives it a twist, letting it slide out to full length. Without much formal ado he cracks the Drow across the back of the head. "Perceived threat, big fella. He tips off somebody in this buildin' with a phone and we'll be walkin' into an ambush." He gestures to the closet. "Dump these boys, they'll recover. Let's move." He compresses and stores the staff and stores it before heading out.

Unknown Quantity
Sep 2, 2011

!
Steven? Steven?!
STEEEEEEVEEEEEEEN!
Stoaga of the White Legs


'Ghostface' chimes in on the radio. "Saw your meet and greet. Heard, too. Know where next place is. Meet outside, will get there quicker together." Her radio goes silent soon after as she begins sprint-shuffling her way down to meet the rest of the group at the entryway to the apartment complex.

Look Around You
Jan 19, 2009

(per discord conversation)

257 Elm St.
19:00 hours

You arrive at the unmarked building. It's a squat, one story building whose blocky cement architecture is overwhelming. It's dark steel accents only slightly contrast from the grey cement walls. The windows are blackened, not unlike the rest of the structure, and you can't see through them at all. You notice a security camera trained on the front door, and what looks to be a keycard reader on it. A driveway around the back of the building leads to a loading dock, which is magnetically locked shut, and a door beside it which is also locked by keycard, a second camera overlooking this area as well. You also notice cameras observing the other two sides of the building.

Melchiresa
Jun 21, 2006

Nice guy.
Tries hard.
Loves hot dogs The Game.

Naivara Ulcahne

Naivara twirls the keycard swiped from the ill-fated Drow in her fingers. "So we have this...but having a visual record we were here could bite us in the rear end later. Anybody got any ideas?"

TheArchimage
Dec 17, 2008

Kvardek

"Destroying the cameras is one possibility," he mused. "But this would alert anyone watching them trouble is coming. Breaking the windows will likely trigger an alarm. I do not see any other ways into the building; I do not believe we will be able to sneak in undetected. As for not being identified, that is simple; wear masks, cover your body with nondescript clothing. I am more concerned our actions here may make our mission more difficult; they may increase security for their convoy if they have reason to believe it is under threat. But I suppose the time to be worried about that was before we barged into that apartment, so we might as well do all we can here."

Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

Zivilyn

Watching a brick wall and a literal metal man talk was about as riveting as philosophical debates between rocks, so Ziv figured somebody would have to actually make a call here. He queues up the radio. "Hey Ghost Face, can you take out their eyes? Off screen is better than on, I reckon."

Unknown Quantity
Sep 2, 2011

!
Steven? Steven?!
STEEEEEEVEEEEEEEN!
Stoaga of the White Legs


"Ghost Face" takes aim and fires at the cameras. Using her rubber rounds, rather than actually disable the camera, she opts to try to knock each either off their mounting and thus facing the floor, or into facing at an angle with less visible range to create blind spots. Given her eagle eyes, finding said blind spots would be trivial.

Look Around You
Jan 19, 2009

Stoaga is able to successfully divert the cameras from covering the entryways. The one by the loading dock is now pointing into the woods behind the building and the one in front is now pointing directly up at the sky. There's no signs of anyone inside stirring at the disturbance of the cameras, though it's hard to tell through the black windows.

TheArchimage
Dec 17, 2008

Kvardek

He would have preferred more time to plan out an attack in detail, but now that things were moving he could only hope he could stay on top of situations as they developed. He was moving as soon as the cameras were diverted, covering the distance to the (no consensus reached; he mentally flipped a coin) loading bay entrance and hoping Naivara was right behind him. He was not going anywhere without her key cards. "They are going to notice this sooner rather than later. We need to be quick."

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Doomykins
Jun 28, 2008

Didn't you mean to ask about flowers?

Zivilyn

Ziv decides to handle the key cards and pops up beside Kvardek, giving the reader a slide and waiting for the door to open... out of line of sight, behind the frame. "I reckon this'll go hot unless we ain't seen at all..."

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