TigerGuard

7 hours ago, Allen1 said:

Yes, Angel has the skill to build a carrier, but the question would be does he have the knowledge to do it.  One of the problems with Angel is he has no vehicle skills, so he has no basis to know how to build it.   

I would interpret this to mean that Angel would not necessarily understand how this would affect the performance of the van, as placing the carrier on the front of the van would have a different impact as to attaching it to the rear.  For instance, he may not be aware that we would have to reinforce the frame to carry it on the front, or that we have to check the suspension on front or rear mount, or whether we'd have to add a lift kit.  Once we load the van with 4 people, and supplies / gear for 8(!), then that 220 lb / 100 kg anvil hanging on the ass may drop it enough that the tires don't have clearance, or the transmission can't handle the haul without overheating.  I get the impression that all that is being said is that Angel should consult with Suzy, or Mouse, or Cossack about this since he can't search the info on his own at this point.

22 hours ago, Allen1 said:

Except the helmet has no power/battery of its own, so, it won't function except as an armored head piece. 

Ok, so then you interpret it in the opposite manner than I do, and that's what I was trying to verify.  As that is how it will be run, can we power the helmets using the vehicles?  Or put together a small portable battery unit?  

Fawkes has a few queries as well, now that it's been decided he's going.  1) To use the hatch at the rear of the van for extended periods, would a platform or such need to be added?  2)  Will the location of the hatch provide Fawkes with sufficient room to rest his M-90 while trying to sight down it? 3) If not, can we fabricate something to allow this?  

20 hours ago, senior officer Mikael van Atta said:

As mentioned before, I don't expect high-end trouble on this job.

Then why are we taking RPG's????  I don't suspect it would cost much to hire the Raffen Shiv to take out a poorly defended convoy since they would get to keep all the spoils along with the pay - and I consider the Shiv to be high end trouble.  Determination, numbers, and a moral flexibility that allows you to do the things the other guy would never dream of will often out match technological advantages of high-end troublemakers. 

21 hours ago, Allen1 said:

The helmets that Whyte Hat uses with their Militech EMA-1 "Softshell" armor are Militech M-88A2 Enhanced Combat Helmets.  Yes they have superior communications ability and a lot more.  Look on pages 35 & 36 of the Fourth Corporate War Book 2 - Firestorm - Shockwave.  It is described there.

@Allen1Ok, so as I read the write up, the helmets can function separate from the body armor.

Does our team have the know how to create a carrier to mount to either the front or rear of the van to transport Mitzi's LongRider?  I see the logic of a 3rd and / or backup vehicle, but I think we'll need the interior of the van for carrying all of our extra gear and supplies - like a case of Shower-in-a-can so anyone working internal security at a gig can be presentable, even if we don't have access to proper facilities.

@senior officer Mikael van Atta please lay out for me your proposed deployment.  What I suggested was based on each team being self-sufficient and mutually supportive.  As I'm taking my personal ride, I'm driving it.  I acknowledge that there will be times and situations where someone else will have to be at the controls - so that's either you or Hollow based on a chip.  Next consideration is if we actually agree to mount the MG on my GevHog, in which case my partner also has to be proficient at Heavy Weapons.  Hollow's +2 starts him at a 14 - if you meet or beat that, cool.   Next comes the question of your Bermuda, as it seems to be a superior ride compared to Mitzi's LongRider (except for range); are you comfortable with another team being on that?  

I realize we'll probably have to agree to disagree on this, but in my opinion we're putting all of our eggs in one basket by allowing the entire team to actually go on this run.  Based on the requirements and logistics, I don't see how we can hope to succeed with only part of the crew, so we're rolling the dice from the jump - and if we lose any vehicle and it's accompanying crew the survivors are fucked, regardless.  I'm not saying the remaining group wouldn't be able to complete the task, but the reality of having to guard the vehicles AND the bands with less than all 8 of us would be a herculean feat.

Man-buns for the win!

But let's not forget killer drones.

Corporate security for the wealthy.

And a government run program to spy on all civilian communications.

Good to know.  So I'll take feedback from 8-Ball (and Mitzi if she cares to share) about whether the preference is for Fawkes to delay the surgery and add his guns to the group, or if they feel we've got it covered and prefer to not make the pie that much smaller.  One positive in favor of Fawkes going, we can split into 2 man teams to accompany the bands while keeping 2 others to maintain vehicular security.

If we accept the job, Cossack's preference is 2x2 on the Outriders - Cossack and Hollow as one pair since he can back me up on the ride if I get incapacitated (if he has Heavy Weapons to man the MG), and 8-Ball with Mitzi as his ride along for the same reason.  This leaves Rue and Jamal to share the driving duty on the van, while Fawkes maintains over watch.  Does Angel's tech abilities run into radio's at all?  He might be able to scan frequencies and alert us to issues before they arrive.  We could also invest in some chips for people to get them competent on driving or motorcycles - but investing the time will eat into other preparations we need to be making.

Do the helmets from the Whyte Hat armor suits include built in comm units?  I know they had visual options that would be beneficial, but we'll also need reliable communications between all 3 vehicles while providing protection to the 4 riders.  If not, 2,400 isn't too much to spend for us to get 3 more Smart Helmets (since 8-Ball already has one).

What is the reciprocity between NorCal / Socal / Nevada and Night City?  If our weapon licenses are valid in those jurisdictions, does that include up to our MG?  If it is legal, we might be able to put a pintle mount on the GevHog, but we would need someone qualified to be the gunner.  We could also consider a rush job to convert the van's roof to apc style hatches so someone inside could open them and stand in the back cargo area to launch rpg's without blowback issues.  The rpg's may not be covered by our licenses, but if the need actually arises to use them, I'd rather pay that price then lose my life.

Next, in terms of personnel, Fawkes may actually be unavailable for this run as he's planning to get some cyber legs installed and his recovery may take him past the jump off for this job.  If we're bound and determined that we need Fawkes, I could consider paying the cost for the parts and surgery now (or having Mitzi hold it in the company account) and make a reservation for the surgery upon completion of this gig.

Another consideration is what skills does everyone have in terms vehicles?

Cossack - Drive / Pilot: Hover / Pilot: Gyro / Pilot: Fixed Wing.  Chipped - Motorcycle / Operate Heavy Machinery

Fawkes - None

Hollow - Drive?

8-Ball - Drive / Motorcycle?

Mitzi - Motorcycle

Rue - ?

Jamal - ?

Angel - ?

I like the idea of Cossack and 8-Ball riding Outrider at the lead of the convoy, but who drives the van?

5 hours ago, Allen1 said:

Your planning and expertise is being called on.  You need to get the convoy to the gigs on time and provide overall security.  At the gig venues, there will probably be some local security to back you up, especially at the big hotels and casinos.  Whoever is in overall charge of security will have to deal with them (and their egos).  This is a job that the Team needs to plan themselves.  Who comes is up to the Team.  You have a budget to plan around.  There is a little room for negotiation on some things, except for the fee (€25,000).   

Does the above statement mean we are providing band security at the gig as well and have to liaise with the venue security?  Or are they providing security inside the venue and we are tasked with protecting the parked vehicles? Or are we expected to run the gauntlet and protect the vehicles and all 3 bands while at the performance halls?

First questions I have are what is the cut going to Whyte Hat? And is Mitzi going on this job herself?

I needed to reach out to everyone regarding scheduling - I believe @senior officer Mikael van Atta stated he wouldn't be available on Sept 4th, so I thought I better get it out there now that I'm unavailable on Aug 28th because it's my anniversary and will be out of town and on Sept 11th I have a Doctor's appointment at 8:00am (my time) so might be late to joining if we decide to try and pick back up then.

@senior officer Mikael van Atta ok, so we add the bow to the list of difficult weapons to trace - does this place you any closer to having a plan to move against the VB's?  I'm looking for you to do this in an intelligent, covert manner because otherwise Fawkes and Cossack will just scoop up the claymore's and grenades and go heavy metal on the Burkett.  If push comes to shove, Cossack can decide it's time to do a Blues Brothers and see if there's a Disco Pants and Haircuts store in the Burkett.

2 hours ago, senior officer Mikael van Atta said:

...of course, if he had a right type of sword to accompany a longbow, he could reenact "Mad Jack" Churchill. I guess it would give the Chrome Berets quite some reason to scratch their heads  Though learning to play bagpipes is something I'd consider going over the top there

Some sort of boombox / portable digital media player should suffice to put the fear of God - or at least Macbeth - into them!

There are 2 maxims in play right now - If you seek peace, plan for war and The time to buy is when there's blood in the streets.

If you seek peace, plan for war -

I get the concern about being suspects if anything happens to the VB, but that just means we have to be smarter. The conflict has already begun and we risk losing the initiative if we just sit back and wait for them to be in a place where we won't "get in trouble." Worse, innocents like Mary and Kathleen and associates like Samantha and the band, who are only loosely connected to us, may be the next casualties.  Mitzi can't be blamed if whatever happens does so at a time she is publicly somewhere else - like all the ladies being at a club dancing.  Or hell, get drunk and get in a bar fight so you spend the night in a holding cell! Also, if we use shotguns, tazers, drug loaded paintball and squirt guns then there is nothing really for the police to conclusively trace back to us.  

The time to buy is when there's blood in the streets - 

Neither Cossack nor Fawkes has the ability to track down information digitally, but we really need to look at the ownership of properties around the mall in Mitzi's old neighborhood.  There's a chance that the move on the Blood Reign was followed by a change of ownership in the property they used to inhabit.  We've seen this pattern with Baronti previously - and old tricks are often the best tricks.  We need to spend a bit more time around the fringes of the mall and note if the graffiti has already been changed, and if areas previously clear have started to be tagged.  We need to see if there are notices for renovations and remodels.  Mitzi needs to contact people in the old neighborhood and see what information is on the streets about the departure of the Blood Reign and the new alignment of power on the street.

On 05/08/2021 at 00:00, senior officer Mikael van Atta said:

To take advantage of the smartgun, you need to plug it into your interface socket. This takes a moment of your time. When you reach for your handgun, you usually don't have that time. You have to have the gun up, and start blasting away ASAP. 

Cossack would recommend you consider upgrading to LiveWires.  He initially purchased them to expedite attaching and detaching from vehicle links in a hurry, but has actually used them more during combat - specifically when switching to a backup weapon on the fly.

Cossack is comfortable with his weapons load out at the current moment, so will have no objection to all of the weapons being part of the business holdings.

Fawkes on the other hand, wants one of the Kalashnikov A-80 (SL) from the Detroit job for his personal armory.  When the haul from Devil's Night is brought forth he will request a Colt AMT 2000 (SL), and a CAWS.  If there are no objections, he would also be interested in the monoknife for our next up close and personal operation - but this is a minor desire and will be passed on if someone with a better ability to use it wants it.

To revisit the discussion on a team weapon for consistency, if Mitzi can do a bundle deal and swap the weapons we don't want for a bunch of Dragons/Mk IVs, both Cossack and Fawkes will happily go along (especially since Cossack already has a Dragon he's fond of).  But if that sort of rapid acquisition is out of reach for the moment, I will point out that between Detroit and Devil's Night we managed to acquire 8 Militech Ronins.  Now, none of them are smart linked so that would be a cost we have to incur, but if it's easier to trade excess material for having the guns linked by Mouse / Angel, that might be the way to go. This does have the added bonus of being the same caliber as the newly acquired MG.  I am not advocating in favor of the Ronin over the Dragon, or vice versa, I'm simply stating that this may be the most expedient means of reaching a standard issue kit.  From a purely ammunition perspective, 8-Ball and Hollow both have FN-RAL's and we now have 3 A-80's, so we could just standardize via ammo. Also, with 7 Colt AMT 2000's in the haul (all of which are smartlinked already) we would be set on a team sidearm. 

In regards to the dangling threads - Cossack advocated a blitzkrieg event that would have ended the VB situation once and for all (though admittedly, not necessarily in our favor), and was over ruled.  Now it is Mitzi's quandary.  He will remain vigilant to his surroundings, and will defer if ever again invited to a club / mall that bans firearms.  It will be a rare day indeed, when he ventures forth without his 2 shoulder holstered handguns, left hip holstered Spitfire, and right hip holstered Mare's Leg.  As to the Ukrainian Mob, I'm not 100% sure they were the culprits in Ukraine, nor can I factually state that they can affect our lives here in Night City - but I'm not taking chances.  I will ask Celestine to avoid Little Odessa.  Finally, the blue goo - Cossack could care less really.  If Mitzi wants to investigate, he will cooperate as long as he is still being compensated.  With our bank roll about to be ended, he is more focused on making his bills then being a crusader for the community.  Callous? You betcha.  I get paid to risk my life.

Fawkes has one item on his to-do-list -

Convince someone to give him some freaking weapons looted from either of our recent engagements!  I was pretty sure I had mentioned it at least twice while in Detroit, and now with all of these corpses laid before us I'm saying it again - I need guns!  Preferably a long arm, full auto isn't required but would be appreciated.  Thanks, you all are great......

As for Cossack - 

He will be continuing to explore Celestine's options and preferences.  If she's looking for stable and safe, maybe we get her English high enough that she can get hired at the hotel once it's refurbished.  She really enjoyed the band and their anti-corp message, so maybe some courses in composition and she starts writing songs for bands.  Maybe we pool her coming money and what I've squirreled away and she opens a Ukrainian/Romanian restaurant.  I'm willing to help her, but I will explain the situation with the Voodoo Boyz and stress that she has to carry a handgun at all times and become competent with it.  I will also suggest we talk to Mitzi about what software she has for the Scholar and see if we can reach an agreement to get Celestine some training on it (rifle being the first thing that comes to mind).  Which brings me to my second discussion with her - language lessons in Little Odessa are probably a bad idea.  Someone (Ukrainian Mafia?) tried to kill us at the prison, and any groups which have such reach within the Ukraine probably have eyes and ears in most ex-pat communities.  Am I paranoid? Ask the toaster....

2 hours ago, senior officer Mikael van Atta said:

(refering to how 8-Ball's Renault was repeteadly ending up in a mechanic's shop back in Colombia. Curiously enough, in each case it was Cossack driving it ).

First - Cossack has never been to Colombia. 
Second - As I recall your vehicle was shot to hell with Hollow sitting inside, and banged up in a high speed pursuit that resulted in a kidnapped teen being rescued. 
 

With those 2 points made, Cossack is insulted that you seem to be inferring that his driving ability is suspect. 

If we wait and the explosives fail to go off then we are in the position 8-Ball was fearing and wanting reinforcements for. If they’re already gearing up to storm the stairs just as Angel is finishing his work then 8-Ball is in the right to worry about numbers at the defensive position. It’s all very cinematic to think we can collapse the stairs once they are full of psyched up gangers, but should the explosives mis-fire then Hollow and 8-Ball could be screwed! At least 8-Ball has all of Jamal’s grenades now and could toss those down at the start if the big bang fails. 

Given our uncertainties, why are we waiting to blow the staircase?  We're being paid to recover Raven's materials and IP, not to eliminate the Trash Chippers.  We spoke our peace and gave our terms, they've violated the terms so blow the stairs and let us continue with the job we're being paid for.  If the charges fail, or if they come up with a new plan, then call for reinforcements to defend the stairs / react to their aggressions.  We hesitated outside the Nano Lab for various reasons and Fawkes moved to protect the group during that time of indecision and he's nearly dead for it.  Let's be decisive and carry out our plan and drop the staircase and reset their planning period, not ours.

You might try to find some rolling office chairs in one of the labs or computer room. Securing 2 or 3 together may make a good enough rolling gurney to transport Fawkes if the elevators are accessible. 

Fawkes' actions were the result of a mathematical equation - his wounded status would surely see him acting near to last in all subsequent rounds, Cossack had just unloaded a full magazine into the golem with 0(!) effect, and by getting face to face with that thing it meant the next round it would spend killing me thus allowing the rest of the team time to retreat deeper into the lab and possibly come up with a way to defeat it.  You can go with the Vulcan logic of 1 life to save many if you wish, or just look at the list of soldiers who were posthumously awarded medals for sacrificing themselves to save their squad / platoon / company.  I did not expect Fawkes to survive one way or another as there wouldn't be time for proper medical treatment if the fight went on, so best to sacrifice himself to save the others.

At this point Fawkes is not going to be sidelined - I don't see anyone with stars on their lapels to order me to stand down, and 8-Ball being a student of WWII should be more than familiar with the stories from the Battle of the Bulge and Okinawa, or tales of the Devil's Brigade, to know that soldiers don't come off the line if the fight is still on.  Given ammo, and someone with first aid as support, he can hold the staircase as per our original plan.  Now that Jamal has stopped the bleeding, I intend to move Fawkes towards the stairs and pick up a rifle from one of the dead gangers as I am down to just 3 full magazines (it is my intention to leave this place with a looted assault rifle and a shotgun!)

Now as to the new wrinkle from the 20th floor - Cossack and Fawkes will both voice support for a parley.  Obviously, Cossack, 8-Ball and Hollow are the 3 in closest proximity to engage in such discussion and 8-Ball likely has an ability to speak their lingo, so he might be best for this.  Fawkes is more than willing, but perhaps his current status would embolden the remaining Trash Chippers, and it will take him a looong time to get down there.  Cossack will vote for offering the remaining gangers the ability to withdraw below the 15th floor, on our guarantee not to do any further damage to the building and limit our actions to removal of our employers property (he's also willing to do a mean Josey Wales meets 10 Bears negotiation if he's allowed to go to the meet).  We can still rig charges on the stairs at Floors 16/17 in case they break the truce, but perhaps if those left alive know that they will still have their haven after we vacate then they will be honorable.  Also, since we have control of the cameras we can drop that stair section before they get close - even if they are able to call in reinforcements.  This brings us back to the point of holding the stairs, if Fawkes is one of the 2 then Hollow (and his gazelle like movement rate) is freed up to quickly re-check the floors above and possibly gather tidbits of value (like assault rifles and shotguns), while either 8-Ball or Cossack can help with the hauling of material to the roof.  The faster we accomplish our mission, the quicker we are out of here.  We've been active in the assault for ~5 minutes, the survivors are calling for a parley now to figure out what the hell is going on; so trying to contact outside help and give them time to gather forces / resources at 2am and march to the tower will take time.  Speed is our friend.  

Is anyone else having screen issues like this?  It isn't just line of sight blocking, the triangular shading exists even on the team home page.  It made it very difficult for me to track during the last session as I couldn't see where people were, regardless of walls/doors. 

Things went quick, so I may have missed some discussion details -

Do the stairwell doors open onto the stairs or onto the floors?  How heavy are the doors?  We've gone rather cautiously so far, but with our new parameters it matters if they are heavy and slow to open, or swing easy with light touch.  Then again, some of us have 10+ strength, so maybe easy is in the eye of the beholder?

Also, are there lights in the stairwells?  I know the info you provided above states that Samantha has control of the cameras in the stairwells, but we've never discussed if there are lights and what type of lights (honestly we aren't affected either way because we have alternate vision sources, so I hadn't asked).  If there are simple white lights then everything is well lit, if only "emergency" lighting is available then there are maybe some dark corners, and if they're using torches here (like our pre-raid intelligence indicated is used in places), then we have dark areas, smoke, and active heat sources that will mess with IR and such.

Finally, with the access that Samantha and Suzy have gained so far, are they anywhere near being able to turn off lights on certain floors or on the stairwells?

Actually, my idea of parlay is - Hi I'm Sergeant Fawkes of the US Army, I have been ordered to eliminate all active opposition within this building so that a group of technicians may remove US government material abandoned by Raven Microcybernetics when they fled this facility.  Now, you can collect your comrades, your gear, and your pride and evac to the lobby where you will be left in peace to plan next weekends market and fight night; or you can stand in opposition to my squad and we will add your flayed skulls to the pile we're building up on the 32nd floor.  Perhaps whoever takes over this tower after your demise will offer prayers at that shrine, in hopes they avoid a similar demise? (Preferably this speech is given while holding a live grenade in one hand and a cigarette in the other, or with some demo charges strapped to his chest.)

As far as thinking it's possible to negotiate with them - 1) They're carrying out a thriving enterprise here so they aren't just some strung out gangers.  2) Watching a show on the Diplomatic Security Service, one of the operatives discussed having to go out into the streets Freetown, Sierra Leone or Monrovia, Liberia to rescue some American citizens and having to negotiate with some warlord who was using a pair of human skulls and intestines as a street barrier (I can't remember if that was the Butt Naked Brigade or not, either way, cannibal warriors hopped up on battle drugs were willing to cut a deal). 3) Fawkes is genuinely frustrated.  We have encountered several awake gangers on the various levels (probably the night security) and they've been pathetic.  The last floor was a sad dorm compared to the rather spacious bedrooms above so it's more than likely we've decapitated the leadership and these are going to be the wannabes and hanger ons.... That doesn't make their firearms less lethal, but soldiers deserve soldiers and this is rapidly becoming a war against boys. 

As to Genghis Khan, he employed a system of three differently colored tents to announce his intentions to an enemy city which worked magnificently - once people knew what the colors meant.  If the remaining members of the gang don't know what they're facing then they will most likely stay in place waiting for word from one of the bosses (after all, they were able to out think the previous 2 Corp backed assaults so they must be really smart in the eyes of the lesser members), and we will have to clean them out of various nooks and crannies.  This can get painful.  Cossack and Fawkes are prepared for this, but neither will stand for sparing the wounded or taking prisoners - Fawkes just put half a mag into a naked chick.....

Cossack ran from the mafia boss he failed, and it not only put his life in danger, but also that of the team and Celestine.  Cossack will not spare an enemy who could come back to harm him or one of the team.  This trope is played out over and over again in cinema, which Cossack now realizes mimics life more closely than he'd thought.

Fawkes on the other hand abides by the following zen principle - Die while you are alive and be absolutely dead. Then do whatever you want: it's all good.  This is not RPG bravado, this is actual behavior I have witnessed from several friends who are retired special forces.  I respect these men, and appreciate that they are willing to occasionally allow me insight to their lives.  Fawkes is modeled after them and will continue to live every moment as if it could be his last. Perhaps this story will serve to highlight - I met Johnny at work, we became friends because I was always reading Battletech books at lunch and he was looking for other players.  He sat down and introduced himself and we became friends, over the following weeks we shared more about our pasts and he told me the story of how his father used to always sneak into his bedroom when he was a teenager and put a knife to his throat and tell him "Sleep like a dead man, wake up one."  I discounted this, couldn't possibly be true.  Then the night I went to his parents house to pick him up to go to the movies I ended up having to spend hours with his parents - his mom was Korean so I had to have some food, which became a lot of food, and his father wanted to talk because the first time I met him I addressed him as sir and he was impressed by the show of respect.  Anyways, a few hours in (and about a 12 pack of beers for Mr. Woodard) he starts to tell me how he used to sneak into Johnny's room when he was stationed in Panama doing anti-narco ops into Colombia.  The story is matching Johnny's word for word until Mr. Woodard starts to get a tear in his eye and his voice catches and he looks at me with this smile and proclaims how proud he was the night he went to go in and found the trip wire Johnny had attached to the door and traced it down to the C-4 Johnny had "acquired."  He couldn't contain his excitement as he described how well Johnny had arranged the device.  Johnny just shrugged like it was no big deal and his younger brother James rolled his eyes and lamented that Johnny hadn't done a better job of concealing the wire.

13 hours ago, senior officer Mikael van Atta said:

As to splitting and / or running - I'm against that. Yes, move through safe terrain quickly, but slice the pie on your corners carefully. The last thing you want is to run onto a ganger lying in ambush, and eat an entire mag-worth of rifle AP bullets. Militech Softhell Armor or not. Speed and brutality / violence of action - sure. But carelessnes - nope. 8-Ball has came into this building with 8-man team, and his intended outcome is leaving it with the same 8-man team, preferably unscathed.

 I never advocated running amok, or charging recklessly around each floor, but I'll be damned if I'm moving 6 or 7  hexes anymore.  Once through the door, both characters will move at a speed that allows them to reach a defensive position or engage an enemy.  Being overly cautious can bring about our deaths just as quickly as being overly reckless.  If we are going to do blitzkrieg and clear the remaining levels, great I'm down, but if you are going to advocate we continue to use the full team on each floor then the lower floors have even more time to gear up and prepare. 

On 14/06/2021 at 01:35, senior officer Mikael van Atta said:

Sun Tzu advises against that: always leave your opponent an avenue of withdrawal, for men fight desperately if they have no escape. Somehow I don't expect many of them willing to surrender (but I advise to accept any surrenders, and then release captives. They'll spread panic and promote desertions). 

An avenue of withdrawal is only of use if the enemy are aware of it.  This current state of confusion will make it unlikely that they know which way is an open escape route.  If there is an internal PA/Emergency speaker system that Suzy can access, we can always announce that descending the stairs will not be met with opposition.  This in and of itself can cause flight, panic, and infighting.  Fawkes is also psychotically willing to call for a parlay at the next door and try to negotiate a withdrawal of the survivors - in their best interest, and frankly because they've been such piss poor opposition that he's tired of killing them! 

If the party is opposed to either of these psychological warfare techniques, then both Fawkes and Cossack are going to lobby for divided teams and sprint attacks - no more walking the floors.  Speed and brutality are their favored methods from here on out - and neither will be in favor of taking captives, they may prove a future detriment to our enemies, but they will be an immediate lodestone around our necks.  

For what it's worth, Fawkes is more of a fan of Genghis Khan then Sun Tzu.....

I will gladly accept the National Guard armor in exchange for that helmet.  😎

So we spend an indeterminate amount of time looking for suitable materials to build an armored barricade from, or take ten minutes to lash a handful of backpacks to a desk, table, or filing cabinet with a length of rope we bring with us - the armored portion of which can quickly be dismantled and moved as we switch positions?  Plus, we must carry quite a bit of gear with us - ammo, food, medical supplies.  It seems appropriate to take as many empty duffle bags with us as we can so we can have a starting point of collecting/loading the material we are being sent to retrieve.  The more things we prepare ahead of time, the less we have to scramble for under pressure.  Another use of the backpack could be to utilize it as a riot shield while traversing the stairs.  First man in line wraps the straps around his left arm, holds it over his torso as he walks, right arm carries a sidearm to counter hostiles - thus giving himself an SP18 shield over 40% of his body - while second and third man in line carry automatic weapons for overwhelming firepower.  While we expect to encounter gangers or civilians armed with low powered handguns, planning for high powered weapons seems prudent.  I would suggest there is value to practicing navigating a staircase in tactical formation - first man in combat crouch so second or third man in line can fire over him - one over the left shoulder, other over the right.  This takes a level in trust of the trio to know how the other 2 will react to threats, and an understanding of how not to react to place yourself in another's field of fire.  

And speaking of pressure, we know there is power to some of the building as the automated defense systems are still operable.  We know 1 of the 2 teams sent before us was taken out by the automated defense systems.  We know the second team attempted to enter the tower (entry attempt unspecified or unremembered), and were never heard from again.  It's likely that the building security camera system is still operational (like the air defense) and possibly under control of the residents (like the air defense).  So, I have the following questions for all of us to consider -

1) How tech savvy are the tower residents? Are they simply in control of pre-existing tech, or is it possible that they've upgraded the security? Like maybe putting sensors in the elevator towers?  To assume that they're good enough to hack the system security left when the Corp vacated, indicates they're capable of installing thermal or IR scanners in the elevator shafts.

2) We know 2 teams were hired by the Corp to try and retrieve their merchandise.  How many Corp squads took a shot at it before that?  The more teams that gained entry, even in a limited capacity, the better the equipment that could be scavenged from the corpses by the residents.

3) Is it possible that the current residents are backed and/or supplied by another Corp that is trying to retrieve the items left behind by Raven?  For all we know, the upper floors are actually occupied by Tech experts from a Corp trying to reverse engineer the very material we are trying to recover.  

On 25/05/2021 at 22:46, senior officer Mikael van Atta said:

 

• 3 sets of combat armor (a MetalGear and two sets of National Guard armor, one of them with helmet and inserts) - and obviously he's not going to wear more than one of them  Though keep in mind these are sized for him (BOD 😎
• Similar with guns - a FN-RAL, a 10ga semiauto shotgun, and a 12ga one (not to mention a pistol to spare). All the stuff with web gear, spare magazines, ammo and what-not. 

Cossack would be happy to buy or trade for one, we can definitely work that out - do you have any interest in a smart linked helmet for your new motorcycle hobby? 

Xavier, on the other hand, doesn't have deep enough ties to the group to be bartering or making deals, and a shotgun isn't really his style.  He could use it in a pinch, but he'd much prefer an assault style rifle.  I do have a contact I could reach out to, but their willingness to aid in this sort of thing might be iffy (but man one of those Militech M31a1 kits would work so well for this mission....)  Xavier will take it up with Mitzi to start the next session.

Is it worth getting some of the armored backpacks from Chromebook 4?  We know we have to carry a good deal of ammo, food, and medical supplies up the ladder - and I'd suggest a good number of empty duffel bags in there too.  At approximately 1kg empty, each of us should be able to carry 5 - 10 compressed bags inside our packs.  And once emptied, the armored backpacks could be used as a make shift defensive barricade.  Yes there will be an EV penalty on the climb, but Cossack, Hollow, 8-Ball, Jamal, and Xavier should all be trained enough to handle such an encumbrance. 

5 hours ago, Allen1 said:

The point here is to cut a hole into the main elevator shaft (running from the basement to the top of the building) in Sub Level B or the doors to that same shaft in Sub Level A.  From there, the Team climbs up all the way to the roof.  If that elevator is still operational, then we can cut into the controls there and have uncontested control of those elevator cars.  Also, at that point we can do a physical tap into the roof auto-guns and control them.  This is Suzy's specialty.  At this point the Team should be ready to openly attack.  

This should occur at 2am to 3am in the morning when most people will be asleep and we will be behind the gang's initial defenses.  It should be a short, sharp fight down to level 29.  At that point you have reached the floor where the control room for the lesser executive elevators are.  

(Note: it isn't on the map, but is located behind the wall of the rightmost office on Level 29.)

Once there, Suzy can cut any control to those elevators from the floors below.  From there, the Team must move quickly down the stairs till they reach Level 18, the Fashionware Laboratory.  This is as far down as the Team needs to go.  All of the items Raven Microcybernetics wants are here and the floors above.  We secure Level 18 and hold it against attack.  From here we search for what we came to find and move it up one level (19) to the cyberlimb laboratory.  We fall back our defenses; maybe blow a staircase out if need be.  Strip the cyberlimb laboratory and continue our retreat up the the building until we reach Level 32.  We move stuff to the roof and call for evac!

I would suggest using the elevators as little as possible.  If we have put two of the three elevator shafts out of operation, we want the gang to think that we can't use them either until we have a large amount of swag to move.

Of the nine people in Detroit:  Samantha (remotely) runs drones to watch for building scaling and watches for movements on the floors below.  Suzy and Angel do most of the search and disassemble.  Three of the others be ready at each possible point of enemy attack (two elevator shafts and the stairs) and the last two will be schlepping the gear upstairs but ready to fight if necessary.

This is a preliminary plan with some possible ideas on the attack before we get Jamal's family's Intel.

Thoughts?   

I may be misunderstanding how you're picturing this, but as I comprehend it you're advocating getting to the roof then the entire team makes a fast strike down to Floor 29 to get the control room - thus leaving anyone (or anything!) on Floors 30, 31, and 32 to attack us from above while we try to defend against those coming up from below.  The tarped item on the roof, and the automated air defense makes me think this gang is more than simple boosters so I'm not going to take for granted that the higher floors will be abandoned.  I'm never a fan of splitting a party, but I really think this situation calls for it.  Xavier has the best armor of the group, and a certain sociopathic viewpoint that makes him prime for taking point and Hollow's combat skills makes him the best candidate for joining the spear tip and I think we should split 2 people off at each floor to do a sweep and secure as we proceed down.  At each floor, we pop the door and Angel tosses in some flash bangs then 2 sweep in (pairing a combat capable with a non-combat specialist like Jamal/Suzy, then 8-Ball/Rue, then Cossack/Angel).  If the first or second pair encounter any resistance then we can actually stop the descent and support them - as opposed to facing these forces later as we get pinched from above and below - and if there's no one there then they will quickly rejoin the sweep down the stairs.  

And before anything else, we have to attend to team deficiencies.  For my part - 1) Cossack has no armor beyond clothing, so the best he could do is stack a jumpsuit on top of his body suit and skinweave and suffer the EV penalties.  2) Xavier has only a handgun to his name (and access to the team sniper rifle, which seems ill suited to this environment).  If Marty left "a bunch of guns" (as was stated in seemingly OOC discussion, so not something I can directly act on), perhaps Mitzi should make some of these items available to team members at a discount.  Buying a semi-auto rifle from the gun shop for 500 is doable, but perhaps putting 250 back into company coffers for the same result is more beneficial?  Cossack had a full auto AK before we left for the Caribbean, so I don't know if it's still in his inventory - but we aren't supposed to be passing gear to our secondaries.