Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - IC

Synopsis:
You came, you saw you conquered all before you, or so the stories in the shadows go on to tell of it. Hell they even went and based a trid off it though no one dared step forward and take credit for the job much less would talk to anyone in the media about what you did. The reason why? Your team pulled off the impossible. Working together you pulled off and survived the 'dream job' the job that would set you up for life, and it sure as hell did! The downside is, some one's always really really pissed off at you as a result, but you were good, you were careful. You covered your tracks and no one, not even your employers were sure who you were or what you looked like. In many ways, what made it all possible was The Crash 2.0. The second great Crash wiped out any information on you, and those in your team. Gave you a clean slate to start anew with none the wiser and anyone else who was either wasn't about to talk, or by now was 6 feet under.

Now? Now was the time to live it up, to live the good life, the life many only dream of. The life you dreamed of. Sure it wasn't quite the absolute lap of luxury, but you had more than enough money to not complain about it. Life is good, and had been for several years now. No frets, no worries. The money would take care of everything!

At least, that is until just now, when you receive an odd message left on your comlink.

'A Missed Call.'

Background on 'the big score'

The job had been fairly straightforward as such things go, and the pay had been amazing. That said the job had also not been simple, and not everyone made it out in one piece. The crew, initially composed of 9 individuals was these days down to 7, and not everyone bothered to keep in touch once the job was done. The score had taken 9 months to put together and execute to completion, but it had gone through almost flawlessly until the end which came in the form of a late night raid on a large privately owned compound outside of Seattle. All that had to be done was steal some old relic from Egypt out of a private collection, but what had made the job even more difficult was the fact that the target was already aware, and alert for trouble. Two other teams had tried before, and all had failed. Silencing the survivors of the previous groups had in fact been part of the initial job. Your employer had wanted to be quite sure no one who had failed was left to talk, and your team had wound up so certain that your employer would turn on you, that once the run was over everyone broke up and went their separate ways into a new life. Crash 2.0 had just bought you considerably more added security as an unexpected bonus.

Herman Jester was the man who's home you were raiding, a self styled business tycoon who had done quite well for himself and had a penchant for collecting ancient artifacts for his private collection, mostly focusing on ancient Egypt and Greece. While the man's personal tastes were still high end, they weren't among the richest of the rich. His security on the other hand had been an entirely different matter. What the man didn't spend on lavish foods and entertainment, he'd spent on security. Surveillance of the grounds had been a nightmare with all the measures in place, and the place was as solidly built as a home could be without being called a military bunker. The only things working in your favour was that there had been no neighbours to worry about for a good fifty acres in all directions. That and one of the team's Deckers Fractyl had managed to dig up some early plans for the home which had included the location of an escape tunnel. That tunnel ultimately served as the group's way in, but that's where things started to go wrong.

Early on Fractyl bit the dust to some nasty black IC. Blip, the group's mechanic went down to an explosion apparently triggered by a security drone while the team was escaping out through a hole in the wall Spade had breached in Herman Jester's personal hydroponics farm. From there the team had to get across a literal open killing field while being perused by a small private army that had sported weaponry and armour more suited to an army black ops unit than a private security force. Despite all that however, the rest of the team made it out, though afterwards Spade was never quite himself. Then again the human cybersam had shown signs of cracking before then, but had gone in on the 'big heist' as one last job to set himself up for life. At the end of the run the drop was made, though there hadn't been much time to examine the stolen relic. Everyone had had an uneasy feel about it though and most certainly the mages. Still, the money was just too good to pass up and the J (who had, as far as anyone on the team could tell was some how connected to SK), surprisingly enough actually paid up and left as quickly as possible, all without the all too expected ambush.

While some of the old team had kept in touch, the last anyone had heard of Spade was that he'd spent most of his money on booze, drugs, hookers and parties rather than wisely investing. Rumours had started to circle that he was getting in debt and even more trouble before he finally seemed to find some sort of balance in his life.

Still, it came as no surprise then, that on the heels of the creepy message left on everyone's coms, that he called up wanting everyone to meet at an old abandoned warehouse in Carbonado in the Pullyup barrens. Not the safest place to go, but at the same time it was far enough away from everything and so sparsely populated that it was unlikely a place where you'd pick up a tail and not notice it. The fact that it was dotted with old abandoned mines, warehouses and other facilities had made it a favourite place to go for smugglers and other sorts, so the choice of location at least made some sense. All the volcanic ash and pollution out that way however did make some sort of breathing mask not only wise, but flat out necessary.

Time: March 20th 2071
Location: Abandoned Warehouse
Comforts: Squatter
Entertainment: Street
The Necessities: Street
Neighbourhood: Barrens
Security: Squatter
Qualities:
Astral Repellent: Background Count 1
No Neighbours
Ambusher's Delight: There is no full cover, Partial cover is extremely sparse.
Pest Magnet: Rats - The fraggers are everywhere!

Map:


The warehouse Spade asked everyone to come to was a drek hole and a half, and had clearly been abandoned for years. Volcanic ash and accumulated dust covered everything, though there were signs of some transient life and most of the volcanic ash at least stayed outside of the building. That however probably accounted for all the damn rats clearly crawling all over the place though they seemed mostly docile and harmless. You couldn't go 20 feet without seeing at least one rat somewhere, along with all sorts of accumulated trash. There also wasn't much in the way of cover, some collapsed storage racking here, an abandoned desk there, an overturned and broken picnic table that had come from... who knows where, some old dilapidated filing cabinets. The structure seemed to be in really poor shape and it was a wonder the whole thing was still standing as there were holes in the wall, obvious signs of serious water damage and a really high chance of some nasty mould or something growing inside what few walls there were. Beyond that most of the building was totally empty, just one big room, though there was a small two tiered office space area off on the north side, though it was questionable as to how safe it would be to enter as it looked in even worse shape than the rest of the building having suffered the worst of the decay over the years.

And the place smelled.

Bad.

Beyond that, Spade was so far nowhere to be seen. At least the place was in the middle of nowhere so beyond a few hills and dips it should theoretically be pretty easy to see anyone coming before they arrived.

Somewhere in Seattle, behind a nondescript door located among other nondescript doors down a nondescript back alley, Spawn perused through some distinctly non-nondescript, and highly restricted if not outright illegal, items. Though he had kept himself in good shape physically, it had been some time since he'd last run the shadows and upgrading his gear for the upcoming meet was a necessity.
With most of the stuff he used already stowed safely away at home, there were only a few items left to acquire.
Looking over the shop's wares with the practiced eye of a professional, he selected a Molotov Vest and four Smart Pouches along with two Smart Butt Packs, all with Chameleon Coatings. These additions to his chameleon bodysuit would facilitate carrying the rest of his gear easily as well as distributing the weight more evenly over his body, therefore allowing greater freedom of movement as opposed to a bulky backpack, while at the same time maintaining the low-profile presence so crucial to his survival.

Later, on the outskirts of Everett, inside a seemingly rundown garage attached to an equally rundown house, the hum of heavy machinery droned faintly. The vibrations permeating the ground surrounding the garage were inconsistent with what little sound escaped the structure; indicating the use of sound-damping materials in its construction. To what purpose would anyone shell out that kind of cred on such a dilapidated building?

The faint hum ceased and several moments passed before the garage doors opened. They did not raise as do most typical automatic garage doors, instead, these doors retracted in on themselves, revealing an interior that could easily house two standard-sized vehicles.

No vehicles inhabited the camouflaged structure tonight, however. In fact, nothing appeared to be within the dark confines. Almost as soon as the entrance was fully open, the doors re-extended to their original closed positions. Only someone standing just outside the garage would have been able to perceive the sound of footsteps exiting through the doors, continuing out about thirty feet and then stopping.

That same anonymous someone (if still able to perceive anything after being caught trespassing on this particular property,) might have stared about in amazed wonder and not a little fright as the whine of small but powerful turbo-prop engines cycled up, apparently out of thin air. Their gaze might abruptly travel upward as the whine rose into the night sky, and then fading until gone.

***

The rush of the wind always exhilirated him, as did the bird's-eye perspective of looking down on all those scurrying surface dwellers. For despite his subterranean existence, Spawn affected to think of himself as someone - something - beyond metahuman... something better.

Tonight, however, the thrill of flight seemed dulled. Tonight, his demeanor was darker than usual. This meeting had his paranoid instincts on edge. 'Why now?' he thought. 'After all these years, why get the old team together now? And in some secluded warehouse?'
The whole thing stank of a setup. No stranger to subterfuge and double-cross, he - was the world not rife with conspiracy and predators? - there was still the nagging question of why.

'Perhaps a bit of legwork is in order,' he mused, and ran a datasearch on the location of the meet, initially looking for general info (current ownership, last known use of the premises, etc.) As this search could take some time, Spawn minimized the prog and set the alarm to signal when complete.
Logic 4 + Data Search 4 + Seattle Area Knowledge 5
13d6.hits(5) → [5,5,6,1,3,4,3,3,6,4,2,1,5] = (5)

Carbonado, Puyallup. Not the most hospitable of Seattle's lower-class sections. Spawn adjusted the R6 respirator he'd purchased earlier today for this meeting. The thing on his face felt a bit claustrophobic, but he'd get used to it. It was better than contracting some damn disease on top of everything else.

Some time later, on approach to his destination, Spawn circled the perimeter of the warehouse from a height of about three-hundred feet. He wanted to get a good look at the building and its surroundings before going in for a landing.
Observe in Detail
Intuition 3 + Perception 3 + Actively Looking 2
8d6.hits(5) → [6,5,3,5,4,4,3,2] = (3)

Satisfied (somewhat, at least,) Spawn brought the Sparrow in for a landing on the warehouse roof. From here he could keep an eye on the others as they arrived before they were aware of his presence. In the shadows, one survived by taking any advantage that presented itself. And Spawn had every intention of surviving this meeting.
So as the FPMV gave off the occasional tick as its engines cooled, Spawn, virtually invisible in his chameleon bodysuit, watched the parking lot from above like a bird of prey on the hunt.

Sha'hGrim woke up a little bit tight. Tighter than usual, and her back was sore. It was, likely the result of the exercize from the day before. It had been slightly more challenging than usual, but that was "part and parcel“ as they say with the Training. Sha’hGrim rotated her head sideways, first to the right, and then to the left. She wasn’t looking for anything, so much as really trying to get a feel on how bad the soreness was. Was it pervasive? Or mostly effusive? The latter, of course, would be preferable.
She sat up, being careful not to move her legs, and stretched her arms up high. Sha’hGrim was an early riser, much to the chagrin of her bedmate, and close friend, Chasky. Well, either Chasky or Jenny. It was hard to know which one had managed to get there first on each individual night... But either way, one of them always slept on the base of her bed. And being what they were, Sha’hGrim didn’t want to find out how they would react to an abrupt awakening. At least, she didn’t want to find out how they would react to her being the cause of that abrupt awakening.
Sha’hGrim looked down, peering at the Great Cat in an attempt to determine which of the two was lounging there. Not surprisingly, the Cat had laid down with it’s back against the footboard, making it quite simple to determine which was lying with her.
“Chasky... Time to get up.“ She said in her sing-song morning voice. Despite the work she had done with them, first training them to accept her as their "Alpha“, followed by "Defense Training“ and "Task Completion“, followed by "House Breaking“, she still wasn’t certain if they could understand her individual language, specifically, or if they were just able to follow the patterns of sounds that she emitted. Of course, like any animal owner, she was too afraid of de-training to ever actually experiment.
The Cat lifted it’s head and fixed Sha’hGrim with what she was certain was a glare. It would likely come back in here and lie down while she took care of her morning chores, including seeing to the feeding of her various pets. The Cats would be up and about roughly around the same time as she was ready to sit down and feed herself. Which was no accident on her part, as she intentionally included their eating with hers as a part of their training. She wanted them to feel the "inclusion“ as being a part of the pack, more or less. Particularly since she, unlike most animal trainers, didn’t have the slightest fear of ever losing a challenge – Sha’hGrim cheated...
She grinned down at the Cat as it grudgingly lumbered off the bed, landing without the slightest sound, even in the relative silence of her country home. Of course, the home was part of the reason why she kept the Cats in the house with her. City living had it’s own issues, but arranging for security was one of the benefits. Out here, it was a little more straight forward in regards to that. Sha’hGrim knew that her security company would send out some well-trained muscle within 30 minutes of an alarm going off. But in most cases, that amounted to a "Clean-up Crew“ for her. If she didn’t have the tools to survive those 30 minutes alone, they would be cleaning her up. If she did, it would be the other guys. Simple. Straightforward.


The first was for recent work. Though it could be completely ignored for today.
Sha’hGrim retired after breakfast to deal with "Business“. The same as every day. Though this day was holding a surprise for her. She had two Commlinks, with two numbers. The second was known only by her old team, and her Fixer – a necessary precaution, lest the "Ghosts“ come out of the woodwork. It had been a clean one, post Crash. It was kept on Hidden mode at all times, and was the best model available today. Though it had cost her a few nuyen to buy it, she accepted that if it were to start getting regular use, she would still have to get a data-wiz to upgrade it beyond it’s stock capabilities. It was a dangerous number for her to keep, as it’s un-titled saved numbers were equally dangerous for the rest of the team to keep. They knew the risk, as did she.
Sha’hGrim opened up the 'link, looking at it apprehensively. She popped an earbud in and listened to the message, her apprehension deepening. This was not turning out to be a good morning, which was a shame, because her Cats were good company. She opened the office door and stepped out, looking down at the expectant faces of her Cats. Of course, "looking down“ was only a relative term. They would be head and shoulders taller than her if they stood on two legs. As it was, they could lick her face with only barely stretching their necks.
They knew something was wrong. Their faces told her so. That and their silence.
“Yeah, I know. It’s not good. Not just a tough job, like the other times. This time, it’s not good.“ Maybe they did actually understand her... Those looks aren’t confusion, they’re appologetic comprehension.
“I’m going to bring one of you, and one of the ferrets. And I’m going to do my summoning now. We’ve got to go check this place out. And maybe it’s time to bind a few spirits again. It’s foolish of me to walk around without some favors to call...“ She said, noting the strange way that the Cats turned their heads slightly, listening intently. One of them let out a slight whistle, low enough in pitch for Sha’hGrim to hear. She looked at her and smiled.
“Well, I appreciate the volunteering.“ She said to Jenny, wondering again if they actually could understand her. Unfortunately, the Spirits she used to get the Cats to follow more complex instructions were unable to access the Cat’s thoughts, and so couldn’t tell her. And there was no way she was going to risk the Cat in an Inhabitation ritual. That was only to be used on feral animals. Not friends. At least with Possession, when the Spirit had completed it’s work, Sha’hGrim got to keep her Cat.

Summon Force 7 Spirit Magic 7 + Conjuring 5 = 12
6 hits
Spirit Resist = Force = 7
1 hit (5 Services!)
Drain Resist against 2 stun: Cha 7 + Will 5 = 12
2 hits (No Drain!)

OOC Note: I will post the remainder tonight...

The past while, Alexia had not bothered with setting alarms. however being as she always went to sleep within the same time every night she didn't need the alarm because she would wake up around the same time every day. Today was no different, Except for the fact that there was the missed call on her link. she checked the number and listened to the message. Unease creeping into her, something just wasn't right about that message. No surprise to her when a few minutes later she gets a call from Spade, someone whom she hadn't heard anything from for awhile.

Alexia had kept her only link from back then, well the number at least. she never failed to upgrade her stuff when it became obsolete with the cutting edge of what she could get. Though the contact information she had never stored on her phone, as her memory was superb she remembered all the contacts she's had over the last 60 years.

she went into the kitchen and prepared herself something to eat and think about what she should do. The entire thing just didn't smell right, what was that missed call about and why after all this time would spade even bother starting to call people from the old team. the thought grimly amused her, what would they say when they first saw her after all this time and she hadn't aged? Oh they knew about what she was, knew how old she claimed to be though she didn't think they believed her at all when they were running together. Not that that mattered it was bound to happen when your form looks like a human girl in her late teens early twenties, its they eyes at that point that depict someones age, there's a wisdom in them that can only be obtained through time. Unfortunately though many probably wouldn't take to kindly to her longevity as she has lived as long as most humans would, and most definitely longer than any particular individual of her race.

As she was debating on what she should or shouldn't bring she started to do some digging, for information regarding the warehouse
Data Search + Browse (8d6.hits(5)=3)
Data Search + Browse (8d6.hits(5)=2, 8d6.hits(5)=3, 8d6.hits(5)=3)
She set the program to keep digging after after it initially found some information, until she became satisfied with the results. though it would take several minutes she kept going through her lists of gear. She realized that although it was a little less inconspicuous, her best bet was to take her vehicle fully loaded. if something were to go down its armor would be more than helpful plus her additions to it, made it a practical mobile fortress.

Once she made all her preparations she set out and headed over to Henry's shop and picked up a (R6) Respirator and headed over to the location.
She parked her bus a few blocks away and changed into the gear she would use for the meet. She broke out her form fitting armor, she had always loved the thing
because it had always snugged her form and accentuated the areas that had the tendency to draw stares. The only issue was trying to fit her tail into it, but once that was done the rest of it "zipped up" rather easily. she then slithered into her Camouflage suit, this one she made sure had a slot in it that would conceal her tail. after a bad experience of getting it caught once during a job, it had taken weeks for it to heal properly and the amount of time she lavished on the upkeep of her tail she had no desire to injure it. after getting into her armor she strapped on her link and put the earbuds in and attached the subvocalmic, and put the glasses on.

She staked out the place for a few minutes taking here handheld sensor pointing it at the warehouse and listened to whatever was going on there
Audio Perception (17d6.hits(5)=2) not feeling like that was enough information she listened again 17d6.hits(5)=6 After listening to the sounds around the building she took a few moments to look at the area and to assense the location Visual Perception (14d6.hits(5)=5), Assensing (10d6.hits(5)=1) Frustrated with herself because she feels like she's missing something that's staring her right in her face she assenses the area again Assensing (10d6.hits(5)=3)

feeling that shes now gathered most of the information she could before the heading to meet Spade she took one last precaution and divined the building 'is anything going to be of harm to me while i'm in the building' is the question she wanted answers to, hopefully this will get her some answers Divining (8d6.hits(5)=4) Now feeling satisfied that she had taken all the precautions she could before heading out, she left the bus and headed to the warehouse.

Andrealphus checks his suit in the mirrors, as well as his masking[13d6.hits(5) → [5,2,3,2,4,2,3,5,4,6,4,3,6] = (4) for four hits Masking] while wondering about that message, as well as how in the hell Spade got his number. This stunk of a set-up, and he wasn't taking any chances, just yet. He came out of his room, checked in with security, informing them that he would be out, and a young man would be there momentarily to babysit. He went to the door, and opened it just before Saint Diablo could knock.

"Rebecca's in bed." He said to his young apprentice, "If you need anything, you know where the kitchen is. Tonight's identifying phrase for security is Tutenkhamen. If Rebecca wakes up, her favorite story's on the table by her door. Any questions?"

"No, boss. Something wrong?" The former ganger asked, trying not to show his concern.

"Just a bit of old business," Andrealphus replied, "something that should have stayed in the past."

At this, Andrealphus went to the garage, and climbed on his Contrail. "We ride tonight. Attend me."

His spirits manifest around him, seemingly on bikes as he guns the engine and heads towards Puyallup. His spirits surround him, revelling in the chance of mayhem and destruction that is coming. As they top the rise leading to the warehouse, he comes to a stop and scans out over the wretched vista before him[9d6.hits(5) → [3,1,5,4,3,6,5,1,6] = (4) four hits on Assenssing] watching as old comrades arrive, knowing that Alexia will spot him if she turns around, and Spawn has already seen him. He silently chuckles into his respirator, then dials up Spawn on his Commlink. "So, chummer. How do you want to run this? Want me to be the decoy in this, or should we let the fox go in first?"

Continuing his overwatch on the premises, Spawn took another focused look around.
Observe In Detail
Perception 3 + Intuition 3 + Actively Looking 2
8d6.hits(5) → [1,3,3,1,1,4,3,3] = (0)
He couldn't spot anything of interest visually, but that didn't mean there was nothing out there to find.
The collapsed door piqued his wariness, so he decided to break communication silence in an unfamiliar and potentially enemy-held location and scan the area for any wireless signals.
Electronic Warfare 6 + Logic 4 + Stealth 5 + Scan 5
20d6.hits(5) → [2,2,4,6,5,1,4,3,3,5,1,2,4,6,4,3,3,4,3,3] = (4)
Before his scan completed, Spawn's comm bleeped an incoming communique:
"So, chummer, how do you want to run this? Want me to be the decoy in this, or should we let the fox go in first?"

"Not enough fraggin intel at present, Andre," Spawn responded to his old teammate over his micro-transceiver. "Couldn't find drek on the location related to the bastitch currently owning the premises, but here's what I did find:
The place used to be a machine & equipment supply house for fraggin local farmboy slots until Mt Ranier blew her top. Now its just a condemned old drekhouse held together with bat spit and rat turds. Point of note: one of the big bay doors has fallen off, presumably from fraggin corrosion, so its open to the outside. If anyone's in there, its likely they already know we're fraggin here. So much for surprise, eh omae? As for letting the fox into the henhouse, there's less danger if all the hens are still outside, meh?"

Edgar looks to the helmet setting on the workbench next to where he's working as a familiar ding from a comm fills the silence. A puzzled look crosses his face as he links his cybereyes to the commlink built into the helmet and realizes it wasn't making the noise. Once again a ding rings out through the garage, as he stands looking for where the noise is coming from, the tools as well as some parts to his rifle drop to the floor. With an annoyed grumble he ignores the fallen objects for the time being while he searches through some drawers.

After a short bit of time and many more rings he manages to locate the offending device, a look of concern crossing his face. As the display powers up he notices the mysterious missed call as well as the weird message from Spade. As he makes his way back to the bench he continues to stare at the message on the comm he hadn't seen, let alone used in several years. The hair on the back of his neck stands on end as he looks up a map to the meeting place.

Taking a few minutes to put the rifle back together and grab the rest of his gear he places the brunt of his equipment, mostly the explosives in the shielded compartment in his van. As he drops his rifle into the rack in the van his chief of security pops his head around the back of the van.

"Goin' somewhere?" his gruff voice echoing inside the van. "Just gotta run an errand, old business rearing its head." With a nod the guard heads back to his post. With a slight shake of his head he continues loading up his equipment before backing the van out of the hidden entrance.

As he approaches the designated meeting place he stops his van about a half mile from the abandoned warehouse. For a moment he ponders how to go about this, several thoughts running through his mind. Slowly making his way to the back of the van he stares a moment at the massive weapon securely attached to the rack, after a moment his eyes drift to the smg hanging just below the cannon. With a slight nod he slips his handgun into its holster at his hip and checks to make sure he's got a full clip. Taking the smg down he slaps a fresh clip in and loads a round into the chamber. Finally he takes down the rifle and mounts it to the smartgun platform facing towards the back of the van.

Finally satisfied with his preparations he hops back into the driver's seat and makes his way down to the warehouse and pulls up beside open bay door.

The message concerned Darkon. What did Spade plan? He vanished after the job. Darkon even suspected his death. Of course, someone might have found his comlink and sent the message. I should be careful.

Carefully, he squeezed himself into the full body suit. It fit like a glove. Then he put on his suit. Black trousers, black shirt, dark red silk vest and a matching neckpiece that hid the throat microphone. he adjusted the earplug too. His UrbanWarrior was tucked safely in the concealing holster. Then he put on the lined coat. Black with red collar and cuffs.When he reached for his staff, telling it: "It is time to meet the dead." Robyn entered the room. "Where are you going?" She asked.

Darkon smiled at her. "I am on to something. It might be nothing." Robyn smiled excitedly. "Can I come too?" The red headed girl asked. But Darkon shook his head. "No. If this is something, it is something. Much too dangerous for you." He lifted a hand just in time to silence her protest. "You have made good progress. But you still have a lot to learn." With that, he put a hand on her slender shoulder. "Stay here and have an eye on Brighid please. It would take one worry off my mind." Robyn nodded bravely. "Ok. But you better come back in one piece or I come and get you." He saw the worry in her eyes. Her voice was very quiet now. Almost a whisper. "I've got a bad feeling about this." Darkon squeezed her shoulder. "So do I. But the best defense is attack. And thus I go. And I am not as stupid as I look." He winked at her which made her giggle. "I will take precautions," he said, becoming serious for a moment.

Darkon opened the door leading to the room that held his lodge. He felt the power in this room at once. Tapestries hung at the walls, a curtain darkened the one window. Five stones, looking like miniature menhirs, made up a ring in the middle of the room. On the floor, in midst of the stones, there was a carpet. And on the carpet a granite bowl filled with sand. Darkon took a lighter and heated up a small coal until it started to burn. He put the coal on the sand and then had a few grains of insence fall onto it.

The smell filled his nostrils and the smoke trailed upwards. Darkon reached out into the astral and called, beckoned. “Come to me. I ask for your help.” He murmured quietly, lips barely moving. But his thoughts, given speed by the mana, found one.

Conjuring a spirit of air. Force 5. Magic7+Conjuring4=11d (11d6.hits(5)=4)

Opposed summoning roll from the summoned Spirit of Air. force 5 (5d6. hits(5)=1) (Three net successes for Darkon, means three services by the spirit)

The smoke whirled around and formed the figure of a sylph. She was delicate and seemed fragile. But that only belied her powers. She was clearly visible in the astral space. A gasp from the doorframe told Darkon that Robyn had managed to peek into the astral too.

Drain from summoning a spirit: Cha7 +Will6= 13d Threshold 2 (=spirits success *2) (13d6. hits(5)=6)

I greet you, my friend. And I ask for your help. Protect me from harm and conceal my trail so nobody can follow me where I go to and when I go home.

The sylph bowed her head acknowledging. He felt she would do what she can to protect him. Darkon nodded. "I will see you later, Robyn. If you have not heard of me within... let's say three days, pack up your stuff and Brighid, and then head for Nekosunes hideout. Behind the wood panels in the living room there is a hidden compartment. Open it and take what's in there." While instructing her, Darkon had walked towards the front door. He closed it with the words: "Let's hope it won't get that far."

A while later, his car stopped, maybe a hundred meters from the building. Darkon had bought a respirator on the way. He observed from the outside for about a minute, using his astral perception. Then he looked for mundane threads like drones, using his binoculars.

Assensing test of the building and the surrounding area for threads. Int5+assensing4+actively looking2-background1=10d (9d6. hits(5)=1) (Gosh what a roll... just one hit)

Perception test. Int5+Perception2+actively looking2=9d (using binoculars, might reduce mali) (9d6. hits(5)=2)

When he was sure, there was no immediate danger, he took his staff out of it's hold in the car and approached the building, still carefully.

For all the looking around everyone did outside the abandoned warehouse, the only thing each saw was each other and some definite signs of rats. There were older signs of others having been here half obscured and buried in the ash. There was old graffiti on the walls, a fair bit of trash left about, mostly buried under fine layers of volcanic ash, but no recent footprints, at least not on this side of the building at any rate. It was certainly easy to spot people coming some distance off as the land was fairly barren. No plants lived in this area, the volcanic ash having killed almost all plant life about. Still, some semblance of life clung to the place, wounded as it may be by weather and lack of food. Certainly the rats in the building seemed to have been fairing relatively well, though anyone getting a good look at them would notice that even they tended to be on the smaller side and slightly malnourished. Beyond that however they seemed to largely ignore the presence of all these big tall things gathering outside.

Once everyone gathered outside and came closer, deeper inside the building a small public AR node flashed online and started blinking. The signal was weak out here, obviously designed for short range, though it seemed to do little more than put out a low chiming sound and a small VR icon of a light bulb turning on and off. Even a quick check of the signal's location would easily show it coming from the second floor office

Meanwhile a fine sprinkle of fresh volcanic ash started to drift down like snowflakes on a light winter day, yet more outpouring from the active volcano not so far away that had rendered everything around it into such a desolate state.

A bright glowing orb of light appeared next to Sha'hGrim. The light got brighter and darker, almost throbbing to some Rhythm that only the spirit could detect.
"Welcome." Sha'hGrim said to the spirit, nodding her head toward it. Sha'hGrim was a Magician of the school of thought that Spirits knew how you treated them, and "gossiped" about it in their worlds. She always assumed that her actions were maintained in some scoreboard somewhere, and that all summoned Spirits knew that she treated her services with respect, and the Spirits serving her as an equal.
"I am going to be heading in to an uncomfortable situation, which has a very real possibility of being dangerous. I may need your services in protecting me, as I am not certain what to expect when I arrive there. Please accompany me?" Her request was an interesting one. Sha'hGrim had always been as polite as possible to her spirits, and had never requested a Spirit to use a service in a way in which it would be harmed or otherwise left uncomfortable. Interestingly, she had never had a Spirit express discontent with her actions either, and thus had never been in a situation where her requests were denied.
Despite the potential for an interesting situation, however, the Spirit responded in the affirmative, indicating it's willingness to work with Sha'hGrim on this task. "Yes, Sha'hGrim. That will be acceptable." Sha'hGrim nodded again, toward the orb. She had never witnessed another spirit, summoned by other Magicians, in the form of this spirit. And, indeed, had seen other Magicians summoning Guidance Spirits.
"Thank you." She said, unaware as the Spirit was, of the conscious dilemma which had just passed her. The spirit wasn't playful enough, at heart, to want to force the situation, but it had known about this potential the moment it had heard her call. Others of it's kind had reported a similar situation with her in their service to her in the past, and had commented on the amusement they felt as they had reviewed this possible dilemma themselves.

Sha'hGrim, now having completed her preparation, loaded herself, the Ferret, and Chasky in to the truck. The Ferret was in the back, in one of the built in Cages she had for transportation of her pets. Chasky was too large, and willful, to attempt to keep in a cage. He was given free reign in the truck, though he knew his boundaries well. He started out in the Passenger seat, perched there like Sha'hGrim was his chaufer. This, of course, was an unsurprising behavioural trait for his kind. As all people knew how housecats treated their owners, Chasky, being a Great Cat had a very similar disposition to Sha'hGrim. The Guidance Spirit bobbed along in Sha'hGrim's conciousness, out of sight for the moment, as it's presence was unnecessary at the moment.
The drive was quick and easy enough, with one stop for a new Respirator which she didn't have at home. She hadn't really had a reason to have one until now. Her 'Running was infrequent, and only engaged enough to manage her Animal Costs, as they arose. She pulled around a building, some distance away, and saw the clear and obvious easy with which her approach could be reviewed. Internally, Sha'hGrim cursed herself for her choice in Spirits. - I should have gone with a a Man, or perhaps Fire. Then I would have been able to approach undetected..." She thought to herself, lamenting that Guidance Spirits don't have the Concealment power. Seeing that there was no opportunity, Sha'hGrim simply drove directly to the Warehouse, noting that she was not the first one there. Perhaps, even, the last.
Stepping out of her truck, Sha'hGrim saw Alexia turn her head at the approach of a new vehicle. Darkon was approaching the open Warehouse Bay Door as well, and Edgar had just pulled up not far from where Sha'hGrim was parked. Sha'hGrim gave a half-wave to each of them, letting her memories come back to her mind, remembering her feelings and thoughts on each of them, her opinions and judgements.
Sha'hGrim turned her face back in to the Truck, reaching in and pulling out the respirator.
"You ready?" She said to Chasky, watching as his ears pricked up and he stood up. Sha'hGrim turned her attention back to the spirit, it's light pulsing in her consciousness. She willed it to return to her presence and thanked it for returning.
"Thank you for coming. I need you to Possess Chasky, and use his body as your tool for this task. Would you do that please?" She said to the Guidance Spirit. Of course, her request was entirely mental, and therefore immune to being overheard. It was also instantaneous, and was happening as Chasky was standing up.
Possession was a simple thing for a Spirit to do, particularly on a creature which had already been enchanted. Sha'hGrim didn't like having to have Chasky possessed, at least, not so soon. But she didn't have a choice, really. She couldn't ask Chasky to stay in the car; it would drive him crazy. Nor could she bring him, not without the protection that the spirit offered his body against the Volcanic Ashe. Chasky wouldn't wear a respirator. But with the Spirit possessing his body, he didn't need one.
Spirit Possession Attempt: 6 Hits
Chasky's Resistance: 2 Hits - Possession Successful.

Once the Spirit had taken control of Chasky's body, Sha'hGrim moved aside, allowing it to exit the vehicle. Sha'hGrim noted that she would need to give Chasky some extra treats when she returned. This was not something either of her Cats was comfortable with, though they were well used to it by now. - And I think they even know that it's important to me, she thought to herself, returning to the task at hand.
Sha'hGrim walked forward, the Cat at her side. Since Chasky's body likely outweighed Sha'hGrim by a 15% margin, or more, she didn't put her hand on it. It would have been uncomfortable anyway, as the shoulder of the Cat was well above her waist, and approached her rib cage.
Sha'hGrim walked forward, joining Darkon and Alexia, and peering back over her shoulder at Edgar who was exiting his vehicle now. She didn't bother locking her truck, as it would lock itself. Besides, there wasn't anyone around who would want to tamper with it at the moment. With the Protection, it was safe from all but the most determined attempts to steal/tamper with it anyway, and someone with training would be able to bypass anything but Sha'hGrim herself to get in.
"Have you heard from anyone else?" She asked casually, not directing the question to either Darkon or Alexia specifically.
"And do we know where they are?" She added quickly.
Just as the team was gathering, Sha'hGrim sent her second and third commands to her spirit.
"Please Guard and Magical Guard me from this point forward?" She mentally asked the spirit, sending the thought to it through their telepathic link. Sha'hGrim had been the recipient of the spell Telepathic Link once, and had noticed that it did not work in any sort of similarity to this effect. The spell had a distance limitation, and was unable to span Planar separations. The Spirit Link was much more powerful, more profound, than this. It allowed her to speak with her spirits across unlimited distances, and even across the boundaries of the Planes. But from this distance, there was no difference at all.
- I need to bind some more spirits... Sha'hGrim thought, her second lament of the day. She had grown lax in her Magical Security, knowing that most situations did not even call for the maximum power she could bring to bear with but one summoned spirit. She hadn't needed the services of two Spirits simultaneously since The Job. And now the crew was back together.
Sha'hGrim looked both Darkon and Alexia in the eye, waiting for an answer to her question.

Alexia, noted Sha's approach, she didnt say anything at first and once she got to the warehouse she placed her back to oneside of the open doorway and initiated her chamelian suit. drawing a weapon she then spoke to Sha using her subvocal sorry hun, haven heard anything from anyone else yet. I'm not even sure if spade is even here yet She pulled out of one of the main compartments a sturdy pair of sleek looking glasses placed them on her face and droped to the ground to take a peek inside of the room while flipping on the thermographic enhancement to take a glance around the building. she discounted all the small moving heat sources she would see as they would only be rats ([color=chocolate]Perception (16d6.hits(5)=1)[/chocolate] wow that roll sucked) Alexia switched back to being fully concealed from the doorway, she didn't like being exposed to the fatal funnel when she didn't have to but, sometimes its necessary. She stood back up and brushed the ash off of her, taking the glasses of and placing them back in the case and into the pocket once again. she made sure her pistol was ready to go and hit a few commands to ready the turret on her bus. she widened the receivers of her subvocal to all of her old teammates

I cant tell whats in there besides the fact of a lot of rats. the Ash around here is interfering with to much, there might be something or someone up in the second floor office but i cant be sure. However i should note that something is definitely going to happen while were here. or to be more precise while i'm here, though i'm not exactly sure as to what or if its going to be hostile or not. But as were all aware better to prepare for the worst with the finishing of her statement she ducked down and around the corner quickly and disappeared towards the left corner of the building closest to there entrance she was at. once there she ducked and jumped behind cover. Infiltration (9d6.hits(5)=2)

once there she readied herself in a defensive fighting position to give some cover to the rest of the as they entered. ant taking another look around the room for if she missed anything the first time (Perception (16d6.hits(5)=1) wow IC is hating me today)

Inside the warehouse there were at least some more recent signs of life, though many of them were still old. There were a few metal trash cans that had clearly hosted a fire or two, as well as one actually well defined campfire spot and the floor near them was littered with refuse, including in one case an old rotten sleeping bag that had long since been abandoned and some one's left glove in equally bad shape. A fine layer of volcanic ash covered everything, even inside the warehouse, though the air was at least a good bit clearer here, the building still offering shelter from the worst of it. The AR beacon from the top floor blinks away steadily and anyone getting close to the warehouse office couldn't possibly miss even more recent signs of passing, a clear outline of some one's boots coming from somewhere deeper in the warehouse headed into the offices and the ground floor door was slightly ajar.

From his rooftop vantage, Spawn watched the old team gather near the collapsed warehouse door. Not ready to reveal himself too soon, he watched as Edgar, Darkon, Sha'hGrim, and Alexia came together in a loose group.

"Well, Andre," he murmured to the magician, "looks like gang's all here. Got to get out of this fraggin drekfall. Might as well get this jam started. Heads up, though, there's an active node inside."

He peered down at those below a moment longer, then lightly vaulted over the edge and dropped to the ash-strewn ground near the others.
8d6=3
With his chameleon bodysuit, his catlike and ninja skills, plus some concealment from the rapidly thickening ashfall, the only thing anyone might have perceived of the almost fifty-foot drop Spawn just made was a slight blur in the air.
11d6=5
Falling Damage Resistance
9d6=3
Squatting where he landed; sitting on the heels of his feet, legs forming a V, upper torso forward and propped on his extended hands, Spawn resembled a frog on a lilypad. At least, he would if anyone could see him clearly. He glanced at those standing about, but still felt it safer to remain unnoticed, if possible.

He watched with some sense of relief - and slight admiration - as Alexia seemed to be the only one other than he, and Andre, who understood the need for stealth in this situation.

Silently he rose and moved cautiously to the door through which the girl had just disappeared and, activating all his onboard sensors to full scan levels and drawing his Fubuki, stepped inside.

In the swirling accumulation of ash piling on the ground behind him, there was not a single footprint to mark his passage.

"Me either.." Sha'hGrim replied, keeping her voice very low. She didn't see any practical purpose to using the Sub-Vocal for her at the moment, as she wasn't hiding in any sense. If she had wanted to come in here hidden, no one would have seen her coming. As the thought came in to her head, the Cat at her side stiffened.
"Threat from above." The warning came in to her mind, while the muscles of Chasky bunched up, prepared to spring in to the attack. Sha'hGrim was faster, luckily for Spawn, than the Cat. With the speed that lightning strikes Sha'hGrim switched her senses, muttering something under her breath. Once she could see what the Cat could see, Sha'hGrim immediately recognized an Aura with which she was very familiar. Sha'hGrim placed her hand lightly on the shoulder of the Cat, simultaneously responding to the thought in her head. Just as quickly, Sha'hGrim looked away, hoping that her staring at Spawn for even the merest of moments was not a give-away. She was satisfied being visible. She also knew that Spawn would not be satisfied if she gave him away.
"Not a threat." She mentally stated, helping the spirit to update it's threat sensors. She had worked with spirits of this kind many times in the past, but likely not this one in particular. It was currently Guarding Sha'hGrim, and would treat every potential threat in exactly the same way: A deadly way.
Sha'hGrim kept her vision in the Astral for the moment, keeping her eyes on Spawn as he moved through the doorway and started to "scout". As soon as she was certain that he was here as a team-member, and not as a threat to her, Sha'hGrim flicked her gloved fingers quickly, bringing up Spawn's commlink code. She dialed his 'link, putting Alexia's call on "hold" for the moment. Sha'hGrim was generally unconfortable with "Party" lines.
"Hey, nice landing. I think I would have to search carefully to even find footprints. And I know where to look." Sha'hGrim said to Spawn as soon as he picked up.
"Want me to link in Lexi?" She added immediately after. As much as she appreciated what he had learned to make his body do, she did need to ask the two "Scouts" to hang back a second while she sent her Watchers out to search the building.

Summoning a Watcher: 4 Hits
Watcher Resist: 1 Hit
Drain Resist: 3 Hits - No Drain

"Please report to me the number of Metahumans currently in this building." Sha'hGrim mentally asked of her Watcher as soon as it appeared. It would take it a few minutes to do it's searching, but she didn't want that to be a moving target. Since Sha'hGrim wasn't one of those super-computer coders, she didn't have the knack for creating a set of instructions which would exclude her two companions already inside, but also still include all others. She would just have to refine the Watcher's instructions once it came back. Thankfully, her instructions were specific enough, yet still broad enough, that it shouldn't take it too long to locate that particular answer.

Spawn felt a slight tension release in his shoulders and the center of his upper back. The tone of Sha'hGrim's voice was evidence that she harbored no threat to him. He accessed her signal and replied, sotto voce:
"Sha'hGrim, you know, I would have been disappointed if I'd gotten past you unnoticed. Which of your cats do you have with you? Its been too many years, I can't remember which is which. And yeah, go ahead an link in Alexia. That girl has learned a lot about infiltration...she had to...we all did. Anybody else on the link?"

As he spoke, Spawn carefully moved further into the ground floor warehouse, scanning constantly for anyone, or anything, suspicious.
He kept an eye on Alexia as well, wondering if the girl would detect his presence on her own or react when Sha'hGrim gave her the word.
More to set up a recon relay point than hiding from Alexia - though he'd rank the girl if she didn't notice him herself - Spawn faded back into the shadows, away from the light coming through the bay entrance, and squatted lightly against one wall. In seconds his chameleon suit copied his surroundings, shrouding the man in almost total darkness.

Now that he'd attained a decent scouting position, Spawn switched his commlink to Andre's signal:
"Ok, omae, I'm inside. Heard from Sha'hGrim, seems to be frosty. She's linking Alexia in, too. You want to join in or maintain discretion?"

"Yeah. But I cheat." Sha'hGrim replied. It's not really cheating, when you're using your tools to your advantage, but her tools were most certainly using a set of "rules" that aren't normally included in the Infiltration Game, so to speak. Generally speaking, Ninja-style training does not include tools to beat a Magician's Astral Sight. That stuff is far from simple.
"And I'd have to cheat even more to be as invisible as you. This one's Chasky. I've got a few new pets too, and lost a few of the old ones. But the Cats are both still with me. The other's Jenny." She added. Sha'hGrim wasn't sure how much the rest of the team actually knew about her personal Magical Tradition, as the only time she'd ever used it to full effect had been in the heat of the hottest battle she'd ever even heard of, let alone experienced. While simply surviving certainly hinted at something extraordinary, considering that she was a Magician, it was unlikely that any of the rest of the team had had a chance to take a close look at her at that point. That said, they knew enough already. She would have told them, if they'd ever asked.

Sha'hGrim flicked her fingers a bit more, linking in Alexia to her open line with Spawn.

"Lexi, I just linked in Spawn. You two can keep looking around in there, but let's keep a low profile. I just sent a Watcher in to take a Metahuman count in the Warehouse. Soon as I get an answer, we'll at least know how many we're up against. Then, while we head in, I'll ask it to tell me how many "living signatures" it can detect on that second floor there. Though, that will take me a bit of time to word properly... Watchers aren't the sharpest tool in the shed." She said.
"Oh, and I hope you don't mind me staying visible. You'll hide better if whoever is watching has someone to watch." Sha'hGrim added. Just for effect, Sha'hGrim turned and started scanning outside, looking around at the vehicles, and Edgar who was now standing even with her. She nodded to him once, not saying anything yet.

"Also, Spawn, have you heard from anyone else yet? Lexi and I haven't." Sha'hGrim asked, after a few moments.

"Not sure who's out there," Spawn responded to Sha'hGrim's question.

Andreaphus had not made his presence known to anyone other than Spawn, and it was not up to Spawn to give the mage's location away. Spawn had, however, spotted someone he thought was Darkon, but wasn't completely certain.

"There may be a couple of others lurking about, not ready to reveal themselves just yet."

Spawn continued to watch Alexia poke around. He had intended to rag the girl, but he had to admit that there were not many who could spot him when he chose not to be seen...he quirked a smirk...well, at least not many who were mundane.

Infiltration Test (
11d6.hits(5)= 3
(Kesslan, here's a Threshold for anyone attempting to spot Spawn. Note: Chameleon Suit confers a -4 to Perception tests.)

"K." Sha'hGrim replied, not sure whether or not Spawn would have known that Andrealphus was already here. For his part, he had been hidden well. She hadn't seen him while driving in, though he glowed like the Moon in a cloudless sky on the Astral. As soon as she had shifted her Sight she had seen him. And it had been him.
"See anything in there yet?" She asked both of them, completing her slow turn. This was one of the few times that Sha'hGrim actually regretted not being an "Emancipated" magician. It would have been fun to wave to Andre. But she wouldn't dare do any such thing in the physical. But that was not to be. Sha'hGrim, like all other Adepts, was stuck in her body.

Sha'hGrim turned to Edgar, nodding again.
"So, Edgar, been in touch with anyone?" She asked hesitantly. These people had pulled through some tough times with her, and she knew she could trust them. At least as far as she could throw them. And she had been in some seriously hairy situations since then, with people she had never met. This was strange, uncomfortable, and tickled her spine in all the wrong ways. But at least she had a solid team with her this time around... - I hope... She thought to herself, meetin Edgar's gaze.

Darkon approached the entrance, linking himself into the comlink conversation. The old team together? I am so glad I am a nostalgic, he subvocalized while he switched his sight to the astral again and scanned the inside of the building.

Assensing the inside of the building for metahuman signatures. Int5+ assensing4+actively looking2=11d (11d6. hits(5)=2)

It was swarming with life. Did you also notice that someone is playing siren on us Odysseuses? The shaman leaned onto his staff, seemingly unfazed by any of this. I assume if we were wanted merely dead, we would already be killed. So this might become interesting. His humorous grin was typical for him. Just like old times. Anyway, it seemed he had not aged a day.

"Well met, Darkon. Good to hear your voice again." Sha'hGrim said, turning and making eye contact with him.
"I, for one, agree. While I don't think I want to walk in there completely unaware, there isn't really any reason to be so worried of being noticed. I figure if it were me setting the trap, I would have sprung it long-since. There's nothing in this building worth saving, afterall, if not for us." She said, matching his tone and grin. Though, of course, the grin was covered... Sha'hGrim turned back to her perusal of the Warehouse, waiting for her Watcher to report in; or the two Scouts.

A few more moments past uneventfully before her impatience was rewarded. Sha'hGrim switched back to her Party Line with Alexia and Spawn. Since he hadn't answered on Alexia's Open Line yet, Sha'hGrim didn't want to give him up.
"Ok kids, I got a report. Sounds like there are only two Metahumans in there. Since I know who those are, I think it's safe for you two to take a deeper look. Any trap waiting for us doesn't seem to involve meat." She said, sharing her news. Sha'hGrim decided that anyone listening in on the full-line deserved to know what was going on too. Taking a step inside, now that her entering the building wouldn't confuse the Watcher, Sha'hGrim reached over to Chasky to stroke him behind the ear. It was an inadvertent stroke, mostly out of habit, so she didn't really realize what she was doing until the Spirit responded. - The Beast whose body I am occupying seems to have an overwhelming fondness for your caress. Please refrain from that action while I am in your service: it is quite distracting.
Sha'hGrim stood straight up and gasped in surprise. The voice in her head wasn't the least bit surprising, but the actual thought, and the sentiment which flowed with it, were astonishing and quite surprising. Sha'hGrim quickly regained control of herself, knowing that her reaction would have been noticed by Alexia at the least. And likely Darkon and Andrealphus as well.
"Just got my report back from the Watcher: There're no other Metas in the building." Sha'hGrim said a moment later, once she was sure she was completely within the building. She wanted to be sure that Alexia and Spawn would have that "plausible deniability" in her statement that she was in the building when she said that there were no others. - I apologize. That was not my intention. Sha'hGrim replied to the Guidance Spirit. She sent her heartfelt apology through to it, wishing that it would accept her sentiment. - It was quite pleasant, actually. And affirming of your nature. I did not consider the feeling to be unpleasant, merely distracting. And considering the work you are asking me to do, it may not be ideal. The spirit sent back, it's feelings a mixing of bemused and contented. Sha'hGrim was confused, but figured that this was not the time to work this particular issue out. She took another step inside, noting that the ash inside the building was quite a bit less prolific than outside; though still ubiquitous.

After hearing sha' stating that there was no other meta's in the building besides herself and spawn she stood up and looked over at spawn, she noted his glances in her direction what? What is it? Is my tail showing? she selfconciously grabs at her backside but as to be expected nothing was there but the cloth of her camouflage suit. She thin shrugged a bit and re-adopted her normal playfully appearance. However she remained on guard as she started heading cautiously towards the stairs and the second floor office.

Im going to assume that was you playing with the pigeons earlier spawn? You should leave the flying to them you not so good at it without your machines. she laughed a bit as she walked up the stairs then turned and waited for the others to start following.

The way up is easy enough to follow, given that the proper path seems to be clearly marked out in the dust by the boot prints that proceeded through the ground floor doorway and up the stairs to the second level. There wasn't much in the way of rooms, to pass through however and what few there are were mostly empty save for the odd piece of run down furniture. The interior was however at least a fair bit cleaner than the rest of the place though even in here a fine layer of dust was everywhere. Notably most of the doors were long off their hinges on the inside, save the last final room the footsteps lead into, where yet again the door was slightly ajar with the footprints leading on inside. Outside the fall of ash continued at a slightly heavier pace than before, now coming down like a thick black and grey layer of snow that started to cling to everything, but save for delicate electronics and the like, was mostly harmless. And then.. there were the rats, still everywhere, though they were far, far more noticeable inside the office area and could be heard relatively easily. It was clear they had built some sort of nest in the walls around here somewhere, but they seemed to still mostly ignore those around them other than to scamper out of the way.

Anyone proceeding into the building to the offices should make a visual and audio perception test.

"Alexia," Spawn said to the girl, "I know you have a cute hoop, you can stop waving at it."
He grinned, amused at himself and wondering what her reaction would be when his commlink pinged the completion of its scan for wireless signals nearby.
Bringing up the ap to the main overlay image, Spawn felt his hackles rise from the results. The wireless signal in the office was no surprise with the bootprints on the stairs, but the one on the roof was a red flag to his instincts. He quickly let the team in on his discovery.

"Heads up, people," he said to all who were listening on the group link, "I'm picking up a wireless signal on the roof. I don't think its my Sparrow as the signal keeps moving around up there. Someone might want to check out the area before we proceed to the office. I don't relish the idea of an ambush in a confined space, myself."