Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - IC

Darkon smirked. Good, but still not good enough. The pulses of raw extacy were cut off suddenly. But before the soldiers were able to regain their composure, Darkon sent them another, stronger stream.

Cast Orgy F7. Macig7+Sorcery5+focus2-stun1=13d Then Drain F7/2= threshold3 Cha7+Will6=13d (13d6. hits(5)=3, 13d6. hits(5)=3) (3 hits and no drain)

Still not good enough. But let them handle this for a moment. He was not out of ideas yet. But he only had to hold them back long enough for his friend to finish loading. "Sha'hGrim, hurry up!" He called to her. His voice was still calm. Just a reminder that they were not alone. And of course Darkon loved to hear himself talk.

"Here, 'Lex, take..." She mumbled, flying through the task of unlatching the cages, handing 2 animals to Alexia, and grabbing two more herself. - The two owls, and the Bandit on the first trip. She thought to herself, grabbing the two ferrets, and handing them to Alexia. The second Bandit hopped on to her shoulder, and she reached in to the next set of cages and grabbed the two Racoons. - The second Bandit... The Ferrets, and the 'Coons... She counted out each animal, painstakingly assuring herself that they would be included in her getaway.
"We don't have time for this!" Alexia hissed, taking off toward the doorway with the Ferrets. They were squirming in her grip, but not in an uncooperative manner - more just from surprise and excitement. There was indeed a lot going on. Despite Alexia's feelings in the matter, she waited for Sha'hGrim at the barn door, then they both dashed out to the Truck and loaded the last of the Animals.
Sha'hGrim paused at the doorway of the Truck, ignoring the mayhem of the melee going on around her. - Ferret. 2nd Ferret. Bandit. 2nd Bandit. She started counting them off, again, just to be certain.
"Come on Sha'hGrim! Alexia hissed at her, likely noticing that they had just become Targets. The *thump-thump-thump* of bullets striking the ground nearby was soon to follow; but had not arrived yet. - Owl. 2nd Owl... Sha'hGrim continued, oblivious of Alexia's urging. Alexia, ignoring her misgivings, peeked her head around the corner of the Truck door attempting to get a read on their time.
"They're almost here! We have no time!!" She said to Sha'hGrim, in a last-ditch effort to hurry her along.
"Almost done... go - get your truck ready..."
OOC: Kesslan: unless Starcraft wants to roll this - you'll have to do it. I can do the RP part.
Alexia took Sha'hGrim's directive without further complaint, heading around the near side of the Truck and putting herself, likely accidentally, directly in the line of the soon-to-be oncoming fire. Or perhaps it wasn't accidentally. Perhaps Alexia went that way intentionally, so that Sha'hGrim wouldn't take a bullet in the back while she was foolishly counting her Animals to be certain that they were all there.
"I can assure you we have collected them all." The Spirit added it's voice of urgency to Alexia's previous pleas for haste. "I can also tell you that you're running out of time. You must either leave this place, or ready for another Battle." It stated.
"Ok... Time to go." She agreed, finally. All the animals were in their places, except the one Possessed Bandit - which was quite able to choose where to ride on it's own.

Darkon's renewed and invigorated spell certainly had some effect, that much was obvious, but equally obvious was the fact that the soldiers approaching the group were apparently starting to gain some resistance to the spells effects as two didn't even bother to speak any more, but simply started opening fire on the group again with suppression fire. More notably the rounds being used this time were the far less likely to be lethal gel rounds, or at least as Darkon easily noticed as several impacted on his car. Apparently some one out there was at least willing to use 'equal force' rather than simply sit on the standby of the use of only lethal force. That alone spoke volumes, since Corp Sec for larger corporations such as Ares rarely bothered to try and capture runners alive (Though they were far from above taking any survivors captive for interrogation and then usually 'disposing' of them afterwards.)

GM: Gala (1 hit) and Alexia (3 Hits) will need to dodge or soak 6S AP+2 base damage. (Also knockdown as Gels are more likely to cause such if I recall)

"Thanks Darkon!!" Sha'hGrim said, trying to keep her voice just barely over the din of battle.
It had been a heart pounding 30 seconds - one of the most critically exciting, and terrifying, of Sha'hGrim's life. Sha'hGrim finished loading the truck and slammed the back doors shut. Just about that time, the *thump-thump-thump* sound of bullets hitting the barn door behind her announced someone near her, or Sha'hGrim herself, had just recently become a target. She ducked low, waving Alexia toward her own truck, and twisted around the far side of her Truck. Since the original design of the truck was "Bench Seating" style, in the military minimalistic design, she would be able to get in on the passenger side of the Truck. She heard the *ping-ping-ping* of the bullets which had been intended for her hitting the truck body instead; confirming that she had become a target.

Full Defense Dodge: 6 hits

"Jenny: please help them all stay calm?" Sha'hGrim implored as she shut the door of the Truck behind her, scooching over to the Driver's side door. It didn't occur to Sha'hGrim, and likely not to Jenny either, that asking a Great Cat to keep a Ferret or Owl calm was among the most ridiculous notions ever considered. Despite the absurdity of the request, Sha'hGrim, Jenny, and the animals inside were all so familiar with each other that likely she could help. At least, a little. There's only so much soothing a Ferret will be able to tolerate from a Great Cat - no matter the circumstance.
"Let's go!" She said as she gunned the engine. - Only need to wait for Darkon and Alexia to hop in; then I'm good to go. She thought to herself, feeling her overtaxed heart hammering in her chest. Her one foot on the gas, ready to stamp down as soon as Darkon and Alexia were moving, her other foot stomping the ground in terrified anticipation. The animals had always been a liability. But more importantly, they had also been one of her greatest assets. And would continue to be.

"Move it already!" Darkon yelled. His cars motor was running. He was ready to go. But the spell would be released as soon as he turned his back to the approaching soldiers. And he wanted Sha'hGrim and Alexia in front of him when that happened. Even fractions of seconds could be helpful. To emphasize this, he let the motor roar once. More gel bullets were splattering against his, fortunately armored side window.


Finally, he released the clutch, the car made a jump forward.


Even with triggered reflexes the soldiers shouldn't be able to reach the moving cars once they got onto the street. But what then? They need a safe place. Something undercover. While driving, Darkon tried to squeeze his brain for a suitable adress. Especially some place where they can hide and, if needed, modify their cars.

Thinking of a safe hideout. Int5+knowledge places to stay2-stun1=6d (6d6. hits(5)=4) ( four hits out of six dice. I think this is a good one.)

Of course! Why didn't I think of it sooner? Oh right. Most of my brains capacity was focused on not getting shot or sliced up.

"Come on... Come on..." Sha'hGrim muttered to herself, waiting for the two large Trucks in front of her to move forward. She was last in line, and while not defenseless, was likely the most damaged of the now-heavilly beaten group.
Sha'hGrim wasn't sure what happened, but all of a sudden, Alexia surged forward, shooting loose gravel and dirt in to the air with her tires. She wasn't waiting around any longer, and fortunately, Sha'hGrim was ready. She took her foot off the brake, hovering over the Gas for Darkon to follow. *Ping-Ping-Ping* The sound of bullets hitting her armored Truck's exterior as she waited for Darkon to follow Alexia. - They must somehow be on the same wavelength or something... She thought to herself as Darkon's truck raced forward on the heel of Alexia's. As they had both been in front of her's, Sha'hGrim was close behind, but following. It didn't occur to her that her helmet had not yet been connected to the new Commlink Darkon had given her when they'd met outside the barn. The fight had been enough of a distraction that she hadn't thought to connect yet. Not that it would have mattered - with the jamming in effect.
"Finally!" She said out loud, stomping her foot down on the gas full force, actually hoping that some of the stones coming off her wheels would cause some bumps and bruises to the advancing soldiers. Sha'hGrim did her best to control the Truck as it flew around the corner of her drive-way on to the road beyond, keeping pace with Darkon and Alexia as they sped down the road, and away from her residence and home for most of her recent life. - Insurance will cover most of that... I can do some 'Runs for the rest. She thought fleetingly as she considered the hole in the wall, the now blasted to bits outbuildings she had used for feed bins, composting, greenhouse, and other functions which no longer mattered. - I can't do much gardening while I'm being hunted, now can I?

Alexia caught a round in the shoulder while getting over to her own vehicle, but was up and running again and soon taking off, flooring the accelerator for all it was worth. With Gel rounds being effectively useless against vehicles the soldiers stopped firing, turning instead to try and deal with who ever was fighting the rest of their group with what was clearly extremely lethal force. As the view faded in the distance the Jamming started to petere out and then finally ended entirely as you drove clear of it's range almost 40 minutes down the road. The real trick was then communicating with Sha'hgrim as she'd lost her Comlink (At least temporarily) and had no way to speak to the rest of the group without pulling over first. Darkon meanwhile had remembered a small establishment he'd heard of that was run by an old cagey dwarf that was said to occasionally arrange for secure hideouts. There were only a few issues, it was Triad controlled property, and Darkon didn't actually know any of them. Still, it was a start and it just meant one had to be careful of just how much you trusted your hosts. Besides as far as Darkon knew, the Triad had no interest in the group at the moment, and as long as they were careful about what they discussed, they would likely remain that way.

"Good gods! That was nuts!" Sha'hGrim said out loud, expecting a cacaphony of responses. She got some - but not the ones she'd been expecting.
"Indeed. That was quite the experience. Despite the significant pain I am dealing with, I will be enjoying this experience for some time." The Guidance Spirit responded. It had relocated, now that the melee was some distance behind them, from the Seat to the back of her chair. It's rear hand-feet were clutching the seat, while the front hand-feet were enmeshed in Sha'hGrim's armored coat, holding on to various grabbable pieces.
"Owww..." Jenny moaned, making use of the impressively capable link between Sha'hGrim and the Cat.
"Oh my god!! Sweety!!! I will take the pain away as soon as I can!" Sha'hGrim responded back, her head swimming with grief and guilt. She and Jenny had made a formidable team in there, but the result of their success was that Jenny was on the verge of death; barely clinging to this side of life. Or, at least, that was the interpretation that Sha'hGrim was taking.
"I'm actually, interestingly, enjoying this." The Earth Spirit possessing and enhancing Sha'hGrim's body stated.
"What do you mean?" She said out loud, having trouble keeping track of all of the communication Channels she had available to her. It was easier to simply speak out loud, and let the confusion sort itself out.
"What do you mean: "What do I mean?" Was my statement unclear?"
"Well, my brethren have distinct impressions of what the metahumanity uses their power and prowess for. This particular service is distinctly different from what my brethren would have me believe "Service" to your kind entails. I am interested, and curious, to see how this version of a partnership with you continues." The Spirit said, slowly, in it's "Earthy" mind-voice. This was not the first time Sha'hGrim had requested the aid of an Earth Spirit in this way - though typically she tended to prefer the Spirits with the "Movement" power, as they could make her much faster than she could move on her own. The benefit was really quite spectacular, when used effectively. And in fact, it had long been one of her favored training tools when working with the Cats.
"Sorry, Guidance: I was speaking with Earth. I did not mean to confuse. Earth: I too am looking forward to progressing our partnership. You saved my life today, and Jenny's, likely in more ways than one - though we may never know how many. I firmly believe that it was you flowing in to my body which gave pause to the attacker." Sha'hGrim stated, filling her words with genuine gratitude.
"If you are correct, and I suspect you are: Earth saved my life as well. You may relay my appreciation." The Guidance spirit added, noting that he will now live on, and enjoy the experiences he gained today, perhaps as a function of the Earth Spirit lending it's strength to Sha'hGrim.
"Earth: Guidance wished to extend to you his appreciation as well. He states that if my theory is correct, you saved his life as well." She relayed.
"As I said: this has been quite interesting, and I am curious to see where this leads. You may consider me to be a willing partner for the time being." Sha'hGrim was shocked by the Earth Spirit's statement. She was well versed in how much Spirit's tended to dislike being Bound. She had kept the Earth Spirit's services for just this sort of scenario - while feeling slightly guilty in asking for it's longer term commitment to her. Of course, she had paid the price; but even a fair deal, with a long-term service required, could still be uncomfortable.
"Earth: I am astounded. I honestly don't know what to say..." She said, her words echoing the truth of her deep astonishment.
"For the moment, you may say nothing more. I can feel your honesty." It responded.

Meanwhile - the road sped on, Darkon's red tail-lights keeping Sha'hGrim on track.

Car Radio/Matrix News Feed (Female voice): This just in, Government officials are claiming the recent data packet sent to several news networks, including us here at KKCW News is a Hoax. Several experts however dispute the government claims and state that the UCAS Government and Military are trying to mislead the public in regards to the events surrounding the actions of Unit 237. UCAS Government and Military sources point out that the supposedly deceased claimant, Seargent Sidney Fairbanks is a wanted Terrorist ranked number 9 on the UCAS's most wanted list. Independent sources have however verified that Seargent Fairbanks was in fact a member of the UCAS Special Forces branch and was involved in a number of actions in and around Chicago during the Insect Spirit breakout. In addition Ares Spokesmen have stated that Seargent Fairbanks was listed in their records as a military level hacker and is a suspect in the break down of communications early yesterday that saw to an unannounced test firing of an ARES Weapons Satellite that had been sold to the UCAS Military.

Sid has said that the comlinks are clean again. I hope he is right. Darkon paused a moment. Thank you, friend. He waited until they were well inside the asphalt jungles of Seattle. Where comlinks beeped by the tenthousands per square mile. On his, hopefully clean comlink, he sent: "Alexia, Sha'hGrim, I think I know where we can go. It's not perfect, but the safest I can think of. Of course it will cost us a bit. But I think what we have at the moment should get us through a while. First of all we need to recuperate.

To himself, he said: "And I need to find Robyn and Brighid. The longer it takes... " He heard the news in the radio. Something made click in his head. Chicago. Insect spirits. Fairbanks. Is he involved? Insect spirits. Oh goddess! Please protect them. Please let them not be in the hands of insects. Oh please no... The whail of sorrow could be heard on the comlink too.

With renewed grief, Darkon drove to the contact adress for Nicolas Chen, the dwarf he only knew by name and reputation.

As the group drove in a small 3 vehicle caravan, following Darkon the entire way there, a few more tidbits filtered in. Male Speaker: "Listen, all I'm saying here is that the UCAS Military put out a warrant for this guy almost a year before the UCAS Government got on board and put him on it's most wanted list. Couple that with the fact that both the Government and the Military have refused to open the man's files to review by an independent body, or even a Judge supports the claim that he was part of some sort of Special Forces unit. Furthermore, while we managed to dig up the records from some of his squad mates, we found all of the available records are either heavily redacted or are also highly classified by the Military. Given that the Government doesn't even seem to have SIN records for a few of his listed Squad mates either indicates the information was lost during Crash 2.0, or they were actually part of a Black Ops unit. Several military veterans I've spoken to have mentioned now that this 'Unit 237' never officially existed, nor does it appear in any of the UCAS Military's records, but it does show up in several reports we've managed to dig up from CAS and Ares public records before those were suddenly reclassified or 'lost' 20 minutes ago. We even have proof the records were removed or redacted retroactively and managed to save several copies before some one pulled the plug...." Second Male talker "That's nonsense! Pure Conspiracy Theory bullshit! I know everyone likes to claim the UCAS Military is in Ares' back pocket but it's a whole other thing to claim their colluding on some grand cover-up! Just because Ares is the number one contractor for arms and armaments doesn't mean they can't be replaced in a heartbeat by any one of their competitors." First Speaker "Which of course has no relation to the fact that five minutes ago you were paid 60,000 nuyen and given a trip to an Ares Executive retreat for two weeks for your entire family." Second speaker "Hey, now just you wait! Making accusations like that I....." and so the debate went on without really shedding any more light on the matter.

Still it was clear that one way or another, the now deceased Sid had had something of a rather shady past and the announcement went out around the same time he'd apparently died before the jamming kicked in. Of course he had been a hacker, and going by the news reports one that had been considered world class, famous even in the dark circles of the world where the public never saw or heard things. Time enough however would come to look into that and all the other things the last two days had stirred up. First the group needed somewhere safe to stay and as they pulled into the scrap yard just outside of Pullyup Darkon couldn't help but wonder just how much they could trust this man they had heard of. The place looked innocent enough, but hardly the sort of place one would use as a safe house. That was either a good or bad sign, but who could really tell. The other problem of course was that it was still late at night (Or very early morning depending on your take on things) and the gates were locked and barred. At a quick glance the security seemed fairly low, just a few obvious and old security cameras, a couple of signs warning of guard dogs and electrical fences. Nothing too fancy really, just the basics most Junkyards had to keep vandals and thieves out.

Sha'hGrim got out of the car the moment they stopped at the gates. She'd left the car on, and left the keys in the ignition. And while her Guidance Spirit had proven fallible this night, she wasn't worried about a car thief. It would be a rude awakening for a young kid to hop in and meet a possessed Bandit sitting in the front seat. Besides, she'd gotten out of the car for a good reason: she was still radio-silent, and it made her nervous.
"Hey, how do I hook this thing up to my earbuds again?" She asked Alexia when she rolled her window down. Sha'hGrim was unabashedly poor at handling this sort of thing, and admittedly, didn't have to do it often. She'd always had an active example, in the past, for burner phones to be modelled after.
"Well, first you... Here, just give it to me." Alexia said, realizing it would actually be faster for her to do it herself. Sha'hGrim handed the latest Burner phone Darkon had handed her before they'd run.
"Ok, all set. You hearing us now?" Alexia subvocalized. Sha'hGrim now knew that, because her earbuds were connected to the commlink again. Alexia had even done Sha'hGrim the favor of connecting to the shared frequency, so she could hear Darkon too.
"Ahh, much better. Thanks 'Lex." She replied, also subvocalized. It felt good to be back on the comm channel.
"So, uh, what's this place?" She asked, stepping back out in to the open. Mostly she had gotten out of her car first because, while possessed, she was the least vulnerable of the three of them. And she'd wanted to make certain that if a sniper was going to take pot-shots, it wouldn't result in their immediate demise. Just for safety's sake, Sha'hGrim activated her Astral with the old and familiar phrase. She looked around, hoping to notice if they were under Astral surveillance of some sort as well, which wouldn't be the least bit surprising.

"This, hopefully, is a place to crash for the night. Maybe a bit longer. But everyone seems asleep." Carefully, the shaman looked around, then he looked around again, this time on the astral.

Perception roll. First physical, then astral. Int5+perception2-stun1 (6d6. hits(5)=1, 6d6. hits(5)=0)

He sighed. "I don't think it will help us much to anger the dwarf by waking him up. But I don't want to stand out here until dawn. Well, at least the comlinks are clean again. Or so I hope." He scanned the contact link on the front gates sign and initiated the call. "Good evening. My apologies for the late disturbance, but I'm afraid I need your help. If you do not mind, could you please let us stay for a few nights?"

Etiquette roll. Charisma7+Influence4-stun1=10d (10d6. hits(5)=2)

"Yes, I know it is late. But then, this is the usual time for business like ours, isn't it?" He smiled. One could hear it on a phone when the other one smiles.

Negotiation roll Cha7+Influence4+Mentor Spirit advantage2-stun1=12d (12d6. hits(5)=3)

The compound honestly looked exactly what it was supposed to be, a Junkyard. The astral made things a little clear on the matter of there being some life inside the fenced in area, especially as one old, clearly 2nd generation cyberware enhanced junkyard dog showed up with a low growl. The poor animal probably wouldn't still have teeth given it's apparent age, were it not for the fact that the teeth were clearly metal and the only reason it didn't seem to suffer from arthritis was that over half it's body had been replaced by cybernetics that at least outwardly seemed half rusted.

What was perhaps a bit of a surprise was that the irritated sounding voice that answered wasn't an adult's but rather sounded like that of a child, complete with an Asian accent. "What? No. This is Junkyard, no place to sleep. Do not want bums in Junkyard! Go away!" Darkon's follow up netted a slightly annoyed sounding sigh. "Ours? No, we junk. You not look like type that junk! Unless you want to sell car for scrap?" there was an oddly half excited edge to that last bit.

What? Did I get the adress wrong? No, this is it. The link on the gate... I'm sure I am right here. He looked at the others, slghtly dumbfounded. But he was not lost for words for long. "Thank you, but I need my car for a while longer. Who are you? This is Nicolas Chens Junkyard, isn't it?"
Darkon thought: Of course they can't just admit to everyone. Ah well.

To that young voice he said: "Mr Lung told me, this was a good place to go." That was the codename with which one could confirm legitimacy. At least the first step to it. Come on. Don't let us stay out here all night. I am tired and need to rest, Darkon thought. I don't have much patience for this sort of game right now.

"It is, and this is Nicolas Chen." the young voice said, squeaking slightly "Just how do you know Mr Lung?"

GM note: This is where you can more or less pull it out of your ass and toss in another social attempt for good measure.

"To be exact, it was an aquaintance of Mr Lung who advised me to come here if I need shelter. I would not dare to disgrace his discretion by naming him in such a public place. But I think I can risk saying I met him in the shadow of Mitsuhama on a fourth of July."

With a smirk, Darkon thought: That should make him curious at least.

Etiquette roll: Cha7+Influence4-stun1=10d (10d6. hits(5)=3)

"Fine fine. I be out in a minute." The testy child voice responded "But no funny stuff! Try funny stuff and butterball will eat you!" the name incidentally seemed to go with the AR tag for the cybered dog. The same cyberdog that was apparently already getting winded and honestly looked.. well.. rather old.

"So? What happened?" Sha'hGrim asked, literally tapping her toes on the ground. She hadn't been bored though. The rusted look of the Junkyard dog had been quite amusing, and impressive at the same time. - Great camouflage! She thought to herself. - I'll bet the fence is electric too...
"The morning is coming soon, and I will be departing. Do you intend to let me go, or would you like me to stay longer?" The Guidance Spirit asked, intruding in to her amused thoughts on the Junkyard Dog.
"Oh, goodness, you're right. To be honest, I need all the help I can get! But I think that you need rest even more than I do - you should return to your metaplane. If I need help in a pinch, I will call on you then. Or one of your brethren. Thank you again for all you've done tonight!" Sha'hGrim replied. She was surprised at her genuine sadness that the Spirit would be leaving at sunrise. But she had meant it when she'd said he needed his rest!
"You might want to go back to your car now Sha'hGrim..." Alexia prompted.
"If they were going to shoot at us, I think we would have known by now..." She finished, a grin on her face. She gave Sha'hGrim a quick wink before returning her watchful gaze toward the junkyard.
"Yeah... I guess that does make sense." Sha'hGrim replied, walking back toward her own vehicle. She stepped in to the Truck and immediately twisted around, looking over the seat to check on Jenny. - Not good... She needs my help as soon as possible... She noted, seeing that, thankfully, Jenny had not gotten worse. But she was still in bad shape.
"Hang in there Jenny. I'll be helping you soon." She said to Jenny soothingly using their magical link.
"Uughhhh..." Jenny responded. Not so much with words; but with a drawn out internal groan. It was likely a mixture of pain, and the effort of keeping conscious.
"I know... I know..."

After a few moments a very small figure came out, using a cane to help support him. While Darkon had known to expect a dwarf, this looked far more like a child than an adult. He had little hair and were it not for just how weathered and old his skin looked, the mind would have insisted this person was most certainly a young child. As it was the 'child' looked freakishly like he was in his early 60's with a bum leg. Chen eyed the trio outside the gate for a moment, not speaking, nor responding if spoken to. "Rest I see you need." he said still in that child's voice. "But how you pay?" he glanced about but the area was pretty deserted at this time of day and there generally wasn't that much traffic out here to begin with anyway "You no Triad. But you no look like enemy."

On the team channel he subvocalized: "Sha'hGrim, do you wish me to use healing magic on Jenny? Or will you do that yourself? I think I am in slightly better shape than you."

Darkon bowed towards the Dwarf, showing his respect. "Mr Chen. We are not your enemies." Then straightened up again. "I have no connection to the triads, whether good or bad ones. But your hospitality is praised in other exclusive circles too. Maybe you heard of Le chevalier de New Orleans?" Like stepping stones, Darkon gave Chen bits of information that would proof his legitimacy and hopefully build some trust. But he kept it at bits, as he also wanted to show he did not tell secrets.

Le Chevalier was a friend of his from down south who did business, among others, with triads on a regular basis. (And one of Darkons Connections.)

"We can pay with certified credsticks. Although our wealth is limited, I hope we have enough to compensate you for your inconvenience." With a sideglance at Sha'hGrim and Jenny, he added: "And we would be grateful if we could find some rest soon. Some of us are hurt."

"I'm sure we can come to an arrangement that is mutually beneficial." Chen replied. It was kind of creepy really, this little person that looked just like a child, hell, sounded like one even and yet looked so old. But then it had been said he was a dwarf, and it was true. Merely however the matter was that he wasn't just a dwarf, he was a gnome. As he spoke he placed a restraining hand on Butterball and the gate began to swing open. "But please, we can discuss the matter further over tea." As the gate opened wide, Chen and the dog moved aside and he pointed over towards a slightly distant building "You may park your vehicles over there. Just pull the tarps over them when your done."

Darkon smiled happily. "Tea sounds wonderful." He loved good tea. Darkon had seen a lot of weird people in his life. Chens stature didn't faze him. If any, then he was curious about the gnome. The shaman turned towards Sha'hGrim. "I can take care of your car too. Please go inside and sit down before you fall over." He smiled warmly. "It will no take long." On the way to his car, the relief Darkon felt made his self control slip a little. His thoughts started drifting: Jasmin or green tea? I wonder which one he has brewed. Well, both are quite relaxing. Oh Goddess, I really hope we can get some rest. We need it. But then is expression became grim. How can I think about resting when my girls are in danger? I have to do something. Right now! But I can't help them when I am exhausted. I need to get some rest. Oh my dear girls, please hold out. He started his car and drove it onto the yard. His expression neutral again. Nobody would read his inner turmoil on his face. Well, except maybe the people who knew him best.

Alexia set her car next to his. Together they were able to pull the large sheets of plastic over them without effort. While tucking the corners under some bricks, she stared at the shaman. "Are you alright?" She asked.

For a moment, he considered to answer with a lie as to prevent her worry. But instead he said: "No I am not. But do not worry. I will not let it affect me. That would only make things worse." He smiled faintly.

Sha'hGrim was somewhat surprised by Darkon's offer; though touched. She flickered her fingers slightly, enabling the Subvocal Mic.
"Oh, uh, perhaps, but I don't think I'll need that. She's significantly beyond either of our Healing capacities at the moment. I'm planning on summoning a Spirit of Man to do the work. Without the assistance offered by a significantly more powerful Spirit, I don't think she'll be at fighting strength for a month! Ok - that's probably a bit of an exaggeration." She added the last line with the intention of humor, which was totally lost over the subvocal mic.

Chen waited patiently with butterball still at his side until the group had a chance to stash their vehicles in the half covered shelter and covered them with the provided tarps. "Follow me." he said once the group was ready to go in and started on down rows of half crushed and stacked cars towards a small building out near a big crane that was clearly designed to lift the old vehicles into a proper crusher. Several vehicles remains were scattered about near the crane, all crushed into small cubes, apparently waiting to be hauled off somewhere else. Not too far away several other piles had been built up of other vehicle parts, big piles of interior door panels, car seats, old worn out tires, rims. Everything was heaped into a big pile but each thing seemed to have it's own place with numerous wheeled tracks indicating it all got hauled off elsewhere. The scrap yard itself turned out to be a quite sizeable affair that seemed to have several maze like tunnels running through it that stretched out into the distance.

As the group neared the small building, Chen let them in, Butterball still at his side. The exterior of the building made it look old and half run down, ill kept. The interior was however better, if only mildly so. The furniture was cheap, worn down but serviceable. The décor was minimal at best but what there was of visible security seemed fairly high end. There were two others inside the building, both asian males that were playing a game of cards while a pair of submachine guns sat on a nearby table. They glanced up as the door opened, looking to Chen who simply waved them down. They silently glanced over the new arrivals before returning to their game, though were a little more quiet about it. Chen gestured the group towards a small table that looked like it had once belonged in a diner from the 2040's that was bare, the chairs about it minimalist but serviceable and sturdy enough for most metas except perhaps trolls. Against one wall was a small kitchenette with a basic nutrasoy dispenser and a few very old fashioned but still functional coffee dispensers. Chen took a moderately sized tea pot from one of the cupboards near the sink and filled it with a rather heaping dose of tea leaves before pouring hot water from one of the coffee dispensers into it. He set the pot down near the middle of the table before going to fetch several small tea cups, setting one at each place before clambering up into one of the chairs himself and pulling a white noise generator from his pocket and turning it on. "Now, we talk business yes?"