[IC] Four Horsemen: Wager

For all of your Play-By-Post games.
User avatar
Doctor Malsyn
Posts: 8178
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 10:42 pm
Location: Thunderdome, Texas

Re: [IC] Four Horsemen: Black Gold

Post by Doctor Malsyn »

Image The Cognagion
1 HP | LP 5
Status: Normal
-—o—-

"A few things," He muses mentally, drawing up some of the most recent memories that seem relevant and relaying them to his companions. "I'll get a spot set up for you to get onboard and get disguises in place. If there's problem with the crew, I'll be there to smooth things over."

Roger flips the papers on his clipboard, frowning slightly at the sheer amount of work he had to do just to make things seem business as usual. "Same damn thing every day," He muttered, vague memories of the transition cropping up.

Random Roll: 8
Am I dead? Am I alive? The answer may surprise you!
------------
"What a week, huh?" "Doc, it's only Wednesday."
User avatar
Sakuro
Posts: 5746
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2019 7:43 am

Re: [IC] Four Horsemen: Black Gold

Post by Sakuro »

Garald Medvedev
HP: 1
CND: Healthy


Garald took Kaito first to the spot he had stowed the electronics gear Kaito wanted to setup on the oil rig. Pulling back some rocks he handed off one of the backpacks to Kaito and. If needed he held the youth secure it. Moving gear around under water was not the same as it was on land. After they were both loaded up he 'flew' threw the water until they were at the sea near enough to the rig that they could easily board when Cognaion gave them the location he had setup for their entry, but clear of any equipment that might be in their way.

"We are under the rig now. Awaiting your signal to board."
Evelyn Gracen, in AEGIS Squad
Storyteller for In the Shadow of Imperator
Storyteller for Geneforge: the Created
mrdent12
Posts: 4215
Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2016 8:10 pm

Re: [IC] Four Horsemen: Black Gold

Post by mrdent12 »

Cognagion as Roger manages to get standard orange worker uniforms from the extras pile along with hard hats and leave them near the stairs. Thanks to Cognagions influence, works stay away from the area. On to fo the rig, it's buzzing with workers. Some of them are legitimately busy while others are doing what would look important to the untrained eye. Anyone not being coached would pick up some of the activity was staged.

Cognagion knows the stand orders from corporate is to make it all look impressive and busier than usual to impress the visitors. He also recalls Roger telling the workers to be happy looking. The promise was a few lighter days if everything went well. Finding a room to change is simple enough. Coming out, the group looks like the other workers. You know there is two hours until the VIP's arrive.
User avatar
Doctor Malsyn
Posts: 8178
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 10:42 pm
Location: Thunderdome, Texas

Re: [IC] Four Horsemen: Black Gold

Post by Doctor Malsyn »

Image The Cognagion
1 HP | LP 5
Status: Normal
-—o—-

"Right, looking at this here I believe you're meant to be at..." Roger continued on, droning on about various work related tasks that he didn't expect either the pair to actually be doing. No, what he was doing was giving them an excuse to work in those areas setting up any sort of sabotage equipment they had on hand.

"...Had a thought while walking around this place. I already know where are target is, and in theory he should be alone save all the workers and security normally present. Why don't I try some old fashioned sleight of hand and pocket the damn thing before the VIPs even get here? If that doesn't work, maybe we just corner the bastard and gank him when nobody's watching."
Am I dead? Am I alive? The answer may surprise you!
------------
"What a week, huh?" "Doc, it's only Wednesday."
User avatar
Sakuro
Posts: 5746
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2019 7:43 am

Re: [IC] Four Horsemen: Black Gold

Post by Sakuro »

Garald Medvedev
HP: 1
CND: Healthy


Garald doesn't pay much mind to what Cognagion is saying aloud. At the same time he pretends to be listening intently. With the occasional nod of acknowledgement of 'uh huh'. Coming from him.

"I have no issue with your trying to steal the bracelet. Failing that, you can use the hostages as leverage before jumping to lethal measures."

Occasionally he points out a some vantage point or angle to Kaito that the soldier in him said would offer good line of sight , even as they held their more private conversation over the mental link.

"As I will be of no use standing around while Kaito sets up, so I'm willing to accompany you."
Evelyn Gracen, in AEGIS Squad
Storyteller for In the Shadow of Imperator
Storyteller for Geneforge: the Created
Flynnarrel
Posts: 6802
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 5:23 pm

Re: [IC] Four Horsemen: Black Gold

Post by Flynnarrel »

Kaito, dressed in coveralls bought intentionally for the similarity to the rig's standard uniform, is installing cameras and hooking them into an encrypted wireless network that mirrors any existing set up on the rig and sending video output to his tablets only. The cameras are low-light and thermal for indoors and wide panoramic where it 's outdoors. Each includes digital range and distance measuring. It's also set to flag any inconsistencies between the light input and distance so it's more likely to detect any areas left blank by an invisible person.
"Something pithy this way comes."
User avatar
Doctor Malsyn
Posts: 8178
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 10:42 pm
Location: Thunderdome, Texas

Re: [IC] Four Horsemen: Black Gold

Post by Doctor Malsyn »

Image The Cognagion
1 HP | LP 5
Status: Normal
-—o—-

Just for a fraction of a second Roger wore that same grin that Mike had become known for. At the very next he was back to the casual boredom this man seemed to exhibit throughout his entire tenure aboard the rig. A vastly different personality then the Cognagion was used to falsifying but he'd manage it with perfection all the same. "Ah, I know just the place for you. Come on."

With purpose Roger moved to where he suspected their target to be lingering. "Make sure you're wearing one of those glasses Kaito was planning to work on last night. He's finished a few of them right? I don't want to be taken by surprise here."
Am I dead? Am I alive? The answer may surprise you!
------------
"What a week, huh?" "Doc, it's only Wednesday."
mrdent12
Posts: 4215
Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2016 8:10 pm

Re: [IC] Four Horsemen: Black Gold

Post by mrdent12 »

Left alone to install the cameras, Kaito isn't bothered too much. Most of the workers think its busy work like everyone else is doing. A minority raise the argument of too much surveillance. One bloke starts harassing Kaito, but gets told by another to keep busy. Everyone seems focused on the goal of putting on the goal of putting on a good show. Diligently working, Kaito manages to get some cameras up with verified video feeds. Strangely enough though, he notices a few glitches and the occasional loop. Someone is trying to get into the secure mesh network. Someone who is a skilled hacker just to get even be able to get access to it. Looking around, Kaito doesn't see anyone in particular on a device save for the expected supervisors checking off items on tablets. Certainly, no one who fits the description of the the others.
I'll need a technology check from Kaito if he wants to counter the intrusion attempt.
As Garald and Cognagion get closer to where Leon is located, they see two familiar faces dressed in workers coveralls and hard hats close by Leon. Its the angel person and the ferarri jacket wearing blokes from the previous encounter working under Leons direction. Their names never came up on the crew list, so someone must have hacked it. Right now, they don't seem to notice Garald and Roger(Cognagions current host). That could change any moment though as they are on alert. Somehow, they got on site early and knew about Leon. Even worse, Cognagion can feel some of his newly converted on the rig starting to slip from his network. They sometimes rejoin, but its iffy right now. Whatever effect that was neutralizing his network on a global scale is being targeted locally.
I'll leave it to you two to decide how you want to proceed. There is going for Leon now, using strategy, or any other tactic you can think of.
User avatar
Doctor Malsyn
Posts: 8178
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 10:42 pm
Location: Thunderdome, Texas

Re: [IC] Four Horsemen: Black Gold

Post by Doctor Malsyn »

Image The Cognagion
1 HP | LP 5
Status: Normal
-—o—-

"They're here, Kaito. The same wannabe-angels from before. Somehow they found out about it being leon too, those damn pieces of-!" Cognagion cuts himself off mentally before he get's himself even more worked up. Straight out, no chance of him using his force of personality to make Leon or anyone around here to reliably comply. He was going to need to rely entirely on his own acting abilities from here on.

"Plan. I need a plan Gerald, before I loose my shit on these two I need a plan."
Am I dead? Am I alive? The answer may surprise you!
------------
"What a week, huh?" "Doc, it's only Wednesday."
Flynnarrel
Posts: 6802
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 5:23 pm

Re: [IC] Four Horsemen: Black Gold

Post by Flynnarrel »

Kaito

"And someone's frickin' hacking my feed too. They could unravel the surveillance network. I've got to concentrate here. But let me know what happens with those three." he sends back to the other Horsemen.

Kaito starts spoofing feeds trying to get the intruder(s) trapped in a cycle of 'Go To' commands and self-referential callback loops.
technology: 1d20+18 30
"Something pithy this way comes."
User avatar
Sakuro
Posts: 5746
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2019 7:43 am

Re: [IC] Four Horsemen: Black Gold

Post by Sakuro »

Garald Medvedev
HP: 1
CND: Healthy


When they caught sight of two of their rivals Garald pulled a pair of glasses out of his pocket. Two, actually. One he slipped on himself, and pressed the activation trigger of. The other he offered over to Cognation.

"Distract them. Nonviolently. They do not know the face of your new host and in the past they have been unable to discern your nature. When you have pulled their attention away from Leon, I will move in on him."

Garald briefly considered asking Cognagion to keep his senses open to the presence of the Dove Necklace. But he thought better of it. The advice might actually become a distraction, given how the necklace had been a sore spot for him. Better that his companion be focused on the mission. Afterwards ... maybe there would be an opertunity. For not Garald blends into the crowd and begins to position himself to take advantage of an open should Cognagion be able to create one for him.

"Be ready to abandon the cameras at a moment's notice Kaito. We may need you to act on something without hesitation."
OOC wrote:I went with the assumption that Kaito would not be using the glasses. Because he goes gaseous in a fight and out of a fight he'll likely be watching cameras that he setup to try to get around illusions and invisibility.

Here is a Stealth check for Garald blending into the crowd or straight up hiding in shadows and behind objects. Whichever is more relevant to the environment Stealth: 1D20+13 = [16]+13 = 29

Here is a Perception check, for picking up on more subtle or hidden elements in the scene: Perception: 1D20+10 = [2]+10 = 12
Evelyn Gracen, in AEGIS Squad
Storyteller for In the Shadow of Imperator
Storyteller for Geneforge: the Created
User avatar
Doctor Malsyn
Posts: 8178
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 10:42 pm
Location: Thunderdome, Texas

Re: [IC] Four Horsemen: Black Gold

Post by Doctor Malsyn »

Image The Cognagion
1 HP | LP 5
Status: Normal
-—o—-

With a breath the guise was set, the Cognagion fully assumed the identity of Roger- and Roger had never seen these two men on the rig before. That bore need to intervene on the behalf of the security here. So he decided he'd have to approach them. Yet not straight from this angle, he needed to get himself into the right position. One where they'd be focused souly on him and not their target or Gerald.

He made a small show of examining one of the fixtures of this part of the platform, squinting at a piece of pipe and briefly holding his hand up close as if to inspect it. With a frown Roger brought the clipboard up and started to write something down, in apparent disaproval of what he'd noticed. Then he started to turn, for a brief moment looking past their competition before he snapped his eyes onto them. Roger started to shuffle through the papers he'd had with him, finding what amounted to the crew manifest, though slightly out of date.

"You two." He called to them with a voice heavy in authority and vague suspicion. "Give me your names, now."

Deception: 31
Luck point to push that higher: 36 Eh. Higher is higher.
If you actually need me to roll persuasion or even intimidation, let me know.
Am I dead? Am I alive? The answer may surprise you!
------------
"What a week, huh?" "Doc, it's only Wednesday."
mrdent12
Posts: 4215
Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2016 8:10 pm

Re: [IC] Four Horsemen: Black Gold

Post by mrdent12 »

As Kaito goes to work on the preventing the mesh network being compromised, he runs into unexpected resistance. Each attempt to rewrite a loop and path to dead code introduced gets bypassed either by anticipating the trap or finding a minor bug. Whoever is up against Kaito is good. Real good. As seen before though, the people the Horsemen are up against have a conscious and can be distracted. Knowing his system inside and out, Kaito knows he needs to lock the hacker out if the cameras are going to be of any use at all.
Kaito vs the unknown person is going to be a skill challenge.
A technology check to block/trap the hacker will be met with a straight up check vs check. Kaito can do things to distract the hacker as well such as triggering some subsystem on the rig that can cause damage to boost the next check vs check to lock the hacker out.
Each lock out attempt will be success or failure. Whoever gets to 3 successes first gets control of the network. Right now its Other 1 and Kaito 0.
Garald manages to blend in with some workers patching a hole in a pipe, but in the process he is too distracted to see much beyond the current situation. Two of the others around Leon making sure a drill is in working order plus various other workers doing busy work. If he didn't know they were opponents, they would blend in easily to the scene as just some workers following the orders of a high ranking engineer.

"Roger" isn't able to pull the two Others away from Leon given the current conditions, but even if they were more spacious Leon joined them. The two others aren't the first to speak. "These are the two you assigned to me Roger. Marcus and Anthony. You emailed me the work orders after dinner of them being in this area plus the other guys here to make sure the drills are in top shape for the tour. We need to get back to work here. The helicopter is arriving in an hour or two, so we need to get this inspection work finished up.", says Leon. Ronald and Arthur keep playing the worker role just following orders nodding along. Its clear though they are looking around.
It was a well spent Luck point.
Roger did send the email after dinner at around 8 PM or so with Marcus and Anthony both mentioned in it along with Freemen, Eric, Martin, and Edward working in the same area under Leons supervision.
Cognagion would know via Roger that even though he is manager, Leon is given deference and holds an equal rank on the ladder to Roger.
Flynnarrel
Posts: 6802
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 5:23 pm

Re: [IC] Four Horsemen: Black Gold

Post by Flynnarrel »

"Dang these guys are good." Kaito says through the link. "And if they get control of the cameras then they can use them to track US." he warns. "Think you guys could cause a distraction? Pull a fire alarm or some such?"
"Something pithy this way comes."
User avatar
Sakuro
Posts: 5746
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2019 7:43 am

Re: [IC] Four Horsemen: Black Gold

Post by Sakuro »

Garald Medvedev
HP: 1
CND: Healthy


Garald quickly interjects when Kaito voices alarm about the cameras and ask that the other two take their attention away from the bracelet to create a distraction.

"The cameras are your responsibility Kaito. They are not critical to the mission. The bracelet is. Do not loose sight of that. The moment they become a liability, disable or destroy them."

Garald continues to mimic the busywork that the rest of the employees were undertaking. Blending in and trying to draw as little attention as possible. Watching the interplay between Cognagion and their rivals, he notes the intervention of Leon. Garald sensing the difficulty, and knowing Cognagion's growing anxiety over his lose of control, the Russian spoke to his companion. Offering reassurance of his presence and advice on how to proceed.

"I am in position. If you can't get their attention off of Leon, there is still a chance you can steal the bracelet. That is, if he has it on him. Otherwise, you can take him some place away from them. Speak with him privately on some matter. I will intercede if they try to follow."
OOC wrote:There are good number of options open to you Doctor Malsyn. I don't think it valid for Garald to make another Perception check, but Cognagion may want to make a general one. Or a specific one to see if Leon has the Gold Bars bracelet on before he tries to do a Sleight of Hand to steal the bracelet off of him.

Cognagion has the Fascinate Advantage, he can use that to try to hold the antagonist's attention. He could also try to make them look like thieves or get them in trouble some other way. Alternatively, forget acting on the enemies directly and get Leon to to go somewhere away from them.
Evelyn Gracen, in AEGIS Squad
Storyteller for In the Shadow of Imperator
Storyteller for Geneforge: the Created
Post Reply