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Thwup thwup thwup thwup thwup thwup thwup thwup

Helicopter blades, fading into a different noise.

You/are/dy/ing/az/ral

The buzzing, clipped metallic tone cannot quite pronounce the subtle syllables of the name correctly.

But/do/not/des/pair.You/will/die/a/he/ro/in/this/war

Blood flows easily out of Azrael, and it is hard to deny the machine is right.

Beneath the burnt sky, a a great hovership plunges, spinning, its engines aflame. Smoke pours from it. It is out of control, and to crash.

Is/this/not/what/you/wan/ted?


"Warning, life signs critical."

"No..." says Sequel. "No no no no noooo..."

And then another diagnostic speaks up.

"Warning, life signs critical."

And another.

"Warning, life signs critical."

As Sequel runs around, trying to will those jacked in back into life, he trips over a discarded relic; a burnt cowboy hat.

"Life extinct" A flatline tone

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

---

"AHH!" yellls the young man as he wakes up from the dream. Confusing images. He'd had many such images lately. One image, a person falling from a high building, that troubled him greatly, but he could make no sense of it. This dream was particularly sharp.

Hurriedly, he got dressed and ran out of his room. The woman by his side stirred as he did so.

"Neo?"

He ran down the high balconies of Zion, and hammered hard on a metal door. A man answers, but the younger man speaks before he can react

"Morpheus. Where is Dallas? Is the Shez still in dock?"

"No, Neo. It left last night." The young man looked pained. "What is it, Neo?"

"I don't know." Silence, for a few seconds. "When are we going back in?"

-----

And so welcome back, at last, to my Matrix game.

Three years on or three months on, game time or real time, it feels like a long time however you look at it. Well, you are all trained and practiced and ready to go now; you are as ready as we can make you.

The vibe with my Matrix games is that the struture of the Assignments tends to be pre-set. The set piece battles, especially, are destined to happen no matter what. This is not an open-form exploration game. However, there is more to this game than simple plot discovery. Things are there to be won and lost, by your actions. This is literally true for those on the Combat Path. For those on the Philosophy Path, it might get more complex than that. Still, we will see. In any case, the two Paths will be together for some while. The threads will split at the start of the Assignments where your Paths do.

As a reminder- players cannot enter the Matrix unless they have submitted an Oracle prophecy, so try your best to submit anything if you are sitll behind there. Of course, you can't join if you don't have a character either. At the time of writing, this game is chock-a-block full, so I am afraid new players (unless they are veterans of my games, in which case they are low maintenance) will have to sit out for now.

The game will also rapidly approach a point where the arrival of new players is absolutely impossible anyway!

The Matrix is a great setting to RP in. Nonetheless, stories have to be very specific and thematic. It is not like Star Wars, where there are always more plots to be found, especially for the Light Side. Matrix games are rare becuse their plots are, though a third game is possible.

Partly because of this, and partly because The Matrix is quite a harsh setting anyway, these games are specifically dramatic and high-stakes. What is at stake in this game is as important and vital as the plot of the films themselves. No-one has a guaranteed ride through; lives are certainly at stake.

There will be a small amount of people whose lives are not at stake, at least not until the appropriate time. That is those people whose Oracle prohecies are relevant. Successful completion of thse Prophecies results in an experience bonus. Think about that. However, once resolved, you don't get another.

The real harshness is a little way off as of yet. We start off with an Assignment which will play out very much like what the Veterans of this game are used to. However, as befits the plot of the game, you may find some of your enemies are a tad unsual. The crew of the Bounty in the last game were highly competent, but just like you at the end of the day. It's not going to be so simple from now on.

This Assignment was in fact already written at the point you guys were playing the final Assignment of the last set, and was specifically described at inception as the most violent Matrix confrontation yet done. Oooh.

Let's see what happens.

ASSIGNMENT ONE- THE MUSEUM

---

The brief was simple. The targets wee coppertops, but part of an underground organisation that intelligence acquired said was used by Exiles of some description.

Exiles- programmes within the Matrix that do not seem to be working for the system. Their reaons for being there, the way they work, what they do and what they want... all these things are unknown. Zion needs to gauge their threat.

As it is the job of Captains Dallas and Marduk to investigate such anomalies in the Matrix- after the uncomfortable revelation of the existence of such things a few months ago- the decision was taken to send in two very large teams to 'persuade' the targets to tell the Zion boys and girls what they knew about the Exiles, which turned out to be nothing. But more importantly, details of an upcoming meeting, in which Exiles were to be involved, were to be given, with all due encouragement.

Such encouragement was duly given.

Captain Dallas is wearing a dusty brown coat/cloak, and the inevitable cowboy hat. he is in the toilets. He is neither shirking work nor taking a break, as becomes clear when you guys catch up with him. The toilet door is broken down, one of the stalls is broken down, and Dallas is holding a man's head down the toilet.

"Huh? What was that?" says Dallas. Some drowning gurgles are all that is said in reply. "Can't hear ya!" More gurgles.

"Hi guys," says Dallas. "Got the time, just not the place. This lowlife doesn't seem to be making any sense any more."

There is frantic bubbling from the toilet.

"Huh? I can't hear a damn word you are saying! I dunno, you think I should let him breathe? Sounds kinda sissy. Ahh, well..."

Dallas lifts the man's head, who then takes the opportunity to suck in a continent's worth of air.

"Tell me where it is, or you go back in the bowl."

"The museum!" screams the man, with an accent. "The Natural History Museum!"

"Thankyou..." says Dallas, smashing the guy's head down on the toilet bowl as he heads out. "Six this evening. Now we have a place. We're done here."

Dallas files out, you guys behind.

"Va te faire foutre," says the man, slumped over the toilet, towards all of you as you leave. But no-one hears him.

The Real

The Shez and the Percy are in comms link. They are parked not far from each other, at a safe broadcast point.

"Sweep's clear," says Sequel. "Nothing around for miles."

"Lucky," says Ariadne. "Squids are moving in on more and more o our good braodcast points."

"Hear about the Hammer?" asks Finn, over the radio. "They're stuck out in the Northern quadrant. Can't broadcast, can't move. Squids hemming so many points that they don't have a clear way on."

Dallas snorts.

"They're too scared to block my broadcast points," he comments.

"Ok," says Marduk. "So, we've got a time and a place; the Natural History Museum..."

"That's a joke of a name, so it is," interjects Finn.

"... at six. That's still an hour before closing. We don't know much at this point. We don't know who is meeting whom, and why. It's being held in a public place, so it can't be anything like a council or board meeting. Sounds more like a criminal deal. Well, our instructions are simple. We've got to get in there and find out what is going on."

"We're breaking things up a bit for this one," says Dallas. "And not by ship; we're dividing up people by their... uhhh. temperament. I'll take a group into the Museum itself, to see what the hell is going on."

"And in deference to how things have gone with us before," says Marduk, "I'll keep a team outside. As backup, but also, possibly more importantly, we're guarding the route between the Museum and the nearest exit point. It's not a long way... but just in case. We have a spare we can look out for as well."

The teams are named. By 'coincidence', they split into the Philosophy Path and Combat Path.

The Philos will be dlighted to know that you are with Dallas for this one.

At this point, I'd better make sure everyone knows where they are at! A list would be nice.

about who's philo and who's combat I assume?
Combat:
Cloud
Barb
San
Mors
Melis
Fire
Burn
Ares


Philo:
Spades
Melkor
Mirage
Berserker
Sirin
Balder

pretty sure a few are missing!

Yupyup.

can't find them declaring which path they want tho

Well, that sounds forboding.

Azrael's philosophy, Fire.

"Any idea of our targets?" Azrael asks Dallas.

Well, Helios still hasn't said which path or submitted a prediction.

Klez is on Philo, I think.

And waiting outside? Pffft....

Hawk is Combat. I'm missing Dallas already.

Just you wait Lana, I bet it's raining, too.

indeed waiting outside sounds boring but someone has to protect those pussy undercover guys and keep their exits clear

Its the matrix. Something is going to F up, and its gonna be fun.

Hell yes.

"Ready to get this show on the road, Burn?" Ares asks.

"A nice gentle mission acting as back-up? Yeah, I'm game for that. Although an hour before closing will mean there will still be people in there, and these exiles could create enough of a disterbance to bring agents, so try not to agrivate them." Cloud says looking at the new members of the team going into the museum.

Yes Berserker is on the Philo Path.
"I'm ready to go"

"Great. My first time on a real mission, and what do I get to do? Babysit doors," Hawk groans.

"You'll be begging for a break soon enough!"

"Oh, don't worry. Things have a habit of turning out spectacularly different then we expect them to. We wouldn't be out here on guard duty if Dallas and Marduk didn't think that it would be needed." San replies.

(and rain I'd be fine with. Snow on the other hand...)

"Lets rock."

(Oh yeah, Heph is Philo path as well, if I remember correctly)

New List: (Ush feel free to delete all this jibrish after the list is complete btw. I just wanted to get the game started)

Combat:
Cloud
Barb
San
Mors
Melis
Fire
Burn
Ares
Hawk

Philo:
Spades
Melkor
Mirage
Berserker
Sirin
Balder
Azrael
Heph (according to Lana)
Klez (according to Lana)

haha,
I like how all the Matrix vets went "F the Philo path, I'm gonna shoot shit."

Hehe, yeah, pretty much seems that way!

Helios is on Philo.

Ok then, you guys need to plan.

Museum people- there are five major places.

The largest, on the left side and closest to the entrance, is a general display of impressive extincti species- so, dinosaur skeletons, woolly mammoths, that kind of thing. It is very high, and windows are all over the place.

To the east of that room is a connecting corridor that binds everything else together.

Adjacent to that corridor are three other rooms- "Neanderthal Civilization", "Wonders of the Ancient Deep" and "Majesty of the Air", all with attendant exhibits. They are in that order from north to south, with connecting doors also.

No other rooms will be particularly significant in this scenario.

-

Outside, you also have five areas to cover, simply listed A to E

A is the area immediately outside the museum

D and E are your two exit points. D is a wall-attached phone in an old apartment complex, and E is a payphone in an old plaza.

B is the route to D, and C is the route to E. They are no moee than a minute long. B's route is through back alleys and narrow streets, whilst C is along several roads.

Originally posted by Tptmanno1
haha,
I like how all the Matrix vets went "F the Philo path, I'm gonna shoot shit."



Edit - On another note, having just seen Ush's post, I'd suggest we head for the corridor first, since we can get everywhere from there. Perhaps leave somebody at the entrance to the first room and then check out the others one by one.

Well, I think we have enough combat-nuts to have two people at every location but one.

Originally posted by Lana
Well, I think we have enough combat-nuts to have two people at every location but one.

Looks like. Probably a good idea to pair newbies with last game's players as much as possible.

heading to the corridor involves going through the general exhibit.

You are getting in ahead of the meeting, though, so this is about where you start off, not where literally you go first in a fighty scenario.

Combat:
Mors
Fire
Firewall
Ares
Burn
Hawk
San
Barb
Melis
Cloud

Philo:
Balder
Heph
Spades
Sirin
Melkor
Klez
Berserker
Azrael
Mirage
Helios

That's everyone that I have listed as playing, divided into Combat and Philo. That's 10 on Combat, 10 on Philo.

I'll leave the planning to Mors...

Okay, 10 Combat people? Perfect, then we can have two people at each point.

I'm not coming up with the pairings, but 1) it would be best to pair up the new guys with vet players (as opposed to with each other), and 2) we should probably try and pair them up so that the pairings aren't really imbalanced on terms of templates/powers - IE not putting Ares and Burn at the same place, or Cloud and Melis. That sort of thing.

Okay, as a First Officer, I'd like to plan everything, but I think I'll leave the Philo planning to them and just handle the Combat situation.

I'd look to Heph and Azrael, as our oldies, for ideas on that.

San and I will lead the Combat situation, I think? Maybe?

Anyways, two people to a spot...ideas on how you want to do that, San?

EDIT- Okay, will slap together a list shortly of where people should be going...

I suggest that if possible, pair Fighters and Gunners, so that they can compliment each other if (read "when" combat starts.

think most solid ideas have been mentioned in here, I trust Mors to do a good pairing.

Originally posted by General Kaliero
I suggest that if possible, pair Fighters and Gunners, so that they can compliment each other if (read "when" combat starts.

Pretty much what I said

One of us (prolly Mors) will have the pairs up shortly.

Barb looks down at the Eager Hawk.

"Haha. Sterben Sie nicht Kid."

Smiling, He turns to the rest of the Percy and Shez Vets, and Winks.

(If you'll recall Barb tends to stray between languages occasionally.)

Well, the Philo guys should remember that if they don't come up with a plan, Dallas will be the one arbitrating...

Here's what I've got in mind...

A
Fire
Firewall

B
Mors
Hawk

C
Cloud
Barbarossa

D
Melis
Burn

E
San
Ares

Firewall and Hawk, our two newbies to Combat, have been paired with myself and Fire. Fire and Firewall are both All-Rounders, but Fire knows what's up. Hawk and myself, Fighter and All-Rounder, did pretty well together in the Training mission. Cloud and Barb, Fighter and All-Rounder, they can do they're job. Then Melis and San, our crazy stabby babes, balanced out with our manslut gunners, Burn and Ares. Exits are probably pretty damned important to hold.

And there you have it. Whatcha think, gang?

Hah! Nice

Looks fine to me.

Looks good by me, BB. Haha, "mansluts"...

Originally posted by barbarossa
Barb looks down at the Eager Hawk.

"Haha. Sterben Sie nicht Kid."

Smiling, He turns to the rest of the Percy and Shez Vets, and Winks.

(If you'll recall Barb tends to stray between languages occasionally.)

Hawk looks up at Barb for a few moments, eyebrow arched, before simply shaking his head and saying "Didn't plan to," with a grin.

Well, since Mors said it, I guess I'll take a crack at planning? Dallas' plan probably involves 'Kill everyone in the Museum,' so let's see what we can pop out...

Do we know where Dallas wants to go, Ush?

Extinct Species Exhibit - It's the largest, so we might want to put three here?
Heph
Spades
Dallas?

Connecting Corridor
Azrael
Spades

Neanderthal Civilization
Klez
Melkor

Wonders of the Ancient Deep
Sirin
Mirage

Majesty of the Air
Berserker
Helios

Um...okay. Tried to do likewise with balancing people and pairing oldies with newbies, but not...there's only two oldies on Philo. ermm

Heph and Spades together, Fighter and Gunner. Maybe Dallas with us?

Klez and Melkor, Gunner and All-Rounder. I figured Klez knows what he's doing.

Same with the Sirin and Mirage pair, All-Rounders, Natural and Hacker respectively.

Berserker and Helios, All-Rounder, Vet and Natural. Yeah...

I guess that all works. Any objections from the Philo team? Or Dallas?

Barb smiles at Hawk, before looking to Firewall, And Laughing.

"No, I don't suppose you would."


The Pairings look good to me. I can't wait to get Slashing and Stabbing again.

You forgot Balder. Maybe let him choose his spot for leaving him out.

But I have no objections.

Originally posted by General Zink
Well, since Mors said it, I guess I'll take a crack at planning? Dallas' plan probably involves 'Kill everyone in the Museum,' so let's see what we can pop out...

Do we know where Dallas wants to go, Ush?

Extinct Species Exhibit - It's the largest, so we might want to put three here?
Heph
Spades
Dallas?

Connecting Corridor
Azrael
Spades

Neanderthal Civilization
Klez
Melkor

Wonders of the Ancient Deep
Sirin
Mirage

Majesty of the Air
Berserker
Helios

Um...okay. Tried to do likewise with balancing people and pairing oldies with newbies, but not...there's only two oldies on Philo. ermm

Heph and Spades together, Fighter and Gunner. Maybe Dallas with us?

Klez and Melkor, Gunner and All-Rounder. I figured Klez knows what he's doing.

Same with the Sirin and Mirage pair, All-Rounders, Natural and Hacker respectively.

Berserker and Helios, All-Rounder, Vet and Natural. Yeah...

I guess that all works. Any objections from the Philo team? Or Dallas?

I object. You completely forgot me.

Well, this isn't taking long at all for messups

Sorry Balder, not sure how I did that.

Want to choose where you go?

Really doesn't matter. But it seems to me that we don't need two in the corridor, so I'm asking to be placed there alone with the other two being distributed to other places.

If that sounds stupid, I'll go Air exhibit.

Sounds good.

I'll put Spades in the Ancient Deep exhibit and Azrael in the Air exhibit, Balder's got the hallway.

I'll take my area

Not to be nay-saying Mors, but I think we should put at least one of the gunners in A, its the biggest area, and that way they can provide cover for the exiting Philo team.
That is unless Firewall is a gunner and I forgot, and in that case I apologize.

Burn is dissapointed he didn't get paired with San...

San and I thought it'd be best to have our most skilled Fighters and Gunners on the exits. If something happened that we lost the exits, it'd take longer to get out in an emergency.

Also, you could cover people while they jack out.

Plus, Melis is Angelina Jolie... ermm

Didn't say he was complaining, But he simply has a history of hitting on San...

seems fine, I'll be ok with Firewall

Cool, Barb and I should make a good team.

Ok, everyone happy?

LOADOUT

A white background and endless shelves of weaponry surround you inside the Construct...

-----

Set your weapon loadout here. Once you enter the Matrix, it cannot be changed!

Be aware that some of these changed during training; these changes were used in the Dojo but not in training itself. Some sizes have changed, one category removed altogether.

Please also note that it now takes an action to put away a weapon larger than medium size. You can drop the weapon at no turn cost, but recovery can be awkward.

Also note that guns larger than medium size do not function in close combat!

---

Encumbrance sizes work as follows:

Tiny: 0, but two Tinies count as a Small.
Small: 1
Medium: 2
Large: 4
Very Large: 8


Barehanded: Damage 1, Type- Barehanded

Knife/knives: Damage 2, Small, Type- Knife

Katars: Damage 2, Small, Type- Katar

Nunchaku: Damage 2, Small, Type- Nunchaku

Dual Staves: Damage 2, Small, Type- Twinned

Sais: Damage 2, Medium, Type- Twinned

Hook Swords: Damage 3, Large, Type- Twinned

Twinned Swords: Damage 3, Large, Type- Twinned

Staff- Damage 3, Large, Type- Spear

Sword- Damage 4, Large, Type- Sword

Spear- Damage 4, Very Large, Type- Spear



Light pistol (e.g. Glock 17)- Damage 1, Small, Ammo 6 (tiny clips)

Light Machine Pistol (e.g. Glock 19)- Damage 1, Small, Ammo 3 (tiny clips), Burst Fire

Machine Pistol (e.g. Uzi, Ingrams, Extended Glock)- Damage 1, Medium, Ammo 5 (tiny clips), Burst Fire

Large Pistol (e.g. Desert Eagle)- Damage 2, Medium, Ammo 3 (tiny clips)

Sub-machine gun (e.g. H&K MP5)- Damage 2, Large, Ammo 5 (small clips), Burst Fire

Shotgun- Damage 3*, Large, Ammo 8 (medium clips), bonus die pool at close range

Assault Rifle (e.g. M16)- Damage 3*, Very Large, Ammo 5 (small clips), Burst fire

I shall have the same two swords that I took on the training mission

Twinned Swords: Tachi Blades.
Knives: KaBar Combat Knives X2.
Large Pistol: Desert Eagle.
Tiny Clips X4.

Hmm. Since we're going to be in a public place, should we keep our encumberance at 8 and under?

One Machine Pistol, 12 clips...and if we can get the encumberance higher, make it 20 clips.

Mors will take his customary katana, a pair of sais, and two Colt M1911 light pistols.

Nunchaku will do.

Two silver Walther P99s with 12 clips, that's 8 enc.

Katar (1)
One MP-446 Russian Viking light pistol (1)
Two Beretta 93R light machine pistols (2)
Two H&K PDW machine pistols (4)

8!

Just my staff.

Originally posted by Captain REX
Hmm. Since we're going to be in a public place, should we keep our encumberance at 8 and under?

One Machine Pistol, 12 clips...and if we can get the encumberance higher, make it 20 clips.

Those inside the museum will certainly have an issue with hardware being spotted.

Berserker will take his 2X Bowie Knives

1) Machine Pistol (extended glock): 2 points
2) Silver Katana: 4 points
3) 4 clips: 2 points

Hawk's loadout is his twinned swords of the large-and-small variety, two Glock 19s, and three clips, for a total encumbrance of 8.

Large and small we called Encumbrance six, Hawk, so you don't have room for those clips.

Stabby things.

AKA two small tanto knives.

Two knives together still count as a small, right?

Yes, it says knife/knives.

Sword: 4
Desert Eagle: 2
4 Clips: 2
Encumbrance: 8

Well Rex, Were not gonna be in the museaum.
So I'm gonna go Ingrams and 20 clips.
Today Burn will be styling a black Beret.
And a *Sigh* Cd player of 1999 variety.

1 Nunchaku
2 CZ-Scorpions (Light Machine Pistols)
18x clips

So wait, if we're outside, we don't have to worry about our stuff being spotted?

Nope

A MAC10 and 20 clips it is.

Alrighty, since the outside team doesn't have to worry about keeping encumberance under 8, make sure you change your loadout accordingly, if you wish to carry more equipment...

Mors will be carrying his katana, a pair of sais, a pair of hookswords, and a MAC11 machine pistol.

(Light pistols aren't much use to people without pool, I don't think...the burst fire would be niftier.)

Mirage will take a pair of sais, a sword and a machine pistol.
I'll describe the sword more specific later on in the game.

K BB, I'll change to
1) 2 Machine Pistols (Extended Glocks): 4 points
2) Silver Katana: 4 points
3) 4 clips: 2 points

Azrael will take four Glock 19s and four Glock 17s. (Light machine pistols and light pistols).

New loadout:

Twinned swords - Large and Small: 6
Glock 19 x2: 2
Ammo clips x5: 2 (plus 0)

For a final encumbrance of 10.

Sorry. I need to change my layout:

1 Nunchaku
2 CZ-Scorpions (Light machine Pistol)
10x clips

Woah, I only just found this thread

Firstly, I have no beef paired with Fire

Secondly, Barb, stow that german comment

Thirdly,
Deagle (ammo 3) =2
12 clips (ammo 36) =6
Total = 8

Hawk, Firewall, might as well max out on clips. You've got the room for it.

I'm not actually sure how much I can carry, and forgive me but am I on the inside or out? if out then I'm taking an assault rifle!

You're outside, and you can carry up to 12 points of encumberance; 8 is the limit for trying to keep it concealed.

Ok then...

Deagle (heavy Pistol)= 2
8 Clips = 4
MP9 (Machine Pistol) = 2
8 Clips = 4

Well, Hawk will be getting odd looks, but...

Hopefully final loadout:

Twinned swords - Large and Small: 6
Glock 19 x2: 2
Ammo clips x9: 4 (plus 0)

For a final encumbrance of 12.

I'm happy with my equipment.

Only waiting on Melkor and Spades, I think?

J'yeah, sorry. Life slapped me in the face, so I won't be in this. Maybe next time.

Ok, we're kicking off!

Dallas and Marduk will take their main areas; Dallas in the largest Museum room, and Marduk at area A, watching the Museum itself.

Ten minutes from time. Visitors to the Museum have thinned, but there are still several around.

A large gaggle of schoolchildren is the main group remaining, amongst the other casual visitors. They seem to have made a loop of the museum, and at this point are moving from the main corridor into the largest room, whereupon afterwards you assume they will exit.


Traffic is thinning outside as well, as the light fades also. People walking all round point A. light traffic at C and E, bugger all at B and D.

Maybe Barb and myself should take position outside a cafe, as not to draw suspicion - sorta like we did when we went to the oracle last time.

Most likely a cafe overlooking one of the streets, so that's fine.

I'm assuming the museum has some kinda statues or stuff outside it, which I am casually watching.

Big statue of a triceratops, I shall say.

"Hmm, looks dangerous I always thought they were smaller..."

Berserker will be checking out the exhibits in the Majeasty of Air area.

Helios will stroll alongside Berserker.

Burn is casually leaning up against the wall, watching a pigeon. Getting bored he turns to Melis,
"Soooo, first mission?"

Originally posted by Johns Mannequin
Helios will stroll alongside Berserker. Berserker turns to Helios
"That exhibit looks cool let's check it out."

Mirage makes her way to the Wonders of the Ancient Deep gallery.

Balder will position himself in the middle of the corridor, leaning against the wall and scanning the crowd.

Sipping daintily at a cup of Cappuccino, clad in his worn Motorcycle Leather, Boots and Mohawk. Barb draws looks from the few people about.

"Rather rude, Staring like that." He says smiling, before taking another drink of the Coffee.

As he enters the Air exhibit, Azrael gestures to the others that he'll cover the entrance while they look around.

He'll sit in the chair by the door if there's nobody there (there's always a chair by the door in museums), looking over the crowd and checking out the exhibit itself, though mainly with a strategic eye.

Cloud will be positioned so both his swords are hidden below his trenchcoat (which I can imagine would be pretty hard to do) watching the traffic go by.

"Nope," Melis replies to Burn. "Far from. I used to serve on the Novalis. Obviously not your first."

Originally posted by Storm
Mirage makes her way to the Wonders of the Ancient Deep gallery.

Sirin follows likewise.

"This is my first time on a mission," Sirin says, trying to start conversation as they wander into the room. "Who thought I'd be going to a Museum..."

Heph stretches himself.

"We should put ourselves at different spots in the room, I think?" Heph says, asking Captain Dallas. "Spades there, me there, and you here. Or something."

Ares lights a cigarette and takes a puff.

"So, come here often?" Ares asks San with a corny grin.

Mors keeps watch.

"First mission, isn't it?" he says, folding his arms in the chilly air and standing beside Hawk. "Christmas spirit in the air, snow falling from the sky, just brilliant. And all fake. Makes you wonder what your family is doing right now, though, doesn't it?"

Two rather well-dressed gentlemen just sat down in the same cafe as the two of you out there.

And three maintenance vans are pulling in around the back of the museum.

-

Inside, the schoolchildren are looking around the exhibits of extinct species. There are some genuine ("genuine" fossils here, which the teacher is trying to pull the kids' attention towards. Most of them are more attracted to the impressive Tyrannosaurus skeleton, or the woolly mammoth in the corner.

"None of these species exist any more," explains the teacher. "They were alive once, but will never be again."

"How do we know what they looked like, then?" asks a girl

"Well, these fossils are the actual remains of ancient creatures. The skeletons are the best guess we can make from the evidence we have found."

Originally posted by Newjak
Berserker turns to Helios
"That exhibit looks cool let's check it out."

"Alright."

Helios had never been one for educational learning, but he had to admit, he found this exhibit interesting and did not hesitate when answering Berserker.

"Alright thats what I like to hear"

Berserker Slaps him on the back as they has towards it. He makes a quick glimpse back though to make sure he maintians visual with Azreal.

"So how long you'v been fightin the good fight Helios?"

"I actually can't say I have yet. I'm a new recruit."

"Well then this should be quite exciting for you huh?"

"Definitely."

As he said this a smile came to Helios' face. He was cocky, and his head was filled with the thoughts of the glory of his first mission.

Berserker could see the young kid excted he only hoped that it wouldn't cause any problems later on.

"So what do you think of tis exhibit pretty sweet huh?"

"Hell yes, even if it's fake."

Originally posted by Captain REX
Ares lights a cigarette and takes a puff.

"So, come here often?" Ares asks San with a corny grin.

"Hah...so how long do you expect it'll take for something to go wrong?"

I suppose we're just waiting by the exit. Hopefully Gun-boy here won't attract us any attention

Originally posted by Fire
"Hmm, looks dangerous I always thought they were smaller..."

"Hmm, only ever seen one on TV, back when I was a Coppertop... Fair few years back now..." The tower of-a-man dwarfed his companion, he was dressed in an over-sized trenchcoat that only just wrapped around his shoulders, he pulled his large brimmed fedora-styled hat to wipe the sweat from his brow; this was his first mission in years and he was a little more than rusty since after he left the Osiris.

The weight of his two sidearms was comfortable alongside the ridiculous amount of spare ammo, he silently hoped that he wouldn't need to use the weaponry, but this was the Matrix... He found himself looking over his own shoulder, expecting to see that Smith-charactered Agent there, ready to tear his limbs off!

His last encounter with the program was the reason he left active duty, he had lasted three minutes before backup slowed the rampaging Agent down so he could escape, it then took six whole months for him to recover...

(A bit of a back-story for the Veteran, what do you think? )

"Hmm..."

Mors pulls out his cell.

"Captain, it's Mors. Three vans just pulled up around back."

"Eh, maybe we've got ten minutes left," Ares says.

Heph watches the history lesson on dinosaurs, almost tempted to call up Ariadne and have her load information on dinosaurs...

(We can still do that right?)

"Ten minutes? I'd say that might be stretching it a bit. Though you know that if trouble starts, it's going to inside the museum. And yet, we're out here."

Originally posted by Bespin Bart
Mors keeps watch.

"First mission, isn't it?" he says, folding his arms in the chilly air and standing beside Hawk. "Christmas spirit in the air, snow falling from the sky, just brilliant. And all fake. Makes you wonder what your family is doing right now, though, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. I'll bet my family is up north, skiing, this time of year. I used to do that all the time. Or well... you know."

Hawk shrugs. "It's weird, being back in. It feels exactly the same. Yet now, I know it's not real." He holds his hand up. "I can feel the cold, just like before. But now I know I'm not really feeling anything."

He then watches the three vans.

"Oh, you're still feeling," Mors says. "Just feeling the wrong thing. You'll get used to it, in time. I remember my first mission. Had the same feeling, knowing it's not there but it is but it's not but it is. It's surreal, literally. My crewmates..."

Mors cuts off.

"But I'm sure you'll do fine, whatever happens. It shouldn't be too much trouble."

"Five? That's pushing it," Ares replies, flicking away the cig, circling San with his hands in his coat pockets. "And I'm sure something will get the San treatment this time around..."

He pulls a hand from his coat and makes a stabbing motion, imitating the theme from 'Psycho.'

"Just as I'm sure you'll shoot the shit out of a bunch of stuff as well." San says, rolling her eyes.

"So, understand I missed a bit during my Leave of Absence. Anything fun happen?" Barb asks, looking to Cloud.

None of the Coppertops seem to notice the Tachi Bladed Swords concealed by Barb's Legs, or the Bulges indicating the locations of his Deagle, KaBar Knives and Clips.

"You say that as if it's a bad thing!" Ares says, still walking circles.

"It's all an illusion anyway. We'd better mind the museum than dwell on times past."

Originally posted by Barbarossa
"So, understand I missed a bit during my Leave of Absence. Anything fun happen?" Barb asks, looking to Cloud.

None of the Coppertops seem to notice the Tachi Bladed Swords concealed by Barb's Legs, or the Bulges indicating the locations of his Deagle, KaBar Knives and Clips.

Cloud mentaly clocks the two men and nods at Barb. "How should I know, I've been back home, recovering from the whole near-death thing."

Azrael calmly watches his colleagues examine the exhibit, nodding at Berserker when he looks around, then standing up to make another scan of the room.

You aren't in a position to see that, Mors.

The vans unload, and a bunch of maintenance workers- contractors, in plain blue livery- emerge and start congregating round the back.

Meanwhile, passing by at the nearby streets around area C, a large bunch of people in very smart-cut Italian suits is walking by; they are chattering loudly.

---

"Does anyone know why these species became extinct?" asks the teacher. The kids start to volley off a number of answers. Many speaks of an asteroid strike, several speak of climate change, and one particularly nerdy kid talks about problems with adapting to the biosphere, and how in any case the woolly mammoth is from a completely different era to the Tyrannosaurus so this can't be just about one single thing

(They'll probably beat him up later)

(Cloud, Barb, that's you)

Heph is tempted to say "He's right, you know..." but just keeps listening.

Barb looks to Cloud and doing so to conceal his weapons still, Gets up and moves to Observe the Group. He will listen into their Convo.

Well, are you going to follow them?

Hawk sniffs at the cold air. "Pizza. I smell pizza." He chuckles softly. "Ever since getting out, that's what I've been wanting. A nice, hot slice of pepperoni pizza."

He shakes his head. "It may be a prison... but the food sure is damn good."

Barb, you follow them. I'm interested in the two men in the cafe, Ush wouldn't have noted them if they weren't important. Then when they pass into the next group whoever is there can follow them and you can make your way back to the cafe.

Actually, of the two of you, it'd be better to have Cloud follow...he has a higher Perception and Intrusion, and Barb doesn't have Observation at all.

OK, we'll swap roles. Cloud will get up, brush past barb, indicating the two other smartly dressed guys and moving closer to the guys in the suits.

Originally posted by Brit
Sirin follows likewise.

"This is my first time on a mission," Sirin says, trying to start conversation as they wander into the room. "Who thought I'd be going to a Museum..."
"Careful what you wish for, you just might get it," Mirage says with a grin. "This is my first mission as well, and I have no idea on what to expect..."

Mirage' s eyes scan the room, observing the people present rather than having eyes for the collection.

"Ah, well in any case I thing your going to find Dallas a lot more... Fun..."

"I'm on the Percy," Melis says, "with Klez." She smiles a bit sarcastically.

The maintenance workers have started to filter their way into to the museum now, and it is Mirage who spots them coming into the Underwater exhibit, from a maintenance entrance.

---

Ok, Cloud, you are on your way... they are headed to the Museum.

Barb, you notice one of the men who sat down is looking at Cloud as he gets up and follows.

-

Burn... you think you heard the noise of something up above.

-

"Pardon, ma'am," says Dallas, tipping his hat as he brushes by the teacher. As he moves by the group, he keeps 'sneaking' an eye over at the children, checking them out, especially the nerdy one. He holds the phone back up to his ear.

"No, can't see nothing. Hmm? Well... I don't know! I thought they might have horns or some freaky shit."

Ah, Dallas always cracks me up.

Noting the man's attention, Barb eyes the man, looking for anything out of place or suspicious...

Cloud will check his watch, making as if he's going to meet someone when the mueseum closes.

Am I close enough to hear what they're saying?

Can Sirin take note of them as well?