Racing the Storm

Pterano · **Reply #860 on:** February 10, 2015, 08:52:44 PM

"No problem." Vergil replied, smiling and nodded at Rio as he hopped aboard, though paid precious little attention to the next set of sexual conversations taking place. Instead, he opened his duffel and took out a pith helmet from a bygone era, placing it upon his head and smiling at Triste as if he'd just pulled a prank and sat down next to her. Surprisingly, it seemed to fit well on him, and didn't look completely out of place. He had to keep the sun off him somehow when they got out there after all.

"Dr. Livingston I presume?" he asked Triste, sitting beside her and glancing at the map she had pulled out. He nodded as he noted their next destination. "It's possible, but we didn't encounter any at the last waypoint, probably because it was underwater." Vergil mused aloud to Marita's pondering.

"Uh no, I'm not interested." Tony replied blandly, sticking out his tongue in revulsion. "Since you two are spoken for, I'll look elsewhere, thank you." he stated, motioning at the two of them with his claw back and forth. Hmm... maybe he could try and rekindle his thing with Anne. The pony was certainly in good spirits, or so it seemed, but Axel interrupted them after reentering the cabin from inspecting the engine. "Awesome!" he stated in response to the rat's declaration that the engine was good to go. "Then let's shove off!" He had to admit Axel had the right idea checking it BEFORE they left... no use in renting a lemon after all that would die on them in mid-river...

He went outside, mounted the stairs up to the cockpit, taking them two at a time and pulling himself up with the handrails until he reached the bridge, inserted the keys, and listened to the big, throaty grumble as the engines came to life. "Right..." He whispered, checking to make sure they were clear in front and behind, then pushed the throttle forward to head out into the Nile.

He spun the wheel to the right, keeping a close eye on river traffic, and increased speed once more to do a 180 into the river. He pulled out safely and pointed the bow south, nodding to himself with satisfaction on maneuvering the big boat safely.

"I feel like Lawrence of Arabia's theme should start playing or something." Vergil chuckled, looking out the cabin windows now as Aswan slid by them.

Nick22 · **Reply #861 on:** February 10, 2015, 11:55:18 PM

Hold on Tony" Marita said coming up to him " Flora and I are not in a relationship, nor would I ask you to join in a threeway. Shes... well I dont know what she was thinking when she said that. she's quite a bit of a goofball" Marita said " I'm sorry that you had to be grossed out like that. Let me buy you dinner to make up for that scene. whatever you want.." Marita said firmly. ' and we havent had that date yet either. so don't go casting me aside until we've had it.'

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #862 on:** February 14, 2015, 03:45:06 PM

Veranus' radio cackled. It was a private frequency, one only used by his closest henchmen. "Veranus," said the mystery voice. "I need to speak to you. Please respond."

Serris · **Reply #863 on:** February 15, 2015, 02:44:50 AM

(Corona)

"I had boarded a Scarab Mk IV ship and a personal ship known as the Falchion in pursuit of one of men whom I encountered in Bolivia. I shall just boil it down to the essentials." Marion sipped a glass of water as she calmly recounted all the details.

"For starters, the Ferret whom I took to be a government operative is not one. He is Tony Stracci, the son of the notorious Lanthaeni crime lord Don Stracci. Both ships are owned by someone named Varanus. Some information I stole out of the shipboard computers indicates that Varanus is also after Torment's Cataract.

"Furthermore, information I gleaned from Tony Stracci's personal belongings suggests that he is in contact with Vergil and that he had been after some sort of waypoint in Bolivia. Finally, I also noticed one that several of his contacts live right here in Corona."

She downed her glass of water. "Right now, I believe that I may be able to find out where they are going next and what they are up to."

--------------

(Egypt)

Soren was examining a map of the Nile. He scowled as he realized that several of the areas were marked as belonging to various companies -- and were therefore forbidden zones. He t

"Tony," he said, as he climbed up the wooden stairs from the lower decks and into the bridge. "I don't know how accurate this map is but according to what Triste said, the waypoint's inside the borders of Aswan Algal Chemicals."

-------

Anne reclined on the deck where she sipped a bottle of local honey beer. Her metallic horn gleamed in the desert sun.

Pterano · **Reply #864 on:** February 16, 2015, 07:45:06 PM

Tony regarded Marita skeptically, but finally nodded at her explanation. "All right... when we get back from this we will, how's that sound?" he asked, raising his brow as Soren came up to him here. "So... it's in a corporation's territory?" he asked. "Pretty remote place if you ask me... maybe they don't really monitor the desert as much as they do the shoreline." he suggested. "I mean we don't know the terrain makeup of the waypoint just yet... it could be based in a relatively desolate part after all... you never know."

He turned his attention back to the river, and silently hoped this would be easier than the other ones... but somehow he doubted it. This whole trip had been one big challenge from start to finish, and he had no idea what else he'd encounter before this quest was through.

He increased speed on the boat's throttle as he reached more open water, and kept his eyes scanning for oncoming traffic, but it was sparse the further south they headed, and that suited the ferret just fine...

"What?" Varanus asked, touching his throat. He'd fully healed in the weeks leading up to this point, and was ready to get back into action, which promised to be soon at this rate.

"I see." Mace replied, studying all the information she had laid out before him. He paused as she mentioned waypoints.... it was the exact same thing his brother had been looking for years ago... but what was the connection now? His brother had only told him a few things about it... not enough. "You... said waypoints?" he asked softly, swallowing hard. "I-I see. Um... I suppose so but... I feel at this point this is getting beyond something I wish to pursue. Given what I learned about this stuff in the past... it's stuff we probably shouldn't even be messing with in the first place." Mace told her flatly, fixing her with a steely gaze. "It destroyed my brother all right? And he was the strongest person I've ever known."

The gecko tapped a finger on her notes thoughtfully. "My brother changed forever... and ultimately ended up dead pursuing this... I'm more interested in this Vergil Speicher... and what his connection with my brother is." Mace said now, looking up at her. "Have you found anything linking him to Rex?" he asked.

Nick22 · **Reply #865 on:** February 16, 2015, 08:51:06 PM

Sounds great " Marita smiled , relieved that she had salvaged things with Tony for the time being. ' this waypoint should show us the last Waypoints location correct? The one In Asia? After that well, its finding the ship itself..
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Rose and Marie calmly drank thier beers, letting the warm sun tan their skins. the scenery was the only thing notable, there wasnt many boats in this portion of the river.

bushwacked · **Reply #866 on:** February 17, 2015, 06:42:14 AM

"We could always just stop the boat just outside, sneak in and get to where we want. I could do that shit no problem," Rio suggested, leaning back on on of the plush chairs and propping his feet up, trailing sand onto the expensive looking fabric.

Axel shrugged. "Depends how far in the waypoint would be. And if there's more of those robot guard things, it'll be hard to be subtle."

Rio looked up interestedly. "Robot guards?"

"You don't want to know," Axel shuddered.

"We'll assess the situation when we get there," Triste said, studying the map. "If we're in luck, it'll be as Mr. Stracci said, and security won't be an issue." She glanced out of the window, noting the steadily dwindling number of boats. Turning her head, she looked behind them, eyes tracing the course they'd just taken, studying what few boats remained on the river. Still no obvious tail, no signs of being followed. Triste swallowed and turned her attention back to the front and whatever awaited them further on.

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #867 on:** February 17, 2015, 02:28:08 PM

"I wish to speak with you in person," the voice continued. "I have information on a certain target of yours which you will find quite valuable, not to mention a method of obtaining more. I'm transmitting you my coordinates." The coordinates placed the call somewhere in the deserts outside Corona. "You may meet me there, or choose a rendezvous point of your own. And to prove I'm telling the truth, you can have the first tip for free; Vergil Speicher's team is currently sailing down the Nile River, having just left the city of Aswan."

------------------------------

"I've never liked corporate raids," frowned Emilena. "This far out of town, they're basically governments with no need to put up a good face for the populace. If any of us get caught, they're good as dead."

"Then let's not get caught..." Flora shivered. As the prospect of leaving the boat and returning to the desert loomed, her old xerophobia was starting to reassert itself.

Pterano · **Reply #868 on:** February 18, 2015, 05:52:22 PM

"Hahahahah...." Varanus chuckled throatily at the voice on the other end, having checked his phone for the coordinates. "Oh I already know where he is... we're already waaaaay ahead of you." he smirked, lowering his sunglasses as he reclined on a deck chair, soaking in the sun on the boat that moved down the Nile a good ten miles behind the yacht Vergil and company were on, completely out of sight thanks to bends in the river. "Unfortunately I'm nowhere near Corona at the moment, so our meeting will have to wait. If you wish to join our cause, I can give you specific instructions about enlisting. Right now though... I've got a job to do." he said, looking up at the sky. No one could see it just yet... but Varanus was bringing along sizable reinforcements this time. However, he wouldn't call on them unless absolutely necessary... he wanted to finish Vergil himself... he would take personal pleasure in performing that task...

"Well hence we should avoid any corporate contact whatsoever." Vergil stated, looking over at Emi. "You're right... they'd kill us and no one would care. It'd be pointless to get into it with them out here. We aren't gonna get lucky twice like we did on Voltaic. I say we cruise on by the point of land closest to where the waypoint is, see how many shore installations there are, and if none, anchor right there and take a small boat to shore. It looks like the waypoint is..." He glanced at the map again, narrowing his eyes. "Only about nine miles inland so... requisitioning a vehicle might be preferable once we land."

"That's right." Tony said to Marita up above. "This is the penultimate waypoint... then one more, then the ship. We're gonna destroy that thing somehow... or maybe let the fleet handle it. Either way, we're not letting Kalis obtain it." he said with determination. At the rate they were moving, it wouldn't be long before they arrived, which was good, as Tony was looking forward to doing this again...

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #869 on:** February 18, 2015, 06:43:20 PM

"I assure you, you're not ahead of me," the voice replied. "I can gain up-to-date information on Vergil faster than you'd believe. I look forward to meeting you and sharing my intel. Don't take too long in sending someone to meet with me; I wish to work for Kalis, but I can turn to other factions if I must."

Then the voice cut out.

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"Sounds good to me," Emilena nodded. "I doubt we'll be lucky enough to obtain an unguarded land vehicle once we disembark, but if we do come across one Flora has significant experience hotwiring cars."

Flora nodded proudly.

Serris · **Reply #870 on:** February 18, 2015, 07:53:40 PM

(Corona)

"No sir," Marion replied. "But since several of Vergil's contacts live in Corona, I may be able to get some information from them."

She finished off her glass of water and placed it on the soapstone coaster.

------------

(Egypt)

Soren sipped some local soft drink as he examined the maps on the table and his laptop. The ride was fairly smooth so he didn't have to worry about making accidental marks. The maps he had were marked up with rough positions of patrol routes, boundaries and other data.

He looked out the cabin window and saw a large algal oil tanker pass by. Hmm. Maybe we can stow away aboard one of those tankers... he thought.

The door clicked as Anne came in. "So what's going on?" she asked as she went to the refrigerator.

Soren rubbed his face. "I'm doing some map analysis. And right now, I don't see how we're going to get in by water or air."

He got up and headed for the bridge.

"Tony," the Human said as he placed the marked-up maps on a teak table inside the rather luxurious bridge. "I've been doing some analysis and we can't get near the waypoint by water -- it's deep inside corporate territory. The companies here patrol their waterways vigorously and if we get caught, we're bricked. Their land and air patrols are no less vigorous but owing to the sheer amount of land, intruders are less likely to be noticed."

Pterano · **Reply #871 on:** February 18, 2015, 08:53:12 PM

Who the hell was this who was coming on and contacting him? And how did they know so much? Not like it really mattered, since Varanus intended to end Vergil by the end of the night. Soon no one would care who he ever was or had been. Except of course... Varanus KNEW who he was... and it was with great pleasure that he'd terminate his existence. Who knew? If he could... it might mean he'd be strong enough to take out Kalis and inherit his empire for himself.

"Yeah uh... relay that call to Admiral Carrack. He can pass it on to Kalis, and if his lord is interested, we can I dunno... send someone out there to meet this guy or something." Varanus ordered, narrowing his eyes as he raised his sunglasses to cover them again and went back to sunning himself.

Mace nodded. "Very well... look into these contacts and see what you can find. But don't go breaking the law. You get caught I'll deny all knowledge of your existence, but then again... you already know that." he said, giving her a nod. "Find me what I want... and let's find out more about him."

"Well stealing a vehicle might be easy, especially if we pick one carefully and not just jack one that we see the first time. But yes, we'll try and avoid people at all costs... the less that see us head into the desert... the better." Vergil stated, looking down.

Vergil greeted Anne with a nod as she entered. "We're just basically going over ideas and plans. Bouncing them around so to speak. That horn of yours... can it activate electronics from a distance?" he inquired.

Up above, Tony listened to what Soren had to say. "I see... but they can't stop navigation on the entire river! I'm sure there's a corridor you can take through it. I mean if we can't go any further we'll have to stop, and hope there's a convenient vehicle we can take that fits all of us... otherwise we're gonna be out of luck anyway. Walking nine miles in the desert... we'd need a hell of a lot of water for that. Unless we wait till night, but then we'd be freezing our tails off." Tony pointed out. "I'd rather just go during the day, as we didn't exactly pack warm clothing. Anyway... how far before they'd stop us?" he asked Soren.

Serris · **Reply #872 on:** February 19, 2015, 03:13:22 AM

Soren looked at his map. "Most of the smaller canals that branch off are in corporate territory -- and closed to public access. Aswan Algal Chemicals has an algae farm on the shore of the Nile -- something they got special permission from the Egyptian government to do. That stretch of the waterway is open to public boat traffic but it has a very strict speed limit. If we go too fast or too slow, or worse, stop, Aswan Algal Chemicals will be sending over a patrol boat to see what's going on." He took a seat and templed his hands. "Granted, we could feign engine trouble, ambush the guards and then steal their patrol boat but considering that their patrol boats are armed, I'm not liking the chances of success."

He then pointed to some red dots he made on the paper -- one of numerous that dotted the riverbanks. "We can forget about the waterway approach. Cameras and various sensors watch every inch of the riverbanks. If you even hint that you're heading for the restricted access canals or preparing to make a stop at the riverbank,, the guards will be on your ass.

"By land, it looks like the off-limits areas are clearly marked. It looks like the closest you can get to the complex is maybe about four miles. Any closer and the company starts getting real interested in what you're up to."

---------------

Anne shrugged. "Hypothetically, if it's radio-controlled, I probably could control it remotely. But the problem is that my antenna is powered by a cluster of micro-fuel cells that runs off the glucose in my blood; it's not very powerful so I'd say I have a range of 200 feet tops. As for the jamming capability, it's got a range of twenty feet at most."

She reached inside the refrigerator and grabbed a glass bottle of beer. She pulled out her stolen brass knuckles from her pocket and used them as an improvised bottle opener.

bushwacked · **Reply #873 on:** February 21, 2015, 07:03:07 AM

Axel looked over the map Soren was pointing at, and frowned. "Damn... so they've got every way in covered..." He chewed his lip for a second thoughtfully. "Well wait. Anne, your horn could jam the cameras right? If the signal from your antenna was strong enough?" The rat blinked at her. "What if we could find a way to boost the signal that you could give off from it? It wouldn't have to be for long... just, you know, enough to take out a few cameras and give some of us the chance to get off the boat and out of their sight? Then whoever's left on the boat could keep driving up the river, then turn back and, ah, pick us up again?" He shrugged. "Maybe there'd be a way to mess with the security defense once we're in, give us a chance to get away again? It's the only way I can think of that means... you know, we'd have a chance of avoiding any people who work there."

"We'd still have the problem of avoiding the security teams patrolling the plant," Triste pointed out.

Rio perked up. "How about a distraction? You said the guards get all over your shit if the boat stops along here," he said, reaching up and stretching his arm to point at the waterway. "So what if whoever stays on the boat does actually stop somewhere along there. If a team of assholes comes around, it'd mean less of them for the rest of you to hide from." Rio looked up at the adults. "And they'll probably not get as mad if they see it's a kid who fucked up driving the boat. And if they do then I guess it'll give you guys more time to do whatever the hell you're gonna do."

aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato) · **Reply #874 on:** February 21, 2015, 12:03:31 PM

"Hmmm...that could work," murmured Emilena. "It could give something for the less threatening teammates like Axel and Marita something to do."

"I could go with Team Less-Threatening!" Flora piped up.

Pterano · **Reply #875 on:** February 22, 2015, 06:23:35 PM

Since it seemed everyone was wandering up to the cockpit, that's where Vergil headed as well, having already sensed what the discussion was taking place above his head. He went outside to the teak stern deck, and climbed the stairs (or ladder as it was known on boats) up to the wheel, where Tony and Soren (and everyone else) were deep in discussion regarding their next moves.

Vergil listened to the suggestions, and nodded even as Tony spoke up. "I was just about to suggest that actually!" the ferret said. "We move those on shore to the boat, and slip ashore without being seen. No sense risking it with security like that. Nine miles away though... we're gonna probably need ground transportation of some kind..."

"I agree with the distraction." Vergil spoke up now, looking them over. "But I don't want our distraction getting harmed or killed for their job. We should do our best to keep them out of reach of the company forces. Of course... you could always throw the throttle forward and take off, leading them on a chase... but you'd have to ensure you could keep this boat around for our escape. We brought communicators with us, so keeping in touch won't be too much of an issue." he informed them all.

"Still... I don't want the decoys captured. Find a way to get this boat away from the security forces after they clear you, and join us." Vergil looked at Rio here. "I don't like leaving our forces divided for too long in the face of potentially strong opposition. To top that all off... I don't want to inflict needless pain." he said, looking sympathetically at Flora and Rio, as they seemed to be volunteering.

"Well hey... they could like... be waved on their way, and then like... come back for us when we're done." Tony suggested.

Vergil nodded. "I think that'd be best, yes. Perhaps a high-speed extraction would work well. What's everyone think?" he inquired, looking around at the others. "We'll have a better idea of course once we're on shore, and can see their defenses for ourselves."

Nick22 · **Reply #876 on:** February 22, 2015, 07:22:51 PM

Those on the "Boat" team will have to occupy security on the river long eough for those on land to get to the waypoint, deal with whatevers there, and unlock the coordinates to the last waypoint. We're likely talking something that could conceivably be anywhere from 15 minutes to a couples hours ' Marita said." thats not including picking them back up either, so we're possibly doubling the time frame. so whoever is operating boat needs to be good at it.. and no Rio, we're not putting a 13 year old in charge or driving this thing,.so dont ask. It'll likely be either me or Axel operating the thing.." Marita said.

Serris · **Reply #877 on:** February 22, 2015, 08:46:13 PM

Anne nodded. "If you can get your hands on a repeater like what's used for boosting cell phone signals, you can significantly increase my range of implant."

Soren tapped his chin. "You know, this boat has a radio, right? And a repeater's essentially a radio transmitter." He smiled. "It should be very easy for me to modify our radio."

The Human then looked at his map again. "You know, we could stow away on an oil tanker and deal only with the internal security."

bushwacked · **Reply #878 on:** February 23, 2015, 06:46:31 PM

"How often would an oil tanker come along? By the time we manage to get aboard one, we could have wasted too much time," Triste pointed out. "And we don't know what kind of security they'd have on the ship - I'd be surprised if nobody else has ever tried sneaking in using the ship. We could just be trading the maneuverability of the outside for the enclosed space of the tanker with the same amount of resistance."

Axel shrugged. "At least if we went for the first plan, we could hit the place fast, and get out quick."

Pterano · **Reply #879 on:** February 24, 2015, 01:37:39 AM

"I agree with Triste. A tanker's too much time, too unwieldy, and too much of an unknown. You said yourself a water approach is out anyway. We have to strike fast. In and out, get the waypoint, and not mess around. So let's focus on getting ashore as quick as possible, procuring land transport, and getting to our destination." Vergil stated, looking the map over again.

"Satellites show either a rock formation or something like it over the waypoint so... it could be a cave or something where it's located." Vergil commented thoughtfully. "Anyway, if a water approach itself is out, we can't really make use of a distraction anyway. We should just stop well short of their territory, get a vehicle, and move on in." he suggested. "Less chance of detection that way."

"Hm... gotta find a land vehicle first." Tony pointed out.

"Could just wait for a patrol to pass by the perimeter, incapacitate them, steal their vehicle, and get the hell over to the waypoint. I think that's our best best." Vergil replied. "Of course we don't know anything about their vehicles... none of this showed up on our intelligence beforehand... we'll just have to ultimately improvise I suppose." he confessed.

Mace nodded. "All right... do it. See what you can find out and report back." he ordered, giving her a look that said it all: get this done.