Log:From Kroskev With Love, Scene 1

From Kroskev With Love 2012/03/02 	 Dark Horse Harlequin Jennifer Jessica Karylaev Lorelei Anthony Quinn|Q Silverback 1

Part 1: Steel's Gym
Jennifer gathers the team in the Gym's Workout Room and seals it. "Thanks for turning up. I've asked you all here because I've been assigned a mission and I could use your help."

Harlequin juggles a couple of wooden balls one handed as he listens to Jennifer.

Harlequin murmurs, "Assigned by whom? Or should we not ask?"

Lorelei is looking rather weary when she turns up. "You know I'll be there any time you ask, Jenn."

Given that this is a meeting of heroes talking about invading Kroskev as opposed to him making a presentation of some sort Anthony has elected to show up in his combat armor. With his mask up and retracted he doesn't have the usual metallic timbre to his voice. "Yeah, I looked over the prospectus you sent me," he says, his brain automatically translating 'briefing' into a more familiar form. "I'm not entirely sure how much I'll be able to help. Unfortunately my holographic system doesn't have the ability to blanket a large area with images at present."

Jennifer says, "I can say it was not Starguard. Absolutely not Starguard. Starguard has nothing to do with this. And that's the official line." She grins. "Do you know about the attacks that have been made on Guild space ships passing by Earth? They are dragged out of hyperspace by a gravitional anomaly. Suspicion has been directed at an old launch facility in Kroskev. Our mission, should you accept it, is to determine if the facility is the site of the gravitron emitter."

Jennifer says, "You've all had a chance to read the data sheet I worked up, right?"

Harlequin looks over at Jennifer as he murmurs, "Do you know of the Kroskeven national supers are persent?"

Lorelei says, "Briefly, Jenn, I've been busy. Mostly I remember: lots of soldiers."

Jennifer shakes her head, "I don't have that information, Sasha. My sources haven't been able to determine that. In any event, the idea is to avoid discovery and confrontation, not engage the forces at the base."

Q asks Jennifer, "Are you aware of the alternative location that Interface and I were trying to pin down?"

Jessica sends a query for an update, and after a moment says, "I can confirm that two are known to be elsewhere at this time. But with metas that doesn't mean all that much.

Jennifer says, "No, Mr Quinn, I am not. Perhaps you can say more on that?"

Lorelei says, "What do we know about the Kroskev state team?"

Q nods. "We've got reason to believe that they are using an emitter system based on an old design worked on by my father," he says. "One aspect of that system is that it requires three emitters and if you have the location of one of the emitters you're able to work out the position of the other two based on certain signatures contained within the gravitational anomaly. Working on the idea that one of the emitters in in Kroskev we were able to project to location of the other two emitters, one unfortunately being in Zu and the other being in the Canadian wilderness."

Lorelei says, "Interesting choice of places. Do the emitters have to be located in particular locations relative to each other, or would be choice be up to the people who set it up?"

Jennifer says, "That's very interesting. And possibly very useful information. The Candadian wilderness probably doesn't have a thousand soldiers in the location. And we're on fairly good terms with one of the premier Canadian Superteams. How close to a location do you have, Mr Quinn. Oh, and do you mind if I call you Anthony?"

Harlequin lets the juggling balls drop into his hand then places them under his cloak. "Well, " A bluish silver shimmer encases Harlequin from head-to-toe for a moment then he seems to bulk out slightly into the form of an average Kroskeven mech infantry soldier in full winter uniform.

Q nods to Jennifer and gives a quick smile. "Anthony is fine," he says. "We've got it pinned down to about a fifty mile radius. There's a bunch of possible sites like oil fields and some diamond mines but with some time we can probably narrow it down some more, and like you pointed out there's probably a lot fewer soldiers."

Jessica says, "Time is something we're running out of. I dislike the Guild. But I recognise their power and capability. If the Guild decide to punish Earth things could get very unpleasant. We have a likely location, the facility at Kroskev. Heavily guarded. How fast could you narrow the Canadian area down to something we can search?"

Q gives a slight shrug of armored shoulders. "Not completely sure," he says. "It might be easier to narrow it down through intelligence gathering spy stuff. I mean, if they are working out of a place that's abandoned then isn't there some way to spot lots of people moving about, and if they are working out of some place that is suppose to be active can't you figure things out because they are buying the wrong stuff or not producing enough oil or something? I can try and look for the emissions of whatever power source they're using, but when they aren't running their emitter it might be hard to spot. I'm not even sure what power source they are using."

Harlequin mutters something that might be "Souls of forsaken children..." Its hard to tell gvein his now very deep voice, smoker scarred voice.

Lorelei says, "Does the matter of the other bases change things immediately? Or is this something to worry about later?"

Q says to Lorelei, "Just that it is probably an easier target and won't cause an international incident. If you take out one emitter you shut down the network.

Jennifer says, "I'm not sure we have the time to carry out that type of investigation, Anthony. It's certainly worth proceeding with. But with the uncertaincy of the time frame involved it's probably going to come down to looking around the Kroskev facility. We can get an answer fast. However, Anthony, have you informed anyone else of this? If we don't get an answer in Kroskev and things go badly wrong enough that we are captured someone else should have this information."

Q shakes his head. "We just worked out the general area and were trying to narrow it down," he says to Jennifer. "We haven't really had time to talk to anyone else about it."

Lorelei says, "Someone needs to know where we're going and why. In case this all goes wrong."

Jessica contacts the MIA and passes on the information from Q. She asks for a rush satellite check of all feasible locations in the area indicated, looking for activity in assumed abandoned sites, unusual activity in sites that isn't consistant with the official activity going on in them.

Q says, "You want me to leave a note for my secretary? 'Gone to invade Kroskev. Back soon'?"

Jessica hands the PDA to Anthony, "Talk to these people. And don't ask who they are! They don't exist, alright."

Harlequin murmurs, "I left a message with a skull. He'll pass it on if I disappear." He pauses for a moment. "If I disappear again."

Lorelei nods. "I told my mum. Which is more significant than it sounds."

Jennifer says, "My sister knows. Which is also more significant than it sounds."

Jennifer says, "Anthony, ask them to do a quick MassCon check. It looks like the number of possible sites is low enough we can check them out before needing to go to Kroskev."

Harlequin pats his pockets and takes a pack of gum out of one of them. He opens it then pops one into his mouth. The Kroskeven soldier then silently offers it to others.

Jessica smiles, "Canada. Winter. Get them to run a thermal scan from the satellite. A hidden base will probably be glowing bright in the infrared."

Q says into the phone, "Oh. Jennifer says to do a quick MassCon check."

Q adds "Oh. And she says run a thermal scan. They'll have to dump their heat somewhere."

Lorelei says, "Hm. Whether we're invading Kroskev or Canada, I don't look forwerd to the weather."

Jennifer chuckles, "I'm sure the Sat Recon techs are just loving me giving suggestions. They're a hundred times more knowledgable about this stuff than I am."

Q thinks for a moment and says into the phone, "And maybe hack the Kroskev postal system. See if anyone is having their mail forwarded to Canada."

Harlequin turns his gaze to Lorelei then raises his hands like a photographer roughing out a shot. He gazes at Lorelei through them for a moment then says, "Is white acceptable to you, Lorelei? It will blend well into the forest this time of year."

Lorelei waves her hand and is in winter camouflage. "This work?"

Jessica suggests, "Let's take a break while the satellite search is being done. Regroup back here in six hours."



Jennifer is looking through the results when the others return. It seems likely she hasn't left in the intervening time, "Welcome back. I've got the results from the scans. Nothing is showing up. Doesn't mean the emitter isn't there but we haven't got any closer to localising it."

Lorelei says, "Hm. Must be doing something with the heat. Maybe they're so far underground they're too well insulated? Deep mines?"

Q nods to Jennifer. "Can they keep an eye on the area? If the emitter gets used again before we can shut down one of the others they might spot it then."

Jennifer says, "That's possible, Lorelei. And I'm sure they will, Anthony. But I'll ask anyway."

Harlequin laughs. "Cloaking devices? Magic? Sadly the possibilites are endless to hide facilities. Especially in combination."

Jessica passes the request on to MIA.

Jennifer says, "We seem to be back to Kroskev. Unless anyone else has a better idea?"

Jennifer muses, "It won't add much time to pay a quick visit to the half dozen abandoned diamond mines on the way. If we can avoid having to sneak into Kroskev I'm all for that."

Q thinks for a minute. "Didn't you say some of Kroskev's metas are missing? It seems like a safe bet at least one of them would be hanging out at any secret Canadian base they might have."

Jessica nods to Q. "Yes I did. Three of them are currently unknown for location. In Canada they have the same problem we'll have in Kroskev. If they get spotted the game is up. So unless we actually discover the gravitron emitter they'll avoid us."

Lorelei says, "Are we even sure Kroskev is behind this? It seems likely, given the soldiers and so on present, but could that be coincdence? It could as easily be Zu, in principle. Canada seems less likely, I admit. Or unaffiliated."

Q shakes his head to Jessica. "What I meant is that Metas bring their own problems. Like, if Cosmo is there, and he might be since he might be their power source, doesn't he have a neutrino signature or something? Not something accurate enough to launch a missile at him, but to maybe narrow things down?"

Harlequin shrugs. "It is said in certain circles that General Nevski distrusts the Guild. Well, feels they are threat rather."

Lorelei says, "Heck. Or the old Chinese regime - didn't they flee tpo Kroskev? Though I admit I'm pushing it there."

Jennifer says, "I can't say he's wrong, Sasha. I think so too. But attacking shipping is a bad idea. The Guild is too powerful to annoy in this fashion."

Dark Horse quietly listens to the conversation, rubbing his chin slowly as he considers the intel gathered so far.

Jessica shrugs, "In essence it doesn't matter who's behind it. Our task is to locate an emitter. And right now the most likely location we have is still the facility in Kroskev."

Lorelei nods. "You have a plan, I take it?"

Jennifer smiles, "When did I ever not have a plan."

Harlequin takes a roll he snuck out of the dining hall from his Kroseven winter uniform pocket. He munches on it as he waits and listens as the chessmistress reveals her plan.

Jennifer outlines her plan, "Our mission statement: To determine if the facility is the site of the gravity anomaly device."

Jennifer continues, "There's radar coverage but it's designed for orbital launch tracking. Low flyers can move undetected. Ideally I'd like to have Quinn in his battlesuit a few miles away out in the woods. If we're spotted and the alarm given, Quinn can use his loudspeakers to stimulate a full-on heavy assualt and firefight out in the woods to distract the tanks and combat Mechs in the wrong direction.

I want to block the single access road by dropping trees across it several miles from the facility. Make it look like the trees were felled by weight of snow. This will delay any road reinforcements.

I've located all the telephone and optical fibre links to the base. We can emplace radio triggered explosive charges to cut them on command. If we are detected at some point we jam all radio transmissions and trigger the charges.

Depending on the exact situation on the ground, we'll examine the equipment being loaded onto the train first, or look in the missile silos. With luck one or the other will hold the gravity anomaly device and we won't even have to go into the main facility itself. I have a tunelling devide to access the silos from beneath the surface.

If no luck, at that point we'll have to enter the underground part of the facility. Stealth will be king. Avoid patrols and staff where possible. Neutralise silently when not."

Jennifer says, "Comments? Suggestions? Improvements?"

Jennifer says, "The base is pretty isolated. We can fly in relatively nearby if we stay low. Or teleport in. Which is dependent on Sasha and Quinn and their abilities. The idea is that they never even know we were there.

Lorelei says, "Sounds a good plan. If we can do that!"

Dark Horse nods slowly, "Sounds reasonable to me."

Harlequin murmurs, "I cannot build a gate to take us directly there. Its too far away. But if we get within, oh, 1000 km, I can bring us there."

Jennifer says, "Anthony, I'm thinking you could stay out in the woods a couple of miles away. If the alarm is given I'll knock out radio communications. You could make a distraction, decoy the tanks and combat mechs out towards you and away from us. And then hightail it out. You'll have greater superior mobility."

Lorelei says, "I can probably get us within a kilometre or so. Might take a while to work out a route, though."

Dark Horse rubs his temple slowly. The last time he tried to break onto a military installation...didn't work out so well. Then again, that was in the US, so...presumably this might be easier.

Jennifer says, "I have a couple of extra stealth suits if anyone wants to use them. Basically they make you harder to spot. Not invisible but harder to see and hear."

Q nods to Jennifer. "My port is a pretty short distance and you'd have to be inside my armor with me, which sounds a lot more fun then it actually would be."

Harlequin asks, "Do any of you speak Russian?"

Dark Horse looks to Jennifer, "Only if it'd fit over my kevlar."

Lorelei says, "Souns like I may be the best option for mass transpirt then.... unless timing is critical."

Dark Horse shakes his head, and looks to Harlequin, "Eight others, but not that one."

Jennifer gets the workout room systems to display a 3-D image of the site and its surroundings. "The spots where the explosive charges need to be emplaced are shown as red dots. These are the silos. The barracks, control room, etc. Take a good look so you'll know where things are.

Lorelei says, "Only English, Fae and a touch of Portuguese, from when I did make an effort once...."

Lorelei does her best to memorise the map.

Jennifer smiles, "Sasha, I suspect you'll be the only one who does speak the language. Which was another eason I especially wanted you along."

Harlequin nods. "And the other is my immense charm and devastationg handsomeness?" This coming from a man who present face looks like it has a few hard miles on it.

Jennifer says, "Yes. Absolutely."

Dark Horse nods, and looks over the map. He looks to Jennifer, "Did you want me helping with the demolitions?"

Jessica asks, "Lorelei, how long will you need to find a route to, say, this spot?" and points to a point about half a mile away from the road three miles from the facility.

Lorelei says, "Hm. Itd be easier if I knew the area. I can get us there - but I can't be sure in advance how close. The nearest portal or portals could be anywhere - I won't know where till I try."

Jennifer quietly asks Sasha, "Have you been there before?"

Jessica tells Lorelei, "If you can find a route anywhere close, like within a hundred kilometers, Sasha can gate us in from there, can't you, Sasha?"

Lorelei says, "It's very rare not to be able to get within a kilometre. Though the route may be a bit circuitous."

Harlequin nods. "Ah, the infamous faery paths. For some reason, no one has shown them to me before..."

Jennifer chuckles, "Some of us age, Lorelei. Let's avoid any routes that take a hundred years Fae-side."

Q says, "That's not going to mess up my armor the same way the embassy did, will it?"

Dark Horse nods in agreement with Jennifer. "I'm with you, there."

Lorelei says, "Possibly. But only on the way. And don't worry, I'll try to keep it down to a few hours our time, at most, at the cost of maybe not getting there so quickly this-world-time."

Part 2: Kroskev
Lorelei, having taken the group through half a dozen worlds - the last one of bare trees humming to each other under a sunless sky of brilliant stars - is now in her tiny 'fairy form' as well as in the offered stealth suit, and is acting as lookout/scout while the communication lines are cut.

Jessica sneaks through the woods to the data line route. Listening carefully.

Kroskev, in the middle of the wilderness. Snow dusted evergreen trees stand quietly in this part of the countryside. Not far away is the old launch facility.

Dark Horse makes his way quietly toward where he's supposed to set the explosives for the phone lines.

Harlequin waits near the arrival point. He gathers a bit of snow into a well compacted snowball as he quietly muses, "Never threw enough of these as a child..."

Having made his way through the faerie paths without having the extradimensional power source in his chest either detonating or causing him a heart attack Q flies low beneath the tree level as he makes his way to the designated spot. Once there he examines the trees, looking for the best one to drop across the road in order to maximize the road blocking effect.

The data lines are close to the perimeter of the facility. As Jessica works on setting her charge, she can hear the sound of an approaching patrol. Two soldiers and a guard dog on a leash.

Dark Horse is in the middle of setting his charge when the ground begins to rumble. A tank, with a dozen soldiers sitting and hanging onto the frame of the vehicle, starts to pass.

Jennifer tosses a piece of drugged meat under a bush, where the dog can get to it but the soldiers can't see it. Then she scoots up a tree into concealing cover of leaves. She is ready to drop on the guards if needed.

Dark Horse does his best to try to conceal himself from the oncoming tank. There aren't many places to run to...and running would draw attention.

Harlequin lightly tosses the snowball up and down in his hand as he keeps an eye out around himself for anything out of the ordinary.

The soldiers pass beneath Jessica's tree, led by the dog who's sniffing around the ground. The dog noses into the meat, left behind the trunk of an evergreen. It snatches it up and wolfs the snack down.

The tank rumbles past Dark Horse. None of the soldiers riding the tank seem to notice him.

Dark Horse slowly lets out the breath he was holding as the soldiers move past. He then goes back to setting the charge.

The soldier with the leash tugs on the dog, saying something in Russian. His friends also says something. After a moment they convince the dog to continue on the patrol, leaving Jessica alone in her tree.

Dark Horse finishes setting the charge, and then afterward, sneaks away from it, heading toward the rendezvous point.

Jessica checks the charge is concealed and activates it, The charge will now detonate if the radio jammer she's carrying is switched on.

Jessica then sneaks back to the renddezous.

Harlequin waits at the rendevous point. He eyes the twins as he says, "I can scry but I need to be about a mile closer than here. If I am within 2 miles I should be able to see into the silos as well as the train."

Dark Horse gets back. "All set. No problems."

Jennifer leans forward and if Sasha allows she hugs him, "I'm so glad you came. That will be great. I'll go ahead to scout. Jessica will guide Lorelei and you in behind me."

Jennifer says, "DH, you with me?"

Harlequin nods. "It comes as a drawback though, Jennifer. I will have to block the wards preventing me from being scried in return. Its a small risk though."

Harlequin does allow the hug. He's no fool.

Dark Horse nods. "Sure. I'll go with you."

Jennifer nods to Sasha, "Probably less of a risk than physically entering the site."

Dark Horse shrugs, and smiles, barely visible under his mask. "It's only a problem if they have a mage, right? I wouldn't worry about it. Odds are low."

Lorelei says, "I'll fly up above the trees? I'm not likley to be spotted at any distance, and I'll be able to acts as lookout better if my view isn't blocked."

Jessica hands Dark Horse a squat thick barrelled pistol. "Silenced rubber bullet weapon. There's a mist of gas visible but it's deadly quiet."

Dark Horse takes a look at the weapon. "I...hate to admit this, but I've never fired a gun. Can't be too difficult though, right?"

Jennifer moves ahead with Dark Horse, sneaking, listening, blazing a safe trail for Loreleu, Sasha, and Jessica.

Dark Horse chuckles quietly, "Just point out where the safety is, and I'll be fine."

Lorelei thinks. o O (There's only so much I can do *without* beng noticed, but Jenn knows that. I imagine she wants me here mostly in case it all goes to hell....)

Jennifer shows Dark horse the safety and tells him, "Hold this end. Point this end at enemy and pull trigger."

Lorelei says, "Don't let rabbits stick their fingers in the end."

Lorelei flies up above the trees for a better view, since the twins didn't object to the idea, staying roughly above Jessica and DH.

Within two miles of the base, there's a marked increase of activity. More soldiers, more patrols, more vehicles as you edge closer to the base.

Harlequin moves as stealthily as he can behind the others. Which is not very.

Carefully, the team makes it to within two miles of the base. Some patrols have moved past them, leaving the heroes surrounded, more or less, but not spotted. At least not yet.

Lorelei spots another portal, peers through, and blanches. . o O (Ok... *not* an escape route....)

Jennifer tosses another piece of meat under an evergreen bush and when the two groups have rejoined, she uses her holographic projector to cover them with the illusion of a larger bush.

Dark Horse wathes Jennifer activate the device. "Ooo. I need to get one of those."

Harlequin stands very still and after a few seconds starts to give a running commentary in a distracted voice.

Jennifer hisses, "Keep your voice down, Saha, for heaven's sake."

Harlequin murmurs softly, "I will try, but do you wish to know what is in there or no?"

Eventually Harlequin centers his perception of the launch facility. There are maybe a hundred soldiers on the ground here some drilling, some patrolling. A large number of them are helping to load equipment onto the train. The highest ranking official here is a general, who is standing next to a man in a suit of power armor, Silverback. Also nearby is Cosmos, a woman who's costume is actively dark, with twinkling stars to be seen within.

There have been some developments since the initial satellite sweeps. Right now, one of the launch silos is open. There's a heavy duty crane that's in the middle of hauling a large high-tech device out of the silo to place on the flatbed car of the train.

Jennifer thinks. o O (I wish Rebound has answered my message. With Quinn in the woods we don't have a techie who can identify what that is.)

Harlequin murmurs, "The general is Karylaev, one of Nevski's right hand man. He oversees 'delicate' operations for m.. Nevski." A faint frown settlex on his face.

Lorelei says, "So it looks more like Kroskev is involved. Or at least this guy is."

Jennifer whispers, "The train will take a couple of days to reach the coastal village at the end of the tracks. If we have to we can intercept it en-route. No need for precipitous action at this time."

Lorelei says, "Trains are easy to isolate - just blow up the line either way, if need be. Are we sure that what's being loaded on the train is what we want?"

Jennifer shakes her head frustratedly, "No. It's a good bet but I'm no tech."

Lorelei says, "Mind... sounds like it's likely to have meta guards. We're just avoiding the thousand or so soldiers."

General Karylaev asks Silverback, "... the location of this facility is compromised. Won't Starguard be able to determine the location of the other emitters?"

Silverback says, "Yes, if they knew the precise location of this emitter, they could locate the ones in Zu and in Canada. And that's where the train has played a critical role, General..."

Jennifer says, "That's it. Confirmation. Even if that isn't the device, and I'll bet it is, this is the location on one of the emitters, and Kroskev is involved if not behind it. Sounds like they move the emitter on the train to throw locators off the scent."

Lorelei nods.

Lorelei says, "So, we intercept the train then?"

Silverback says, "Once we get the emitter mounted on the train again, we'll have one more chance at fishing some cargo out of hyperspace."

Silverback adds, "They're looking for us, but they're not looking for us in the right place yet."

Jennifer nods, "But first we report back. And if the orders come to take the device out that's what we do. We should pull back and head down the tracks to report and prepare."

Harlequin shivers slightly. "This has a larger purpose behind it than just robbery."

Karylaev says, "So... one more try, and then we escort your device to the submarine. I doubt that your other operations will be so simple to relocate?"

Lorelei says, "Well, stealing alien tech could be valuable for what can be reverse-engineered...."

Jennifer says, "This is a nation-state engaged in piracy, Lorelei. It's too big a risk for something so minor. Sasha is right. There's more behind this."

Silverback sighs, "It took a lot of work to set up the emitters. Starguard might be on top of the other sites before we can move them. A costly loss, but the alien tech we're retrieving will more than pay for it.

Jennifer shrugs, "... or you could be right. But it's still a huge risk."

Lorelei says, "It is a huge risk. But heck, we had privateers for years - and it's not like Spain had a great tech advantage, that was just for money."

Jennifer says, "Sasha, you're done enough. It's time to go. And thanks. I'm not sure we could have done this without you.""

Harlequin murmurs, "Do not assume that Nevski and Silverback have the same goals in mind though. Not enough info..." He falls silent again.

Lorelei says, "Any chance the this is a game of this general's own, and Nevski doesn't know about it? or is Nevski too, um, well-informed?"

Karylaev says, "My people have confirmed receipt of your latest payment, Silverback. Your backers, their pockets are quite deep, no?"

Silverback says, "Yes. And if you keep up your end of the bargain, your pockets will be lined as well."

Lorelei nods.

Dark Horse says quietly, "I'm still confused. Who's paying whom to do what?"

Harlequin adds as he comes out of the trance. "Karylaev is loyal. It is more likely that he is running this mission to give Nevski plausible deniability than he is running a secret operation on the side." He smiles. "Loyalty is prized right up there with competence by Nevski."

Jennifer says, "Silverback knows. Maybe he'll be on the train, and Lorelei can ask him nicely to tell us."

Lorelei nods to Harlequin. "I figured Nevski was that sort. Hard to have lasted this long if you haven't surrpunded yourself with people both competent and loyal."

Lorelei grins. "Note how we change out incompetent backstabbing lot every four years or so."

Dark Horse says, "I had heard that Cosmos was a loyal government type, too. So...it makes sense that this is not completely under the table here."

Lorelei nods. "Seems official-ish here. Just for a moment, before we heard what was said, I wondered if we had in backwards and Kroskev's presence was because they figured out what had happend and had beaten us to stopping it. But no."