GURPS Shadowrun [IC] Under the Dragon's Tooth

~ The spark of magic washed over Juno as Jaeger's hand made contact, and though he witnessed her bleed away from the world, he could still feel her presence as he struggled to keep the mysticism firmly attached to her soul. Every second left Hundgeist all the more drained, struggling to connect naturally with the unnatural resonance of steel and wire.

It was unnatural. Hundgeist accepted it for what it was, but it was unnatural. This was nothing born of spirit, of Essence, but the scientific horrors of men and their need to push boundaries. For his part, Jaeger accepted it though: he had grown up in the ADL, he had been involved in Corporate Life, he knew the advantages that cyberware gave. Was it so unnatural to hurry evolution? To try and compete with the unfair advantage that magic bestowed upon the chosen few..?

And yet, he also knew of his hatred for BTLs, and what were they but a means to try and compete with the wondrous sights that his Astral vision gave him? But ... no. No, they preyed upon people. Hundgeist was a gift when he was at his lowest. There was a difference.

" Alright, not much time," he told his invisible friend, " You've got maybe five minutes once we're in the door. Make them count and then I'm dropping the spell."

He was out of the Insane Bolt in a flash, ignoring the fact that it appeared as though only he had exited from the back, and strode right up to the doorman. On came that charming Evening News smile, and Jaeger fell right back as if it were ten years ago. He kept his German accent, though: He still had a SIN, after all. No need to try and hide that if it would work for his advantage.

" Guten Tag, my friend," Fredrick greeted the doorman, keeping a cool amiability in the way that so many Johnsons used, but he never gave the doorman a chance.

" I've thirty minutes so I shan't bore you: they'll be expecting me back at the Offices soon but a freund invited me to check out the apartments here, something a little more permanent than traveling here from the Allianz, ja? Ja, already looks promising from the outside. Naturally, said friend is tied up back with management, but he said you fine folks knew how to identify the riff-raff from the, well, others."

Jaeger grinned. That sterile, Corp-savvy grin of someone who intrinsically knew where on the ladder he sat, and where others should know their place.

" Be a 'pal' and I'll make sure to mention it once I move in, Ja? I'm sure my friend would be 'appreciative' as well for saving him time. You know how precious time is in this business, yes? Of course yes." ~

[sblock=Rolls]Fast Talking Elf: 3d6 15 vs. 17 Fast Talk.

Also working with Charisma 2 and Honest Face 1[/sblock]

Jaeger noticed that the 'doormen' had a fairly obvious bulge where a holstered pistol might be and the man had a very military style crew cut. He looked over Jaeger for a second and said "OK buddy, so long as you have nothing... illegal on or in you, welcome to Pacific Towers" as he openned the door for the shaman.

The large luxurious lobby lead towards four banks of elevators in front of you (about 40 feet inside the lobby) and a private bar to the left and what appears to be a large sized indoor pool and executive exercise facility to the right (both have large glass windows looking in and doors with various wireless AR advertisements. For example the bar is open to all residence and invited guests, while the 'public' must pay a 10 nuyen fee just to enter. It also has a large list of various drinks, cocktails and snack-foods that it provides, all with hefty prices 20-50 nuyen. The pool and exercise facility are excursively for residents and invited guests.)

Near the elevators their is a concierge's desk with a mid-level wage-slave and bellboy standing behind it, and two Knight Errant security guards in partial heavy armor with holstered pistols and tasers. One is watching you are you entered (obviously informed by the doorman that you were coming) and the other appears to be watching a close-circuit monitor station (although you can't see what he is looking at). There are hallways on leading around each side of the elevators (one right, one left). Finally there are a number of den tables and plush, executive chairs spread through the lobby area, a few occupied by upper-level wage-slaves judging by their clothing.

Juno shadowed Jaeger, stepping as softly as she could. A lot of it was just walking when he walked, and keeping her damn arm still. It wasn't LOUD, but if there wasn't any other noise, the servos in it could be heard quietly whirring if she moved its major joints.

It was a disquieting experience, being invisible. She was used to being seen, to being acknowledged. Even if she was immediately dismissed, people's eyes would find her, note her, then slide away. To be standing in the open, not trying to hide at all, and not get that basic recognition, was eerie. Did she still exist when no one could see her, or was she the tree falling in a forest empty of things to hear?

Focus, Castle. The job.

Right. She looked around the lobby, recording video from her image link to her commlink, which was set not to communicate outside her PAN. Noting doors, any obvious security measures, guard positions, and so on.

Assaulting the ground floor of the place would be a worst-possible way to go, but review of the footage might give them something useful.

Stealth: 3D6 = [6, 2, 3] = 11 vs 13

Perception check, looking for anything useful or interesting in the lobby area (vs 14): 3D6 = [2, 4, 4] = 10

~ Jaeger took in the lobby briefly, moving with purpose towards the concierge's desk. He could feel the tug of the spell on his fatigue, casting light away from Juno as she crept across the same floors, and hoped she would recall his warning of how short a timeframe he could give her. He could either try and gain access to the upper levels without tipping off the guards, or cause some sort of distraction so Juno could get deeper into this hive. Decisions, decisions.

He had to trust her, though. She'd make the right move. In the meantime, he caught the eyes of the Squire, gave him a curt nod, then moved his gaze to the front desk. Acknowledgement, but no chumminess between a higher-up and a guard. Jaeger did note the armor, though: if they had this level of security on the front floor, the penthouse may be even more locked down. Mages and Drones and Chrome, oh my.

" Allo" he greeted the deskhand when he was close, keeping his eyes on the worker's. He recognized the type: way too many hours and far too little pay. It was not long ago that he was in the same instance, and he still had trouble deciding which he hated least: being shot at or being slowly crushed by society.

" Could you key the elevator, bitte?" he asked, " I'm sure you've heard, a coworker invited me to tour his apartment so that I may decide on one myself here, but it seems in his haste to get to the next meeting, he forgot to actually provide the means for me to do so," Fredrick chuckled at his own joke, continuing on.

" You know how upper management-types can be. If you could be ever so kind, I just need to get to the Twentieth Floor. I'll be sure to mention how much he inconvenienced yourself, make sure he owes you a favor, neh?" ~

[sblock=Let's Roll Some Dice]
Let's do Savoir-Faire [Corporate] [roll0] vs. 15 (Possibly + 1 more for Smooth Operator?). Also working with Charisma 2 and Honest Face

Also taking in the lobby as well: Perception [roll1] vs. 15[/sblock]

The receptionist looks over Jaeger and with a fake smile that would not fool a brain dead burnout he says "Well I am sure you do sir, but today we are not... reviewing rooms upstairs. Perhaps if you would like to make another appointment for a different day??"

Juno, assessing the area, is pretty sure that there are a couple of other places where security guards and at least one weapon emplacement are semi-hidden from view. Anyone getting to close to the elevators who was uninvited would probably face additional problems.

The hallway on the left lead to what appeared to be office while the hall to the right of the elevator was marked as 'Security - Restricted Access'. You are pretty sure that the floor leading down that hallway had pressure plate sensors...

Outside, Master-Blaster's voice comes over Beowulf and Throg's comlinks, "I spoofed the weapon detector but it I think our elf arose some suspicions as a low-end alarmed was raised in the system just before he entered. I don't think they have detected Juno though as that would send off big red-flags. Might want to get ready just in case though..."

(OOC - Nope, Juno's following you. She's no ninja...she's got barely enough stealth not to embarrass herself, not enough to sneak past this kind of security, invisible or not )

~ They had scoped out what they needed for now: the place was a veritable fortress, job accomplished. Jaeger wasn't eager to sit around and wait to try and explain himself now that he was pretty sure he wasn't even getting past the front desk, and so waved a hand off, as if to brush the concierge away.

" Not necessary, meine freund; I'll just go have a talk with my colleague and clear this up with him instead. Thank you for your time," the Elf relented charitably, stepping away from the desk and heading back towards the front doors.

They weren't going to get any further in, so now was the time to link back up with the others and see what they had discovered. ~

The pair of you exist the lobby back outside and head over to Juno's car where the other two team members were waiting. Master-Blaste's voice comes over the comlink again "Their security had flag Jaeger as a possible treat but when you left the level dropped back to normal. They do have security cameras just outside the building also I noticed. But just for the street in front."