RPGWW

by **Animala** » Tue Mar 23, 2010 5:59 pm

Lauren waved half-heatedly to the departing kids. "Yeah, I'll, uh..." Lauren had a terrible sinking feeling. She'd be seeing her mom again. And she'd probably be mad, and wouldn't believe her about dad, and everything would be the same...

Ambassador Leafshade had had quite enough of this and bit her, firmly on the ear. "okay, okay" Lauren muttered. "...I'm coming too!" she called out, and followed the others to the waiting room.

by **Shinigori V2** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 3:31 pm

(At this point, people should be getting with me about weither or not they want their parents/handlers handled by me, or just taken care of off screen. Once everyone's ready WE WILL GET TO THE DELICIOUS MEAT OF THIS MISSION)

by **ChristianC** » Wed Mar 31, 2010 4:49 am

Alexis headed out with the rest of the children, her feelings mixed with happiness for meeting her handler... but also nervousness and slight dread at where she was going... but she steeled herself, clenched her fists and just bit it down, deciding that it's just as well she got it over with.

by **Idran1701** » Wed Mar 31, 2010 11:34 pm

Meeting Room

After a few hours with their handlers, family, and caretakers, the Wunderkind are all called to a meeting, a briefing on some recently-arisen issue that needs dealing. Inside, they find a long conference table, with name cards set out for each of them at one of the seats. At the head stands someone new, a green-eyed woman in her late thirties, her brown hair woven into a tight braid that reaches down to her waist - their databases recognize her as a low-level executive in their program, Florence vanYeigh. She smiles pleasantly as the Wunderkind get themselves situated, waiting for them all to arrive before beginning the meeting. Finally, when the last enters, she begins to speak.

"First, I have to say, it's nice to meet you all in person. We haven't met yet, but I've been working closely with the techs to make sure everything's gone well for the lot of you. You can call me Ms. vanYeigh, or Florence, whichever you'd like. Now, I'm sorry to take you away from everyone this quickly, but it looks like we've already got a situation for all of you. I know most of you have been excited to get to your first live mission, and I hope that's enough to make up for this. And you'll all get to see them again as soon as it's taken care of. Now, any questions before I get into it?"

by **ChristianC** » Thu Apr 01, 2010 1:17 pm

Alexis had been... muted when she came back, more than before and the woman who came with her, her handler, looked... upset, squeezing the hand of the wunderkind with a worried look on her face. The mid-20 woman brushed back a strand of hair from Alexis's face, and whispered something to the girl, who nodded and wiped the corner of her eye.

Alexis remained calm for the rest of the time, giving a sniff every once and again, but with her handlers help she was calming down a bit, and Percivald was helping too. He was such a nice teddy.

by **Kelne** » Thu Apr 01, 2010 7:52 pm

Emily was still pretty bubbly from her time at home, but sobered quickly at the mention of a live mission. This was what they were here for, and she had to admit she was looking forward to putting her skills to good use. For now, she took her seat and gave a small shake of her head. Questions could wait for the end of the briefing.

by **Animala** » Thu Apr 01, 2010 8:09 pm

Lauren was smiling faintly, but very...distracted. The time with her mom had been...nice. They hadn't fought. Her mom had even said she was proud of her! Actually proud! They had both cried when she had to leave again...it really hadn't gone the way she was expecting at all.

Ambassador Leafshade, for her part, had found a comfortable spot on Lauren's head and had nestled in, lost in thought as well. Neither of them voiced any questions.

by **NebulaQueen** » Thu Apr 01, 2010 8:45 pm

The visit was good. Silvie really liked the computer and her new friends, she really did, but she also missed her mom and dad a lot. Seeing them again was ...well it was nicer than she could say. Plus her trainer, her trainer! She was so cool

...oh, wait, mission. Right, time to focus on the mission.

"Uh...so how are we going to be doing this?" Silvie tilted her head, and asked, "We're supposed to be secret, right? Well...how do we stay secret outside?"

by **Spleen** » Thu Apr 01, 2010 8:46 pm

Darren showed up late, splattered with a small handful of green and blue paint splotches and shaking with barely-contained mirth. Wherever he's been, his mood has improved considerably. He stopped in the doorway to hear vanYeigh's schtick.

by **Idran1701** » Thu Apr 01, 2010 8:57 pm

Meeting Hall

Florence nods to Silvie. "Good question. And that gets to the mission itself. There's a VIP at the south entrance of the city in need of the best security we can offer. You'll be escorting them from within an enclosed vehicle to this tower. The identity of this VIP isn't important - all that matters is they have the utmost protection. And I'm proud to say that you all are just that. Now, I know this might sound a little more boring than what you were hoping, but this is something of a trial run for the higher ups. I know you can handle this fine, but they want to see how well you perform in the field personally."

by **Kelne** » Thu Apr 01, 2010 11:53 pm

Emily nodded, "Will we all be in just the one vehicle? And does one of us get to drive, or are we there mostly just in case?" Security detail wasn't what she'd been expecting, though in hindsight it made sense as a low-profile training mission. The VIP must be pretty important to get them all assigned as protection, and it occurred to her that if anybody did launch an attack, they'd hit pretty darn hard. Even if it was really just a training run (after all, surely nobody would launch an attack in the middle of Deck City), it wouldn't hurt at all to take it seriously.

by **Idran1701** » Fri Apr 02, 2010 1:15 pm

"If you want to request a driver, that's perfectly fine, and if one of you wants to drive, that's fine too. And if you want more than one vehicle, feel free to use it." Florence smiles, leaning onto the table. "They're letting you decide everything about this one. The details of the mission are completely up to you. They've got a lot of trust in all of you, especially after how well you've been doing so far, and I think you all deserve it. You've got until this evening to figure out how you want to handle it, and once you've got a plan, just let me know and I'll pass it along. Anything else?"

Sam looks surprised, pleasantly so. "We're choosing everything even outside too? Neat! I thought maybe we only did that in the server 'cause there wasn't anyone else there."

Florence shakes her head. "No, they think you'll work best independently. And it'll be good practice for all of you too, learning strategy and tactics. Remember, you're more than just fighting drones, or a team of superkids. We all want you to learn to be fine tactical minds as well, and we think you're all more than capable of it with enough time. All of you."

by **Besyanteo** » Fri Apr 02, 2010 9:43 pm

Enzo had come into the meeting looking happy, if not as elated as most of the others were. The day had been a long string of mellow, mostly pleasant moments so far, and it showed. He continued to look at peace as Florence outlined their assignment to him. Protect someone as they move from point A to point B? With this team? So very very doable.

"Well, let's start at the beginning then. Where will we be meeting the VIP and his or her vehicle?"

by **Idran1701** » Fri Apr 02, 2010 9:58 pm

"You'll be meeting them at the southern entrance to the city, where Highway One meets D52. It's the main thoroughfare out of town, as I'm sure some of you know already. From there, you could either continue on the highway straight to the tower, or take side roads about the city. Obviously each would have its pros and cons to it."

by **ChristianC** » Sat Apr 03, 2010 8:12 am

Alexis and her handler, Dr Sarah, were both listening to the discussion when finally Alexis broke the silence, raising her hand.

"U...Um... will I be going with the others in the car o... or..." she tugged at the sleeve of her handler a little, "will I be scouting out the way ahead?"

by **BrainWalker** » Sat Apr 03, 2010 7:01 pm

Max was also in a pretty good mood. He was actually a little surprised at how good it had felt to see mom and the old man again. He and Emily were on their own so often that they were both pretty independent, but still, after half a year, it was a warm and welcome reunion. Although it was a little weird for them to be asking what it was like working with Kidritta. Max had been a fan, but now the kids were all programmed to see each other as family... it was an awkward topic, but Dom helped diffuse the tension. Dom and his folks got along really well, since he's pretty laid back and is actually a fan of their work. Max also confirmed that Dom was largely responsible for the specs of his sweet new bike.

Entering the room, it seemed clear that everyone had had some pretty good R&R, even Darren who had seemed the least excited about it. Had he peen paintballing or something?

Max had been lost in thought, but the talk about the kids having total control over the mission perked him up. He was actually pretty shocked that the brass was letting them make their own decisions. He might have to reevaluate his feelings on D52. Again.

Responding to Alexis: "Actually, it might not be a bad idea to have you outside scouting ahead. I know we're supposed to be keeping a low profile, but you're pretty stealthy, right? Plus, I'm sure your scouting ability would be more effective outside the car. Just in case, it would probably be a good idea to have you watching out for us from above."

"Also, with me and Emmy, there's really no reason to request another driver. I really can't imagine what another driver would do that either one of us couldn't do better."

Max rests his elbow on the table, and his chin in his hand. "Actually, with the two of us, it might not be a bad idea to do that thing they always do for important political figures in movies and take two cars, so any would-be attackers would have to guess where the VIP is. Not sure how likely that would be, and if that would be more trouble than it's worth, but it's an idea."

"Umm, and for what it's worth, should anything happen, it would probably be safer for innocent bystanders, and the city itself, if we took the long way around. Then again, for that same reason, it might be less likely that anything would happen if we went straight through the city. Either way, I'm sure Emmy and I can handle anything that may, or may not happen."

by **Idran1701** » Sat Apr 03, 2010 9:21 pm

Florence nods at Max's comment to Alexis. "That's your decision as well, but remember that we still want to keep your existence hidden from the general public. And we don't have any technology to cloak or disguise you. But if you can find a way around that problem, you've got our approval.

by **NebulaQueen** » Sun Apr 04, 2010 12:31 am

"So...how should we split up? I mean, if we're taking two cars..."

Silvie bit her lip, and said, "I think it'd be good if Alexis was in the car with the VIP. That way, she can scan stuff, but people won't see her. I don't know about everyone else, buuut we should try and split it fifty/fifty, right? I mean, we gotta protect the guy, but we need to be ready for a fight if they get the other car."

by **Kelne** » Sun Apr 04, 2010 8:33 am

"If we do have to fight," Emily spoke up, "It should be somewhere there'd be as little collateral damage as possible." That way, if these hypothetical attackers cut loose, there wouldn't be many people caught in the crossfire. That was a fair bit more important to her than keeping their secret. It was all going to come out anyway, after all. "We should stick together," she went on, "with the people in the second car ready to rescue the VIP or cover their retreat if need be."

by **ChristianC** » Sun Apr 04, 2010 3:18 pm

Alexis wasn't entirely sure she could keep up with a car's speed... but if they went through the city, the amount of redlights and turns would mean that if she was on the roofs, for example, she could keep a decent speed... and she wouldn't really get exhausted. Actually, she'd run a few simulations, and she could push herself to pretty high speeds and...

"I can't... umm... I can't really scan things... uhm..." she raised her hand a little, "I can... uh... p-put a beacon on p-people, and t-things... for Enzo mostly... but I'm really fast, and if I ran on... like... rooftops, maybe I could avoid being seen, I... I dunno..."

by **Shinigori V2** » Sun Apr 04, 2010 3:28 pm

Janet, having been sitting against the far wall, finally spoke up. "Well, there's good reasons to do either path, and we have a lot of stuff we can do either way. We can control traffic flows with the computers, shut down on and off ramps, and set up detours. It really comes down to what we wanna do with it, I think."

by **NebulaQueen** » Sun Apr 04, 2010 8:25 pm

"Hey, that's right!" Silvie slammed her fist into her palm, and said, "We can just make it so there's nobody else around!"

by **BrainWalker** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 8:51 am

Max blinks, surprised by Janet's comment.

"Wait, what? We're being given complete control over this mission, and we even have control of city infrastructure? That's... that's amazing."

Actually, D52 is the main governing body of the city, and it's not that uncommon for high-profile guests of such bodies to be transported under such conditions. It was just... weird having control over the city itself.

"Well, if we can keep other drivers off the highway, that would actually take care of most of the trouble of going that way. I mean, we'd still have to worry about the road itself and nearby buildings, but the risk to actual citizens would be way down. Plus, it would probably be a lot easier to beat a hasty retreat on a relatively empty highway than on back-roads. Obviously avoiding conflict, or any other kind of trouble, should be first priority."

Max turns to Florence. "Hey, why is it that the identity of the VIP isn't important, anyway? I mean, if we're talkin' about redirecting traffic from the main highway, that's pretty major, right? I mean, I guess we don't need to know to do our mission, it just seems a little weird that we're plannin' all this for some mystery guy."

by **ChristianC** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 6:40 pm

Alexis seemed to grow a little bolder as the planning continued.

"W-well, it might be h... hard for me to keep up with the cars if we g-go by the muh-motorway, but..." she smiled a bit, awkwardly, "I c-can run at about fuh-forty five miles p-per hour..."

she looked around at the others, to gauge their thoughts on it.

"I m-mean, I'm not of m-much use inside the car, b-but I guess, if I should b-be in there..."

by **Besyanteo** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 9:20 pm

They were being handed quite a bit to work with. There were some unknowns, but they could still work with that. They wanted to clear the main highway. They wanted to remain hidden, and to protect the VIP. So, they couldn't get into the VIP's vehicle, there was just no opportunity: they would need to protect it as a whole rather than the VIP specifically. They also needed to be able to move quickly with little or no notice. Well, this was easy to organize then.

"So, summarizing and expanding on what we have so far... We should take two cars to meet the VIP's vehicle. Janet will shut down Highway One so that we're the only cars on it, and if necessary redirect traffic flows on the fly, if we absolutely have to turn off for some reason. Having a dedicated navigator in that kind of position of power means we can have the best of both options. Max and Emmy will be driving, and Alexis should be in the lead car: She can pick out potential threats as we go and mark them. I'll be in the rear vehicle, analyzing anything she marks and forwarding the relevant data to everyone else. Lauren and Silvie will take the front while Darren and Sam take the rear. No one's said anything about potential attackers yet, but if we're assuming there are potential attackers, and it becomes absolutely necessary to retaliate, we'll have a heavy artillery unit in each vehicle to take out hostile air or ground units, Sam will have an extra half second or more to take aim when firing against small targets, and if really, truly necessary, Lauren is in a better position in the front car to jump onto the VIP's vehicle and extract him or her. Only if there's some reason to think it's going to blow up, or an assassin is boarding it, that kind of thing. If we're stopped, Silvie is in a better position in front to get out and go toe to toe with whatever's stopping us while Darren offers supporting fire.

"How does that sound? Thoughts?"

by **Idran1701** » Mon Apr 05, 2010 10:05 pm

Florence looks to Max first, at his question. "Their identity won't effect your plan, so there's no reason to release it until you meet them yourselves. Don't worry; if it was something that would effect your plan, we'd tell you." As the other Wunderkind begin planning again, Florence falls silent to let them take the lead, waiting to see if she need interject again.

Meanwhile, Sam just continues to sit quietly; planning isn't exactly his forte, after all. As Enzo spells out his overall idea, he nods. "That sounds pretty good to me. I kinda liked both ideas, that one and the one with two cars in different directions. Does that mean that Max an' Emmy shouldn't drive the guy's car in yours, Enzo?"

by **ChristianC** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 1:26 pm

"Y...yeah, that sounds like a good idea." She smiled at Enzo and the others, looking like whatever'd been making her upset before was off her mind at the moment. "I'll do my best to keep my eyes open f-for anything... anything out of the ordinary. I think t-this is a pretty good i-idea..."

by **Spleen** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 4:10 pm

"'Supporting fire'?" Darren echoed. "I'm all the fire we're gonna need. The rest of you can sit easy on the drive except whoever's spottin' for me, and then once somebody sees someone who ain't supposed to be where they are, they get a face-full of rocket."

Yep. His mood is definitely better.

by **Besyanteo** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 5:01 pm

Enzo debated saying something... and chose not to. It was one thing for Darren to be enthusiastic and in a good mood in the briefing room, about an eventuality that might never arise. It was completely different for him to endanger them all by not working with the team as a team member if the worst really did happen, which Enzo had no special reason to count on right now. Being irritated and huffing up over it would just be stupid. He let himself smile a little without really replying to Darren in words.

by **ChristianC** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 4:43 am

Alexis smiled at Darren's sudden burst of energy. She was twirling a lock of her hair through her fingers, looking for all sense and purpose calm now, and Doctor Sarah was sitting back as well, looking over the other children and listening to Florence.

If Darren's going to protect us, we should probably go by the motorway.

She was speaking using their internal communication again, and her voice was as confident as it always were.

I don't think people would much appreciate having rockets and stuff explode just outside their windows.

by **Idran1701** » Wed Apr 07, 2010 8:23 pm

Florence nods. "It sounds like you've got the plan well in hand, then?" She grins. "If you're all happy with it, I'll go ahead and report it up the chain, and you can start on enacting it. If anyone has any problems, now would be the time to speak up." She looks over the crowd, focusing especially on the Wunderkind that have been more quiet.

by **Animala** » Thu Apr 08, 2010 2:13 am

Lauren was chewing on the tip of a pigtail thoughtfully, as Ambassador Leafshade helpfully nibbled on the root of the other one.

"I think we should probably try to do this with as little showing off as we can get away with. If anything happens, the less the bad guys know about what we can do, the better."

by **Kelne** » Thu Apr 08, 2010 8:35 am

"We probably want to hold the whole property damage thing down anyhow. I don't see how we've got a lot of scope for the fancy stuff." Emily frowned momentarily. There was one thing that would completely throw the game out, of course, and that was if the other side had wunderkind or something similar. They'd encountered an opposing group in that collapsing database after all, so they knew they were out there. But no, whoever was behind them wasn't going to deploy them just out of spite, and setting them loose in Deck City, where D-52 had a huge home team advantage? Not going to happen. Coming back to her original train of thought, maybe there was scope for the fancy stuff. They were through training, certainly, but that didn't necessarily mean they fully understood just how they could combine their disparate abilities in the field.

by **Shinigori V2** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 4:37 am

Mission: 04- Highway Patrol
Deck City: Highway One (Southern Route)
July 20th, 3756
9:30 PM

The plan is finalized as much as it will be: Two cars, one in front, one behind. Due to the setup of the roles, it's easy enough to just divide up by gender; girls in the front car and boys in the back.

Though, "Car" might be the wrong word. Both vehicles are better described as APCs- Armored Personnel Carriers. Both has enough room for the full team, thus with it divided up, room isn't an issue at all. They also have a turret in the top, allowing for a ranged Wunderkind to fire out without exposing themselves. Near the back, a small server to upload "battle wounded" Wunderkind who's bodies can't support them due to extensive damage.

The driving mechanism is unique, too. Both have a very advanced computer where the steering would be, allowing a Pilot type Wunderkind to interface directly into the vehicle, and control all aspects of it with a mere thought, from speed and steering, all the way down to internal temperature and what radio station plays.

Outside, both vehicles are a sky blue with gray camouflage patterns on them, urban camouflage the kids would know from their files. The armor is almost a half foot thick in some places, and the vehicles are designed to withstand the heaviest fire that Imperial Mecha Divisions can throw at them...Not that D-52 expects the kids to have to go up against Imperial Mechs.

The only thing they don't have a choice in is being linked with their squad's support unit. Janet, from back at D-52's headquarters, is watching their every move on a GPS, as well as keeping an eye on environmental factors. "Our mark is just up ahead, on Entry 1 to Highway 1. You guys will have to get off, and get back onto the highway going the other way to link up."

It's already dark out, thanks to the heavy clouds from the rainy season. And now that they're out, they can see the news wasn't kidding- It's absolutely pouring rain, and lightning occasionally streaks across the sky.

Finally, as the vehicles turn around and link into their locations, they see their mark- A simple, if very elegant limousine. An older driver in a suit stands outside in the rain, calmly sheltered by an umbrella. As the APCs pull up, he wordlessly folds the umbrella and climbs into the drivers seat, starting the limousine.

"We've gotten the all-clear to begin the escort." Janet says into both vehicles. "Be on guard. Weather is calling for the storm to continue through the night, so all of the on-ramps to Highway One are already shut down. ...This is weird, though. Channel 13 just reported a winter storm warning for the city...Everything else says it's 82 degrees or so. Must be an error. Okay guys. Keep in contact and stay frosty."

by **ChristianC** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 5:40 am

Alexis peered out from inside the armored car, wringing her hands nervously as the mission proceeded. She'd tied up her hair in a pony tail and was for all sense and purpose really, really psyched for this. She was sitting in one of the seats in the APC, seatbelt on, and as they drove in to pick up the VIP she glanced outside again... what if the threat came from above, or beneath?

...no, she shouldn't distract herself with that. She returned her attention to looking out through the window, a selection of detection-tools available for her... but she wasn't spotting anything in the rain.

Janet, can you look into Channel 13s broadcast and see where they got that information from? Also, if we can spare it, maybe we should put someone in the car with the VIP, just in case something happens, can we run that by HQ and see if we've got the clearance to do that?

She felt comfortable being on a mission like this, even if she was nervous. She hadn't been doing much else but train for things like this, and thankfully she was showing some results.

by **Idran1701** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 2:02 pm

Meanwhile, in the other car, Sam watches outside, frowning a bit at the rain. Normally rain's not that bad for him, even fun sometimes, but here it could just help hide whoever might end up attacking their VIP. Holding his weapon in reality for the first time, he puts all his focus into looking for any sign of the people that might attack the guy they're here to protect. Not the time to let his attention drift. With a furrowed brow, he flicks his eyes between windows, eyes peeled for any sign of strangeness. "Nothin' yet. How 'bout everyone else?"

by **Shinigori V2** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 2:06 pm

"See, this is the weird thing." Janet says through both cars again. "Channel Thirteen is a cable channel based in the Empire. They don't do weather reports for Deck City."

by **Besyanteo** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 10:13 pm

Enzo considered what Janet had just said to them. There was no logical reason for the Empire to be broadcasting that, as she had pointed out. A report for Deck City isn't the kind of mistake that gets made, either. It just doesn't. Someone along the line would have noticed and asked why the hell it was there. There was no political reason for it, either. He knew, he'd been looking into that kind of stuff with his Handler. So, if the Empire wasn't broadcasting this thing on Channel 13, intentionally or accidentally, then that left... The unlikely possibility that someone else was doing this on purpose. Broadcasting a message on Channel 13, without permission, about a winter storm coming to Deck City. The channel itself bothered him. 13. Thirteen?

If that was the case... Project Winterstorm. Thirteen was telling them that Lindsay Bailey, the result of Winterstorm, was coming to D52? Well shit. Enzo spoke into their connection.

Guys, be on the look out for that thing we learned about in the Database on our first mission... Winterstorm. Just trust me on this one.

( Information in this post )

by **Idran1701** » Sat Apr 10, 2010 11:43 pm

Not sure why Enzo's bringing that up now, Sam still nods to him, glancing around. Noticing a box near the turret, he loads up a second magazine with a set of incendiary rounds, keeping it nearby and ready to be swapped in, just in case this ice zombie lady ends up showing up after all.

by **ChristianC** » Sun Apr 11, 2010 3:24 pm

Alexis tensed up, and she did her best to look even more carefully through the window.

W...Winterstorm? even using their internal communication Alexis stumbled on the word. That... was not good news, not good news at all... she wondered if there was anything more she could do right now... frowning she realized she kind of understood how Enzo and Janet felt... she could only stand back if something happened, her little toussle with Kid had shown that she wasn't fit for fighting close and personal...

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