Wordslingin'

This week's session saw Our Heroes (tm) do some investigative work and then rescue a high-profile hostage. Oh, and appropriate Maia onto their team, because they don't trust her employers. They're like that.

[It's always good to know who's responsible when one is casting blame.]
Ariel: "These clowns ruined my cover."
Brock: *pointing at Georges* "That clown."

[This is what happens when you miss a session.]
Georges: (to Cliff) "This is important for you to know, because you're in charge of it."

[Ah, splitting hairs. A specialty of ours, I believe.]
Brock: "Trustworthy in the 'reliable' sense, as opposed to the 'strictly honest' sense."

[No matter what your stats, sometimes everyone's gotta fumble.]
Ariel: "I play cards well." *fumbles his roll*
Brock: "Obvious cheating is obvious."
Ariel: "I'm playing Magic while you're playing poker."

[Rule #1 of negotiations: know who you're dealing with.]
Doc: "Just be yourself."
Strauss: "Are you sure you want that?"

[Rule #2 of negotiations: know your own strengths and weaknesses.]
Strauss: (worried) "I have to speak to a woman?"

[Rule #3 of negotiations: remember your own cover identity.]
Sam: "Wait, who's Murdock?"
Kain: "You."
Sam: "Really?"

[Hostile takeover, or simple expedience? You decide!]
Kain: "Is Maia inviting us into our own boardroom?"

[Rule #4 of negotiations: remember which parts of your story are true.]
Kain: "...Our deep infiltration into the Prospects--"
Josh the GM: "Prospects?"
Brock: "I'm lying here."

[It's good to know that intra-party attitudes haven't changed much.]
Josh the GM: "How they got the tip, I leave up to your fecund imaginations."
Brock: "We blame Maia."

[Why give exposition yourself, when you can get the GM to do it?]
Josh the GM: "If you want to fill them in on this..."
Julie: "I'm sure they've got it from somewhere."
Josh the GM: (resigned) "Thanks."

[Rule #5 of negotiations: believe your own stories.]
Kain: "That didn't sound sufficiently believable, did it?"

[Maia has a new role in the party.]
Sam: "You're like a double agent, only a secretary."

[It's always good to make these fine distinctions before getting into combat.]
Strauss: "As long as you don't tell me they're dead, I'm totally fine."

[A natural by-product of hanging around the PCs too long. "Too long" here being defined as about a week.]
Strauss: "I think you've sufficiently desensitized me enough."

[It's a sad, sad day when we need to resort to Sam as our gear pilot ace-in-the-hole.]
Kain: "Bear in mind that my choice of 'known factor' is this guy."

[Yup, attitudes haven't changed at all...]
Kain: "Do we take Maia with us?"
Doc: "Couldn't hurt?"
Kain: "Well, it could."

[Rule #6 of negotiations: make sure you keep some intel for yourself.]
Josh the GM: "You three are going to look for Simba..."
Julie: "Have you told me about Simba yet?"
Georges: "No."

[Doc's rules of how to make friends and influence people, part 1.]
Doc: "Don't get on Kally's bad side -- we've covered that."

[This is what happens when you miss a session, reprieve.]
Cliff: "Good lord! You've gotta make this hard on me!"
Everyone else at the table, in perfect unison: "Yes."

[Strauss meets the Saracens in an attempt to smooth things over from the disastrous encounter with the PCs last session. Instead, he offers them money and winds up starting a fist fight.]
Ariel: "I think I'm starting to see how his business fell apart."

[Strauss' rules of how to make friends and influence people, part... whatever.]
Strauss: "Nice to meet you, Kally. Sorry about your trained monkey."

[Again, always good to make those distinctions.]
Kally: "What is it you do?"
Strauss: "I blow stuff up... in a nice way."

[And the Doc thought no one ever listened to him.]
Kally: "So what do you and the Doc want in return?"
Strauss: "Friendship, cooperation..."
Julie: (to Georges) "Oh, he is learning from you!"

[Strauss is small and scrawny, but agile.]
Kally: "And you know how not to get hit."
Brock: "That's a vital skill in a little girly-man."

[Intra-party intel withholding... check.]
Josh the GM: (about Kain) "He's probably not telling the whole truth."
Julie: (deadpan) "Oh, what a surprise."

[Just rub it in, Doc. Just rub it in.]
Kain: "Maybe we should just bust in there and ask him some questions."
Doc: *sighing* "What are we, Paxsec?"

[Rules #7 of negotiations: have a common adversary.]
Doc: "Did you bitch about me?"
Strauss: (hesitantly) "...Yeah."
Doc: "Good."

[Sometimes it's best to phrase things in a positive light. For example, Maia *could* say, "We're about to wade into a riot." Or she could say...]
Maia: "We're going on a field trip!"

[There's a riot on the first terrace and our charge is incommunicado. Quick, what's the first thing that comes to mind?]
Doc: "I think this is a medium flak situation."
Kain: "I agree."
Strauss: "Can I have stun grenades?"
Doc: "I think he's worked up to stun grenades."

[Yup, time to bring out the big guns.]
Kain: "Strauss, are you familiar with the light antitank rocket?"
Josh the GM: "This just went overboard."

[Intra-party plan sharing... it's still on the to-do list.]
Kain: "You ready to take over this hopper?"
Doc: "Yep."
Maia: "I beg your pardon?"

[Worst attempt at coercion ever.]
Sam: "We're, like, Paxsec... or something. Stop and talk with us for a bit. Or something."

[Sam and Strauss both have insane amounts of dodge, and were rolling exceptionally well.]
Georges: "Ah, the dexterity buddies."

[Sometimes it's a trade-off: you can be pretty sure you'll kill the bad guy, but in the process you'll also kill the hostage. What. do. you. do.]
Georges: "Were you taking his full rate of fire into account?"
Josh the GM: "I really hope you weren't firing a burst of five bullets at the hostage!"

[On the other hand, if there isn't any hostage, feel free to go all out.]
Brock: "Why would I pull my finger off the trigger?"

[Sometimes, in the heat of battle, you forget things. Which wouldn't be so bad if you weren't, y'know, a doctor.]
Kain: "Maybe you should call for the obvious requirement."
Doc: "Obvious requirement?"
Kain: "An ambulance."
Doc: "Oh. That."

[Goon #6 is holding a gun to Victoria Hiro's head. Sam, in an act of non-aggression, has let his gun dangle from his hand. Now we're trying to get goon #6 to drop his gun.]
Sam: "I don't like your chances."

[Kain, on the other hand, has a different approach.]
Kain: "If you kill that woman, I will certainly shoot you full of lead. I have an enormous gun."

[Goon #6 drops his gun.]
Kain: "Dog pile!"

[The hostage situation has been resolved with no fatalities on our side and the hostage exiting safely from the building.]
Kain: "Fuck, we're awesome!"

[We managed to take two of the assailants into custody. This immediately makes Kain lose all respect for them.]
Kain: "If they were dedicated, they'd be dead."

[Josh the GM took down this quote, and I absolutely don't remember the context behind it.]
Kain: "Worse might be better."

And that's it for this week. Join us next week when we witness a Gear demo and hopefully no one dies. At least, no one we like.