Wordslingin'

My goodness! Did we really just manage to get through an entire session without anyone shooting at us? I think we did! How novel! I'm sure it won't last.


[We have successfully saved Ennik and Esmerelda from the Kolsons. Again.]
Ennik: "So what's that I owe you again? Two?"
Lukas: "But who's counting?"
Ennik: "You."

[We reflect on the fact that even as a four-man team, we're still pretty recognizable.]
Lukas: "Let me take a count on how many wheelchair operatives are out there. Counting Mads... one."

[We roll out of the heaps in our Gears.]
Brock: "What's your Gear's color scheme?"
Joe: "Red."
Julie: "What's ours?"
Brock and Georges, in perfect unison: "Black."
Ariel: "Black on black."
Brock: "With a black finish."

[We pull up to Hotel Bravo so that Lukas can give some information to the Doc's team. Meanwhile, Dawn is still in our custody.]
Dawn: "So am I to be your prisoner indefinitely?"
Brock: "It's been an hour and a half!"

[Torgath spends some time with Dawn while Lukas and Lyta are inside.]
Dawn: "I don't know what's going on."
Torgath: "Me either."
Dawn: "...Well, at least there's that."

[Lukas and Lyta meet with Bill Pearce to give him yet another info-dump.]
Bill Pearce: "You guys have been busy."
Lukas: "It's been a busy day."
Lyta: "Two days."

[Lukas also mentions we have an NGIS operative in our custody who is potentially willing to conduct an information swap.]
Lukas: "I know how interested the Doc is in this sort of information."
Bill Pearce: "The Doc is interested in getting information, not necessarily exchanging information."
Ariel: "Exchanging is a good way of getting."

[Because Lyta's in the room, and also because the room is bugged, Lukas and Bill need to be somewhat discreet about their mutual contact, Nicosa Renault.]
Lukas: (knowingly) "I'm confident you'll ensure the data gets to the right place."
Bill Pearce: (knowingly) "Oh, I'll talk to the right people."

[Bill Pearce agrees to conduct the information exchange at one of his safehouses.]
Brock: "Did you write down that we have a Bill Pearce safehouse address?"
Julie: "Yes."
Ariel: "Why? Somewhere to lay low?"
Brock: "No, somewhere to watch if we ever have free time to see what interesting people go in and out."

[We proceed to the safehouse. Lukas issues some last-minute instructions.]
Lukas: "When we get there, Mads, under no circumstances are you allowed to shoot anybody."

[We roll in to the mixed-use urban neighborhood, Mads in his red Warrior and the rest of us in our black-on-black Jaguars.]
Georges the GM: "Your three Gears are somewhat conspicuous... by their inconspicuousness."

[Lukas wants to make very certain Dawn does not shoot him again.]
Lukas: "Now, if anything happens, I've told Kes to shoot us both."
Dawn: "...A bit extreme, but all right, I know you're determined. You may have even told her to do that."

[Lukas pats down Dawn and removes a number of tracking devices, knives, wallet, keys, etc.]
Lukas: "Anything I missed?"
Dawn: "Occasionally I use the underwire in my bra as a garotte."
Lukas: "How occasionally?"
Dawn: "Never, but I've read it in a book."
Lukas: *removes her bra*
Dawn: "Well, I think that's everything. Including my dignity."

[Lukas has taken everything off of Dawn that could be used as a weapon or to contact the outside world.]
Lukas: "I'll give your stuff to Doc Grim. I assume he'll sniff it or something."
Dawn: "You may be as wary of me as you want, but do not belittle the doc."
Lukas: "I'm not kidding. He has limited experience with women."
Dawn: "And by the way you took off my bra..."
Lukas: "Yes, yes. Considerable experience. Let's get on with it."

[While Lukas was searching Dawn, he zip-tied her ankles together. Which of course poses a problem in getting to the second-floor safehuose.]
Brock: "How much satisfaction would I take in watching her hop up the stairs? Considerable, but Lukas is not that petty today."

[We return to the hotel with all of Dawn's stuff, including her electronics.]
Lukas: "Siesta time."
Mads: "I'm hip to that."
Lukas: "You have to stay up."

[Torgath is a bit concerned with the lengths Lukas was taking to ensure Dawn was submissive.]
Lukas: "She shot me. She threatened to shoot you."
Torgath: "We're okay."
Lukas: "Yeah, she didn't shoot you."

[Lukas explains his mental state to Torgath.]
Lukas: "I'm trying not to kill her."
Torgath: "I appreciate that. Can you keep trying?"

[Given that Torgath has a history of sneaking away to be with Dawn, Lukas is a bit concerned.]
Lukas: "I don't want to worry about you."
Torgath: "You don't have to worry -- everything's gonna be fine!"
Lukas: "That's definitely not true."

[Meanwhile, Lyta is going to meet with Alain Vulpei, her would-be boyfriend. Lukas insists she take someone along with her, for safety's sake.]
Ellen Cranby: "So am I coming as your chaperone or as your backup?"
Lyta: "...Backup."

[Lyta explains to Ellen Cranby why Lukas wanted someone to come along with her.]
Lyta: "He's being paranoid, and I can't blame him."
Brock: "It's not paranoia if they are out to get you!"
Julie: "That's why I can't blame him."

[Ellen takes stock of the situation.]
Ellen Cranby: "Your brother thinks you need armed backup to see your beau? Is there something you're not telling me? 'Cause what you've told me is pretty bad already."

[Mads and Lukas have some quality time.]
Lukas: "You were shot in a particularly dumb way. I don't know why you weren't wearing armor. ...I take some responsibility for that."

[Mads wants to join up with Our Heroes (tm). Thankfully, he's planning on going away to college pretty soon anyway.]
Lukas: "Your mother doesn't visit?"
Mads: "We don't have what you call a healthy relationship."
Lukas: "I don't really know about healthy parental relationships."

[Mads needs to plan how to get away from his mom and Consuela if he's going to join our team.]
Lukas: "If you need us to help you, we can help you."
Georges the GM: "You suspect by that he means, 'We can murder your mother.'"

[Mads is also planning to contribute to the team by remote-piloting a drone. He plans to buy some RC cars, not realizing that we've already got land drones and air drones in the tactical crate Ti got for us.]
Georges the GM: "The drone looks better than the commercial kind, like everything that comes out of this magic box."

[Mads searches through Dawn's phone, only to find a text message from Torgath.]
Georges the GM: "This number looks shockingly familiar!"
Mads: "Wait, these two were in touch?!"

[Reflecting on Torgath's text to Dawn.]
Ariel: "Is my name under 'heart Doc Grim heart'?"
Georges the GM: "It's under 'cardiologist,' the heart doctor."

[Lukas discovers that Torgath has not, in fact, stayed in the hotel during Siesta. He calls Torgath and feigns surprise.]
Lukas: "There appears to be a dummy in the pillow fort."
Torgath: "Oh, I just put my clothes in there."
Lukas: "In the shape of a person."
Torgath: "That's accidental."
Lukas: "And creepy."

[Lukas continues to grill Torgath.]
Lukas: "You went out the window."
Torgath: "Lyta goes out the window all the time."
Lukas: "But she's part monkey."

[And yet more grilling.]
Lukas: "Are you across from the safehouse?"
Torgath: "...It's possible."
Lukas: "What are you doing?"
Torgath: "Nothing I need to tell you about."

[With Torgath at the safehouse and Lyta meeting with Vulpei, Lukas has some free time.]
Georges the GM: "Lukas, what are you doing with your afternoon?"
Brock: "I'll watch Mads, and..."
Julie: "And enjoy not being shot."

[Lyta gets on the maglev with Ellen Cranby to meet Vulpei.]
Georges the GM: "The backup is unnecessary."
Julie: "I know. She's just there because Lukas--"
Ariel: "You listen to him?"
Julie: "When he makes specific requests like that, yes."

[Torgath checks in with Bill Pearce, which leads to Lukas checking in with Bill Pearce.]
Lukas: "It may be obvious I'm having some minor command and control issues."
Bill Pearce: "...I wouldn't say 'obvious.'"

[Poor Lukas. All his siblings are abandoning him.]
Bill Pearce: "The NGIS agent isn't the worst choice he could make."
Lukas: (pointedly) "I know one person who made a worse choice."

[Lukas has informed Bill Pearce about the bombs that will likely go off during the charity ball tomorrow. Everyone's kind of worried about them.]
Lukas: "There is one thing you could do."
Bill Pearce: "Yeah?"
Lukas: "Cancel."

[Of course, people determined to murder Anders von Breslau are persistent.]
Bill Pearce: "By cancelling, it doesn't mean they're gonna stop--"
Lukas: "But it ceases to be your problem."

[Lukas takes Mads so they can go meet Bill Pearce at the Lucky Shot Casino.]
Lukas: "Try to be inconspicuous."
Julie: "So a guy in a mask and a guy in a wheelchair walk into a casino."
Joe: "Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke."

[Lukas attempts to be less conspicuous.]
Brock: *rolls 7 on disguise*
Georges the GM: "So you just look like an inconspicuous ugly guy."

[Mads needs something to do while Lukas meets Bill. Thankfully, casinos are full of things to do.]
Lukas: "Are you good at gambling?"
Mads: "I've never gambled before."
Lukas: "Here's 500 dinar. Try to stretch it out."

[Mads is indeed not very good at gambling.]
Joe: *botches 4 times in a row*
Mads: "Fucking Quinn!"
Julie: "It's his money!"
Joe: "It's the principle of the thing."

[Lukas meets with Bill to find out what Dawn has been saying.]
Bill Pearce: "She thinks the Death Watch is all a front or a ruse. She's not very concerned about them."
Lukas: "It's easy for her to underestimate them -- she hasn't had to kill any of them yet."

[More on what Dawn thinks.]
Lukas: "She thinks we're in on it."
Bill Pearce: "Hell, I think you're in on it."

[Of course, we are not in on it, any more than Dawn is.]
Lukas: "It's hard to tell her we're on the opposite side of the fence on this one."
Bill Pearce: "Oh, does this fence only have two sides?"
Lukas: "...Maybe not."

[Lukas returns to collect Mads, posing as Mads' servant. He finds him at the slot machines, having gone bust on blackjack in about five minutes.]
Lukas: "Bad luck at the tables, sir?"
Mads: "Shut up."

[Meanwhile, Lyta is meeting with Vulpei.]
Ariel: "Does he lay you down by the fire?"
Julie: "It's a train, which means..."
Georges the GM: "Plenty of private chambers."
Julie: "But none with fireplaces."

[Vulpei informs Lyta that he'll be going on a deep-cover mission and won't be able to talk for a while.]
Alain Vulpei: "If I don't come back..."
Lyta: "Oh, it's one of those missions."

[Vulpei leaves Lyta alone, for the second time in a season.]
Brock: "Now all we need is for Ti to turn up at the same time!"
Georges the GM: "No, no, no. Not at the same time. We need to let her relationship with Vulpei develop first."

[Also meanwhile, Torgath is staking out what he thinks is the safehouse.]
Ariel: "Are you ever gonna tell me she's not in this building?"
Brock: "No. You can do no harm there."

[Bill Pearce has informed Lukas that Dawn is in fact somewhere else entirely. He has not shared this information with Torgath, who is still waiting outside.]
Brock: "Freeze your balls off watching an empty building."
Ariel: "Do you say that out loud?"
Brock: "No. If you want to do this, you get to do this."

[Everyone but Torgath meets up for a late dinner.]
Mads: "Where do you want to go?"
Lukas: "You're paying. Take us somewhere expensive."

[We realize that Mads has not told us what he did with his morning, though we know there was something involving Calisteria's attempted kidnapping.]
Lukas: "What happened in the hospital?"
Mads: "I lay there for a long time--"
Lukas: "Get to the good part."

[Lukas reflects on Consuela's new-found badassness.]
Lukas: "Know anything about her?"
Mads: "Apparently not enough."

[Consuela comes to meet Lukas and Lyta.]
Lukas: "For your information, the people who attacked you at the hospital were Kolsons."
Consuela: *is unimpressed*
Lukas: "I thought you'd be interested in knowing who you're dealing with."
Consuela: (staring at him) "I am very interested in who I'm dealing with. I'm not interested in Kolsons."

[Consuela brings Mads back home.]
Consuela: "And we will not talk about this with your mother."
Mads: "Thank you, Consuela."
Brock: (as Consuela) "Because I'd be immediately fired."

[Lukas is mad at Torgath.]
Brock: "He doesn't tell me things!"
Julie: "I tell you things."
Brock: "That's why you're the favored sibling."
Ariel: "I'm not even related to you."

[Lyta and Lukas make plans.]
Lyta: "We're still gonna be at the ball? When the bombs potentially go off?"
Lukas: "Hopefully it won't come to that."
Lyta: "Just making sure we're all on the same page."
Lukas: "Yup. The same crazy page."

[Lyta and Lukas go to the Hammer, the local mercenary bar.]
Lyta: "Why are we here?"
Lukas: "Because this is the place we go to get information."
Lyta: "And shot."
Lukas: "Shot at."
Lyta: "You were shot."
Lukas: "...That's true."

[At the Hammer, we find Consuela talking to some of the locals, presumably about us.]
Ariel: "It makes perfect sense. Where else would you get information on mercenaries?"
Brock: "It's why we're here."

[We reflect on what Consuela might have found out.]
Lyta: "I wonder what they told her about us."
Lukas: "That we're badass."

[More of the same.]
Lyta: "She doesn't like us."
Lukas: "She doesn't know us yet."
Lyta: "Once she knows us, she's not gonna like us."

[Consuela was talking to a huge black man named Sid Teg.]
Lukas: "We wouldn't want to tussle with him."
Julie: "Lyta's already sizing him up in case we need to tussle with him."

[Lukas invites Sid to have a drink with us to get the information straight from the horse's mouth, as it were.]
Sid Teg: "Who do you work for?"
Lukas: "Right now? Nobody."
Sid Teg: "Who do you work for?"
Lukas: "Everybody."

[Sid and Lukas talk about Mads.]
Sid Teg: "I hear he's good with computers."
Lukas: "That's probably an understatement. The people I know who are good with computers say he's good with computers."

[Sid Teg leaves to go find out more information about us.]
Lukas: "Well, that didn't go horribly."
Lyta: "We didn't get into a bar fight."
Lukas: "That wouldn't be a bar fight -- he'd mop the floor with me."
Lyta: "Well, maybe with you."
Lukas: "I didn't see you doing any talking. His fist is the size of my head!"
Lyta: "That's why my job isn't the talking."


And that's it for this week! Next week, we may even get to the charity ball! Fun times!




Heavy Gear Roleplaying Game