Team Rocket: How the Muk are They Still Alive?

[MesiDoomstalker]

Interesting. Being sure to keep the orb still, Ethan studies the orb, trying to figure its purpose or function.

Spoiler

(1d20+4)[19]

[Arcran]

Originally Posted by Esprit15

"Well boss said that they had a shipment of Skorupi that got sent and that something went wrong and they got away. Seems she failed to mention them being steel synced."

"They had to have known," Jessica mutters. "They know everything."

Originally Posted by IrnBruAddict

'There were over a hundred of them. Either they are a natural breed that hasn't been seen before, or someone found a way to type shift en masse. We have male and female, so we can at least give it a try. Though I hope if someone did type shift these themselves, they at least sterilized them.'

'Actually, does the Steel Geodude listing have a contact number? If we could talk to someone who knows about these things, that may be a good idea.'

"No, not contact number. Apparently that explorer guy in Pewter has a Golem, but I guess they're only found deep underground, like bottom of Mount Moon territory."

Originally Posted by MesiDoomstalker

Interesting. Being sure to keep the orb still, Ethan studies the orb, trying to figure its purpose or function.

Spoiler

[roll0]

You feel the pulsating and eventually get a rhythmic function of it. Thumpthump. Thumpthump. Thumpthump. Almost like a.. heartbeat? But why would it have the steel if it was a heart? Unless they made a machine capable of functioning as one, there is obviously more to it than that.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Ethan flits his eyes around, activating the camera in his glasses, recording the strange orb for later study. May not have the chance to study one connected to a still living Skorupi.

[Eshkigal]

"They like testing people a lot then."
Gerald pulls himself up onto the cart, Wagner following and heading over to Jess and Taylor. He nods to the three psychics wearily.
"Came back to mention I'm out of amarid. Need $4500 worth to make your suits. Also, might have to find a better armorsmith for dual typing, and parts for a steel booster."

[Esprit15]

"What Gerald said. I doubt she failed by accident. But, that's a problem for later. We have our job to do. Actually, it's still bloody early." She yawns. "I'm finishing my rest." She pulls off the upper portion of the armor and sets it among the other crates, then falls asleep in a seat next to the girls.

[Eshkigal]

Gerald shakes his head at that.
"Who sleeps on them? You're supposed to sleep in the boxes..."

[IrnBruAddict]

'Thanks anyway. I owe you one. I'll figure something out, just need to think about it.' Romeo sighs happily. It was nice to know that after all that had happened, things were going on as normal in Lavander.

'Sorry if I seemed a bit short earlier. How are things your end? How's Switch? Did I tell you Elly evolved? It'll be good to let her see her brother. And to see you and mum after all this time.'

[Arcran]

Originally Posted by MesiDoomstalker

Ethan flits his eyes around, activating the camera in his glasses, recording the strange orb for later study. May not have the chance to study one connected to a still living Skorupi.

You manage to get some good film of the heart.

Originally Posted by Eshkigal

"They like testing people a lot then."
Gerald pulls himself up onto the cart, Wagner following and heading over to Jess and Taylor. He nods to the three psychics wearily.
"Came back to mention I'm out of amarid. Need $4500 worth to make your suits. Also, might have to find a better armorsmith for dual typing, and parts for a steel booster."

"We'll get some decent armor in Lavender," Jessica says as she pours a Fresh Water over Taylor's wounds. "Don't worry about it."

Originally Posted by IrnBruAddict

'Thanks anyway. I owe you one. I'll figure something out, just need to think about it.' Romeo sighs happily. It was nice to know that after all that had happened, things were going on as normal in Lavander.

'Sorry if I seemed a bit short earlier. How are things your end? How's Switch? Did I tell you Elly evolved? It'll be good to let her see her brother. And to see you and mum after all this time.'

Alana is excited at the news about Elly. Switch still seems to be an Eevee; something about her not wanting to make him evolve yet. She says hers seems excited at the prospect of meeting his sister and to hurry. She has to hang up due to having to do chores with a promise to call you back later.

All
The carts continue to roll for a bit, gaining ground. Some of you converse, some of you do other things. There are no traces of the Drapion left. Occasional shapes cross the radar, some small, some larger, but none the size of the Skorupi.

Spoiler

3 hours of stuff.

With some help Romeo is able to go among the carts and heal some people at an earlier break, getting everyone and their Pokemon healed up.

As it begins to get dark Mark orders some lights to be lit. A few torches continue to light the way. So far nothing has been a useful camp site. All were too open, too covered, or any variation thereof.

All

Spoiler

Perception for a good site.

Engineers

Spoiler

A few stray shapes appear on your radars, slowly clumping together into three groups of four. One larger shape is flying above, rapidly gaining on the party.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Before

After satisfied he has enough footage, he asks to borrow some seutrers from Romeo's medkit and careful removes the orb from the connective tissues and wiring.

Now

Wilds on the edge of radar. They seemed organized, but don't seem to be Skorupi. Be wary. Ethan releases Thor, before looking out for a good spot to camp.

Spoiler

(1d20+2)[17]

[Esprit15]

"Where from?" Artemis rubs the bandage that had been placed over her wound, already recovering quickly. She signals her team, and Diluvium and Aquilla fly over to her.

[IrnBruAddict]

Romeo sends his love to her and their mum before she hangs up. He goes about healing, then goes back to the cart to keep John and the Machop some company.

'Hey, you did good back there. You stayed out of trouble, and listened to what I said. You feeling tired yet? I know I could use a nice sleep.'

Romeo looks out over the landscape. He hears Ethan shout. 'Oh great...'

Spoiler

(1d20+2)[21]

[Eshkigal]

Before
"I...you sure? Alright..."
They can replace him. Duly noted.
"Going to watch and see if Artemis is the target of the Nightmare Smoke, then. Would be useful to know the intended target..."
A sleepless day and night, then. That's life...

(1d20)[14]

After
Gerald points in the direction of the bogey, Sparky waking up and rubbing her eyes sleepily . He was tired, but this wasn't the first time that he'd been without sleep.

[Arcran]

Originally Posted by MesiDoomstalker

Before

After satisfied he has enough footage, he asks to borrow some seutrers from Romeo's medkit and careful removes the orb from the connective tissues and wiring.

Now

Wilds on the edge of radar. They seemed organized, but don't seem to be Skorupi. Be wary. Ethan releases Thor, before looking out for a good spot to camp.

Spoiler

[roll0]

Spoiler

Through much wagon jumping you manage to get Romeo's gear and are able to remove the orb from the Skorupi with minimal blood spatter, meaning you only get a thin coat over you. As you remove it the corpse goes completely limp, slumping in your hand.

As you look for a campsite, you see a few dark shapes in the shadows, blending in almost perfectly with the shadow and stone. They seem to be armed. The groups move with what can only be classified as military precision.

Originally Posted by Esprit15

"Where from?" Artemis rubs the bandage that had been placed over her wound, already recovering quickly. She signals her team, and Diluvium and Aquilla fly over to her.

Spoiler

Your team flies closer to you, looking at a shape that flies through the sky eagerly.

Originally Posted by IrnBruAddict

Romeo sends his love to her and their mum before she hangs up. He goes about healing, then goes back to the cart to keep John and the Machop some company.

'Hey, you did good back there. You stayed out of trouble, and listened to what I said. You feeling tired yet? I know I could use a nice sleep.'

Romeo looks out over the landscape. He hears Ethan shout. 'Oh great...'

Spoiler

[roll0]

Spoiler

Just when you are about to sleep, you see dark shapes moving in some sort of field camouflage. They seem to be heavily armed; automatic weaponry. You don't see any Pokemon with them, which is a good sign. There are three groups; one heading towards the front, two more towards the rear.

Originally Posted by Eshkigal

Before
"I...you sure? Alright..."
They can replace him. Duly noted.
"Going to watch and see if Artemis is the target of the Nightmare Smoke, then. Would be useful to know the intended target..."
A sleepless day and night, then. That's life...

[roll0]

After
Gerald points in the direction of the bogey, Sparky waking up and rubbing her eyes sleepily . He was tired, but this wasn't the first time that he'd been without sleep.

Spoiler

As you look for an adequate campsite you see a small flat area just ahead that could quite possibly work as a good place to camp for the night.

Engineers:

Spoiler

The flying shape stops moving abruptly. The groups continue to move.

Gerald, Romeo, Arte

Spoiler

The carts suddenly stop. You can hear Mark up ahead on the front cart yelling at somebody.

Ethan

Spoiler

The dark shape lands in front of the cart causing Mark to pull back. A man hops off the back of it. You are just able to make out the shape as a Honchkrow in the darkness.

"HEY! What the muk are you trying to do? Get yourself hurt?" Mark shouts, hefting up his crossbow.

"No, never that!" the man gasps out. His left arm is hanging by his side uselessly. "Do you guys have a healer? Bug things back that way attacked me," he says, gesturing towards the direction you came from. "Charon managed to fly me out, but I need some help," the man says, gasping for breath and clutching his arm. He steps forward into the light.

You can see dried blood coated over his side and he does seem to be in quite a bit of pain. But that isn't what gets your attention. His face.... He's the man from Saffron. The one you're after. He looks at you but doesn't seem to recognize who you are.

"Yeah, we have a medic," Mark says, hesitantly, although he did seem to relax slightly when the man said the bugs attacked him too. "Bug things hit us pretty good too. Barely got out of there. We'd be happy to help. Ethan, can you call Romeo? Tell him we have somebody for him to fix up?"

[IrnBruAddict]

Spoiler

Well, since Romeo doesn't know what is going on up front yet.

'Oh Mew, those are people' Romeo quietly informs the others in his cart. He makes sure Elly is out of her ball, and hiding under his chair, and he slips the gun Arte gave him behind his back. 'I'd rather deal with pokemon than armed people. At least with wilds, you KNOW they'll try and kill you. No one make any sudden movements.'

[Eshkigal]

Gerald has the sense of mind to not turn to look, instead taking a seat on a crate and letting Sparky change his head webbings.
"In my experience, the same can usually be said for people too. What gear do they have?"

[MesiDoomstalker]

Ethan thinks quickly. Our target. Injured. Claims Skorupi. Men hiding. Military tatics. Caution. Suspect trap. Illumination requested. Ethan shifts ever so slightly. Ya. Hey Romeo! We got the injured man up here. Could you help? He was glad he had Dynamo out and Sim on his head. He didn't want to be caught with his pants down. Hopefully the pyschics heard him and understood the choopy meaning.

[Esprit15]

Artemis was taking a break from reading the minds of everyone for once, and so doesn't catch what Ethan was thinking. She does catch Ethan yelling for medical help, and looks out to take a look at what's going on. "What on earth is going on up there?" She looks to Romeo as he mentions the armed people. Armed people? Judge it! We are not prepared for this kind of thing after the ordeal we went through! She starts breathing somewhat heavily and fidgeting. Occupy your hands. She goes for her armor and puts on the upper half again. Already the memory of the fight didn't quite seem real, even with the wounds and the damage armor in her hands. She tries to scan some of the surface thoughts of the people if they are in range. Before doing so, however, she also directs a thought quickly to Ethan. What are you yelling about when there are people out there!?

[MesiDoomstalker]

Judge it. Hostiles. Military tatics. Our target injured. Caution. Trap. Secure target, then hostiles. The one time the psychic isnt scanning thoughts!

[Esprit15]

They don't know we know about them. Bring the guy in to us. We can deal with the possible hostiles after we have the target.

Taylor, Jess, Getald, we found our target early, it seems. Ethan or Romeo should be bringing him in. Taylor, bind the guy's feet and hands with some rock. I'll knock him out if he's crazy enough to fight or yell.

And now she scans the minds of any of the armed people she can reach.

[Arcran]

Originally Posted by Esprit15

Artemis was taking a break from reading the minds of everyone for once, and so doesn't catch what Ethan was thinking. She does catch Ethan yelling for medical help, and looks out to take a look at what's going on. "What on earth is going on up there?" She looks to Romeo as he mentions the armed people. Armed people? Judge it! We are not prepared for this kind of thing after the ordeal we went through! She starts breathing somewhat heavily and fidgeting. Occupy your hands. She goes for her armor and puts on the upper half again. Already the memory of the fight didn't quite seem real, even with the wounds and the damage armor in her hands. She tries to scan some of the surface thoughts of the people if they are in range. Before doing so, however, she also directs a thought quickly to Ethan. What are you yelling about when there are people out there!?

Spoiler

As you try to read the minds of the approaching groups you pick up a few things:

Why is it always cold?
The dark sucks.
Hate that Honchkrow bastard. Annoying as muk.
Hope my gun actually works this time...
And the last is thinking about the reward after the job.

Other than that, there is one common thought, as if they all heard it at the same time.
Execute Order 7-12. Fire when in position.

After that, anticipation and a lot less thinking.

Ethan:

Spoiler

As you communicate with Artemis Akinektos looks at you with a grin.

Secrets are no fun my friend. And a military, he thinks, looking around. That is unfortunate. Now tell me, who is this "target?" he says with a knowing grin.

"Sir, if you'll get that Medic up here or just toss me some supplies, I'll be on my way. I'm happy to pay," he says, limping forward to hand Mark a wad of cash. Mark reaches under the seat to hand him a Fresh Water.

Spoiler

Perception.

Map, just for reference.

And the Key:
Pa: Paul
Numbers: Squads
Ho: Honchkrow
Ak: Akinektos
Et: Ethan (Sim in square)
Ma: Mark
Wd: Wagon Driver
Ge: Gerald (Sparky with)
Dk: Dumb Kids
Ja: James
Is: Isaac
Je: Jessica
Ta: Taylor
Ar; Artemis
Di: Diluvium
Ro: Romeo
Jo: John
Wi: Willy
Ch: Chief
Me: Merchants
Ze: Zebstrika
La: Lairon
Wa: Wagner
Ka: Kadabra
Sa: Sandshrew
Di: Dilumvium (With Arte)
Ko: Konoha
El: Elly
Aq: Aquilla

[Esprit15]

Artemis quietly swears. Another message to her team: Other Rockets are waiting for the guy. Something tells me they won't take kindly to us taking their target right in front of them. Should I communicate with them?

[Eshkigal]

They have us outnumbered 12 to 7. We might win, they might win. So we broker a deal: we all take him down, but they get the majority of the spoils, and easy access to cheaper custom gear in the future. All we want is to be recruited, so if we bring him in, they can take monetary reward, we get in, and mon can be bred and distributed depending on who wants what. Ask others if that seems fair.

[Esprit15]

That would be a good idea. She relays Gerald's suggestion to the rest of the team.

[MesiDoomstalker]

No point in keeping secrets I say. You know what I want, and you know what they want. And I believe I know what you want. Play it cool and I think we can both benefit. Ethan places a hand on Mark's shoulder. That looks like a serious wound. We have an Empath with us, here I'll take you to her. Ethan motions for Ak-whatever towards the center of the caravan, begining to walk that way as well, Thor tailing at his heels.

[Arcran]

Originally Posted by MesiDoomstalker

No point in keeping secrets I say. You know what I want, and you know what they want. And I believe I know what you want. Play it cool and I think we can both benefit. Ethan places a hand on Mark's shoulder. That looks like a serious wound. We have an Empath with us, here I'll take you to her. Ethan motions for Ak-whatever towards the center of the caravan, begining to walk that way as well, Thor tailing at his heels.

Akinektos grins at your suggestion.

That is a capitol suggestion you have there. Here, I have a Duskull too; would you mind healing it up too? he says, releasing the Ghost. It looks bad; it's skull is about to fall off it's in such bad shape. In the back you said? he says, walking towards the back carts.

The Honchkrow stays in place.

Arte:

Spoiler

Signal. Move in. Acquire targets. Pop smoke on my cue.

We don't get payed enough for this ****. At least we got the new toys.

Just get in position. Pop smoke on cue.

[Esprit15]

To all friendlies: Hostiles moving in. Someone mentioned smoke coming soon, and 'new toys.' Also specified multiple targets. Ethan, make contact or remain silent? If so, what to say?

[MesiDoomstalker]

Our target is not out of loop. He knows what we want and knows they are there. I suggest a temporary partnership. I assume he is listening Ethan giving a sly glance at the man If they are other after the prize, we benefit by denying them the prize. Don't make contact but alert Mark and the Marksmen. Prepare for a fight.

Ethan whispers out of the corner of his mouth. You know theirs a lot of people after you. You may be strong but but can you take all of them by yourself?

[Esprit15]

****. I was afraid of that.

Mark! Jacob! Isaac! Armed men closing in fast! Ready up!

[Eshkigal]

Gerald's watching the radar.
"Aaaand sludge hits the fan."

[Arcran]

Originally Posted by MesiDoomstalker

Our target is not out of loop. He knows what we want and knows they are there. I suggest a temporary partnership. I assume he is listening Ethan giving a sly glance at the man If they are other after the prize, we benefit by denying them the prize. Don't make contact but alert Mark and the Marksmen. Prepare for a fight.

Ethan whispers out of the corner of his mouth. You know theirs a lot of people after you. You may be strong but but can you take all of them by yourself?

"Who says I need to?" he says, seeming to focus on something.

Spoiler

One last Perception.

Arte:

Spoiler

The minds around the camp almost double in number. You can tell they are Pokemon but for some reason the iconic flash of light did not occur.

You get alarmed feelings from Mark and the brothers.

We got it, they say, almost as a unit, hefting up their guns and a crossbow.

Smoke is ready. Deploy on Boss's cue.