FourtyTwo

Raven Squad: Second Storm (Military/Spy-Fi RP)

Kaitiaki HQ, New Zealand

Skye Rosalind Lyons

The Briefing

With a click of the slide, the presentation started, Skye knowing it was a little bit of an exposition at this point, but it was time to go from the top, one more time, over how they were hitting this place.

"Okay, so we know the score."

"Here's the plan. All of us, bar Xan are up top with invites. We arrive separately, and keep a low profile, apart from me and Freya. Recommend you use your alternate names throughout, first names can stay if you haven't been too naughty. Xan, just for the Uzbek whiskey, I got you onto a catering detail...because I need someone behind a bar to help us lubricate the social situation." The slide clicked, as Skye turned to the team, the blue hue of the AR display lighting her up as well, framing her freckled and worn features.

"Here's the plan. All of us, bar Xan are up top with invites. We arrive separately, and keep a low profile, apart from me and Freya. Recommend you use your alternate names throughout, first names can stay if you haven't been too naughty. Xan, just for the Uzbek whiskey, I got you onto a catering detail...because I need someone behind a bar to help us lubricate the social situation."

"Once we get through, Sam, Xan, Michelle, I need you downstairs to start work on the server farms, and Pavel's PC. I want whatever intel you can get off it- likely it'll be encrypted so you won't know what it is straight away, but get what you can and don't raise any alarms. Be incredibly careful- intel from Mateo and Raph suggests they've got guard details, motion cameras and all sorts of tech that will hamper you, so take it steady, drop guards lethal or non-lethal, and don't get caught. We get compromised, the op goes under. I'll get my time with Pavel, and we can learn what we might be up against. Because believe me, we still have plenty to learn."

"Plans came through from Raph and Mateo, so cheers for that. It is a 70 storey skyscraper, right in central Singapore - there's an office below the top two decks, which are a bar and a company breakout room. Guy is running his place like Google, but with the frat parties that come with it. Expect a lot of high life, and . The office is on the storeys below- lot of high modernist infrastructure, and open offices, mixed in with a few technical server rooms and compartments. Filled with halide gas if there's any fire too, and expected to be incredibly secure. So not something you can hit so easy. If you even trip anything, they're gonna gas you out- so be ready with respirators once you're infiltrating. If that happens, there will be an alarm and a lockdown, so moment you trip it, we're all gonna be evacuating. That might work for me, come to think of it, but hold until I'm near him."

"Extraction is back the way we came, via the lift. In an emergency, there's a trailer parked on the adjacent street with an airbag inside it. It's a rough landing, but a fast way down if you have to get out. Sam, Michelle, I believe you've got wingsuits to use for your way out. Make a scene if you have to, but those things will get you out of there quick if you need it."

"Everyone clear?" Skye rounded the presentation out, the AR screens giving a highlight of the setup, the tower, and entry points. The team had plenty to digest, and it was certainly a lot more to take in. The rest of the team had a chance to show off their bits too, as part of the briefing- tools, equipment or sub-routes they were taking.

---

Tsai Wen Tower, Singapore

Behind the Vale

2000 Hours, Two Weeks Later

The night sky was lit up with the skyscrapers, so numerous that they were almost alike the stars in the sky if you squinted, such were city lights that seemed to trance and weave through on the small south-east Asian island port among the background of Singapore's metallic "trees" and Marina Bay Sands.

Singapore was a city of money, and while it wasn't Dubai, there was this underlying feeling of banks, money and just everything being clean beyond measure like it was some sort of sterilisation chamber. It was a place for Vale Systems to base one of their many offices, and the party was quite the event, attracting many from near and far. They didn't own the whole building, but a serious part of it belonged to them, and it was their own.

And in the midst of it on the tower that stood among the urban high rise jungle, the lift doors opened. Out into the open, the hubub could be seen, the high life and classical piano music playing, yet this was no pleasure- this was only business for Raven Squad.

In it stood Freya and Skye, the red dress wearing bodyguard wearing a fetching pair of black tight gloves to complement her dashing red and black dress, her red hair tied into a simple bun and the Scot almost a mirror image to the larger girl next to her. A little makeup to hide her freckles and some jewelery too, all of which had sleekly got through security- containing comms, and a few other gadgets.

It was almost comical, the way Skye walked in front of Freya, like a miniature almost, a sideshow to the large and far more famous redhead. But they were here now, and only had security to go through. A concierge check, manned by two men, one of whom brashly spotted the pair like the least-incognito couple they were. A standard check, given well, even despite the metal detectors downstairs, this was the last point at which any interlopers could get in.

"Hey, welcome to the party. IDs and invites, please." One of the men asked, as Skye reluctantly showed hers, the guard looking down at Freya's, then at Skye's, the invites and paperwork all in order, as it should be. This was an ultra-exclusive event after all, and well, security was tight. It felt like it, the sunglasses wearing, sharp-dressed American accented guard looking down at Skye, taller than her yet towered over by Freya nonetheless. The invites were of note- the guard noting that they had a warning to look out for Freya's guest, given what had happened last time.

"Miss....Caldwell? Interesting. Hmm.....may I have a word? In private?"

"What's wrong, the dress too revealing? Oh please, you're not the first one to hit on me. We don't need any distractions." Skye seemed arrogant, but well, in this society, you acted your part. Confident, arrogant, asshole. Like the man on the other side.

"No, it's a security check. I need you to come with me. Alone."

"I don't leave my client. I'm here to guard her, after all. Don't take me as stupid, my client is important and needs to go through, so do I."
Skye barbed back, knowing it was out of turn now, but this was, frankly, bullshit.

"She can come with us then. If she can't defend herself, that is."

"Sure. Sorry, Freya. My paperwork is in order...I'm sure it won't take more than a minute." Skye feined an apology to keep cover, as they walked over, Skye this time around joined by Freya- it was rather a sight to see but the guard carried on, not backing down. He couldn't here, and was in control of the situation. So much so he told the other guard to stay, he could handle this. He was armed, they weren't, and they weren't stupid. So he thought.

Following, Skye would have been easily able to be worried they were off to a dark room and compromised. But in some fucked up way, oh, this was perfect.

-----------------

A Caged Bird

Sitting down in the dark windowed room after heading downstairs from the roof suite into the office and as part of a wider security network, Skye looked across the table, as the security man took a seat, eyeing her up, pistol at side after leading past a couple of other guards. The security room was a bad start to the evening, but things were what they were. It helped knowing the layout, and some of the guard detail. Like the man who had told them to sit looking across.

"So, I did my work into who was attending. And your name, it doesn't come up. See, I know everyone in the VIP protection game. Everyone."

"You're a ghost, Skye Caldwell. Question is, why are you protecting Freya Kantaario? What, you think she needs it? Do you even understand what kind of a social event this is? And what she did to Pavel? There aren't plus ones here. This isn't a bring your friends gathering. Your client may be lucky enough to get an invite, but she knows, this isn't how it works. A guard for her isn't on the cards. This is a chance for her to be civil. And the invite is a courtesy, so after happened to just pretend it's all fine to have anyone here ain't gonna work for my boss. So what the fuck are you doing here, pretty girl? Here to cause another incident? Some tagalong? The man coolly said, his anger palpable in the soundproof office.

The mistake he'd made was already becoming a bit evident by the second, Skye putting her sheepish face on, and lying through her absolute teeth.

"Well....I'm doing my job, because my client wants me here? Check my paperwork."
Skye looked over her shoulder at the towering hulk, and could only smirk. Oh, Freya could do something. But she knew Skye well enough. Well enough to know this was Skye's game, it was the look in her eyes. Play dumb, and play him out to see what happened next.

"Really. I highly doubt that you are, because finding reference for you, hell, even CCTV footage is hard. Anyway, I think you ain't got shit to protect. Pavel wants no trouble. You look like it, because this don't add up. And I'll offend the great Freya Kaantario to do so, because my client comes first." The man laid his pistol on the desk, a nicely ornimental RSh-12 revolver, and the size of the fucking thing said it all- his mannerisms, his brashness, his sigh as he looked into Skye's eyes, knowing he had her on the ropes. Or so he thought, because well, Skye was leaning into this exactly like she wanted. The way only she could.

"I bet Freya hasn't realised she's hired a ghost. Tried to walk in here, thinking we don't care about last time. And given the man I look after wants no trouble....this stinks."

"Och...uhhh, yeah, you're right!" Skye responded straight, as the man bolted upright.

"What?" It was too good from him because he was leaning in, and the fire that burned just burned in all the wrong places.

With that, Skye launched quicker than he could react forwards and towards the revolver, throwing her left arm at his windpipe and right onto the sidearm, using him as weight she went hurling herself over the table and yanking him down, grinning as they both carted onto the floor. He tried to push back, but there was no stopping a surprise, as she jabbed hard into his lungs, quickly neutralising him as he tried to throw her back off him.

Skye was exactly where she wanted to be. Right on top with her legs pinning his gut, and with a hard swipe at his throat to hit his windpipe, he wasn't going anywhere, Skye keeping her gloved hand tight against his neck, able to push a little harder and end it all here and now. Maybe she didn't have his strength. But she had something more, and that was an experience of dealing with bigger bastards than him. It was no short reminder that Skye wasn't some princess, she was fierce, and hiding it rather well up until that moment.

"Make a move and play hero, it doesn't end well for you......oh, Jim Wickers, Ex-FBI, strong ex- in fact. You're pretty good as his Senior Security Liason....so far, ey?" Skye started, taking control of this situation, knowing that right now, any dumb looks were gone.

"What that means is I can really embarrass you to your boss. I'll find him and tell him Freya right there is coming to beat his 'wee heed into a fucking pulp. Your worst fear. And you know, she just might. Or maybe she won't and she'll grab a vodka and leave. She is really elusive like that. You're a smart cookie. Problem is, your little warning didn't figure me out all the way." Skye chuckled as her resolve tightened, looking dead into his eyes, revolver pushed aside, the man choking out as he sprawled, frankly embarrassed by what Skye had gone and done. It was a classic move, but they never saw it coming.

Nobody ever did.

"And you'll do nothing but watch on those cameras on that wall no matter what. You think that works as a successful evening?" Skye retorted to him, very, very much aware that he was no doubt in shock, and the fact he was barely conscious added to it. Skye's physique didn't scream what Freya's did- sure it was beaten but it looked more like a runner's, more than someone capable of the damage she was.

"Don't worry. If I was here to kill him, he'd already be dead. I'm just not interested in security staff causing me hassle tonight. So, I'll going to tell you to reconsider before I think about moving onto you. Understood?"

"Shit.....ok, ok. You realise I ain't it, huh? You think you can just waltz in? I ain't telling you shit, anyways, you're both fucking dead if you try and get out....fuck you! His whimpered yell was something, as he knew there were no good options, and well, he had reason for that given the position he was now in. Play it long, and wait this out.

Skye chuckled in response, looking to Freya, looking him dead in the eyes, Jim choking as Skye pushed down on his throat again, pushing hard as he tried to recoil, then easing up, putting his head straight against his.

"Shhh.....you hear that? Nah, me neither. That's because you took us into a soundproof room. Thank you for that. And nobody is coming for you in the next twenty. Remember, you got it wrong...I'm protecting you from her, not vice versa. If we did it her way, she'd be scalping you alive. I've seen her bench a fucking jeep, not even glue would put you back together if she did. And that would be far better than the entertainment up there." Skye gently sat by his side, putting her hand to his throat, aware she could push on his damaged windpipe and just make it hurt so, so much more once again.

"Whatever he's paying you, your ex-wife and two kids are worth a bit more than what might happen next. Oh yeah, the ones you didn't tell Pavel about so you could get his clearance. I know, which I guess makes me more important than your client right now. So do tell me something, Jim, because it'll save you a lot of hassle. Where's Pavel, and how many guards are around him? Lie, and Freya here, she comes back and opens you like a tin of sardines."
His face changed quickly, that very second, because the threats went from violence, enough to get most, to something else altogether.

It was a situation he had no energy to react to, but then again, he had no reason to doubt it. You did Carrot, and you did Stick. Sometimes, you did both at the same time. Same place. And when you got your hands dirty in this game, you did bad things. Nothing bad would come to his family of course given Skye had no idea where they were, but she'd made sure to keep it in mind as a weak point from her reading of the security detail they did know about. His weak point wasn't his strength or ability, it was in blood. Sometimes, social engineering worked a hell of a lot more than violence. Right now, that approach was about to pay dividends.

"You piece of shit...don't do shit to them, y'all hear?"

"Temper, temper. Nothing is going to happen to them. Just start talking and you'll stay employed, and if you're lucky, might even get a pay raise. Try and focus on positives, Jim, and you might live. Talk to me." Skye's voice was back to reassurance, backed by almost that same spirit that made her the team mum, yet somehow, inexplicably, underlined with threat.

"Alright...they're on the top floor. He's got more guards, ten more. You ain't got a hope in hell. He's got a giant in the team after last time with Freya. Big dude. Like I said, big mistake. You won't stand a chance, whatever you're doing. You fucking do anything, I'll kill you....you can rot in hell!" Skye looked to Freya, then back at him as he tried to yell, Skye throwing her hand against his mouth, his other one against his throat.

"That's better. But a bit rich coming from you. You really are such a lucky boy for someone who treats a so called, 'pretty girl' so poorly. I thought we really could have something, might even let you stay awake but you really are foul. Please do me a favour and don't remember my face. I'll try and forget yours pretty quick." Skye grimaced as she peeled back off him, as she drew her handbag from across the room from off the table, and flipping the perfume bottle, rammed the top of it straight into his nose, spraying a full, if not over-dose of the sleeping agent, the fast-acting tool taking the dazed guard out, as Skye looked almost deflated. She expected more.

"That was eventful. Bloody awful, even. Is my makeup still ok? Because we have this guy to move, and not gonna lie, he is fatter than the file said he would be. He's like fucking Steven Seagal." She asked, knowing the disapproval would be on Freya's face, yet in some ways, she'd be entertained. Skye didn't like parties a lot, so this must have made for a little bit of change.

Skye was that kind of character- she had learned how to be a spy and be a ghost, a spectre and an asset that blended in, turned into something else, someone else when she had to be. But beneath that, she never forgot she was capable of these things. Capable of doing what was needed to get it over the line, and beyond guns and firepower, she had learned how to use their ability against them. Right now, that was what had done it- and while it didn't always go smoothly, this one had to- otherwise, their operation was compromised. Skye would have been held for longer and if more security joined, they'd be shit out of luck. Then there was no talk, and no chance of finding out what they needed. No server farm check, and that was that.

After hiding Jim's knocked out body in a nearby cupboard, out cold for at least the next half an hour, Skye had the chance to get the rest of her equipment set up, instead of in some toilet probably full of old coke lines on the toilet seat. And enough to spy an IP address, on a CCTV system, among a few other things. By being in a secure room, Skye knew they were off camera. It was almost as if gambling on his confidence had payed dividends. She adjusted the frequency on her phone, linked to her ear-ring, a beautiful pearl piece that concealed a mic and earpiece that gave nothing away beyond its user- to activate the mic all she had to do was push on a signet ring on her hand, and it felt as fluent as anything, while the earpiece used a oscillatory segment in her piercing to allow her to silently listen to the team, and so far, it was coming through crystal.

"Team, me and Valkyrie are in. Security is tight here, but we dropped one. Gave us a goldmine though, we got into a security booth. Glitch, Chaos, I'm pinging you an IP address for CCTV and their admin server network. Careful around it because likely it's protected. Everyone, get to work, get to know some faces, and do our jobs. You know the score. Infiltrators, when ready, make your way down and get your gear recovered." Skye's tone was authoritative, sometimes harsh but in this environment, it had to be. Plus, she'd only gone and knocked out a guy at the party when she tried to be more incognito than raiding a beached cargo ship.

Within five minutes.

With that last communication through her earpiece built into her earring, Skye and Freya emerged back out of the small booth and out of the mostly quiet security complex without further hastle, heading through the corridors and back up the stairs out of the top floor of the offices onto the veranda, the skyline once again visible as the party raged on, suits and dresses everywhere, eyes beckoning on Freya, and less so on Skye, who strutted her stuff with confidence. No more bullshit, as they were on the other side of the fence, and well, the other guards hadn't seen them. They were unlikely to get any more attention, until they realised that Jim had gone for too long of a break, and by that point, things might get spicy.

They knew where he was. They knew what to do. And Skye, Freya and the team going into the party had that to enjoy. The Scot craned her head up to the giantess by her side, knowing she had thoughts on her mind after that, and no doubt, plenty of thoughts of what the update on security meant for them.
"Keep an eye on that giant. Try not to fuck him either, because when he sees you he's gonna be like Casanova. But if you can keep him away, that helps me plenty. We are gonna need to play it cool around Pavel, and our guy on the inside of the bar staff isn't fucking up my drinks order this time either...."
Skye wryly commented to Freya, knowing that the situation was gonna escalate with one of them around- but having Xan on the inside, well, that could change things quickly...

In the interim, the rest of the team were no doubt making their way in, to significantly and likely less drama than they were. It would be a bit of time to get into the party and get used to it, but they had a crowd to mingle with on the upmarket cocktail-bar, come wine-bar, come rooftop piano session that was a high society party at a tech firm.

The Conflict

Nice! Sorry for the delay my end- feeling a little creatively quiet at the moment. Will get a post out hopefully tomorrow :)

Raven Squad: Second Storm (Military/Spy-Fi RP)

Kaitiaki HQ, New Zealand

Skye Rosalind Lyons

The Office Party

The team gathered in, Skye knew it was good to have everyone back in somewhat of one piece, and that with a little time till their next mission, they could rest up and recuperate before getting after it. That included Michelle, her first mission in Raven going so far so well, Skye aware of the capable infiltrator taking on a different role shadowing her in Aralsk.

@Wayward

"Good to have you back, Michelle. Held your own on that op. I know it's not easy being thrown into the deep end straight away, but you kept it together." Skye called to her, knowing she was no doubt a little shell shocked from the experience, but considering she'd followed well on Skye's lead, it had to be said, she'd done well.

@LadyAmber@BigPapaBelial

Skye kept a mind out to Sam's response, giggling a little as Freya was then on the phone, chatting to her team. And clearly having a fun time doing it. Skye didn't people watch, that was a professional thing after all, but even personally right now....she had to admit, Imran was right. Giants were a freaky kind. But there was no denying it, the girl that smashed IFVs was also hot in a Gladiators pinned up on her bedroom wall kind of way. As she put the phone down, it was like Skye replied to both Freya and Sam in the same breath, smirking.
"Remind me to never ask how your company does HR complaints."
The Scot chuckled, as she sighed, looking across the team, noting Mateo's comment also, the Colombian silent throughout and then having his own note.

@Theyra
"Sounds like a plan. Let me know how you want to play it. If you want your infiltrator's kit on the other side, Sam and Xan will join you in that. Raph might have some stuff on that front for you in terms of plans."
Skye mentioned, knowing his more laid back, chilled style would take that rather than the beef she had to throw back at the other redhead, and the team leader's thought that she had spent a little too much time here with the team as is. On that note, Skye knew that the evening had to either wind up...or wind on.

"Right...enough misery for us. I've got some Swedish vodka sitting in that fridge. And for a certain someone...I got something even more lethal." Skye added, giggling, going to the fridge and drawing first a bespoke bottle of vodka, followed by a mystical looking bottle of a green looking absinthe, the kind that was not for mere mortals like Skye and the rest of the relatively functioning alcoholics. Oh no, this one, this was for the kind of girl that would need a few bottles to feel. This would make her feel much faster than that.

"One for you, Miss Kaantario?"
The wry grin on the redhead's face went up as she popped the green bottle onto the table and looked directly at Freya, and for the briefest of seconds, the look in Skye's eyes was not of a boss anymore, but of someone wanting to indulge in a bit of team bonding.

---

A Significant Quantity of Alcohol Later

"So I says to the guy, size of Valkyrie, yeah, right....fuckin'....yous having a laugh? This is what you keep in your bedroom after I sneak into your little compound full of Ruskies, to keep you occupied? Anyway, I caved his head in with his ten-inch rubber dildo, guy thought he had me on the ropes, but you see, he was thinking with his 'wee fuckin' baws!" With that, Skye slugged the vodka shot down, giggling away, the redhead now well and truly gurning away, utterly lost for a second, because to get her this far, the bottle had been cleaned out with everyone else. Skye had lost any formal demeanour, at this point, what was left was a feral special forces soldier, that happened to be Scottish, and rambling.

"Anyway, that's the reason I don't like Uzbekistan, and how I ended up blue balling some Russian giant with his own instrument, aye! Because it's a shithole, it's sandy, and that wee fuckin' fella! In that order!"

It's pretty obvious to everyone there that while she isn't going to let anything operational slip, she is in that drunk storyteller mode, and right now, it's the most pissed she's been in a while.

So much so, that even narratively, the writing style here is even deviating.

An obliterated Scot is a terrifying thing, because someone of Skye's capacity doesn't let it happen, almost ever. Aside from today, because after all, they had gone out and barely avoided getting killed, and well, the team were just gelling so well. No immediate mission either, or at least, one they could just about recover on the hangover from tomorrow morning, Skye's corner of lucidity reminds her. Irrespective of whatever state the team had decided to go to, this night had clearly escalated heavily, and in a way that definitely wouldn't be sanctioned in any other special forces or intelligence team.

A good old fashioned piss up never disappointed.

Before then going to stand, and in the most unapologetic way, clattering down in front of the sofa, Skye spills a bit onto the table, with a wry chuckle, before barely clambering up again.

"Ahh shite....you know.....you're a good bunch. Top team of people. And there are things I'd let Freya do to me that's probably illegal. And Mateo too, probably. I dunno. Like this whole workplace policy shite says we can't.....bloody legal crap. I remember when I used to be out in the field, none of that....ah bloody hell. Don't get me wrong, all with consent, but I'm no stranger to any silly ideas." Skye blurted, probably revealing a bit much. The kind that didn't normally come out of Skye, and no doubt, flooring the team a little, as she giggled.
"Anyway, you're all about as pissed as I am. Enjoy tomorrow, eh!"

---

Office Work

Skye did have to think to herself as she worked in the office, if her immune system wasn't as powerful as it was, she'd still be bawling on the floor.

What happened that night, she didn't want to reminisce too much on, but hey, she hadn't done anything TOO silly. Well, the bike ride, catchup with Raph, and other things had flushed most of her regret out of the system, but sometimes, she had to let go. As Xan had said, show her colours a bit more. But then again....that was probably a bit further.

The team were working away in the background on their own kit, with support team, together or on their own, whilst

On that note, Skye took the break from her office to check over her dress, the form-fitting crimson red and black dress matching lovely with her hair, and even more creatively, having a tactical slant to it. Interwoven ceramic plating with silicon carbide disc plating, it seemed almost seamless with the material of it, and no doubt, the other members of the team would for their formal garb. Kept off metal detectors too, and almost felt like padding of some kind. An extravagance, because why not....just as the boys had their stuff, Skye knew she had hers.

The other tools, including a hidden taser, hidden inside a bag, alongside a makeup kit made up of a few hidden tools was always useful to have- some had been brought to her recently by Sam, who had worked on some of these in the background, some were old traits. The classic knife in stiletto was on again, and a perfect little after-dinner tool to use. Not a bad little contingent, and all importantly, flight safe and metal detector safe.

Running through the rest, she checked over the office layout, and taking her time, looked at entry points, more details to do with the party, and got to pondering. There was a plan afoot, but as far as she could tell, they could take this on. She'd get her audience with Pavel, and the others would have a variety of tasks. Freya and Stafford on running distraction, with whatever detail they came into- that they didn't know much on, whilst Sam, Xan, Mateo, Michelle had the task of getting into the party through their method, retrieving their kit and infiltrating downstairs, getting onto Pavel's network, the company network and finding out what they could. That was uncertain, but they had some detective work to do, and no doubt, as the mission went on, Skye could fill in the blanks from what she got from social engineering with Pavel and co.

The skyscraper definitely had methods in and out- vertical enough for a BASE or wingsuit flight out, and also, for another secret contingency if the team needed it. The office below was on two levels, and relatively vast- including Pavel's own network, which would need handling. An elevator also would be in operation but no doubt it was secured, and getting around the skyscraper would be tricky. But no doubt, with the right tools, it could be turned inside out. They had plenty of methods, and while Skye could monitor them, it would be tricky to do so, even on her phone while in the party. It being a social event and all.

A standard social occasion for Raven, and Skye had no doubt that more booze would be on the cards. For them, not her, thankfully....

---

A Prelude

With the team making their prep, the evening came about fairly quickly - they'd been able to get some leads, and some chats to Raph later, Skye had some idea of what to do.

With that, Skye called a team meeting- they had their opportunity to catch up and with that, they were all in the same briefing room, comfy chairs laid out and Skye at the front, dressed in her blue shirt and khaki trousers again, red hair tied into a bun, her rosy cheeks and adamant look once again back to business.

"Alright everyone. What have you got for me? All recovered?"
Skye asked, looking across the team, knowing that so far they all had a method in, or at least, a method to make their way to the party. And hopefully out.

"Because now's your last chance for any questions. In terms of operational setup, I've identified some objectives. But details are scarce right now. Pavel is the main objective, but I need a possible server connected to the company network, and Pavel's own looked at. Which is going to be guarded, by both electronic and physical means. Anything to add?"

Raven Squad: Second Storm (Military/Spy-Fi RP)

Kaitiaki HQ, New Zealand

Skye Rosalind Lyons

Dinner is Served

The team raised lots of valid points, their commentary revealing that well, they all certainly had a bone to pick with Pavel too. That was good, Skye thought to herself. Who wouldn't hate on a billionaire frat bro.

@LadyAmber

"That could be something of a lead. Though hopefully it doesn't lead to us having to go to space to dismantle those things...for a starter, I don't think we have a rocketry programme yet!"
Skye chimed back with a little sarcasm, flipping a burger, having a moment to ponder it over, knowing what she knew roughly about the market for such communications. After all, if Pavel was using it for that purpose too, all sorts of shenanigans could be going on, and hacking their comms could be on.

"Though it's a good point. There has to be some kind of ground station, and no doubt there's more intel on that network. It might open the door for us, especially if the data is on one of those satellites and we can get it down to us if we can't visit ourselves."
Skye added, knowing it might be something to circle around to, but in the main, it gave them something to look for on the next operation. Pavel was a vested target, purely as there was possible association to Artemis, but the fact his fingers were on this meant something else had to be going on. Skye wanted answers. And she'd get them, first by asking, then by telling, and only then, maybe by doing something more than that.

@BigPapaBelial

It didn't sound like much fun wither with what Freya was saying. Once again, Skye reminded herself that the giant could probably have done far worse, and in some ways, she hoped for Pavel and his memory's sake...

"Sounds like a method in. And damn....well, he might be rich but he can't be too intelligent if he thought that would end well. Jesus, if your brother found out, he'd be turned into some wee Spam alright." Skye remarked, sarcastically as she knew full well the score of Freya's family- once again, she wasn't the only one that was that tall. And freakishly strong. And have a waistline like she did...Skye couldn't deny, it was quite something.

"Oh, and for dresswear, it's gotta be the former. If they're craning their necks, it's all eyes on you, girl, near, far, wherever you are...keeps you professiona tool and reminds you you're not to be fucked with. Whatever the hell they feed you back home, remind me to try it sometime, Freya!"
Skye remarked, cheerfully than prior, knowing Freya would hopefully take it well, the other redhead of the team making Skye sometimes feel like a mini-me in comparison. Well, with an accent of her own, it made her stick out at least, somewhat?
"Your invite should work. I guess it'll be guarding you, and in some ways, it keeps the attention directed at you. That will come in handy, aye." Freya was certainly going to be of help here- her company and her reputation would make her a glowing target in her suit, but no doubt, that was the point. You didn't hide a giant. You made them front and centre, and in the complete opposite of working in espionage, you put someone like Freya out like a parade float, for all to see. So that well, Skye and the others were in the shadows.

@Awesomoman64

Helping out with the hallumi, Skye responded in turn to Xan, hearing out his story, and his possible approach method.
"And I thought he was just a regular an asshole....sounds rough, Xan. Glad to hear I don't need to give you all more motivation, team."
Skye responsed to Xan, then more generally to the group, as she finished up helping him out, finding a set of plates.
"Sounds like something good, Xander. Keep me informed what you're up for doing."
She retorted back, knowing him and Sam were more likely than not going to be spending plenty of time reassembling their electronics. Having lost it in the buggies, they'd need some bits to work on, and knowing the resourcefulness of Tahlia and their own, they'd be back in no time.

@PerfectThought

Last but not least, the other Brit had stayed quiet, Stafford probably taking his time to absorb the conversation, and the goings on around here. Of course, he'd be back to his usual soon enough, given the injury though, he wasn't probably giving shit today. She almost missed that, almost.
"Possibly. But if not, keep your head on a swivel. I'll appreciate getting a whisky with you there, mate. And you'll get some up close action too."
Skye warmly commented across to him, getting the table set, turning to the team in general now, knowing they'd all be wondering what next.

"Well.....that's no' bad. Eat up, team. We got some healing and work to do. Sounds like a few of us might have invites then. I'll get to work on a more concise extraction method tomorrow. In the meantime, install any of your upgrades, get back onto recovery, start figuring out your method in, out, and what we have on the line. We'll be there soon enough. For now, eat up, because that looks delish!"
Skye called out, for a moment the redhead of the team enjoying this little atmosphere, this evening, and each and every face that was here.

----

Thistle in the Rough
The Next Day

The next day came as a slightly better one for Skye Lyons, given her ribs weren't hurting so much, either from the light use of painkillers, or sheer bloody mindedness. Some did have to ponder if Skye was just some sort of machine, but there wasn't much more to it than the fact she just harnessed, took life by the core. An introspective view was that it made her feel somewhat alive, and by this point, she was so accustomed to it, not doing it felt even weirder.

Skye didn't muck about. Same thing as usual, porridge oats, fruit, cranberry juice, and a shot of a blended smoothie from the kitchen, followed by the early morning briefing, it was a nice little routine to have as the sun barely rose. The kind that sort of gave her a basis, because it was a job after all. A full time one, with no holidays, but a hell of a lot of perks. Like how right now, she was free to act how she needed to. The team were in the same boat, given they were awaiting the date of the party, and had jobs to do in the interim.

And it was the a slightly varied routine for Skye, a different route but still the same. Skye was back out and with the black and orange triathlon suit she had on over her athletic and weathered frame, she looked slick, the mark of efficiency. It may have seemed she embraced some sort of luxury rather than doing this in usual combat conditions, but Skye didn't need that every day. Nah, today was about getting back on the horse. Irrespective of what the doctor's orders were, Skye would allow herself to break that. She may have been a stickler for the rules, but what fun were they if you couldn't break them?

It made running a team hard as hell, that was for sure.

A swim kicked things off, with the dawn chorus of birds chirping and the raging sea giving Skye all she could, drowning her red hair into the salt water, the muscles burning and aching, but coming back into posterity once she'd kicked off the first two hundred meters. A kilometer would do, but against the raging sea, it was like trying to fight Posideon throwing bricks at her shoulders every few seconds once she was outside the reach of the bay and into more open water, swimming to the next. She didn't care. It just made things more entertaining, and after all, she wanted this to be a reminder to her she wasn't going to let the idea of ribs hold her back. The others may have rested up, but she wasn't going to let go.

So coming off the swim, the next step was the bike ride of this little biathlon sans weapons, with a full face crash helmet attached to the carbon-black bars of the parked bicycle. Left back down by the small airfield that the team had on the far side of the bay, her mountain bike was a formidable little tool, carbon-framed and with a rear shock to boot, but still, very human powered and tricky to use on the trails of the island. On the trails around the place, Skye could put it through its paces, not needing engines or electricity to pull the bike up the hundred meter hills that formed the spine of their home, the jungle and fine tracks being a good place. With all the uphill, Skye had to ration the energy she had left, the burn now setting in, her heartrate rushing past 160 from pushing on the slippery, rooty and rocky climb in the foliage, the little hiking trails that shouldn't have taken a bike still being put to use by her. Every part of her body felt like it was on fire, screaming, but the glimpse of orange and black was a blur in the early morning paths. Rubber skidded on dirt, and the sight of Skye pushing through her ribs kicking back was visible and very much audible.

These moments mattered. They reminded her of being alive, and directed her thoughts into something more positive than the dwelling thoughts she always would circle over again sometimes. Showing any weakness to anyone in the team was going to be the end of her- at least, it would be, and sometimes just pushing into that physical endurance was like it made it all fade, like nothing mattered at all, and it pushed her to be more. It was being stubborn, and if being in control that mattered, if not her team then very much her own mind felt good. Kept her able to resist thinking about some of the past. Her mum's state, and her dad's death. A break with the past had worked, but it always felt like she had to run even harder to just put things between her and that. Literally go to the antipode of the world to put that between them, and well, turn inside out. Become some arbiter of good and immerse herself into a stress that completely wiped the past clean out. It felt hard but then again, she had no reason to doubt herself when she pushed.

And Xan was right, when she spoke to him a while back. She had to relax. Let things in. But Skye knew that was going to take losing a part of her she wasn't ready for yet. Maybe the tectonic plates would move, but that was going to take time.

On that thought, Skye stopped at the top of the ridgeline, looking down at the dawn sky, and the Homestead on the horizon. The expansive view, the wind blowing her sodden hair back, the feeling of sweat in every orifice and the near echoing of her heart returning down to a low, thumping rest rate. Her ribs hurt, but not as much as it would to not make the most of this moment, right here, right now. Being alive in it all. Final stretch now.

And it was downhill, a rush that pushed her hard, as Skye whipped the mountain bike through the undulating terrain, catching air over a boulder and leaping the bike through the track, giggling and grinning with pride, the endorphin rush of this not dying yet. Sure, it didn't beat getting shot at, wingsuiting into a North Korean radar site, or all manner of stupid shit she'd done before, but it was something new, and novelty was always fun.

If ever Skye enjoyed moments like these, it was odd to see her be somewhat at ease with herself, completely hooked on that high, and it was clear whatever that high was, it was from being absolutely on that ragged edge. She liked learning new things, and this was her most recent- integrating it into her routine had certainly been paying dividends, and as she made her way to the bottom of the trail, before the team had probably even woken up, she'd gotten her fill. Mountain bike parked in the hallway, she got a morning shower in, and back into her more usual casual clothing, got to work on making the round of work she had ahead. The only thing that came close was skydiving, but given her state and the fact they had work to do, she thought better of that.

---

With her morning madness out of the way, Skye returned inside the intelligence centre down in the support complex, the Israeli signals intelligence operative hunched over his desk, four monitors plus another to his side revealing he was deep in flow, but Skye was having none of his indifference.

"Morning!"
Skye cheerily greeted him, the redhead wearing a crimson red t-shirt, complimenting her red ponytail, as well as her usual cargo pants and trainers, her stance one of warmth yet an underlying air of authority, one that never really left despite how casual she may have come across.

"Someone's been for a run. Against doctor's orders. Tut tut, Skye." Raph sarcastically remarked, the dry Israeli replying, only then breaking from the screen.

"Oh, way more stupid' tha' that. I don't know when to stop. So keep that on the down low, yeah?"

"Well, I'm sure I can keep that secret. All good, chief?"

"Somewhat normal. Have you started to look at what I sent across to you?"
Skye enquired, breaking the chat to another subject quickly, not wanting to fuck around, given she knew Raph wasn't going to keep the smalltalk going without being more awkward.

"It looks positive. Certainly got some options to look at, the party itself looks like a hell of an event. He doesn't come out of his shell often, and while the security is tight, it's not impossible to beat. Plenty of spots you can get him one on one. I assume you have a plan for that."

"Indeed. Then that settles that nicely. Tahlia's got me a taser I can conceal, and a few other goodies. Team'll know what to go for- data, and well, keeping the party going to get me my opportunity. Then we'll have him to chat to."
Skye commented, Raph sitting up in his chair a little and turning completely to her, knowing while it wasn't his place to ask, he had to get it out of his system.

"Why are we going after him, Skye? I thought talking to billionaires wasn't our forte, I thought it was dropping people? Surely we'd find a better way to get this data, just find a datacentre and break into that if you want to stop us getting hacked again? Don't get me wrong, the man is an asshole but this feels unpredictable."

"You know as well as I do, some secrets, they're not on flash memory, they're up here. And they are just....well, they're so much easier to get than a hack." Skye pointed to her temple with that, the redhead smirking, knowing she was winding up Raph, the Israeli a little puzzled still.

"Right....but you do realise, if he doesn't play ball and you get nothing, this is going to backfire, big time...and there's no easy way back from that. Brave as you are, are you sure you're gonna get something?"

"Never was going to be without a little risk. But it's a measured response, the alternatives you know will be too difficult to do remotely, even at a datacentre. We can figure out what happened to us in Aralsk from the horse's mouth, and we take Artemis apart...because it's a hydra after all, with lots of heads. Killing him isn't going to help us. It's getting the root, and it's not his money I want....it's their network. Once he gives me what he needs, he'll be compromised enough, and we can set him loose and see where the trail goes because he'll be impossible to hide afterwards. We can see what happens. Let them run riot. Then stamp on the lot."

"That's some social engineering you got going there?

"I do try my best." Skye was steely, before cracking a grin, just knowing she could really get at their intel guy, and well, relish in that.

"Fucking hell....you got intense quickly. Like, that's so evil....shit, normally I would have thought of that first...."

"Like I said....there's lots of ways to get a job done. This happens to be the best one right now...and for a man who has an image to protect, it would rather be a shame if he couldn't return to his party without....oh, I don't know, something happening to that very thing."

"What do you mean?

"Oh, they're just details, I'll let your Mossad brain think on what I said. I don't muck around."

"Skye...."

"Thank me when I get you an insight into why our supposedly invincible network got hit. Anyway, I'll leave you with finding us some more intel, and some low-level backdoors to get Xan, Sam and the hackers over the line. Enjoy."
Skye added, a wry smirk on her face, giving absolutely zero away. Need to know basis, and all that....and the satisfaction was going to be all hers.

------------

With a return out of the intel hub, Skye knew the team were at leisure- well, the sort of leisure that wouldn't mean it was all downtime. They had options- Raph was in his hub doing his thing, Javi was down in the motor pool with a new couple of buggies that had been brought in, Tahlia was in the armoury and well, Doctor Keller was probably having some rest after the insanity that had been the last couple of days of people coming in various states of repair. Checking weapons and gear, recovering their past equipment, even some more activities together were on the cards, so she left it open to them, knowing this was a brief interlude before they'd have a plan and be back out on things to come.

It was as good as any opportunity for Skye to let them enjoy time without her being on top of them, let the team settle themselves in. For the time being, she had some work of her own to do in the office once again, and this time, figure out an extraction plan. Best case? They walked out of there, no skin off back. But if there was hacking taking place below, then Sam and Xan were going to need a fast track way out of there. And in an emergency? Well, Skye was working on that method...and really hoped it didn't come to that. Door left open, Skye clicked on some music, and the soft sound of James Blake keeping her ears company.

Burning Rubber Three (Bee and kingkonrad)

Max sat back, looking into the horizon, then back at the reply in front of him.

"That'd be good. Cheers!" Max typed back, putting in his address, sending it across with a satisfying ping of his phone. Shit, that had worked....well, it was someone to call a friend. Well, beyond the other one, as his phone buzzed...

Standing up, the phone rang, this time with the nametag coming up.

"Hey, Max, you alright?" The Faroese voice on the far side reminded him that yep, that one still was in the game- still relevant somewhat.

"Yeah, been worse." Max's response was blunt, but as British as ever...an understatement.

"Look, thank you for coming out a few nights back. Appreciate seeing you around here. From what I heard, you seemed to adapt well to the local conditions." Magnus's voice was reassuring to hear, but Max wasn't feeling that way, a little deflated from it all- it was a lot to take in, the heat, the environment, all of it.

"Kind of. Keeping it low-brow at the minute. Yous know how it goes." Max replied, sighing as he knew that well, there wasn't going to be much racing. For a little while, at least- he could run his gamble out but right now, shit had gone feral after that street race. Views were mad, and people were going off, but it was far more heat than he was used to, even back home.

"Look, if the car's hot, I might be able to fix you up with something local. And some more work. You know, I'm just a respectable businessman. But I might have something your flavour, if you know what I mean?" Magnus's suggestion piqued Max, as he sat back down again into the beanbag across the room, looking out the window, then back in. The Faroese voice was certainly warped by the West Coast, and that American twang was coming straight into his language.

"Oh, you mean something....right, I'm with you. I'm interested." Max realised the code right there. It wasn't a race. It was something else. Probably not a drugs run either...because that wouldn't be what was on the cards.
"We can talk cars later. You free tonight?"
"Yeah, I can do that."
"Alright, we'll sort you a ride, then. Take it steady, brother."
"You too." Max cut the phone, as he stared at the wall.

Shit was going to possibly get real tonight, but Kaitlyn would be good to meet, good to keep him grounded. Then whatever worked was planned out, well, he just hoped it wasn't anything too heavy.

Things never worked out quite that way.

(Really sorry this took ages!)

Raven Squad: Second Storm (Military/Spy-Fi RP)

Massive post there- wanted to really tease some exposition in the way of two characters I haven't really had the chance to indulge in. Setting wise, there's also a little exposition to give- I'd like to say that in terms of the world around Raven, the idea of "ten to twenty-ish" years from now is what I would suggest, but I'm actually keeping that wide open purely as it's intentionally vague so begins to hint and lean on bits of that, which will be exciting to write.

If the team have bits they want to shape on the op, feel free to do so- this is the first one which I would say is actually really non-combat like, and has a really cool opportunity to give the team something different than historically they have been up to (with definitely scope for infiltrating). The only main-line I would say is getting Skye to Pavel- beyond that, how it is done and how everything else works is completely up to you, so the team has free input and ways to get in. Want to be a waiter at the party? Sure? Want to join Skye? Absolutely!

Raven Squad: Second Storm (Military/Spy-Fi RP)

Kaitiaki HQ, New Zealand

Skye Rosalind Lyons

The crew around certainly were getting in on this late evening, from the quiet infiltrator to the hacker couple that Skye was trying her hardest not to ship. Irrespective, they were coming together as a team...oh, and then behind her, the voice of rage, like a bear growling could be heard.

@BigPapaBelial

Freya's rage bubbled, and the poor bastards on the other end were going to be working hard as hell in response, no doubt of that Skye thought to herself, watching the team's heavy finish the call. Skye had to remind herself very quickly again- Freya was over seven and a half foot tall as the other redhead stood up from her place in the corner, and there was no part of that which was ever going to be normal. Quite possibly, she would be close to one of the tallest women to have probably ever lived, and as she stood, there was no mistaking it at all. She wasn't some hunchback, she was proud, tall and in every sense of the word, a woman who looked like she could pull you limb from limb like pulling candy floss from a cane. Even a slightly wounded Freya was virtually unstoppable, every part of her like some kind of Athena on steroids. If Skye seemed a little warrior-like and to her own thoughts even close to androgynous in the field, then Skye would look up to Freya like something that fell out of Asguard, or the Pantheon- and certainly, while she wasn't without fault, might usually was quite right. Fuck the pen when you had plasma and a significant amount of ballistic armour...

Skye had run into a giant of her type before, and the amount of rounds she'd expended to take them down without even armour on was slightly ridiculous. The giant in Raven seemed almost beyond that, and hey, while she was a fellow redhead and had her nerdy side, a fine girl no less with plenty of smarts, Skye always made a mental note- cardio would pay off if it ever came to a fight because she'd seen enough of Freya's work to understand people didn't always stay in one piece in a fight with her. It was why Skye needed Freya close, and in particular on the next op, knew there was something she spotted in the next target's retinue- a reason to bring Freya along for a social occasion. Her smarts as a researcher were impressive irrespective of her body, but beneath it all, Skye knew there was something else in there that knew how to raise hell.

In the here and now, Skye had other plans. Giving sarcasm to Freya was like hanging a sack of juicy meat out of reach of a starving lion.

Well...even for Skye, it was simply too fun not to.

"No problem, shite happens. On the positive side, there is distance between here and that lab before you sort them out. And we might have some grub inbetween, which usually helps. You know, there's more kiwis that aren't getting iced now too, ey!" Skye commented, watching her take the bottle and like no other operative in the team could, just swig back. Giants did need a hell of a lot more to feel anything, and she seemed to savour it, Skye leaving her to that portion at the least.
"You did well on that last one, Frey. Took a hell of a beating, and kept a lot of heat off us when we needed it. Really are your parents daughter, and I can only imagine they're proud of you tearing everyone a new one." Skye did have something nice to say, because in spite of the sarcasm, as always, she couldn't let the mother's charm out.

@Theyra

Then there was Mateo, who had come in too, the quiet Colombian infiltrator one that never said much, yet always felt like Skye could spot, irrespective of his quiet or not.

Mateo's story was one she kept dwelling over. Ex-Colombian intelligence, and had treaded well to keep himself alive. He was near silent, and like his callsign, the shadow you couldn't ever see coming. Lethal, and able to go anywhere, do anything, and yet remain completely in the shadows. Someone who was the polar opposite of Freya, but unlike the woman that could smash anything to bits, it always felt like with Mateo you never knew exactly what and where he was. Even without the cloaking, it was the same feeling. Just that he would be there, and he'd find a way in. She was yet to see what he was truly capable of, but then again, Skye wondered, perhaps that was the point- she never saw it and never needed to. It was almost good enough for her mentally, and knowing full well his talents, knew she had to keep him backed up. He couldn't do it all alone, but he did a bloody good job with it. They were a team after all, and having another infiltrator on support, even to shadow him, would be something she would need to keep in mind. But he was a professional, that she had to give. Well, apart from one thing.

Right now, she didn't want to let him in on the fact that at the next op, there was a good chance he'd run into someone from the Tejedor Cartel. Need to know basis and all that. It would be a distraction, at this phase of planning, she knew either he would figure this out already the moment the team got briefed, or she'd tell him in time. Well, when the time was right, he'd know, but that didn't need to be now. Going after their target was critical, and he was professional enough to understand they'd get what they need. She'd promised him that much, there would be a lead, but in time. It was the rare promise Skye had to make to get him on the team, given his skillset. One of the few she made. Men like Mateo had a past that whilst he would keep silent to all, yet was laid bare from the very moment she'd met him. She knew him, understood that mentality, it was closer to her own than she would let on. He may not have said it, but the Scot had the same. Hers were just a lot harder to find.

"Not so bad. Surviving, I guess, I had a couple of ribs hit but it's....well, just inconvenient. I was just saying to the others, combat effectiveness on that one was good. I saw what you got up to, and as always, it's impressive." Skye responded to him, the laconic Colombian getting an equal reply, the redhead nodding back to him as she opened the case and put the instrument she had held in her hands away, the fiddle back into place.

@LadyAmber

As for the other two, well, Sam was the first that came to mind. Injured as she was, Sam was capable. Yet similar to Mateo in some way given what she was trying to deal with Skye knew full well the potential lay beneath. A person who needed purpose, family, a home. Perhaps she was finding that here. In some ways, Skye was glad for it- it kept her mind off things, and while none of her old targets were there, it was part of the wider network. Doing good reminded Skye why she was in this - Sam almost reminded her of a younger version of herself, someone who had that heart and more than anything, kept up their humanity. Excited, yet broadly talented, and growing in capability. And the foil to the team's Aussie.

"Sounds rough, but you'll heal up. Bones break, but so long as your head's intact, that's the main one. Aye, and that intel would be useful. Much appreciated, Sam. Food wise, that'll be on that man over there tonight." Skye added, pointing across the room to Xander, watching as he came in alongside- about time now given that they were all pretty starving.

@Awesomoman64

With Xan- well, what had been thought and said about him, he'd said himself, or Skye already had. The motherfucker...he'd turned that fridge into his own peripheral too.

Son of a bitch.

She almost wanted to say the words, but the sarcastic energy wasn't even there. She had to save that, given there was a briefing. Xan was cheeky, and no doubt still a pain, but he was capable when shit hit the fan. He fought well and his tacit knowledge of extremely advanced kit was always helpful to have on hand. The sort of guy who didn't just disassemble robots, but could probably lay his hand to making a better model. His Dingo was proof of that, and in some ways, unlike either Mateo or Freya, his capability was one that existed into a very different layer of the battlefield. Still, pain in ass, prank playing, co-opting fridges, you know, the usual Bogan.

"Professional, my arse....and aye, burgers sounds good. I'll come and help yous in a second. Tahlia tells me the beef is straight from her farm so I'll be impressed to see it. Real farm to fork and all that!" Skye replied, smiling back at Xan, his mischievous demeanour enough to break even Skye down a little, warming her heart of somewhat damp Scots. Even if it meant a prank at some point. Christ, now that would be back soon...and she wasn't ready for that shit again.

Introspectively, Skye had certainly many things that currently didn't sit well. She couldn't entirely show it, nor display that on the surface. That was the thing about someone like her- she'd spent enough time in the game to see this stuff. Felt a lot of pain, yet it all felt like it was going numb. She knew operatives like Sam, Xan, even Freya to some extent had been fighting for a while and were capable, but beneath Skye's charm and warmth, there was a certain kind of detachment. The kind that suggested a certain wear, a certain burn that carried thin. Even for 30, nearly 31, Skye seemed to have had a few lifetimes of this. A rare thing to observe, but it made her who she was, and it didn't seem to stop. Even if she felt she wanted it to.

She couldn't let it stick, so as Xan headed over to start getting ingredients, Skye sat up, and turning to the group, pulled out her phone, getting a few things ready.

"Anyway....not sure about you lot, but I find recovery works best when you have targets. Like, who to punch the lights out of that caused it in the first place. So let me introduce you to that target. It's no brief, just a starting point."

As the augmented-reality device clacked on from the table, the glass window lit up with the display, Skye aware that while Xan might not have eyes on this, he may have been able to pick it up. A face appeared, the bearded man looking less like some foreign terrorist, even in spite of the fact he was tanned, and well, looked like something you'd almost caricature of some kind to what he would be. The sunglasses and stare, yet the sharp-dressed suit he wore clashed against the water and enormous private yacht behind him. The kind of guy that was almost a Bond villain, yet young enough to be something worse. A tech CEO.

"That is Pavel Andros, Slovenian-Cypriot billionaire, or as you might know him, the founder of Vale Systems, tech firm that is currently the wet dream of every Silicon Valley frat fuck there is, yadda yadda, you know the type. The sort of guy who goes on about AI whilst planning some mental geo-engineering a way out of our fucked up state of affairs. Self-entitled prick, if you ask me, but even worse, his fingerprints are all over Aralsk.

"The hack was messy, but it points to the fact whoever did it was using something high level, with way more computational power than Artemis would have. Something only this man would be able to pull off to break our encryption, or someone he knows. There's nobody hijacking his network. This is his...and we don't know how."
Skye's opinion came out pretty vehemently what she thought about him- people like that, in her opinion, weren't exactly clean themselves.

Even in fighting terror cells, or foiling various plots, people like that left her uneasy- they were all so charming yet her experiences of them had taught her well, to never trust a single word of those who were supposedly on the other side with that level of money. It stank of lies, and all sorts of stuff that put her nerves to edge. Not that she wanted to change the world or something, just that she'd seen enough to suspect too much and know these things never went to plan. Especially if he was tied in some way to what had happened to them.

Pavel was a clear example of that, the Scot internally mused. The modern world was full of complexity, difficulty and hardships. Climate crises, inequality, the visible problems that the world faced had no clear answers, apart from people like that throwing shit at the wall till it stuck. Skye hated that idea, but then again, Raven was probably some funded part of that problem. Either way, it was unsettling- and with problems in the world getting worse, she forgot sometimes they lived on a remote island on the far reach of the world. Artemis didn't have some strong overarching political aim, but from what she understood of it, somebody was trying to take advantage of the chaos. A couple decades ago the world was occupied with one kind of issue rather than the state of affairs that seemed to be bubbling up- and Skye could only dream that they went back to that kind of stability again. The kind that right now, she didn't want to dwell on to herself.

She took a moment in her head before continuing, clicking onto the next slide using her phone, bringing up a map and the interface of their next operation.

"None of this makes sense currently. So, given what we know, I'd like an audience with him because of the fact he tried to fuck us up, yeah? A wee one-to-one he wouldn't normally agree to getting, given he thinks he's above everything. Raphael's found out he has a party at his offices in Singapore in two weeks, and it's not an internal thing, if you were curious. Looks like he wants to invite lots of his other shareholders, and a few subsidiaries too. Quite the list, and surprisingly, no Kazakh arms dealers. More esteemed members of society, if you can believe it..." Skye added with a tinge of sarcasm, looking around the room, bringing up the location.

"It's being hosted at his residence on the roof of the Tsai Wen Tower, right in the CBD of the city, but he's got exclusive use of the whole top floor, with a bar, penthouse, and then some above the Asian offices of Vale. Like I said, he's the kind of arsehole who lives this idea of putting his home on top of his workplace. It's impressive really. But quite not a fortress. Just very, very high up with a few towers around it to keep it company. Not many ways in, not many ways out."

Skye began, taking in the team, before clacking on again. The table was now lit up with the layout of the area, a mostly redacted guest list, and a variety of intel that the team could interact with. Even for a non-briefing room, this little site was a good place to show off data, information and set up operations, the AR allowing the whole thing to be interacted with. 20 years ago they said this shit would actually be real, and lo and behold, it was there, natural as could be, not some weird uncanny valley. They had that at least, Skye pulling a few layers aside as she looked back to the crew.

"Which from that, leads to our little job. To start with, I've got some tasks to keep you all occupied with while you heal up. No rush, but I'll leave the finer details to you."

@Awesomoman64@PerfectThought
"First, I need an invite to his party. Stafford, Xan, see if you can get me one, or make me one. We'll also need you in the party too but I'll leave that up to you how you do it...Raphael might be of help there. You'll also need to figure out a way to get in yourselves along with Stafford and Mateo, either by invite or other means. Working, or perhaps infiltrating. That, and a way to get out. Parachutes, ropes, whatever gets us out of there as a contingency. Come back to me with some ideas and we can take a look at it."

@BigPapaBelial
Second, Freya, you're with me. He has security and if I'm going in there unarmed, I'm going to need backup in case things go south. So you're my plus one...and at the least, it gives me some air of legitimacy if they realise you're someone who would go to something like this. They know you. But if Pavel's security is as tight as it is, I can't take chances- I could use some help on what the security detail is, so Sam and Xan can probably get you that. And whatever you need to do to keep them occupied, do it."

@LadyAmber@Theyra
Third, once we're in, there's more to do. A server farm would be a good hit, but I need more intel goings on that we can extract from the site....and that'll come from our last mission, because there's a lot of connecting information. Sam, Mateo, I'll pin you with those. Figure out what secondaries we can find, just so we can back whatever bullshit I might get from big Pavel to figure this mess out." She chuckled, knowing the team would have a variety of thoughts on that - it was multi-layered, social and more importantly, an actual night out for the team.

"Lastly....anyone got anything else to add, or ask? It's a social occasion, so I'd hope we have no gunfights....because I feel like we've certainly hit that quota already for this month. We can look at this better tomorrow. But have a sleep, get some ideas, and we'll start when ready." The Scot put the question out to the team, knowing that they'd no doubt have plenty, Skye standing up and heading over towards the kitchen, knowing questions would be asked away, as the team took it in.

"Pepper's on the far side, Xan. Those burgers are smelling mighty fine. You don't want to ask how many favours I get the logistics teams to run for us. Won't someone think of the taxpayer...."
Skye mentioned, picking up the griddle and gently dusting some layers of halloumi off to the side, the sizzle on the griddle cooking away, the redhead turning to face the team, whilst keeping half an eye on the burgers below, gently heaping on onions and flipping a few of the burgers he'd rolled. She didn't need to ask if she was helping him- she would just do it, that was her character, and it was just how she seemed to be. Intrusive, maybe, but no doubt without a word, knowing her team and knowing the state they were in relative to her.

She was about to relax on that note, before any questions realising she'd left one thing out.

"Ahh, that reminds me! Right, Tahlia was by earlier. She's headed to the armoury and I think she's gotten you some upgrades. Suits, equipment, that kind of thing. Cutting edge research, so it might take some time to get used to, but I recommend you play with it when you're feeling more fighting fit."

Raven Squad: Second Storm (Military/Spy-Fi RP)

Aralsk, Kazakhstan

Skye Rosalind Lyons

Skye looked back across to the team inside the V22, composing herself as she sat back up, the tiltrotor flying out of the combat zone, door now shut, and the darkness illuminated with a steady blue light and enough for her to take in the scene. The team had taken a pretty serious hit- a lot of injuries and well, everyone was going to be hurting.

They were stable at the least, as she looked on at Freya and Asim, the two stalwarts kicking it, but in not much better a state- neither was Michelle, who was hurt but able to at least look after herself. Skye mustered up the energy she had left as she headed over towards Stafford, quickly bring him up against the seat Stafford was in, quickly pulling up the surgical kit aboard the aircraft, placed neatly for such an occasion, and pulling the tools to hand. It wasn't good, the big chunk of metal sticking out of his leg the immediate thing to note. @PerfectThought
"Jesus. You fucking took a chunk alright...alright, this'll keep you intact for a moment. Don't go dying on me, you daft bastard." Skye tutted, the sarcasm still building in as she knew it would with Stafford, her historic link making it clear this was from affection. With a gentle turn, she began disinfecting the rusty piece of metal, treating it as best as she could and removing the deep-lying chunks at the least of shrapnel, knowing a trauma team could do a better job of hers, using a forcep and a series of tools, the best she could do to at least stop the worst of it. That said, emergency first aid and surgery wasn't her thing, and while she was still able, in a bumpy V22, she could do the best she could, at the least bringing the majority of the chunk out and a sterilised tourniquet on it, with hemostatic powder to boot. It was a grizzly wound, but on Stafford, he'd appreciate it later on, and Sophie had something to work with. That woman could work some fucking miracles, because for most soldiers, that would be game over.

Then there was Xan and Sam, who were barely clinging onto their consciousness, the two passing out before she could get over there. Skye quickly looked to them and could tell they weren't in an amazing state either.
"Not yous as well. Fuck..." She only could retort, her exasperation clear, knowing that Freya was no doubt keeping an eye on things too, as was Asim- the two doctors of the team perhaps not literal doctors, but in a combat situation where first aid was needed, any help would do, and if they weren't completely screwed, they might be on hand. Getting on her knees, the redhead quickly applied some more antiseptic to Xan's wound first, given the other chunk of metal and checked Sam's bloodshot eye over, the American in a good state but suffering from straight up exhaustion. No amount of exoskeleton or carrying was going to help with injuries or fatigue like the kind they had gone through- most soldiers would probably pass out before that point, which Skye was at the least, glad they could survive. Tough fuckers, but like always.

With those groups done, Skye sat on the floor, clearing her own face up, the blood and mess making her look almost like a ghost of her former self, and she knew she wasn't even the worst. Everyone had gone through seven shades of shit, and this was meant to be a routine operation....so for it to end like this was no fun. The heavies were even pretty battered, but they had gotten the plutonium out safe at least- so that was on the way.

""They all ok back there, boss-girl?" Vincent called out, knowing full well the reality would be the opposite, but wanting it to be something else. The optimism was good, but the Scots team lead wasn't there.
"The opposite, very not fucking good." Skye replied sharply, moving towards the front, almost trying not to be a heap on the floor, her exo probably the only reason she wasn't now as Vincent looked over his shoulder, the sight of Skye struggling one he wasn't commonly used to, given her usual demeanour, the colour almost washed out of Skye aside from the claret blood over her forehead she'd neglected to bandage.

"Mon amie, where is that beautiful 'hair, eh? Mec, I don't understand, all this shit. Never was like this, non?" The Scot chuckled at Vincent, knowing as much of an asshole as he was, and how everyone was currently having a knife-fight with the grim reaper, he still had that energy to give. Like he knew Skye deep down was going to keep going, and so were the team. Like he'd seen this shit before, but in a different flavour.
"I really can't find the energy to understand it either. But I'm gonna strangle the bastard who hacked us personally. Give them real hospitality."
"You better, girl. We have a long way home, but have a stopping point in Almaty in an hour, tout va bien. There's a medical team that can stabilise them, keep them alive for Sophie. Mec, that doctor, she is going to be one busy girl." Vincent paused, turning the aircraft onto a new heading, looking back up at the Scots woman, the Senegalese pilot adjusting his helmet, nodding back to Skye as he finished up his correction.
"The amount of morphine she's gonna need to give, it'll make wee Trainspotting look like a Disney film, ey? Christ....thanks, Vincent."
"Anytime, ma reine."Skye did crack a smirk to that, as she sat back down, looking back, sighing a deep exhale, knowing that at the half least, they were still alive, and that meant they could still get back.

---

Kaitiaki

@PerfectThought
Skye finished her piece as Stafford had entered and sipped down his port, the older gentleman across from the fiddle-carrying Scot a damaged, yet still standing figure, morose yet Skye not taking his apology- for much more a positive reason than would initially be seen. He was a capable shooter, but the injuries he'd sustained had been among the worse- she was amazed he'd managed to limp out of that one, considering how it had all gone down.

"No need to apologise, you did a hell of a job out there, pal. Gave it everything, picked up a mighty fine kill count of a mech pilot, chopper and then some. And besides, I need you alive and kicking to give me shit."
Skye chuckled, standing up and grabbing the same bottle of port, pouring herself out a glass, and topping up Stafford's.
"Gotta say, your list of scars must be pretty impressive now, aye?"
Skye retorted, clinking his glass, sipping the port down a little, the dry and smooth taste going down a treat as she adjusted herself in the sofa, the soft embrace comforting her pain in her ribs, the feeling a numb rustle that just made everything shitty and inconvenient, more than anything else.

@LadyAmber@Awesomoman64

Sam and Xan had been hurt too, and their trip to Dr Keller's had certainly left them with marks, the kind that Skye wished upon no operator- but still, they seemed to be keeping going, and still in chat. They made a dynamic duo, they had a lot of overlaps and Skye had to admit, they'd worked well together. Hell, even Xan had an outlet in the form of Sam, rather than back at the weariful team lead. It had to be said, it was a relief, though of course, a team like Raven always got the best and they never played by all of the rules, right?

Pouring out another two glasses, the bottle was quickly at an end, as Skye interrupted their chat, seeing them in the corridor towards the rec room.
"Four, six, eight weeks. Sophie is rather conservative I find with her recommendations, because she doesn't want either of yous doing anything shall we say, too wild? Like say, nearly getting blown up again. Or say, having a port while in recovery on some fucking awesome painkillers."
Skye simply commented folding her leg over her other one and sliding the glasses across the table, leaning back and sighing, a gentle grin on her face as she knew the two would be perked up by her giving a little bit of shit their way, albeit knowing full well it came from a good place.
"You'll be pleased to know the paperwork your end is done. Your combat effectiveness is high, remarkably so. Particularly you Sam, for a first op, it's 'not bad ey. You even made Xan look professional. First time for that. And that's even when you weren't intact. Job got done, and I already have some leads." Skye added, knowing she could only keep spirits high, when everyone would have certainly felt like they were chewing shit after the firefight they had been in.
"Good to have you in somewhat one piece."

Raven Squad: Second Storm (Military/Spy-Fi RP)

@PerfectThought

All good, stuff happens! Good to have you back :)

Posted to keep things relatively quick-fire- feel free to post in any order atm, only as I just want to keep things rolling.

The Conflict

The sheer amount of firepower that Hayden unleashed in the room after the grenade went off, the spray and pray emptying anyone left standing in the room, turning the entire place into claret and dust,

"Cover our six, Beth!" Sean yelled out, moving in, the FAL pivoted at point-shooting position, bodies all over the place. Walking over them, Sean's ears were ringing, the FAL's barrel hot yet still loaded with a full mag for this breach. Nobody would have survived that grenade, yet Melani was still there, limping on the floor, blood pouring and sheer violence fuelling her.

As Melani raised her hand, Sean was faster, more driven as he threw his leg straight at her lower arm, the rebar that followed hurting as it clattered into his leg, but enough to give Sean time to point the FAL directly at her top half and pull the trigger, spraying a handful of rounds at point blank, and immediately doing the deed. It wasn't like some Hollywood movie, where he got to say something, and so did she. It was just a desperate situation ending as frantically as it would, Sean looking at the growing pale on Melani's face, her violent, fucked up, psychosis put to an end.

One of probably dozens in this suburb alone, the Ulsterman thought to himself. And they were probably joining her.

"Jesus. Even in fucking death, you're a cunt." Sean spat, looking around the room, shaking his head. With a pull of his knife, Sean looked at the dead corpse of the woman, just thinking only that it wasn't a fitting way. Dying quickly, rather than slow- he was nobody to judge but even so, knowing the shit that went on in her little kingdom made even his stomach turn. So in some ways, it was poetic what was coming next. He was disgusted by what he was going to do, but it had to be done, given the situation. They'd struggle to get back to the turf they were contracted for, but if they could at least get there and leave what was proof of Melani with one of Edgar's grunts, it would be enough.

With a slight cut, Sean pulled her hand up that was carrying the shiv-like machete and with a wack of his own machete slammed through, taking another hack at it and eventually, breaking the bone to bits, clattering the wrist out and pulling the hand out. A macabre war trophy, and one he threw into the pocket of his backpack, shiv in cut offhand. He looked to Hayden and Yekatarina, knowing he looked as fucked up as could be- sinking to the low level here no doubt, but aware that it was likely their only route to proving the target was down so Edgar's goons could at least buy the story.

"I don't think we can PID this the usual way, you know what I mean?" Sean commented, shrugging his shoulders indifferently, as Beth kept watch on the door, the fucked up situation and the now growing smell of dirt, bodies and blood making this place no better to be in.

Sean looked to Hayden as he stood up, taking a deep breath, his leg hurting from where he'd been swung at, the bar not making any damage but leaving a nasty bruise, masked still by adrenaline. He looked around, noticing the scene they were in, and in fact, not too distant from the part of the facility where she had her throne. And her cages, no less.
"Shit. We need to go, that safe is too nice, but we can't stay. Beth, we all good?"
"No more yet, but clock's ticking."