Play@YSDC

(Continued from last page)

To the agent's relief, there are two golf carts next to the exit, so all of them can travel in them, meaning the group won't have to wait for half of their number to arrive. All five of them get in and begin to drive towards the admin building. It's not far, especially with the carts, and they arrive at the front doors within 90 seconds and enter into the reception.

Andre is slightly ready for it due to the footage, but to the rest of the group it's at least unpleasant; four guards lay dead. Two right by the doors, one behind the desk, and the other a few feet from the door leading into the building proper. Ross lets out a muffled sob; Harry mutters an expletive.

"We need to keep moving," Greg says, emerging as the leader of the group. " We know Garrison and the others in Gemstone are still alive, but they may not be if we don't hurry."

Jose gets through to Andre. "Galt's still in the lab, but the two guards just left the data processing room. I think they wrecked it. They're heading north, I think into Sapphire."

Andre,How is Andre communicating with Jose? Cell phone or guard radio?

Andre realizes that the gunmen may have compromised the radio network, so for now he’s using his phone.

“Confirm if they enter Sapphire asap” he tells Jose, keeping the line open.

He tells the others about Jose’s message.

“It looks like they’re all going to be in Sapphire. Is there any other possible exit apart from the one here in the admin building?” he asks the guards.

"We should try to intercept those two goons before they get back to Galt," says Vanessa. "It'll be better if we don't have to fight all three of them at once. When we fight Galt, we need him to be alone."

"None," Harry says. "There's a few airlocks, but the only entrance is directly through the admin building. "

Everyone continues onward. Jose's voice comes on a minute later.

"The two men have breached into Sapphire. I can't see what they're doing in there. Still no movement from Galt."

OOC:   You're at the first office on the map. If the agents rush, they can enter Sapphire the next round if they want. Presuming Galt's men are still up(I've been rolling) We'd enter initiative once again.

Andre turns to the team.

“Okay, they’re in. It’s too late to intercept them outside. If there’s only one entrance into Sapphire, then they have to return the same way. The entrance to the airlock is a bottleneck. If we position ourselves on both sides of the entrance, we can use the corners for cover. As they begin to emerge, we throw grenades, then open fire. They’ll be in an enclosed space with limited cover. It’s a good spot for an ambush. You all good with that?”

"Okay," says Vanessa. "They'll kill everyone in there, but they're probably dead already. Let's take cover." Crisp being transferred to Ruby has most likely saved his life, she realizes.

"No," Greg protests. "Our coworkers are in there! We can't just leave them to die! We have to help them!" The other two guards nod in support. None of them seem happy about this plan, though maybe they could be convinced to see the reason of it.

Andre has seen the research that goes on in Sapphire, and honestly could care less about whoever is working in there. He doesn’t want to let that show, but he’s still sincere with his argument as he knows it makes sense.

“We almost didn’t survive the last fight, remember? Do you remember how that guy tried to take us all with him? There’s three more of those bastards in there. We need to engage them on our terms, so we stand a chance, and we can save the lives of whoever is left outside of that room.”

"We won't do them any good getting ourselves killed too," says Vanessa. "It's already too late for them. Galt's been in there a while by now."

OOC,Persuade roll (73% skill) to convince the guards not to go into Sapphire: [dice]0[/dice]

OOC:   Just a reminder that from what Turner said most of the people working in Sapphire have no idea what they're brewing, they just think they're mass producing a substance for a company that's outsourcing its own production. Mind it's entirely reasonable your agents think he's being self serving in his arguments. This would normally be a helplessness san test, but you're both adapted I believe. Also just a heads up in case it was misunderstood, Galt's still in lab 6; his two men are in Sapphire currently.

There's a tense moment, but the three guards-- already wounded and weary of engaging in another prolonged firefight-- finally nod in acceptance. They don't look happy about it, but none of them want to risk getting blown up again.

"Fine." Greg says. "Hopefully the Gemstone guards can hold them off." It's a vain hope, and he seems to know it. But he and the others will get in position outside the airlock in whatever order and position Andre and Vanessa tell them to.

Guns drawn, they wait for any sign of movement from within.

OOC:   Thanks - I'd forgotten about Lab 6.

“Wait a moment” barks Andre, as a thought occurs to him.

“If this is the only access, is it possible to hermetically seal them in? These are airlocks; we could lock this place up and cut the air off and be done with them. Their boss is still running loose, we need to deal with him too. Look you guys, I know this is your workplace and your co-workers, but we’re circling the fucking drain here.”

"That's an even better idea," says Vanessa. "That way we won't be at risk fighting them. Then we'll only have to do something about Galt."

OOC:   I'm honestly not well versed enough in airlocks to know if this plan is feasible or not. I would think the Gemstone unit would allow people to leave and prevent people from being locked in-- unless you were working for a Bond villain, I suppose. But in the interest of trying to reward player creativity, I'll try to roll with it.

"That might be possible," Greg admits. "But not from here. You'd need to access Environmental control, that's the only part of the plant that could force a lockdown." He points to the room, located to the right just past a pair of bathrooms. "I think the process is fairly complex as well."

Andre is worried about Galt getting behind them and getting caught in a crossfire.

”We don’t have time for that. Let’s hope they return soon. As soon as they start to exit” he tells Vanessa, “pull your pin. Count to two then throw.”

Vanessa nods and stands ready.

OOC,[b]Turner[/b] may not be a Bond villain, but he is a heartless corporate bastard. I'd imagine that, considering what they're doing in Sapphire, he'd have a protocol in place just in case something got loose to "quarantine" it, and he wouldn't care about any employees who happened to be trapped in there with zombies or whatever. It would make sense if this could be done from the security office, which would mean that [b]Jose[/b] could do it. Of course, he may have only trusted [b]Deschiel[/b] to do it, so maybe not all of the guards would know.

Mr.Handy,Very valid point, though I think the option is more likely to be in the environmental control room. Maybe security would have an override, but I agree only Deschiel would know of it, and he's no available for you to pick his brain at the moment. :(

All the guards tense up and wait. Guns are pointed and grenades are ready. It seems when the goons exit they'll be in for a nasty surprise, but the team needed all the advantages they could get.

A few minutes go by, and the airlock does not open. Perhaps they are still dealing with the guards, or preoccupied in some other way, but they have yet to exit Sapphire.

It's at that moment Jose's voice comes back on the phone. "Galt's left lab 6. He has a hostage-- it looks like Dr. Metreaux. He's pointing a gun at her and walking her in front of him."

“Shit” says Andre. He was afraid of this happening.

He relays the information to the others.

“We should go deal with him” he says to Vanessa. “You three, stay here” he says to the guards.

OOC,Hope you’re enjoying your travels!

"Right," says Vanessa, heading off with Andre. She wouldn't mind terribly if Dr. Metreaux is killed in the crossfire. It would actually be convenient.

OOC:   Thanks! Back home now, just went to the casino for a few days. Didn't lose much so I count it as a win!

The guards do not exactly seem enthused to hold off the commandos if they emerge from Sapphire, but both Greg and Harry have shotguns,and Greg has armor, so they do not voice any complaints. With any luck they could get the drop on Galt's men if they emerged while the Delta Green agents were away.

"Be careful, guys," Jose urges. "He looks like he's heading to Ruby."

With those instructions, the agents are easily able to intercept him in the hallway leading to the Ruby plant, just as Galt and Metreaux make it past the data processing office that his men had just finished destroying. When he sees them, the German pulls out his arm and drags Metreaux's body in front of him, holding his gun to her head with his right hand. The doctor seems rather more emotional now then she had been while performing her experiments last night.

"Ah, the EPA agents. Or CIA. Or let us speak true, Delta Green." Galt's tone is casual and he speaks with a thick German accent. "Let us not waste time with any games, we both know who we are, Ja? What cell am I dealing with?"

Taking a deep breath, Andre ignores the question, instead addressing Metreux.

“Doctor, did you give him the secret about Sapphire? Does he have your notes?”

OOC:   I never visited a casino! I haven’t done any gambling since school. Is there any cover adjacent to Andre and Vanessa that they can quickly retreat into?