[] Bakuda
Heatstroke 10.3
If it's that important to make the first choice count…
"Bakuda," you say after only a moment's thought. It really is the obvious choice. "We move in on the Tinker, and that's one resource Coil can't call on to back him up when we go after him. It might not make him easy, but it will keep him from getting worse."
Vista pumps her fist in the air, but Chevalier frowns. "Unless he already has some of her handiwork nearby where he can use it."
"Then it won't make much of a difference whether we hit her first or not, will it? Like I said, it can't hurt."
If Chevalier has any rebuttal to that line of thought, he is keeping it to himself. You wave the two heroes over and look to Dragon. "I'm already en route," she tells you with a smile that is edging towards a smirk. "I'll meet you there. Particularly if you head to these coordinates."
Her face is replaced by a string of numbers in the same style as Perfect Storm's calculations for Spatial Translocation, and you give your Device the go-ahead. The orange sigil spits you and your companions out on a rooftop overlooking a brand-new city. Pushing your hat back slightly, you wipe your brow and realize you may have underestimated the size of the task you assigned yourself. «Storm, how big is Chicago?»
«Area 234 square miles, population 2.7 million individuals. 65% larger in area and almost double the population of Philadelphia.»
Oh. «I'm almost afraid to ask, but how many capes?»
«Total number unknown. Fluctuant population. Of stable gangs and hero organizations, roughly two hundred.»
Two hundred. And Philadelphia has thirty. No wonder the Chicagoan gangs wanted a piece of your town.
Something rumbles above you, and you hunch over and look up at the sky in worry. Is it a bomb? Does Coil already know about your plan to attack him? Maybe his power is precog, and he knew about your arrival for days already. Before you can stress yourself to the breaking point, or maybe to the point of dropping subtlety and just blasting the sky with Solar Wrath, a shape shimmers like a heatwave in the air before smoothing out. It isn't long enough for you to truly see it, but between the general outline, the peculiar sound that preceded it, and Dragon's sly warning, you have a pretty good idea what just happened.
Speak of the devil, and the Dragon will appear. "Well? What do you think?"
"Did you… turn one of your ships invisible?"
"Mmm. Somewhat. It depends on exactly what you mean by invisible. It's more like extremely advanced cloaking technology. I had some ideas for how to get it working now thanks to 'collaborating' with you and Shipwright, and I figured why not add it to the Sybaris Mk. II?"
Mark 2? The collaboration she's hinting at must be her conversion to a Unison Device, and you know that in this new form she can understand magitech in addition to Tinkertech. Is this newest member of the Dragoncraft lineup built with mana technology?
"Now that we're in Chicago," Samantha cuts in, "what's the plan to actually find Bakuda? I sure hope we have a better idea than just knocking on doors and asking if people have seen a bomber cape."
"Honestly? That is almost what I'm doing right now. I'm sorting through police and PRT reports. It's slow, but I'm hoping with enough sightings of criminals dressed the same as Coil's mercenaries, I will be able to pinpoint where their general territory is. It will speed up the search once we have a narrower slice of the city."
Chevalier nods at Dragon's plan. "You work on the PRT side of things, and I'll work on the Protectorate side. I'll head to the local branch and see what Myrddin can tell me about Coil and Bakuda." He gives you a look. "He'll want to know the reason for my curiosity, and I don't see any benefit in lying to him. His branch will be our best allies if things don't go according to plan."
You hear the underlying warning in his voice and give him a nod. It would be easy for things to go south, particularly since you are more or less making up your plan as you go. Moving quickly and quietly is going to be essential to catching Bakuda and Coil off their guard, but if shit does hit the fan, having the local heroes even somewhat in the know will be a nice bit of insurance. Particularly if Calvert has enough sway to try throwing PRT agents at you.
You want to take the villains down. Killing agents who think they're doing their job protecting their home from invading villains is way beyond the line.
"I'll head for the coastline and work my way inwards," Vista says. You glance at her in surprise. To the best of your knowledge, she is a space-warper, not a locator. Does she have a second power she's kept secret that lets her search faster than normal? "It's complicated, but the short version is that I can use my power to figure out if there are and aren't people in a specific place. Coil has to have an armory or a base or something for his men, and Bakuda may have assistants in her lab. Both will have to be hidden, which means I'd find people where there aren't supposed to be any."
Samantha nods. "I can start on the other side of the city and use Wide Area Search to look for the same. If I shut it down as soon as it finishes scanning, I can see what's lying around hopefully before anyone notices the little balls of light zipping around. Won't let us track anyone, but we can get a rough picture of what's going on."
Which just leaves you without something to do. Sure, you could out and start throwing Wide Area Search on your own to try speeding up the search, or you could back somebody up should things go south where they are. Or even go with Chevalier to explain some of the details to Myrrdin about just why you're in his city.
Decisions, decisions.
Remember how I said this was part extermination quest, part social event? This plays a role in it. You can accompany one person or head out on your own.
[ ] Dragon
[ ] Chevalier
[ ] Vista
[ ] Samantha
[ ] Go on your own and use Wide Area Search in another part of town