11422/GIRL: In Pursuit of Rann-y Rayguns

GIRL: In Pursuit of Rann-y Rayguns
Date of Scene:	01 June 2022
Location:	Meat Packing District warehouse, New York
Synopsis:	A group of GIRL members go to bust up an AIM arms sale only to find more than they bargained for. AIM is selling Rannian weapons and technology, but what's worse communication and Zeta Beam travel to Rann seems to have been somehow completely cut off!
Cast of Characters:	Nadia Pym-van Dyne, Natasha Romanoff, Kaida Connolly, Keli Quintela

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Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
It has been half a year since GIRL's first SCIENCE! Expo and the reveal of Zeta beam technology and the existence of the Tereshkova to the world. A reveal that was disrupted when Advanced Idea Mechanics decided they could put GIRL's new technologies to better use and under the direction of Dr. Monica Rappaccini attacked the Pym Technologies event space with a small army of science goons including science tanks and a trio of war zeppelins, yes war zeppelins. Even that crazy amount of hardware and manpower wasn't enough though and the attack was repelled. In the end only one of the zeppelins managed to escape, but it did so with one of GIRL's prototype Zeta beam emitters aboard.

Since then a concerted effort has been made to locate the missing Zeta beam emitter, but even with the assistance of the Avengers and SHIELD no solid leads were forthcoming. For several months it was as if Monica Rappaccini's AIM faction had just disappeared off the face of the Earth. That is, until now.

The combined team of Bobby "Mockingbird" Morse and Natasha "Black Widow" Romanov are some of the best intelligence gatherers in existence and when a report of an odd arms sale fitting AIM's profile but with some very non-standard offerings and Monica Rappaccini's name attached to it crossed SHIELD's collective desk, it was flagged almost immediately as another possible lead.

Which brings us to the present as a team of GIRL members and adults move in on the site of the arms deal, a warehouse within New York's meat packing district.

<<Check check, Waspette in the sky. Is everyone ready?>> Comes Nadia's voice over the comms. She's hovering high in the sky, too small to be easily picked out visually as she scouts the warehouse below, a large rectangular building abandoned to urban decay. One might not even suspect an arms deal was taking place within were it not for the patrolling AIM soldiers near its entrances in their trademark fashion victim science suits.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff is watching the area through the scope of a sniper rifle, on a rooftop nearby, using it to scope out the other building. <<Confirmed. On overwatch>> She twists the dial on the scope, switching it to ultraviolet and the nto infrared, adjusting zoom on it and sweeping from level to level of the building. She's letting Nadia take point on this and be in charge. She has a relaxed mood even while being professional.
    This is all the life that she's known and it's reassuring in it's own way to have consistency. <<Call out targets>> Deferring to Nadia if she wanted her there breaking in or as backup and picking off things from a distance. The Black Widow is quiet, wearing a dark mesh chameleon fabric that has her blending in to the colors of the roof and the grainy, backlit nature of the city and the run down area.

Kaida Connolly has posed:
    "The hunter stalks her prey..." Kaida whispers to herself as she moves along the wall on all fours. It's just vastly easier to run on vertical surfaces when she uses all her limbs. She clings tenaciously to the tiniest of imperfections on the wall as she looks out over the warehouse and grins a little. It's always fun for her to go sneaking about. People so rarely notice the rodent moving around. She leaps casually over to the side of the warehouse they are set to go into, racing toward a window near the top and shaking her head as she peeks up over the edge.

    <<Why is it always a warehouse? Why not a nice house in the suburbs? You could get quite a bit done at a pool party I bet. These people never think of the possiblity of pool parties and gun sales.>> She shakes her head as she looks around at the potential threats, potential pathways, and potential illicit goods before she pulls her blade to cut a hole in the window.

Keli Quintela has posed:
    Keli's in full Teen Lantern costume, hovering in the air far enough away for the green light to be a curiosity in the sky rather than blaring and jarring. She's got the gauntlet and the battery pack ready, and a comm in. A comm! This is just... /cool/.

    <<Ready!>> she says into the comms, grinning brightly. <<What's the plan?>>

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Through the upper window, Kaida can make out a lot. Despite outward appearances, this is not an ordinary warehouse and seems to have undergone significant reinforcement, but apparently not the windows. Nobody has ever accused AIM of being hypercompetent. That contractor is totally fired. But for now there is much Kaida can make out within.

Much of the interior seems to have been remodeled into a sort of auction theater, while the remainder has likely been converted into secure storage for whatever they happen to be selling. Behind a podium is Monica Rappaccini herself, surrounded by a myriad of her yellow suited science goons armed with their nasty looking science weapons. In the audience sits an array of individuals, nobody immediately noteworthy, but its not hard to guess they are likely a who's who of criminal syndicate reps here to bid on whatever AIM is offering. The current items on offer are ones Kaida has seen before, not here on Earth but on Rann. The gavel bangs down as a Rannian sky skiff similar to the one they rode to see the Unicorn Kitties is sold to the highest bidder for several million dollars.

<<Nat try and take out their patrols and make your way in from the ground level.>> Nadia's voice comes over the Comms again. <<Keli, come with me to the roof. Kaida see if you can't get that window open and try to create some manner of distraction, we'll take them from two sides once their attention is drawn.>>

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Well, that's a simple enough thing. Natasha goes to click her tongue to the comm. One press of tongue. Acknowledged. TheN Natasha is using her scope to sweep along the patrols. Estimating how far they were apart, when they were in visual range of one another, and how often they would be reporting in. The idea was to make a big enough hole in them and without a lot of noise.. To maximize the opening for breach.
    Natasha goes to line up her weapon with the first group, after evaluating the positions of them and the other patrols.. Then goes to take a quick shot at each member through the center of mass. One could go for headshots at this range.. Only five hundred or so meters. But bodies would lessen the 'thumps' more and had a better chance of hitting the target.
    Just because one could shoot better didn't mean they should show off after all. And so Natasha goes to start her work of hopefully picking off the patrols one at a time.. To make that hole.

Kaida Connolly has posed:
    <<A distraction? I suppose I can do that. I mean, I'm not all that good at drawing all the attention but I guess...>> Kaida grins even as she uses that highly sharp, tough blade and starts casually cutting along the edge of a pain of glass. She cuts an entire corner, slice carefully and slowly along the wood. Then she takes the tip of the blade and glides it carefully up at one angle and then across. With a careful push, she causes the now cut glass to sink deeper into the wood.

    Looking inside, Kaida has the glass carefully held with cloth covered hand, bracing one side against the wood. She then pushes it carefully back in and lets it sink back intop lace. Close inspection would show the glass is cut but a passing glance might not see a problem.

    She then casually runs into the building, looking around for the weapons that are for sale and grinning as she does.

Keli Quintela has posed:
    <<Aye, aye, boss-chica! On my way!>> Keli flies over to join Nadia. She's not stealthy at all--maybe she should work on that, but since when are Lanterns /stealthy/? Thankfully she doesn't notice Natasha's ruthlessly efficient patrol-dropping or she might be less cheerfully joyful about this whole thing.

    <<I believe in you, Kaida! You'll make a great distraction I'm sure!>> Then she shuts up and hovers near Nadia on the roof. She took a glance through the windows on the way in, and she's frowning thoughtfully. She takes a breath to center herself and puts on her serious face, waiting to follow Nadia in to take down the AIM goons.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
The weapons are not hard to find and there are a lot of them. There are rayguns like Alanna's, beam rifles, even what looks like some sort of heavy rotating beam gatling cannon. There are also what appear to be various sorts of high tech low yield explosives. The particular technologies may change, but the forms of weapons tend to be surprisingly consistent across the varied stellar civilizations. None of these are AIM manufacture though, they're all Rannian, a fact which raises its own questions.

Natasha's shots find their mark and her targets crumple into a heap, perhaps thankfully depending on one's personal Ethos their science armor, while a fashion crime in its gaudy yellow-ness, probably spared their lives. With the patrol neutralized though, it is a simple enough matter to slip inside.

Once the distraction is underway and Natasha is making her own move, Nadia gives Keli a grin. <<Okay, lets go! Time to get some answers!>> Returning to her full size and aiming both of her gauntlets at the roof and taking advantage of the chaos almost certainly already unfolding within, the Waspette cuts a hole in the top of the roof and swoops inside. <Hi! It would be great if you could all stand down and please surrender! I don't want to have to break anyone!> Nadia broadcasts to the room. Of course those not already paying attention to Kaida do not listen to her and instead she and Keli find themselves with a hole lot of guns pointed their way, some of them Rannian. <<Why do they never listen? Okay! Take them down!>>

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Making a hole in the perimeter and breaking through is a standard tactic. As soon as she's made one and the infiltration team has breached, Natasha is going to follow it up. The patrols are too sloppy to be much of a threat. They're locals or disposables. Quick shots will take them out and they'll be withdrawing if still alive within seconds. Waste not, want not. And as seh's gliding to the ground and landing. She has on a gas mask as she does so, and has switched her visuals to ultraviolet.
    As she lands and goes to breach, she's throwing down cannisters of thick smoke, it blanketing the area like weighted fog. For anyone in the area that was -not- tagged as a friendly, the nanite clouds would adhere to, mark in very bright, imposible to miss colors.. Which would hopefluly make that section of the area all the easier to clear out and neutralize with minimal casualties.

Kaida Connolly has posed:
    It really depended on finding the weapons. Kaida is good at distractions. She really is. She just likes to always have as much fun a possible if she's gonna be a distraction. Fun like, well, a rotating beam gatling cannon! She immediately leaps up on to it and peers at the controls. She isn't really up to date on her Rannian but some of the controls seem simple enough.

    A few moments later, she's got the controls pushed all the way to the right, aimed at a slighty low angle so most shots will hit the crates and ground. She adjusts the rubberbands on the trigger, powers it up...and flees while giggling in sheer glee!

    What the others here is almost immediate sounds of blaster fire followed soon after by explosions as the rotating cannon starts hitting various other objects. She cackles as she races away from the scene of the crime.

    "DOOM!" She yells out to no one in particular.

Keli Quintela has posed:
    Keli swoops down into the building after Waspette, having manifested her usual Teen Lantern hovering robot around herself. "That's right! Surrender before we have to put you all in fashion jail /again/!"

    A pause. A sigh. "Why don't they ever just surrender? It'd be faster in the end."

    She throws out a beam of green light and lassos several guns from the goons, shaking her head. "Maybe you wanna run, guys. Looks like your plans are meeting an... /explosive/ end." She nods toward the beam gatling cannon with a grin.

    And then, because that's not likely to make them listen, she goes about lassoing even more of the goon's guns, gathering them all in a little pile to one side. "Stolen gun jail for you! All of you!" With another whip of light she starts flogging the AIM goons, glowering at them. "Stealing things and having the /worst/ fashion sense, aayyyy! You get on my nerves!"

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Chaos ensues as the gatling beam canon sends a volley of high powered particle beams through some of the items offered for sale, through some of the building supports and nearly through some of the science soldiers and reps who scatter in all directions, a couple of crates explode even as Natasha gets her smoke screen and tagging system into place. It is a full rout, those who can make it to the exits flee. The ones who can't put up a valiant last stand, but it is their Alamo, like the attack on Pym Technologies this isn't a fight they will be winning, not against this team.

Nadia fires several stun bursts from her gauntlets, picking off a number of enemies almost gun kata style but without actual guns, still it is an elegant ballet of martial arts and plasma bursts.

When the dust clears though, while the Rannian items are able to be secured Monica Rappaccini is nowhere to be seen, seemingly having made her escape amidst the chaos.

<<Sitrep? Everyone report in.>> Nadia calls across the comms. It is always best to do a final check before declaring an area secure. <<This is definitely Rannian.>> She picks up one of the rayguns. <<If AIM has Rannian tech...>> She doesn't really want to finish that thought, as it seems clear they must have got the Zeta beam emitter working. Deep breath.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Weapons going out, Natasha Romanoff is picking off one target at a time. She's attempting to limit herself from kill shots unless she has to. Because it means something to Nadia. So if she can, Natasha goes to restrain herself from inflicting unnecessary harm. Going room by room, tracking the others in their positions. Even as seh's going to ever so quickly to sweep. <<Clear>> She goes to report as she sweeps the periphery, marking room by room as she sweeps in, trusting the others to get the central areas. Natasha is methodical, even clinical while she maneuvers until she joins the others in the central venue, chambering a fresh round into her weapons.

Kaida Connolly has posed:
    It seems that the AIM guys picked the wrong day to mess with Kaida. Sometimes she punches to bring people down. Sometimes she stabs feet. Today is feet stabby day. So, she is zipping between enemies, landing on a foot and stabbing down and sometimes going under a foot and stabbing up. It just depends. Luckily, they didn't catch Kaida on foot cutting off day. She reserves that for special enemies.

    <<I think we're kinda done here. Umm, I'll try to turn off the gatlling gun thingy.>> She races back toward the weapon room and leaps on to the gatling gun, just barely dodging a blast and spinning atop it. She clings tightly to the cannon.

    "WhOOOooooOOOOaaa!" As she tries her best to reach the power button and finally flips it off in time for the platform to slowly stop spinning and blasts of energy to stop.

Keli Quintela has posed:
    <<What's Rannian? Is it alien? 'Cause none of this looks like Earth tech to me.>> Keli's peering at the rifles even while her green whip is still beating down goons. She looks up and blinks, noticing that the goons are gone, and reins in the wildly whirling whip.

    <<Sorry about that... I got over-excited.>> She's grinning, but it fades as she peers at Nadia. <<...What's wrong?>>

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
There is some relief as everyone signals the all clear from their positions, but true relief is impossible with the revelation that AIM must not only have made the Zeta beam emitter functional but figured out how to use it to go to Rann and who knows what they did once there to get all of this tech. Somehow Nadia suspects it wasn't just your run of the mill interstellar archaeology.

<<Alanna? Are you there?>> Nadia keys the comms in her helmet to the GIRL HQ channel. <<You may want to sit down for this. We caught up to AIM and they're selling Rannian tech, a lot of Rannian tech.>>

<<What?! But how?>> Alanna's voice comes back over the GIRL HQ channel. <<Let me contact my father, he may know something.>>

Moments pass that feel like they stretch into eternity as Alanna switches to the deep space communication relay to try and contact Sardath. Maybe it's the tension of the situation but it really feels like it is taking too long.

When Alanna's voice comes back over the comms again some five minutes later, it is shaking. <<I can't reach Rann with the Deep Space communications relay.. so I tried to Zeta beam there myself but it doesn't work.. not to any destination! Communication and Zeta beam travel to Rann has somehow been completely cut off!>>