6345/Stranger Tides: Shore Patrol

Stranger Tides: Shore Patrol
Date of Scene:	01 February 2019
Location:	La Jolla, National City, California
Synopsis:	A bon voyage party turns into a fight as intruders try to ransack the research ship
Cast of Characters:	Fathom, Shadow, June Connor
Tinyplot:	Stranger Tides

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Fathom has posed:
The Paradise Found is loaded with provisions. All of the gear is aboard and checked and in working order. Or what isn't will be worked on during the trip out to the survey area. And so members of the team gather at a club to blow off a little steam and have a bon voyage party. Aspen had sent an invite to Natasha Cranston, but likely doubting that the woman would show for something like this when she has a corporation to run.

The night is going well. The other members of the crew drift off somewhere else, indicating they will catch up with the rest back on the boat. Aspen is the table with the food and drinks by herself at the moment, either waiting for any late arrivals, or perhaps for someone to return from the lady's room.

Shadow has posed:
    Aspen's assumptions aren't unreasonable - a multinational corporation takes a lot of running. So it may be something of a surprise when a rather expensive-looking car pulls up to the marina and Natasha emerges, dressed significantly more casual than the last time she visited.

    "Miss Matthews," she adresses the marine biologist when she reaches easy earshot. "Thank you for your invitation."

June Connor has posed:
    June's programming skills were sufficient for what she had been called for, but it was a good thing there was a senior programmer involved who knew this industry, because applying it to the needs in this field was something she knew little about. She weares a pair of shorts and a tank top, her blue-dyed hair perhaps in contrast to most other people who might show up. She reaches the boat's boarding ramp, kipping her sneakers up the ramp casually. She spots Natasha, and freezes before she speaks, quieting her steps to a more normal volume.

Fathom has posed:
Aspen gets a surprised smile as the car pulls up. "This is the owner, Natasha Cranston," Aspen says to June, confirming it if June wasn't already reaching that conclusion. Though it could have been some other person sent on her behalf, at that.

Aspen moves to the dock to meet Natasha with a warm handshake. "I'm very pleased you could make it. Please, come aboard," she says, motioning towards the boat. "This is June, one of our programmers," Aspen says when the two are together. "She's done an excellent job cleaning up some of my old code and preparing things to handle the huge volume of data we'll be generating. June, Natasha Cranston."

Shadow has posed:
    Natasha's handshake is everything you'd expect from an experienced CEO -- just firm enough to to convey steadfastness and reliability without attempting to squeeze -- and if she recognizes June she gives no outward sign. "A pleasure to meet you. I hope the job will be an interesting one."

June Connor has posed:
    June returns the handshake, chalking up the non-recognition to the fact that she's far too low on the food chain to be of any note. And now she has blue hair, so that's differen. "Hi, thanks, you too," she says simply. "It's pretty good, the code has been updated, we'll see if any adjustments need to be made once we start using it." She backs up, still facing the others, and puts her hands in her pockets casually, trying to avoid taking over the competition between the bosses.

Fathom has posed:
Aspen has a small spread of food and drinks set out. It's nice, but nothing extravagant. The expense reports coming in probably would have the analysts satisfied that the project is being fiscally responsible to date. And that same care will be applied to the grub acquired for the bon voyage party.

"Bruce and Katherine had to leave for a little bit. I imagine they'll be back before too long," Aspen says after the CEO and the programmer have met. "I trust you had a good flight in?" Aspen asks. They are in National City, which absorbed the remains of San Diego after the big quake and has been rebuilding. Courtesy of LexCorp. Luckily Aspen's home and the marina were in the safe part. So too is her University that Aspen is affiliated with and graduated from, UC San Diego.

While the trio move back aboard the boat and over to the food, a few shadowy figures crouch in the darkness behind some buildings a distance away. Watching through binoculars. "Does the arrival in the car change anything?" one asks another. "No. We stick to the plan," another says. They settle in for the moment, observing still.

Shadow has posed:
    Natasha nods and smiles at Aspen's explanations. "A pity. Do pass on my warmest regards when you see them, and my confidence that you've made wise choices in hiring them..."

    There's not even a slight break in the smile to carry the implicit warning that all the freedom Aspen is being given to form her team /is/ going to have consequences if her confidence turns out to be misplaced as the woman makes her way to the food table, perfectly content to stand in line and serve herself like everyone else...

June Connor has posed:
    Thin brown eyebrows raise, she caught the caution between the lines in Natasha's statement, and she picks a piece of cheese off the table and pops it in her mouth before proceeding to fill her plate beyond the average amount.
    She opens her mouth as if to speak, then closes it again, deciding that it might be wiser to not possibly say something to make her current employer bad. She's not good at being non-offensive, and sometimes she can do it without trying.

Fathom has posed:
The small social gathering continues. A few other people stop by and say hello, people in the marina that know Aspen, or colleagues from UC San Diego, or from the nearby Scripps Institution of Oceanography. They know Aspen is preparing to set sail on a research project, but don't know any particulars it seems beyond what was said when Aspen put out the open positions that drew June, Katherine, and Bruce to the project.

One of the visitors has their own boat nearby. Some aspect of it might have caught Natasha's interest. Perhaps a navigation system that the researcher from Scripps was using, not yet for sale but he was doing beta tests with the maker. And he had a few pieces of equipment that might be helpful, if not necessary, so Aspen and June went along too with little hand dollies to bring it back.

Now they are returning, passing along the water's edge over by the parking lot. They turns down the dock that Aspen's boat is on. Go past the two sleek yachts, and the fishing vessel, that are moored closer to shore. As they near the Paradise Found, there's something alarming. A man comes out of the research vessel's computer room, carrying one of the computers. Hey! That has June's code on it! He's got a ski mask pulled down over his head, and there's a pistol sticking out of a pocket.

Shadow has posed:
    Natasha's eyes narrow. "... I thought you said that everyone who could make it was present at the party?" she asks Aspen, still staring at the _Paradise_...

June Connor has posed:
    "Aw fuck no," June cusses. She is far quicker to jump to the conclusion that everything's wrong. She wastes little time as she takes off in the direction of the boat, seeming unconcerned about the pistol. She's surprisingly quiet, though, and displays a foot speed that might be unexpected from a code junky. It's not superhuman, but it's very fast. She doesn't head for the ramp, though, instead she veers to the side before the ramp, and makes a leap to grab the side of the boat, trying to reach an area that breaks line of sight before the intruder would notice her.

Fathom has posed:
Aspen is wheeling some equipment back from the other boat. She stands the little hand cart upright as she looks. "That's not anyone with us," she says quietly. "Thieves?" Aspen is feeling around in her pockets for her phone. "Damn it, left it in the wheel house," she says. Aspen realizes June is taking off towards the boat then. She opens her mouth to try to stop her, but then doesn't say anything, afraid the man might hear her if she raises her voice.

A second man comes on deck, dragging a larger computer system behind him. He also has a ski mask on. Neither of them seem to notice June as she boards the boat. There are cranes and booms and things on the boat, so while a lot of the back is open deck, there are places to hide along the rails especially.

Shadow has posed:
    Natasha, of course, has a phone, and has it out and already dialing. "Hello, 911? Yes, this is Natasha Cranston. I'd like to report a robbery in progress at the Del Rey marina... Several people... No, they all appear to be wearing ski masks... No, so far they only appear to be stealing computers..."

June Connor has posed:
    June grips the gunwale with her fingertips, a rather challenging pull-up position, but she manages. Spotting the second man, she tugs her feet up and pulls herself through the gap of the railing to slip behind the capstan for cover. She glances about, spotting a life preserver, and takes it off its hook, then looks to the table.
    She reaches up, pulling a piece of cheese off the tray and popping it in her mouth before her hand returns to grab the metal plate and dumping the rest carelessly onto the table, then grips it as if it were a warfan.

Fathom has posed:
Aspen sees Natasha making the phone call. She looks around. "Should I.." she says, and not knowing what she should do. The men haven't seemed to spot them yet. The one dragging something gets out on deck, and it turns out someone else is on the other end of the large server, pushing. "This shite is heavy. What kind o' foikin' computers are these?" the third man says. "Shut up and go unplug the rest. Anything that you can smash that we can't take with us, do it," he says. He shoves the larger computer over to join the first. "This is going to be a load, once we get it to the edge of the boat lets back the truck up to the dock's edge. Hopefully no one else comes by at this hour." The first man, the one with the visible gun, nods and picks up the smaller computer, walking over in the direction of the gang plank. He might end up spotting Natasha and Aspen, who are standing by the next boat over.

Shadow has posed:
    ... And then again, he might not, as Natasha crouches by the side of the boat and tugs Aspen down with her, lowering her voice as she continues to talk on the phone. "... They're talking about smashing everything they can't take with them. I'd appreciate if you sent someone /soon/..." A brief frown. ".. I see. No, I'm not sure that's going to be possible, they're..."

June Connor has posed:
    June frowns as she sees a third person join the team. As they speak, she makes her way closer, staying close to the ground, and waits until the first man turns around and the third starts to go back inside. "Game on, fuckers," she whispers to herself under her breath. The metal plate is thrown into the air, not at either of the men on the deck, but a little high so that it will land on the deck on the other side of them. Anticipating their distraction, June bursts forward, swinging the life preserver in an attempt to place it over the man's head with her left while her right pulls the gun from his pocket, pointing it at the man working with the server tower. "Make a sound and I blow your fucking head off," she says to the man with the server, knowing that the other can't see her to know that she's not pointing the gun at him.

Fathom has posed:
Aspen crouches down next to Natasha, though she's getting more anxious the closer the man gets to the gangplank at the back of the boat, there not being much to hide behind on the dock as they are. Though as June springs into action, the man won't end up having a chance to see them.

The first man starts tugging at the life preserver. "The fu-" he exclaims. Unless June is stronger than normal people he'll be able to at least force it back up and off of his head. The second masked man straightens from his task, a hand going towards his jacket pocket until he sees the gun that June has pointing at him. "Put the gun down little lady and you won't get hurt," he says in a loud voice. Quite likely the man inside will have heard that.

Shadow has posed:
    Natasha isn't terribly stealthy in June's estimation, but the guy she's sneaking up has his attention firmly fixed on the "little lady" pointing a gun at him -- right up until the moment that a snap kick to the back of his knee disrupts his balance, and before he can recover it he's pulled off his feet in a slightly sloppy judo throw that ends with him hitting the ground face first.

June Connor has posed:
    Why didn't she have her kunai on her? She always has one, but no, this was supposed to be a peaceful, normal person job. No ninja stuff, just working like everyone else. June spins with the gun in hand as the first man pulls the life preserver over his head, looking to pistol whip him across the side of the head and snap the gun back at...oh, the CEO has some moves, who knew? She pulls the gun back toward the first man again. "Did I fucking stutter?" she says, much less nervousness than most twenty-year old girls would be likely to have in such a stressful situation, and enough aggression to be a mob boss herself. She gives a glance back inside the door to the ship to keep an eye out for the third man, and she tosses the gun to her left hand, because truth be known, she's a southpaw anyway.

Fathom has posed:
The pistol-whipped man tries to pull his head back but gets hit, staggering him and knocking him down to one knee, an ugly bruise starting on his cheek. The other man is groaning and starting to gather himself, moving to all fours as he slowly tries to rise after being spilled on the wood-covered deck.

Aspen followed along after Natasha, not having any clue what the other woman has in mind. But not going to leave the other two women without whatever meager help she can give. She boards via the gang plank, moving quietly, and sees Natasha move to take out the second bad guy. Aspen starts to stand a little more upright when suddenly a bullet ricochets off the metal railing right beside her. A masked figure appears a story up on the ship's superstructure, having emerged from a door that leads to the wheelhouse which is a floor above deck level.

And as they look up at him, they realize... he isn't bad guy #3. There must have been a 4th man, which is made more obvious as bad guy #3 throws the door open and shoots, the bullet whizzing past June to her left and past Aspen to her right, missing both narrowly!

Aspen cries out and dives over the side of the boat into the water, away from where the bullets are hitting around her.

Shadow has posed:
    Natasha glances up at where Aspen has been thrown into the water, but she recalls that the woman made it to the olympics before being banned from the sport, and at least she'll be out of the line of fire for now. Meanwhile, she bounces Goon #2's forehead off the wood floor a second time to make sure he'll take a nice nap..

    She keeps her head low as bullets start flying. Affecting someone's perceptions in the confusion of combat is comparatively easy, but she has to keep a delicate balance - too little, and someone will get hurt. Too much, and June might well get suspicious at her luck...

June Connor has posed:
    June glances up at the fourth man, and even moves the train of her pistol up, which is plenty of a shift to give the opening to the third man. There is a reflexive firing of the gun as the other whizzes past her, sending a bullet whizzing past bad guy number four and she lowers the gun again, firing wildly at the third man.
    "Shit!" she exclaims, tucking and rolling to the side after four more rounds are spit, the barrel trailing with the smell of spent powder. "How many of these assholes are there?" She gets her feet under her, and starts to move around to the front, so that she can cycle to the other side of the boat's entrance and come back after the man to the rear. If she didn't hit him already.

Fathom has posed:
There's a howl of pain from bad guy #3. Not a direct hit, but a bullet hits the deck in front of him and pieces of splintered bullet and wood pierce his shin, causing him to hobble and preventing him from getting another shot off yet. He's about 25 feet from Natasha. The 4th bad guy is up above. He ducks behind a part of the railing where solid metal covers it, hiding him completely from view. He holds his pistol up and fires blindly, the bullets splashing in the water harmlessly on the far side of the dock.

Aspen is swimming underwater, up to the front where she surfaces, grabbing the anchor chain and climbing up it hand over hand, climbing over the bow and back onto the deck, though out of sight of everyone else.

Shadow has posed:
    "Shots fired, send someone now!" Natasha shouts into her phone as she keeps #2 pinned with a knee on his back until she's sure he's unconscious, then looks around for any other opportunities to tilt the odds in June's favour, preferably without raising too many questions she has no intention of answering...

June Connor has posed:
    June makes her way around to the far side of the boat, then parkours up to the back of the man on the roof. "Last one left, bitch, drop the gun," she announces, even though she's not entirely sure that's correct. But then, the man on the roof can't see the condition of the man inside the cab.

Fathom has posed:
Ski masked man #2 isn't going anywhere. Natasha has put him good and out. #3 is just getting his wits about him as June scampers to the upper level of the ship with an ease that would have monkeys taking notes. Taking notes, and eating bananas probably. They might be more likely to just fling the pencils and pads at each other. But they would be /impressed/ is the point.

The man up top swears, unable to believe that June made it to the top that fast. For all he knows his friends have already been shot and killed. The sound of his gun clattering to the metal deck can be heard and he stands up with his hands in the air.

Man #3 in the doorway is limping but finally gets himself back upright. "Ya stupid bin-" he manages to get out before there is the sound of a weapon being cocked behind him. He turns his head to see Aspen behind him, the shotgun she keeps in her cabin pointed at his head. "Got this for pirates. Never thought I'd need it at dock in National City," the brunette says. #3 begins swearing a blue streak, but sets his gun down cautiously and holds up his hands.

June Connor has posed:
    "Yeah, sucks bein' shit on 4 armed men against 3 unarmed ladies, huh?" she gives a cock-eyed smug grin. "Get your ass off the roof," she waves him with the gun toward the ladder. She glances down to see Aspen with the shotgun. "Hell yes. Aspen, you throw a bitchin' bon voyage party." She glances over at Natasha, who still has the other thug pinned. "Straight A's." Wait, she's not supposed to enjoy this. That's not normal people behavior. Oh well, too late.

Fathom has posed:
The police eventually show up. Shots being fired mean they arrive even faster than for just a normal burglary. So the sounds of sirens are heard almost right away. The bad guys are tied up by then, there being plenty of plastic zip ties on board used for legitimate purposes.

The police do their thing, hauling the bad guys off and and taking statements. The latest voyage of the research vessel Paradise Found likely delayed an as yet undetermined amount of time while it all plays out.