"Fuck it. Flint, I'm going in for a bit to check things out a little. Go get someone who can fit in with me while I wait a bit inside. I'm not going to go too far in but please run."
Bishop gulped and blinked away a bead of sweat that was running into his eye.
"I sure hope he hasn't had enough time to lay too many traps..."
Switch to the gauss rifle and reload it. Then, VERY CAUTIOUSLY, slowly head into the tunnels a little ways, carefully checking the walls for anything that looks like a sensor or trap as I go like my life depends on it. If there's someone who can fit in the tunnels with me nearby, go get them and bring them with me, letting them go first. Don't go further than the first corner, fork, junction or more than 10 meters in and don't stick my head around any corners.
I get the the sense that bishop may be a little bit nervous. Dare I say, afraid?
You reload your rifle and very VERY carefully advance down the hall, inching forward like you're crossing a thin sheet of ice over a field of landmines. Steve lets you know once you've entered the sensor deadzone in earnest and you look around. You find what appears to be a sensor pit: A small hole drilled in the wall where a sensor array would usually be inserted. Judging from the scratches around the hole, the sensor appears to have been removed rather roughly, with unsophisticated tools.
Frankly, it looks like someone dug it out with a screwdriver.
Turn on flashlights or something. Look down tunnel then follow anyone who takes the lead.
"Maybe we should turn our lights on?"
You flip on your headlamps and wait for your team to do...anything...
"No offense or anything guys, but I'd prefer to get this over with, one way or another."
Any fliers still on the surface, we have another LESHO tube. Looks unfinished, if one of you want to check it out for salvage and clues. Going to setup a search pattern centered on that point.
Steve, are these tubes generally how SW's fire LESHO rounds? Or do they have a LESHO rifle as well, or some other means to fire them without the setup time?
Love asking Steve questions, rest of action modified. Question still relevant 
>No, normally they use a rifle. These tubes are curious; they could be a way to put an active defense on certain areas of the building and were just unfinished. Or they could be here to fool us into thinking there's an SW when there isn't one. Which is honestly the best case scenario. "Hrmmmmmm. Where to go.... Lets check out that anomalous heat source. Could you direct us Steve?"
Get directions to the strange heat source, and head out, using my metal pole to check for traps.
((Traps 2: Return of the Pole.))
The directions, unsurprisingly, coincide with the trail of molten metal on the ground. You follow it it through the cramped tunnels, slowly catching up on whatever is making it The trail of metal slag goes from cooled to slightly molten as you continue, and small, molten gashes appear in the walls.
>The heat source is still moving. I don't have cameras down this far, but from what I can tell it seems to be randomly damaging things on the way, and not moving towards anything in particular. I'm beginning to think this might be a repair drone with some brain damage, so to speak. "dear god people, do you see this? Those buttons aren't beeping and flashing like good buttons should, I mean come on buttons! What would holographic display say if she saw you like this?!truly dissapionting really.
tsk and sigh at today's state of button affairs, then follow everyone else, especially cuthulu face.
You shake your head disapprovingly at the buttons. You remember the good old days.
The days on the moon base, when things made sense.You shrug, sadly, and follow the rest of your team.
(I love that clip by the way. Probably the most accurate portrayal of the HMRC in movies ever.)
"Hrmmmmmm. Where to go.... Lets check out that anomalous heat source. Could you direct us Steve?"
Get directions to the strange heat source, and head out, using my metal pole to check for traps.
((Traps 2: Return of the Pole.))
Still following the Pirate, not letting him run off alone despite his repeated attempts to do so.
You stick with the pirate as he delves deep into the undermachine.
"Hey, Steve, can we flank that section of tunnels?
Try to come at the tunnel area from another side (if possible), staying out of the way of friendly line of fire.
I'd ask which tunnels, but really, unless you want to spend an hour wandering off on your own before heading down and then back for a while, flanking is gonna be pretty hard. Unless you have a tunnel bore.
((Traps 2: Return of the Pole.))
((Poles have a long and honorable history of helping us in a way or another.))
>I've got a few curious sensory readings. One being a Series of doors being opened and left that way, precluding it from being any sort of automated system, since they would close doors. Second being a strange heat signature, and the last being a loss of signal for a sensor array.
"Well, let me see..."
Get a map from Steve if necessary, and check where the series of doors being opened can lead to - how many options someone heading that way has. If it can ultimately lead only to one final destination, then send a message to the group - "Heading to [insert place], only possible path for whatever is opening the doors." - and head there to take a look.
Unfortunately the doors aren't all opening along a single straight path with only one end point. Rather they're tracing a rather erratic path that even seems to branch off for a few doors before continuing on a different way.
"Fuck it. Flint, I'm going in for a bit to check things out a little. Go get someone who can fit in with me while I wait a bit inside. I'm not going to go too far in but please run."
"Fuck that shit man. I don't need a battlesuit to kick that guy's ass." said Flint, pressing the release button and removing his arms from the control cuffs. "Just stay close and keep your eyes open." He checked his equipment. Mining laser, check, monoatomic razor, check, smoke grenades, check, monitoring equipment, check, assorted crap, check. Let's get the bastard. "Just wish I could take the cameyes..."
Get out of the battlesuit, lock it (do they have alarms?) and go into the tunnel with Bishop, shield ready. Proceed forward alone if he's too scared to follow me.
I can still carry the mining laser, right? It's got cutting laser stats so that means a STR requirement of 5, right?
Actually no. The Mining laser is a much rougher, heavier thing. As is the Battle suit shield. You really can't lift either of them as you are, without your exoskeleton.
Wait for my team to do something.
Hey TCM, you ever seen Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai?
Also this.
Follow Kriyella's lead
You...continue to be inside the blackship. Although you do mime skylar's actions and parrot his words in a way that is...well you think it's flattering.
(( Alright then XD ))
Looks like all the fliers have left the sky. Wonderful. Alright, Blackship squad, I'm going to approach that unfinished Gauss catapult. Jump out and take a look, I'll come back for you if there's nothing interesting about it.
Approach the roof at a level safe to jump to it, or the edge of the roof if I don't think I can get low enough to the roof. Let some of my crew out, then accelerate off into a search pattern.
Closely watch the roof while approaching. Do not continue if I see any movement.
[aux:3+1]
You bring the ship in for a close flyby and end up over steering a bit. The ship thuds into the top of the tower with a metallic crunch. You look over your sensors in dismay, prepared for the worst but it seems like the crush you heard came from the roof, since the ship itself looks fine. Huh.
"Well...I guess this means no one has to jump at least. Alright, someone get out there and look around for us."
"Roger that."
Let Skylar drop me on the roof, try to get a good look at the surroundings.
Str 3; Dex 3; End 3; Cha 5; Int 4; Wil 12//Spe 0; Int 1; Han 0 (-1); Con 1; Unc 0; Exo 8; Aux 1 (+1); Med 0
Mk II Suit; Microwave PK Amp; laser rifle: normal cigarettes; blue smokes; datapad (with platformer shooter); nanoghosts; shock trigger (with Jack for this mission)
Appearance: 5'11'', 170 pounds in a rather unmuscular frame, shoulder-long brown hair, short goatee, brown eyes, a rather long chin that earned him his nickname. Age 32
Half a robot foot. Robot right arm.
You step out of the ship and onto the roof of the tower. The roof itself is basically nothing but a semi-gently sloping cone placed atop the tower itself, devoid of anything that interesting. You don't see a way up onto it, though you reason they're probably a hatch on the other side that lets you up from inside the tower. As per the tube...well...you ever seen Wizard of oz? Blackship is to house what tube is to witch. There's only about half of it left.
"I'm gonna have to fail you on the parallel parking portion of this test, skylar."
Good question... Stay aboard for now, recover that brain some more. If they find a trail to follow I'll come back and drop you. It will probably depend on Steve's answer, as to whether or not the SW's can fire LESHO rounds at will. If they can't, then as soon as we sweep the rest of the area and confirm that there are no more catapults, I'll be reasonably convinced that the threat of LESHO fire is over, since the SW would essentially have to reveal himself to setup and fire.
"Aye aye, captn'. Snoozing on."
"Really, you attack once and you're already sleeping? Pathetic."
Snooze on, keep recharging brain. Wonder how sleeping in a robobody works.
I think it involves a screen saver.
((I'm...relatively sure this is where I'm supposed to be? I'm with Lars' team. If I'm in the wrong thread please tell me))
((Yeah, you're good))
Lars peers into the hole. "We must follow divine commands."
Lead the team slowly through the tunnel. Lars first, with Xan close behind using his eye-things to scout the tunnel. Use pole that I think we all have to poke around in front.
The trail goes from literally cold to hot but you still don't catch up to the source of the mysterious melting.
*glick* Very well then, though there's nothing up 'till the bend.
Slither along behind Lars, alerting him to any hostile things. Be a better scout eye than those mechanical ones!
You follow along behind lars, being careful not to accidentally slither though any molten metal.
Author
Topic: Einsteinian Roulette (Missions 9a, 10, 11, and Heph post war survey team) (Read 464917 times)