TEAM ATeam A; "Ostrich" - Simus, Team A Leader - Hephaestus HQ Control Center
Stats:- Strength: 10 (2/3)
- Dexterity: 10 (2/3)
- Endurance: 7 (1/3)
- Charisma: 0 (-1)(-1)
- Intelligence: 7 (1/3)
- Willpower: 12 (2/3)
Skills:- Speech: 0 (-1)(-1)
- Intuition: 3 (1/3)
- Handiwork: 6 (2/3)
- Conventional Weapons: 4 (1/3)
- Unconventional Weapons: 3
- Exotic Weapons: 0 (+1)(-1)
- Auxiliary: 3 (1/3)
- Medical: 1
Profession: Transhuman
Inventory:- Synthflesh Body
- Civilian Police Body Armor
- Ghost Armor
- Gauss Pistol (14/14 Rounds) (2 Magazines)
- Silenced Gauss Pistol (Loan) (10/10 Rounds) (3 Magazines)
- Gauss Grenade Launcher
- Chemical-incendiary Grenade
- 3 High explosive Grenades
- 2 Fragmentation Grenades
- Kilo of Aster-ex Explosive (5 Detonators)
- Laser Rifle (Built-in Generator)
- TC-Gauss Rifle (3 Civilian rifles grafted together) (10/10) (2 Magazines)
- Mechanical Multi-tool
- Rocket Pack
Tokens: 9
All right, looks like the UWM's initial force, or what's left of it once Steve got done with their drop pods, has landed. Keep your guns up and eyes open, Team A, I'll alert you when UWM troops breach into the hallway that contains the entrance to the Aurora. In the meantime, the base is going into lockdown.
Initiate HQ lockdown (All the doors are sealed, and other such lockdown measures).
Team A is set up. Leo and Joseph are with the Sod Squad on the Aurora side of the only entrance tunnel, Charles and his turret are set up at the elevator to the control room, and I'm in the control room myself, monitoring what I can.
From deep inside the subterranean halls of the new head quarters, amidst the glow of computer monitors and back lit keyboards in the control room, you initiate lockdown. Blast doors, some several feet thick, seal not only the outside entrances but any subterranean entrances as well, completely separating the base from the outside world.
Team A; "Ostrich" - Charles, Team A Second-in-Command - Hephaestus HQ Chokepoint 2
Charles examines the corridor and begins thinking, bold text and thoughts alike mingling within his mind to optimize a compromise between area denial and coverage of a turret firing sequence. [Charge dynamic CON bonus] He had, ironically, no delusion as to his rather poor capability to predict the UWM force's entry movements and intercept them with turret rounds, however, what he could do was cut off their route in or at least narrow it using the area denial rounds whilst concealing himself and his turret behind the infernal flames and noxious fumes. At the very least, it could buy Simus and everyone else a little more time.
Stats: - Strength: 1 (-1)
- Dexterity: 1 (-1)
- Endurance: 5 (1/3)
- Charisma: 17 (+1)
- Intelligence: 3
- Willpower: 5 (+1)(1/3)
Skills:- Speech: 9 (+1) (+1)
- Intuition: 1
- Handiwork: 0 (-1)
- Conventional Weapons: 3 (1/3)
- Unconventional Weapons:0 (-1)(-1)
- Exotic weapons: 0 (-1)
- Auxiliary systems: 0 (-1)
- Medical tech: 1
Profession: Grunt (+1 Speech, -1 Uncon)
Inventory:- Robotic body
- 'Pawn' SFE Rifle (30/30 rounds) (1 ClF3 magazine, loaded) (1 convenional magazine)
- Arm Cannon
Spells:- Summon Sheep: Attempts to summon a hallucinatory sheep of suspected eldritch origin; results may vary
A heavy blast door slams shut and hermetically seals with a hiss somewhere down the corridor in front of you, sealing the hall off from the outside world. You sit down next to your turret and practice controlling it, aiming down the hall and firing short, sweeping bursts in your head.
At least this way you'd have some warning when they came.
TEAM BStacy of Platypus - Team B Short Range Long Cooldown Murderbot
"And it's a one-two-three, what are we fighting for? Don't ask me, I don't give a damn, the next stop is Vietnam!"
Take cover! Preferably someplace where nobody will suspect me to be from long or medium range.
You cower in one corner of the bunker, covering your head and singing quietly to yourself about how awesome it is not to get blown up.
Allright guys, first contact. Keep your eyes open. Don't fire just yet, but try to get an idea of what we're dealing with here. And for all that's holy, get into cover.
Take cover. Peek out of cover just enough to look around to where the enemy landed. If possible, use one of the fingertip cameras of the robobody to minimize silhoutte.
You peek out of cover with one finger. The dust obscures much of the area in front of the bunker, but you can see masses of dark objects moving through the dust toward the bunker maybe 30 or 40 feet away.
Jack Catar-Team B
If not already in cover, move to cover. Ascertain threat.
You're in a bunker, which completely protects you except for a firing slit with which you can shoot from. You're pretty well covered. Also, the treat is those soldiers in the dust that are charging toward you as we speak and yet no one in the bunker seems to think it's a good idea to fire at them.
Team B "Platypus" Medic, Steve Saint
Dynamic AUX bonus: +/-1
Hide deep inside the bunker, preferably near both the exit we'd use for retreating, and my strange machine.
If any of my teammates are shooting this turn/doing this wouldn't take effect this turn, do this:
Use my AUX bonus to take camera footage from the bunker's cameras, mACy teammates' cameras, and the flying UAV drones to make a HUD style view that highlights enemies (Both in current view and general proximity display, like Halo's radar). Allow my teammates to access this view. If possible, make it highlight higher priority targets, like synthflesh soldiers, battlesuits, or those with heavier weapons.
If my team follows their freaking orders and holds fire, continue to charge an AUX bonus for the aforementioned HUD.
As Saint typed frantically on his wristpad, he spoke into his team's comms.
Okay people, I'm trying to set up a heads-up display for you. It should make target acquisition a tad easier. In the meantime, you can use the bunker's cameras and the UAVs to view the battlefield without sticking your head up.
Everyone, leave battlesuits to Pancaek. Their armor is way too heavy for anything you've got, but it's irrelevant to him. Yes, I mean you too, Jack and Stacy.
Pancaek, heating the whole damn thing up by twenty degrees for five to ten seconds is pretty easy, and is guaranteed to send the pilot into a coma if it doesn't kill them outright. And they'll die before long even if it's only a coma.
Here's the deal about that aux action. Failure or overshoot could very well effect them. It's the nature of the action. So I'm gonna have you not do it for now, just in case, because you said you didn't want to do it if it could cause problems.
TEAM CMiyamoto, Team C leader, preparing for battle.
Inventory:
Uncon Decomp (Perfect)
Thermite thrower. (4/10)
extra canister of thermite
Avatar of war: Standard humanoid.
Universal Manip.
Heavy laser.
Monorazor Naginata
Piezoelectric shard launcher
Stats:
strength: 3
dext: 13 (2/3)
endu: 5 (1/3)
char: 3
intelligence: 20 (+1) (+1/3)
will: 6 (1/3)
Skills:
speech: 0(-1)
intuition: 1
handiwork: 1
conventional: 1
unconventional: 13 (+1) (+2/3)
exotic: 3(-1)(1/3)
auxiliary: 3 (+1) (1/3)
medical: 1
Team H - "Lemming"
Marcius idles for now. Waiting. Waaaiiitiiinnnggg.
for now, standby orders to Reinforce wherever we are hard pressed.
Seriously, I could easily add you to a team right now so you can start playing again. Don't you wanna get going before the boarding begins?
Sod squad sent to (which letter is that?) bunker.
Added numbers to each bunker to make it easier to tell them apart. Image on wiki updated.
>The first troops are on the ground. Concentrated near Teams C, D and B, outside our frontlines, moving inward. Reading indicate infantry and armor, numbers unknown.
"Understood. One ass kicking, coming up."
Do/check the following things:
-Make sure imaging drones are up and running, feed their image to all the troopers and static defenses. Keep 3 or so in reserve at shipyard.
-Ask Steve what the two Steve bots we bought ourselves are doing now (are they still hunting drop pods?), and if we can order them back if needed.
-Point one heavy defense gun towards the enemy forces attacking team B, and one at the ones attacking team D. Fire.
-Send 2 mortar-on-rails to each of the bunkers where the enemy is coming at. Fire when ready.
-Order team C sods inside the bunker, hold fire until artillery opens up.
-Use cameyes to get a better view of the enemy, send feed to squadmates.
-charge up dynamic CON bonus, if still allowed.
General Miyamoto,
Hostiles nearby. We await your command to fire.
"Help is incoming. Hold fire until artillery is there and starts firing, when they do fire as well. If you spot battlesuits or other heavy armor, tell Milno and He'll send in some troopers from Team G."
Miya opens up a general comms channel.
"Well, it seems we gave 'em a black eye just now, and now they're coming to repay us in kind. Everybody, load your weapons and get into position. Team leaders, check on your squad, don't forget to use your sods, and keep me informed.
Remember men, today, we are fighting the UWM. That means no retreat, no negotiating a peace, no surrendering. Cause if they win they'll kill us all, regardless of who you are or what you did.
Today, we win or we die."
After that general message, he contacts a few people in person.
Await Mr. Miya's orders.
"Get inside the bunker. Lay low until you they get in closer. Whatever you do, keep the attention away from you, the sods can distract them so you can use your manip."
"Sure. Sending just a sniper squad unless someone feels like taking up guard duty with them. Heads up, the old man in a battlesuit said he wanted to perch somewhere to look useful and I let him."
"Noted. Make sure your team is ready to reinforce when needed, if the enemy has battlesuits then those teams will probably need some extra firepowere to take 'em out. Oh, and send a sniper team to a tower near team C. Tell them to take cover somewhere concealed and to open fire once team C engages the enemy directly."
@ team F and E leaders: "Hold position for now, keep eyes peeled for flanking forces. They might fan out once the artillery opens up, so be ready."
@ Anton: "Keep our ships grounded for the moment, but make sure they are ready for takeoff. Gonna deploy them once I have a better view of the situation."
Armor, huh? Hey Miyamoto, want to bake some tank pilots for me?
""Sure, but we'll wait until the mortars have opened up to start shooting.
-Imaging is working as best it can for the moment.
-
>Engaging hostiles. If they are needed, call for them. -Firing. The shells have some travel time and will land next turn.
-In route. They will arrive soon.
-Already in there (I assumed everyone was in their bunkers) and holding fire.
-It's a bit hard to see, even with the cameyes, but it looks like the forces moving toward you consist entirely of humanoids, sods most likely. You can't pick out any armored troops.
-You steady your aim.
TEAM DDubley -Team D
Type 1337 into the number gun. Glance at the lcd screen. Aim at an advancing silhouette. (Dynamic bonus)
Bro Lars, any orders? I see some enemy meatbags.
You type in 1337 on your numgun. The screen reads 1337 as you aim it out the firing slit toward the advancing forms in the dust.
Felix Grant, Team D "Marabou" - Inside the Team D bunker
Felix makes sure that he is in cover, and pulls out "his" Gauss rifle, flicking the safety off. When the artillery arrives, instead of firing the rifle, he activates his amp and freezes a 30cm sphere, centered on the nearest sign of movement through the duststorm.
Well, that shell is gonna take a good 15-20 seconds to get here. It's got miles of desert to cross in a long parabola and it weighs as much as a traincar filled with lead, so you might wanna duck.
Maurice Sanctor - Team D Medic
Understood.
Take cover. Flip the MFM open and ready for use.
((Note to GM: The cursed knife is currently in M.Sanctor's possession, retroactively traded for 1 token ( Xan); the action took place just after the mini-mission, in the old primary mission thread.))
Maurice Sanctor, Chirurgeon
Mk II
MFM
Simus's ClF3 grenades x3
the Instrument ('scalpel' knife)
the Pandora's Bag (complete with something living inside and "I'm not coming back" note)
the Glaive/the Twitchstar (alien throwing star)
the Disassembler (cursed knife)
Emergency Kit 1/3
Medifoam can x2
Fleshknitter can
Portable cooler
Good at Med, Aux, Uncon
(we'll worry about inventory management when you guys aren't about to get shot at.)
You take cover up against the wall, just under the firing slit, with your MFM open and ready to break physics.
Another bunker full of people with an aversion to shooting. How odd.
TEAM EThaddeus-Team E "Aye-Aye" Grunt
Get in cover, look for flanking forces. Charge a CON bonus.
Well, the bunker's firing slit doesn't have much in the way of sideways visibility, but you can't see anything for now. The shuttles are still coming though. You point your gun out of the slit and wait.
Team E
((In the last two turns I bought grenades and buried a satchel charge. M'got skipped.))
Wait with rest of team, outside explosive radius. Ready gauss rifle
You mean the Molotov that I said you got? As per satchel charge, what kind and buried were?
You're in a bunker, pointing a gauss rifle out at a bunch of dust and nothing.
Denzel Gaunt- Team E Leader
"Glad to see you guys get the idea. Get down and get ready."
Take cover, keeping one eye on the land around us (use cameye functions), and ready a conventional weaponry bonus.
Gorat 'Chin' Ivanos, Team E "Aye-Aye"
Get cover with the rest of the team, ready my laser rifle.
Str 3; Dex 3; End 3; Cha 7; Int 4; Wil 15//Spe 0; Int 1; Han 0 (-1); Con 1; Unc 0; Exo 12; Aux 3 (+1); Med 0
Mk II Suit; Microwave PK Amp; laser rifle; 3 tokens: normal cigarettes; blue smokes; datapad (with platformer shooter); nanoghosts; shock trigger (with me); odd suit worn under Mk II.
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. Wears basic clothes when not in the Mk II.
You are also in a bunker, pointing a laser rifle out at dust and nothing. For now.
TEAM FXan Team F
Commands, Morul?
Observe the enemy while taking cover.
No enemy to observe right now, just lots of dust and nothing. Give it a second. Have to kill of other people first.
Auron, team F.
Take cover in the bunker and try to get a visual on enemy tanks/battlesuits.
Charge brainpower.
Nothing coming your way yet; you can't see the stuff assaulting B team because of the bunker slit doesn't let you look anywhere but forward and a bit to the side. And B team's bunker is a good distance away to the side and a bit behind you.
Team F: Blobfish
"Hold position for now, there could be a second wave incoming any second, and we don't want to get caught out of position. Besides, if they need assistance, that's what the rapid response teams are for."
Hold position, and examine the area we're in for choke points, places to hide a sharpshooter, etc.
Uh, well there's not a lot of choke points on this perfectly flat plain with mountains several miles away.
Team F- Blobfish
Take cover if already not in cover. Keep eyes open.
You're in a bunker, so you're in cover. And I'll assume your eyes are open.
TEAM GFlint Westwood - Team G (Reserve)
"You're the boss Steveman." replied Flint as he stared upwards. He instinctively took a step back inside the bunker when the debris started falling before stepping out once more.
This is nothing. You've seen special effects 10 times as good as this. You've survived against Urban Executors and Giant Aliens. You won't be killed by a mere soldier. He thought to reassure himself. Besides, Gilgamesh has seen stuff way worse than this. He was designed for this. For war. He can take it. He sighed. You just have to let go.
@Team: "I'm going to go find a vantage point. Make sure I can see what's going on around here, be able to see whoever needs help and be able to get there quickly. Anybody wants a ride? Any objections team leader?"
"Nah, you can go check things outside but remember the reserve team's job isn't playing the hero on a whim. Don't get yourself killed before you're actually needed somewhere critical."
"Roger that, Mother Badger." said Flint with a small salute before firing the battlesuit's rockets and flying away.
Again, try to find a nearby vantage point, one that has cover. Lay down if it would help provide more cover. (I'm not seeking cover for protection. I'm looking for concealment so that I don't look like a juicy target.)
If smoke and dust provides sufficient cover, get up and use cameyes and those spy drone things Miyamoto has flying over the battlefield to scan for targets.
If smoke and dust doesn't provide sufficient cover, remain in cover and use one of my hand cameras and those spy drone things Miyamoto has flying over the battlefield to scan for targets.
Inform Steve of any dangerous targets or large concentrations of enemies I see so that he can take them out with artillery.
If big target found (battlesuit, tank, etc.), artillery can't hit it and I'm within range and have line of sight, switch Rainbow Cannon to Red mode, take aim and prepare to snipe/fire.
((Too bad I can't get squadshight...))
Well, you're in a park full of trees thats shrouded in dust right now, so you'll probably be fine.
As per targets, there aren't any near you (You're in the center of the area, remember) but it looks like there's a larger target out near B team.
Jim, Team G
Jim looks for cover to get into, just in case.
You hide behind a tree.
Lyra, Team G
I pad on over to Jim and sit on his right foot.
You hide behind a jim.
Anton Chernozorov, Team G "Cassowary" engineer.
Anton watches the sky erupt in fire and smoldering rain.
"Красота-то какая. Лепота! It's a bad time to be an incoming attack ship, that's for sure."
@ Anton: "Keep our ships grounded for the moment, but make sure they are ready for takeoff. Gonna deploy them once I have a better view of the situation."
"Way ahead of you, chief. All ships are prepped and ready to fly. You can take out Tweedledee and Tweedledum anytime, and the Party Wagon is technically slaved to Team Cassowary, but I think Milno won't mind if you take direct control of it if you need to nuke something. The Southern Cross should probably stay grounded unless you really need it, it's got good firepower but will be a sitting duck in atmo. And of course our ace in the a-hole should stay there unless we've got nothing else that works. All ships might take a minute to spool up and go, so keep that in mind."
Idly chat with Miyamoto, admire fireworks.
See if it's possible to pre-check the Party Wagon and keep it on "hot take-off", so it doesn't need to waste time spooling up. We've got a war here, after all.
Possible, but you'd need to go get inside it to do such a thing. Also, is anyone even over by the shipyard? The reserves are all sitting in the center and the nearest bunker is D team, which has enemies running at it now.
(((@piecewise: I think the "upper right bunker" is the one half-inside the aurora at the upper right side of the defense plan's map.))
Team G "Cassowary" (Reserve) - Milno "Honey Badger" Enedrasi - Leader
"Noted. Make sure your team is ready to reinforce when needed, if the enemy has battlesuits then those teams will probably need some extra firepowere to take 'em out. Oh, and send a sniper team to a tower near team C. Tell them to take cover somewhere concealed and to open fire once team C engages the enemy directly."
"Haven't had to slap anyone awake so I suppose they're fine."
Send a sod sniper team to a tower near team C. Tell them "to take cover somewhere concealed and to open fire once team C engages the enemy directly".
It will take a bit for them to get there, but they're enroute.
TEAM PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T PUT THERE TEAM IN THEIR POSTNo. Preface your posts with your team. It's in the OP and it is the only way I can easily keep track of everyone. You spend this turn being useless.
Unlike the strangely pacifist or at least hesitant occupants of bunkers B C and D, the advancing UWM forces have no freaking qualms with just open fire blindly as they advance.
Bunker B:
Laser fire burns small black scorch marks against the walls of the bunker and gauss rounds ricochet and impact like sledgehammer blows. Out of the dust charges a group of sods, over a dozen strong. And then, behind them, the dust billows out and then parts as a Battle suit lumbers through, carrying a massive sword in one hand and a shield in the other.
Bunker C:
The gauss rounds that tear through the dust towards Bunker C aren't from a rifle, they're from a full fledged cannon, packing conventional explosive tips. The first rounds strike the sloped wall of the bunker just below the firing slit and the rest follow a lazy upward arc that sweeps across the bunker's face, blowing great holes in the reenforced supercrete and spraying bits of sod across the interior. Two sods are dead, one blown into indistinguishable chunks of oozing red and dull metal, another laying in the corner with his head and half his chest missing. A third, the support trooper, is injured, missing his left arm from the elbow down but has already begun to cauterize the wound. Grate and skylar are fine, hidden behind Miyamoto, who could care less about conventional explosives less then a kiloton. A great hole has been opened on the left side, forward face of the bunker, a gash 7 feet tall and 3 wide, where the majority of the rounds hit.
Out of the dust strides a sod in an exoskeleton, reloading the gauss cannon as he walks, flanked on either side by a half dozen regular sods.
Bunker D:
The mass of black shapes, quite large by the look of it, seems to split as it moves towards the bunker, half moving off toward the east, and the other half moving toward the bunker. As the shapes get closer, the occupants of the bunker hear something. A dull hum. A cutting laser, unseen, except for the molten path it leaves across the outside walls, sweeps randomly across the bunker, occasionally hissing through the firing slit and into the room.
Dubley's left arm just falls off, sliced clean through near the shoulder, and The heavy Weapon's Sod and Second Grenadier collapse in puffs of boiling flesh and blood, head sliced in half and cleaved through the torso respectively.
The sods that punch through the dust are average looking, only 4 or so, but lead by a fifth decked out in an exoskeleton and wielding a cutting laser.
> New movement Detected toward Team E and Team F bunkers. Team E appears to have a larger force incoming then Team F.
Something much larger then a normal shuttle punches through the clouds, burning from a dozen places, and crashes down in the distance toward the North, vanishing into a ball of flame, smoke and dust. In the far distance, the distant rumble of artillery cannons can be heard.
Coming next turn: (Remind me if there's shit in transit I forgot)
Artillery strikes landing Near Bunker B and D
Sniper squads arriving near Team C bunker
Artillery Guns moving to Bunker B and D
Author
Topic: Mission 12: The Defense of Hephaestus: Don't taunt the dice. (Read 225089 times)