Dominique Wakeman"I'll tell you later," Dom replied over the private channel before broadcasting to all. "You heard the man! Pick up the pace, people!" With that, she started moving ahead - faster than a jog, but not a sprint, either. A good pace for covering distance, but hopefully slow enough that she could stop should something jump out at her.
You order your group forwards, trading caution for aggression as you make full haste towards the rendezvous. Fennec's team is in trouble, and, while they may be Technocrat loyalist through and through, they don't deserve to die to a circus of mutated test subjects. Well, they might, but your chances of getting to Jeffrey slim dramatically if half of the armed forces you have are dead.
[Stamina 18+1] [Taiya Stamina 13+1][Marine Stamina 17][Scientist Stamina 14][Engineer Stamina 4] Most of your group adapts to the hard pace rapidly, military training and bioarmor proving themselves effective. The engineers, however, laden with equipment as they are, show signs of strain almost immediately. They don't slow down, but the exertion is going to cost them.
You keep a fairly steady lope across the pulsing wax, but you're not foolish enough to let your momentum get you killed. [P.Kinetics 19+1] You don't, however, detect any movement ahead of you. Adrenaline brings all of your senses to a peak, including your psychic ones, but nothing stirs in the path ahead besides the subtle vibrations of the wax itself. And yet... Every time you cross an intersection, you could swear you feel faint movement in the darkness. Once or twice you're sure that you feel the outlines of humanoid shapes that keep pace with you, staying just out of the wave of light generated by the soldier's pounding feet. The shapes never manifest, and they never seem to move closer, yet it makes you more than a little uneasy.
You reach the rendezvous area ahead of schedule and without incident. The rendezvous should be an amphitheater for formal address, hearings, and whatever functions of law need to be carried out without moving the offending parties off station. The double doors that should lead inside, however, are clearly damaged. Designed to slide open and shut from the base in a scissoring motion, something huge has been smashed repeated against their metal and polymer surface. The door is dented, and stuck a few inches into the start of the opening scissor. One of the exhausted engineers pounds the door release, but the trickle of station power that's still active is barely enough to make the doors creak. The warps in the metal of seized the mechanism in place, preventing it from sliding back into the wall.
[Taiya Observation 14 Vs Freak Concealment 6+5]
"Contact behind," Taiya says, giving the darkness behind you a sweep of your pistol.
"More than three, but not advancing."(Engineers are exhausted, scientists are fatigued)
(Dom -15 Stamina) (Taiya -25 Stamina) (Marines -20 Stamina) (Scientists -25 Stamina) (Engineers -55 Stamina)
Health: 116/128
Stamina: 119/120 (+14)
Carried Weight: 124/210
Attire: Harlequin Uniform, Styx Assault Armor (150/150, 60lbs. Integrated Power cell charged 3/3, Internal Ammunition Supply [Cerico, 14])
Inv:
Dominique's Abassy Heavy pistol -laser sight- [6, 8lbs]
.50 pistol clip (7 0.2lbs) x5
Artemis Railgun (3/3 A, 3/3 E 18lbs)
Size S-3 rail spike pack (3, 0.6lbs) x2
Cerico Shotgun (24/8 A, 16lbs)
12 gauge shells (8, 0.3lbs) x5
Stun club (50/50 11lbs)
Advanced Medical Kit (10/10) (5lbs)
Energy Cell (Full, 0.5lbs) x5
ORS (3) x2
Chitin Nodule
Status: Fine
Individuals
Cadet Taiya
Psionic
Health: 102/102
Stamina: 85/110
Armor: Hy-Brasil CF-HES (100/100)
Primary Weapon: Kekkai CM Pistol+ (6/7 (Detonating Rounds)) (5 cartridges; 1 Det., 2 Stun, 1 Bleed, 2 AP); +Side locked dart launcher (2/3)
Reserve: Arbiter Blade
Status: Fine. Low Morale [-2]
Squad 1
Haz-Rec Marine 1
Health: 100/100
Stamina: 80/100
Armor: Hy-Brasil CF-HES (100/100)
Primary Weapon: Leanashe Assault Rifle+ (50/50) (4 clips); +Underslung dart launcher (3/3)
Reserve: Salamander suppression pistol (30/30) (2 spare canisters);
Status: Fine. Low Morale [-2]
Haz-Rec Marine 2
Health: 100/100
Stamina: 80/100
Armor: Hy-Brasil CF-HES (100/100)
Primary Weapon: Leanashe Assault Rifle+ (50/50) (3 clips); +Underslung dart launcher (2/3)
Reserve: Ifrit Incendiary grenades x3
Status: Fine. Low Morale [-2]
Haz-Rec Marine (Designated Gunner)
Health: 114/114
Stamina: 90/110
Armor: Hy-Brasil CF-HES (100/100)
Primary Weapon: Surma LMG+ (90/90) (2 belts); +Underslung dart launcher (2/3)
Reserve: Blade
Status: Fine. Very Low Morale [-3]
Squad 2
Haz-Rec Marine 3
Health: 100/100
Stamina: 80/100
Armor: Hy-Brasil CF-HES (100/100)
Primary Weapon: Leanashe Assault Rifle+ (50/50) (1 clip); +Underslung dart launcher (2/3)
Reserve: Salamander suppression pistol (30/30) (3 spare canisters);
Status: Fine. Low Morale [-2]
Haz-Rec Marine 4
Health: 100/100
Stamina: 80/100
Armor: Hy-Brasil CF-HES (100/100)
Primary Weapon: Leanashe Assault Rifle+ (43/50) (3 clips); +Underslung dart launcher (3/3)
Reserve: Blade
Status: Fine. Poor Morale [-1]
Haz-Rec Marine (Designated Marksman)
Health: 86/86
Stamina: 70/90
Armor: Hy-Brasil CF-HES (100/100)
Primary Weapon: Artemis Railgun+ (3/3 A, 3/3 E) (3 clips, 3 cells); +Underslung dart launcher (2/3); Short Range Scope.
Reserve: Salamander suppression pistol (30/30) (1 spare canister);
Status: Fine. Low Morale [-2]
Squad 3 (Low-Com)
Tech Engineer 1
Health: 60/60
Stamina: 5/60
Armor: Annwn ACFUS+ (50/50) (Masked)
Primary Weapon: Cerico Shotgun (8/8) (8 shells)
Reserve: None
Status: Fine. Low Morale [-2]
Tools: Mechanical Bypass Kit 5/5
Tech Engineer 2
Health: 60/60
Stamina: 5/60
Armor: Annwn ACFUS+ (50/50) (Masked)
Primary Weapon: Cerico Shotgun (6/8) (8 shells)
Reserve: None
Status: Fine. Poor Morale [-1]
Tools: Mechanical Bypass Kit 5/5
Tech Scientist 1
Health: 50/50
Stamina: 25/50
Armor: Annwn ACFUS+ (50/50) (Masked)
Primary Weapon: Fenrir Energy Pistol (7/7) (2 cells)
Reserve: None
Status: Fine. Average Morale [0 ]
Tools: Universal Interface Kit, Advanced Medical Kit (9/10)
Tech Scientist 2
Health: 42/50 (MHD+25)
Stamina: 25/50
Armor: Annwn ACFUS+ (19/50) (Masked)
Primary Weapon: Fenrir Energy Pistol (7/7) (2 cells)
Reserve: None
Status: Wax Poisoning (Weak). Poor Morale [-1], being used as a shield by Spine Freak.
Tools: Universal Interface Kit, Advanced Medical Kit (10/10)
Alonso & Basilio
Basilio, Combat Carapace
Health: 49/49
Stamina: 55/55
Armor: 129/150
Weapon: Edimmu Assault Rifle (14/20 A 34/40 E)
Status: Fine, Utterly Obedient
Alonso, Combat Carapace
Health: 49/49
Stamina: 55/55
Armor: 132/150
Weapon: Edimmu Assault Rifle (14/20 A 34/40 E)
Status: Fine, Utterly Obedient
---
Toomas AmkKeeping up the enhanced strength, slide the body of the scientist down the hallway as far as I can as a distraction, then into the vent I go (closing the hatch behind me if possible - if time allows, try the bypass kit), trying to find the way into the ventilation system.
[Restructuring 16] (-37 health) [Brawl 19+4] You sling the body of the scientist out ahead of you, her corpse leaving a bloody skid mark as she tumbles across the glowing wax. You drop to the wall hatch as soon as she's away prying the small door open with your knife and slipping down below as quickly as possible.
You slam the hatch back closed behind you [Mechanics 22] and use the tools in the bypass kit to sabotaging the hatch's internal lock. It isn't as solid as if you'd welded it closed, but it should buy you some time without wasting your resources.
The resonance of the Abomination's constant scream still hammers away at you, but it's easier to bear when separated by an alloy and polymer wall. [Luck 1] That small victory evaporates when you realize that this maintenance section has been cordoned off. A blast iris has closed off the rest of the tunnel, leaving you twenty feet of roaming space between a biological catastrophe that wants nothing more to kill you, and a barely mobile wall that's designed to contain medium sized explosions. There is access to the ventilation, but it looks as if it were designed for drones, not direct human interaction. Your head and shoulders would fit through, but the rest of you would have to be putty in order to get in.
Worse, the access port is locked down by the same protocol that closed the blast iris.
Unless you can turn this around, you're looking at a very spacious coffin.
Health: 516/590 -[1,6]
Degeneration: Near Nil
Carried Weight: 37 /120
Attire: Plain Technician Uniform, White. Annwn CFUS (50/50, 15lbs)
Eldjotnar Shotgun (4/4 A, 12/12 E, 10lbs)
Energy Cell x3 (Fully Charged)
20 gauge gauss canister x12
Mechanical Bypass Kit (10 lbs, 10/10)
Mechanic's Utility Knife (1lb)
Pad (Charged, significant free space, 1lb)
Status: Fine
---
Tyrin, Anna, JamesEmphatic link w/ Anna//Let her link up!
Switch to the weapon most suitable at range to fire upon the Presbyter (unsure if its the Kapre or the Broadbeam :x) and aim//fire, if able.
"Just stay calm. We can do this. He can be beaten, just keep focused."
Initiate the link up with Tyrin. Once linked, Energy Drain at -4 on the presbyters psionic shield! Use the energy in a -2 surge on him.
Dammit, James didn't have any real firepower on him and if he didn't have something serious, the bleakman here was just going to punch another hole in him. ...Well, on second thought, James did have something...
Get into cover and create 8 Shrike blades.
Anna Withheld: 9+3-3 = 9
James Evan: 30+0-1 = 29
Tyrin Laveros: 15+3-3 = 15
Marshal Feuer: 90+6-3 = 93
Hickie: 64+6-3 = 67
Jeremiah: _+6-2 = - (Linked To Presbyter)
Wigs: 91+6-3 = 94
The Presbyter: 5+2-6 = 1
Wigs gives James a quick nod and takes up the position that Jeremiah used to occupy, striking out at the Presbyter with another strong psionic lance. [Blade 8+1-2 (D.Bonus lost, Damage -6)] [Control 2, +35% cost] (-41 Stamina) The pile shaped blade slams slightly askew into the Presbyter's shield, but the bad angle does not prevent it from striking with devastating force. (Presbyter Shield -74, 5 absorbed)
The Marshal takes aim again with his heavy cannon, exposing himself only to the degree he needs to line up the shot.
Hickie remains on his back on the roof, performing self-triage on the hole running through his side. [Medicine 3+1, 20,13,8+1. Luck 4. 50/70] It isn't easy work to patch your own holes, and, with the everyone else occupied in their own task, Hickie is forced to glue himself back together as best he can.
James disentangles his hand from Jeremiah and takes the side of the door opposite Amos, priming the peculiar potential that had he'd used to puncture the Wight earlier. [Control 19] (-19 Stamina, Eight shrikes added)
Tyrin discards the empty railgun and draws the Kapre, sighting only briefly before firing. [Quickshot 13+1-1] [Quickshot 22+1-2] [Finesse 21 Vs Soak 2] [Quickshot 11+1-1] [Luck 14] Three rounds whip through the remaining scraps of fog surrounding the Technocrat, and all connect with a series of bright flashes. The second flash, however, seems to strike a harmonic with the ebb of the first's flash and the beginning of the third, creating a disproportionate ripple in the Presbyter's shield. (Technocrat Shield -12, -55, -10. 15 Absorbed)
Anna grabs Tyrin in a link, [P.Empathetics 1] (Bonus negated) failing to establish a tandem connection and completely overwhelming the young man's mind as their bodies synchronize. The power gained should, theoretically, be worth the temporary loss of Tyrin's autonomy. With power of the Stimulant flowing in her veins, and the raw surge of Tyrin's untapped energy burning in her mind, Anna takes the offensive once more. [Energy Drain 21-4] [Presbyter Reflex 11+1] The Presbyter reacts slowly when Anna begins siphoning energy off of his shield, too slowly. (Presbyter Shield -68) (Anna gains 51 points of temporary stamina) Anna tears into his shield, stealing the strength in order to fuel another attack. [Surge 13+6-2. (No Effect: Immune to Pain. No Effect: Immune to Pain. [Presbyter Soak 15] Woozy negated) Stolen memories coalesce in Anna's mind, their incredible psychic mass becoming a tool rather than a burden as her energy surge takes shape. She knows, as instinctively as though it had been drilled into her for years, that the Presbyter's mindbar is weaker than it should be. What he is does not lend itself well to psychic defense, and if she strikes at just the right points... Anna releases her primed surge, knowing its effect even before she sees the Presbyter recoil. The same trick that lets him ignore his hideous wounds allows him to endure much of the surge's more vicious effects, but the chaotic electric warp is still physically and mentally draining for him to keep at bay. (Presbyter -20 stamina, -20 Health)
The presbyter shakes his head and snarls at the Unchained, finally losing the calm that he's maintained throughout the battle.
"Why can none of you believe in a greater purpose beyond yourselves? Killing me preserves nothing! Defying the Technocracy may destroy everything!" Those fighting the Presbyter cannot help but notice that his psychic voice, while no less earnest than it was when he first spoke, is substantially weaker than it was. [Blade 13+5-4-2] (Presbyter Stamina -30) [Feuer K.Parry 64, not activated] [Feuer I.S 34, activated] [Feuer P.Kinetics 14+2, 80 point shield] (Feuer Shield -16, Armor -13, HP -95, 2 negated) Blood sprays out of the Marshal's back as a massive column of psychic energy tears directly
through him, lifting the officer off his feet and depositing him on the fungal soil a good five feet back from where he started.
"You must serve or die. Anything else jeopardizes the lives of every other citizen!" [Acceleration Beam 6+5-6] (Presbyter Stamina -20) A small circle of metal by Anna's foot goes white hot for second, then explodes upwards. Considering that the Presbyter shouldn't even be able to see her, the miss is surprisingly narrow.
(Marshal Feuer has been Killed)
(Tyrin is in a subsidiary link, -4 to taking individual actions. Taking individual action may disrupt Anna)
Total Damage Dealt to Presbyter's Shield: 800
Total Stamina Lost by Presbyter: 231
Total Health Lost by Presbyter: 20
Health: 15/88 [MHD 36]
Stamina: 64/100 (+3) (8 Shrikes stored)
Carried weight: 171/300
Attire: Exarch Dress uniform [8lbs] James' Light Body armor 15/50 (40/50) [25lbs]
Inv:
Renfield SMG (10/30, 10lbs)
Riot shield (10lbs 1/30, in hand)
Piru Gauss Rifle (E5/5 A5/5 16lbs)
.45 Gauss slug clip (5)
Simone's Song (6lbs 2/7 -Frangible Rounds-)
.50 caliber Frangible pistol clips (7) x1
Dybbuk Flechette Canister Rifle (0/2 35 lbs)
20 mm flechette canisters (x2, 1 lb)
Emergency VIP Drop Suit (30lbs, Armor 35/35)
Irin Combat Shotgun (3/6, 15lbs)
Status: New Hensfield, Mindbarred (Anna). Medium Cover, -4 to incoming attacks, -2 to outgoing attacks.
Health: 27/95
Stamina: 24/105 (+6-3) (LINKED with Tyrin, 109/109 stamina available. 1 free psionic per round)
Carried weight: /130
Attire: Colonist Worksuit, Limbo Medium Body Armor (8/115, 25lbs)
Inv:
Kapre Light Rifle (11/15, 16lbs)
Renfield SMG (10/30, 10lbs)
Combat Knife x2 (1ls)
.30 cal rifle clip (15/15) x1
.115 spike pack (30/30) x1
.225 Convention magazine (25/25) x1
.220 Gauss Magazine (5/35)
Combat Blade (8lbs)
Jormungandr Assault Rifle (25/35A 35/70E, 16lbs) -Reflex Sight-
Satyr Light Pistol (25/25, 4lbs)
Status: New Hensfield, South-east. Mindbarred (controlling), +25 A.Empathetics (1), Stimpack (2, second dose).
Health: 59/79
Stamina: 85/85 (+3)
Carried weight: 95/150
Attire: Colonist Worksuit, Limbo Medium Body Armor (54/115, 35lbs)
Inv:
Energy Cell x1 (Full)
Artemis Railgun (0/3E, 0/3A, 18lbs)
Kapre Light Rifle (8/15, 16lbs)
Medical Kit (9/10, 5lbs)
First Aid Kit (10/10, 5lbs)
Bandages (4/5, 2lbs)
Combat Knife (1lbs)
ALR Broadbeam (4/10 E, 14lbs)
.30 Cal pistol clip (10) x1
Field Surgery Kit (9/10, 5lbs)
Satyr Light Pistol (25/25, 4lbs)
Technocrat Tags
Status: New Hensfield, South-east. Mindbarred (Anna)
'Hickie', Unchained Psionic
Health: 25/65
Stamina: 68/70
Armor: 59/65
Weapon: Kapre Light Rifle (14/15); Ichneumon AA Rifle (1/1)
Status: Fine
Jeremiah, Unchained Psionic
Health: 19/65
Stamina: 30/70
Armor: 26/65
Weapon: Sleipnir SMG (Dual, 25/25 A, 50/50E. 25/25A, 50/50E) [holstered] ; Jormungandr Assault Rifle (25/35A, 60/70E)
Status: Unconscious
'Wigs', Unchained Kineticist
Health: 57/109 (MHD = 40)
Stamina: 41/115
Armor: 71/115
Weapon: Basilisk Pulse Rifle (2/10)
Status: Fine