Dominique WakemanDom nodded. "That's why I'm really hoping we can get this mess straightened out. I don't wanna hurt you either." She looked at the Immortals. "...I feel sorry for these guys. I know why you hate the Father so much. The proof of what kind of asshole he is is right in front of us. Hell, I've talked to him myself; I dunno if I told you this, but I took a nap earlier when we were all here and exploring and that guy took over my dreams, tried to get me to sell out my team and yours too. I don't know what exactly he wanted. I got woke up before we could talk much, luckily."
She thought for a moment. "Hmm. If the Father is an AI, then how did he get into my dreams? That sounds like a psychic sort of thing. Is he more than an AI? Do you know?" she asked Ash.
You feel the tension ease gradually as you and Ashley talk. At heart, or whatever she has in there, she seems to be a decent person. She probably isn't convinced that Taric is full of warm fluffy bunnies and a desire to altruistically advance mankind, but that puts her on a similar footing with you.
[Intuition 22] An odd thought occurs to you when you mention the dream the Father induced in your mind. You remember the dream vividly, and you have no doubt that what the Father did was an Empathetic twist. Of course, if the Father used empathetics once, he could use them again. You had sensed the Father was weak, psionically speaking, but it still doesn't quite fit with Taric's story of events.
Regardless, now you have to decide what to actually do with Ashley.
Health: 128/128
Stamina: 120/120
Carried Weight: 166/210
Attire: Harlequin Uniform, Styx Assault Armor (137/150, 60lbs. Integrated Power cell charged 3/3, Internal Ammunition Supply [Cerico, 16])
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
Status: Floor 15
---
Ashley Fey"He is the strongest single mind I have ever seen or felt, that is all I know, and he seems hell bent on controlling everything, we can't just let him run rampant, you can see why I am skeptical that your Tarric, actually won, but I will give you the benefit of the doubt, for now"
Dominique seems to be winning her side of the argument when she demonstrates that the Immortals are fully under her control. The conclave fought the Father on even terms, but perhaps a psionic edge... You know too little to postulate, but Dom seems to have a solid case for now. Enough that you don't feel an imminent need to kill her.
Harry, however, is still working on his project. You could leave him working as insurance policy, or you could call him off as a show of good faith, but you'll probably have to pick one soon.
Health: 91/91
Charge: 135/135
Carried weight: 115/150
Attire: Plain gray under armor padding. Midguard Hardened Armor (112/140, 60lbs)
Inv:
Garou Repeating Cannon (9/12) (19lbs)
15 MM bonding charges x1
Ashley's Leanashe Assault Rifle [10/30 18lbs]
4.73 mm Caseless box mags x1
Cirri Light pistol [20/20 4lbs]
Energy cell x2
basic medical supplies [1/5] (5lbs)
Manticore Pistol [9/10 6lbs]
Mechanical Bypass kit 1/5 [3lbs]
.
---
James EvanThough workable, James' thought processes weren't doing so well in the first place. He'd had a serious concussion, after all, and not that much time had passed. So when the cold began freezing him to death, his speed of mind bombed again. He could still think in goals though. And he had quite a simple one- get through to Tarran. With that, James threw all caution to the wind, unable to properly think about consequences. He raged on the door, body and mind.
Get that door open, using a combination of strength and practically random Slams. Place no regard for my own safety but prioritize Tarran's (to the best of my ability).
James = 85+0-18
Environment = 29
[Soak 16, concussion reduced to mild] [P.Kinetics 15+1-1][A.Kinetics 7-1][Brawl 19+1-1] (-15 stamina) You wrench at the door with a combination of psionics and raw strength. Warped metal squeals as you slide the door open enough for you to throw your body clear of the freezing mist.
The inside of engineering is dark. Very Dark. [observation 20+1-1] Surprisingly, the cold seems to have cleared your head a little, and you're able to focus your eyes well enough to pick out Tarran's body against the darkness. [Luck 4] He's unconscious and covered in small cuts and burns. The maintenance panel that must have been covering his bomb is embedded halfway in his left leg. The good news is that the edges of the wound appear cauterized by the heated metal, the bad news is that you're not sure you're going to be able to move him without breaking the wound open.
[Luck 3] The ship lurches suddenly, and you feel the course shifting as Hoke stops making the little alterations to the flightpath. If Hoke ejected...
Well, at least you'll have your feet on the ground shortly.
Health: 74/88
Stamina: 58/100
Carried weight: 171/300
Attire: Exarch Dress uniform [8lbs] James' Light Body armor 40/50 (50/50) [25lbs] Emergency VIP Drop Suit (30lbs, Armor 16/35)
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 3/7 -Frangible Rounds-)
.50 caliber Frangible pistol clips (7) x1
Irin Combat Shotgun 3/6 (15lbs)
Dybbuk Flechette Canister Rifle (1/2 35 lbs)
20 mm flechette canisters (x2, 1 lb)
Emergency VIP Drop Suit (30lbs, Armor 35/35)
Status: The Virtue, Luxury rooms. Mild Concussion, next save [5].
---
Anna Withheld and Tyrin Laveros"Tyrin! Fuck!" Anna yelled as she heard the railgun and saw a spray of red come from the man. "Jenna! Our position has been pegged if that railgun is firing at us! We've got to bail before the gunship pulls around!"
With that, she turned to the colonists that were still remaining.
"Is there a back way out of this building? A window or something? We've got to get out of here, fast! Can one of you give me a hand with these two?"
Shut off the mindbar, grab Jenna and Tyrin and head out the back if the colonists say there is one. Otherwise, take a deep breath to focus and try to use my powers to get a rough position on the sniper. Notify everyone of where the sniper is if I can get a bead.
Tyrin looked at Jenna and weakly gave her a nod, thanking her for that. He could feel..well, in a well described form, warmth radiating from his wound. He didn't know blood would be this warm..and if so, this was a very precarious situation.
"J-jenna..go over to Anna. T-" She's right there. "Please try to convince Ced to take us in. We can't go out this way."
..What if she doesn't believe me.
Then I must lie to her. We'll all die if we try this exit!
...And this wound. I wonder if it hit my organs.
"They've guns trained right at the door. We need to make our own way out. Blow down the wall. And not in this direction. If they can muster enough force to get me like that, then they're dead set to kill anyone who exits this building.
"Which means the colonists are also free targets now. Do you have anything we could use?"
Try to stabilize wound. And..err, try to wonder if I can prod Ced on this unfortunate matter and to try..to ask to go into the backroom--where it leads?
The leader of the colonists stares hard at Anna when she asks for his help. [Diplomacy 16+1] He's silent for a moment, considering whether or not to leave Tyrin and Anna to their own ills. They are, after all, the indirect reason for his life being torn apart. Eventually he stands up from his daughter and motions for the other colonist to grab Tyrin. He jerks his head to the door to the northeast, "only other way out is through that door," he says finally, his voice raw. "Don't know that it will do you a lot of good. We're all dead anyway."
Anna helps Jenna support herself, walking her over to the indicated door while the other colonist pulls Tyrin along behind. [P.Empathetics 16+1] Anna opens the door a crack, pushing her senses out a little in order to try and get a bead on the sniper. Several minds other than Tyrin's and the colonists stand out, but they're somewhere to the north, unlikely to be the sniper.
Tyrin lets himself be half-dragged, half-carried by the colonist. He paws at the bloody hole in his armor in stunned fascination. Treating that kind of an injury is going to have to wait until someone can help him peel the armor off, but he can try to slow the bleeding... [Medicine 17-4] Tyrin cinches a set of bandages down over his armor. It's a stopgap, but it should slow the bleeding a little until he could get better treatment.
(Bleeding reduced to moderate)
Health: 84/95
Stamina: 11/105
Carried weight: /130
Attire: Colonist Worksuit, Lethe Armored Infiltration Suit (40/50, 20lbs)
Inv:
Kapre Light Rifle (14/15, 16lbs)
Renfield SMG (10/30, 10lbs)
Combat Knife x2 (1ls)
.30 cal rifle clip (15/15) x1
.115 spike pack (30/30) x1
Status: New Hensfield, South-east.
Health: 18/79
Stamina: 68/85
Carried weight: 52/150
Attire: Colonist Worksuit, Limbo Medium Body Armor (78/115, 35lbs)
Inv:
Medical Kit (9/10, 5lbs)
Bandages (4/5, 2lbs)
Combat Knife (1lbs)
ALR Broadbeam (9/10 E, 14lbs)
.30 Cal pistol clip (10) x1
Status: New Hensfield, South-east. Moderate Bleeding (Loses 7 stamina per turn until health and stamina equalize, then loses health slowly)
Light Green Hollow Face: Jenna
Dark Red Hollow Face: Armed Colonist
Light-Grey Hollow Face: Unarmed Colonist
Light Blue Hollow Face: Anna
Deep Blue Hollow Face: Tyrin
Teal filled face: Trooper
Teal filled face with gold background: Sharpshooter
Cyan Face with gold background: Sniper
Cyan Filled face with light-grey background: Destroyer
White Filled face: Damien
Teal G with grey background: Approximate Gunship location (+about 20 tiles on the z axis)
?: Unknown Entity
---
Gunship "Main cannons are locked, engines are primed for firing burn. We're ready to attack, sir. However..."
"However, what?"
"Heat signatures are erratic within the building, one of our snipers may have just pegged a target. Judging by signal fade most of the remaining targets are moving underground."
"All the more reason to attack now. Full firing burn, set the spread for both cannons to hit the entire structure."
The gunship's engines pushed forwards hard, and the cannons pushed back. Osmium-192 cored rail slugs slammed into the small structure protecting Tyrin and Anna, barely slowing down as they punched through the walls. [Jenna Luck 20,] [Anna Luck 11] [Tyrin Luck 12] [Colonist Luck 10] [Colonist Leader Luck 20] The firing pattern moves outwards from the building's center, filling the structure with spall and shrapnel. Jenna gets lucky, Anna's body serving to protect her from the flying metal. (Anna Armor -5, HP -5, 1 negated). The colonist leader is untouched, but both Tyrin and the colonist supporting him get struck. (Tyrin Armor -14) (Colonist HP -16) Tyrin's armor, despite the one crucial hole, holds fast against barrage. The unarmored colonist isn't so lucky, and stray debris tears into his shoulder.
---
Damien SmithWait for the dropship to get into position, then jump out and take stock of the situation. Get ready to retaliate at any attackers.
The captain didn't bat an eyelash at Damien's impertinence. Damien was Church property, and, until such time as they reigned him in, he had an indecent amount of freedom. The captain simply nodded coldly and turned back to his post. Damien smiled and slipped back into the gunship's claustrophobic drop bay. There were perks to being... whatever he was.
Normal people needed a drop harness or an old fashioned 'chute to use on of these bays, but, then again, Damien had never been a normal person. At least, not that he could remember. He punched in an override code, and the bay doors opened. Wind rushed in, and Damien loosened his body in preparation for the drop. No two were ever alike.
Damien watched the field under the gunship slow and finally stop as the pilot put the craft into a hover. Damien paused a moment, rode out the brief mid air hop as the cannons kicked online, then let himself fall out of the gunship.
[Passive Kinetics 22+1] Earth erupted with transferred force as Damien hit the ground from a hundred foot free fall. The psionic simply dusted himself off, flicking off the low-velocity bits of dirt and colonist fungus that the shield armor hadn't excluded. There would come a time when that trick wouldn't work, but Damien didn't really care. It had worked today. [Observation 21] Damien noted a military sniper and a destroyer bunkered down with trio of troopers to the south-east of the building that the gunship was hammering. Shapes move in the smoke to the north, but it was impossible to tell whether they were Technocrat, Unchained, or colonists too stupid to get out of the way.
There was an odd sound in the air, audible faintly above even the remorseless thunder of the gunship's main guns. It sounded... large, but Damien couldn't quite tell what it was.
Health: 79/79
Stamina: 85/85
Carried weight: 105/150
Attire: Technocrat Uniform, Asgard Shield Armor 75/75 (150/150, 35lbs)
Inv:
Hellhound Beam SMG (30/30, 15lbs)
Abassy (7/7, 8lbs)
Laelaps Laser Rifle (12/12, 17lbs)
.50 cal pistol clip (7) x4
Energy Cell (Full) x8
Ichneumon (2/2, 25lbs)
Field Surgery Kit (10/10, 5lbs)
1" sabot rounds (2) x8
Status: Hensfield field, mindbar
Author
Topic: Deviation-22. The End of All Things. (Read 527567 times)