James Evan
Throw all three shrikes at it at -1 difficulty, and get closer to it, jumping off of the ship onto it if possible.
James Evan: 38+0-1 = 37
Technocrat Wight: 60+20-4 = 76
[Soak 13+1, No more concussion] Maybe you had a tell, maybe the technocrat recognized you were going to attack, or maybe they planned to attack whether you surrendered or not. For whatever reason, the Technocrat moves before you do, hurling a small sphere through the smoke that separates you. [Wight Quickshot 19 vs James Kinesthesia 7-1+1] The sphere detonates just before it reaches you, scattering a web of thin fibers in a broad net that partially encases your body. [I.S 9, Shield Activates] [P.K 16+2] Or rather, it encases the air a few inches in front of your body. The fibers bond behind your back, then fall to the ground in a loose skirt of ropy webbing.
You step out of the webbing and retaliate immediately, running across the ship while loosing the energy you stored in a hard and fast burst. [Two misses, one hit. -6 armor. (4 negated by armor, 5 negated by perk)] Smoke whirls, and you catch a glimpse of gouges in the dirt appearing to either side of the technocrat, but your actual target seems largely unfazed. You try not to think about how badly that puts the odds against you as you leap off the ship. [Mobility 18] You roll as you hit the dirt, coming up in a fighting stance. You're a little more than a dozen feet apart, and you can see your opponent clearly. They're about your height, armored in a light battle suit, and, aside from several other grenades and a pistol, appear to be mostly unarmed. They also appear pretty much unharmed. [Observation 4] No immediate weaknesses occur to you, and you're starting to think that being on top of the ship might have been safer.
[Luck 15] The itch in your chest is stronger, and it feels like its spreading. Not that it really matters right now.
Health: 72/88
Stamina: 27/100
Carried weight: 171/300
Attire: Exarch Dress uniform [8lbs] James' Light Body armor 37/50 (50/50) [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 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: New Hensfield.
---
Ashley Fey"This better not come back to bite us in the ass, it's fortunate for you that I actually like Dominique" Ashley looks over at Harry "Yeah., I'm not too happy with the SOB right now, but if he can come though and actually help us against the voice ... plus it means we don't hurt any more innocents that just happen to be working for the other guy"
"As long as you clear my bad name and let your people know that I'm willing to deal in exchange for tech, I'm sure we can keep the ass biting to an absolute minimum. Of course, if we do get to be on better terms, what's a little ass biting between friends?" Taric's smiles at you impudently, apparently feeling quite safe when Dominique is within arms reach. Not surprising when you consider that if it weren't for Dominique standing guard over Taric like a five foot tall Reaper, it really would be tempting to stick one of your blades someplace sensitive.
You console Harry, and he grunts in agreement. He's here for the mission, not to beat up random arrogant almost-teens with delusions of grandeur. He'd undoubtedly be happy if that happened to intersect with the mission, but he's a good soldier. He'll follow your orders.
Health: 159/159
Charge: 159/159
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]
---
Dominique Wakeman"Right. Just be irritable, easy to piss off, and quick to break teeth. I think I can manage that." Dom nodded and inspected the make-up kit to see what Taric meant by 'settings'.
"Yeah, just be you," Taric says after he finishes tweaking Ashley, "except without all the cuddly bits and desire to call other people 'boss' all the time. You just need to be a rough and ready killing machine with a heart of gauss iron. If someone actually asks you to do something administrative, just shoot them in the leg and call it 'leadership'. Remember, the Hensfield colonists weren't sure of what we were despite the fact that Tarran was completely, stupidly, honest with them. Ninety-percent of being a Technocrat is the uniform, and you've already got that part down."
[Intuition 15+1] Uniform, and other little things like being able to pass voice recognition, blood-sample access codes, and a whole host of other things that you're not sure if a fake ID is going cover. Still, Taric is confident, and, even if he's batshit insane most days of the week, he's one of the smarter people you know. Not that that's going to help a lot if the makeup box can't do more than lather cheap rouge and eyeliner on some Administrator's harem girls. You pop the lid of the box open and look inside. It looks like a tiny computer. A durable solid screen display flicks on when you open the case, but there doesn't seem to actually be any makeup in the case. Four large, friendly looking buttons appear on the screen. 'Content Link', 'Manual Control', 'Settings', and 'Presets'.
You tap presets.
The screen shifts, splitting down into a series of different options. Most of them appear to have been turned into blank fields, leaving only three options left. 'Nurse Love', 'Rebel Yell', and the much out of place 'Harlequin Aoibheann'. You tap the Harlequin's option experimentally. Three parts of the lower panel of the box detach, lengthening into a trio of thin, snake like appendages focused on your head. The screen display shifts again, now reading: "Please hold still during targeting for maximum applicator efficacy. Press continue when ready." Thankfully, there's also an abort button, and you press it before the snakes can give you a makeover. The applicators retract and you shut the box hastily. That answers your questions about how this is going to work, even if it is going to be rather creepy.
"Happy?" Taric asks after you shut the box. "It's the best I could do on short notice, and it should get you through a quick inspection. At least, it will as long as you don't get scrubbed down before hand, and I don't think you'll absolutely be needing to bathe between putting your makeup on and rescuing your husband. Unless you get somebody exploded on you, but, honestly, what are the odds of that happening
again?" Taric adds with a dismissive shrug.
Taric doesn't sound as flippant when he continues. "But, I suppose this is it. Emily is in the shuttle already, and she has the course to where I found your husband. As long as Ash is okay with punching in the course to her station to the ship's system, everything should be smooth running. I wish you could have just ended up staying here and working with me, but I can understand that you need to do this. Just finish your business, make sure whatever needs to be done with Ash gets done, and come back in one piece. I would have to do a lot of work by myself if your were dead, and that would make me very unhappy. Good luck." Taric extends his hand, and he pulls you into a half-handshake half-hug when you take it.
---
Taric Sizier Taric watched as the shuttle smoothly slid out of the dock, ascending the massive tower that would take it out of the facility and outside Mahdavi's canopy. He smiled faintly. He wasn't exactly 'happy', but he wasn't 'sad' either. He'd made the right choice. He still had a chance.
You should have killed her. We agreed, you understood, you told me yourself why it was necessary. What possessed you to make this foolish change to our plans? Taric shook his head mentally, tweaking his collar as he talked to the newborn voice inside his head. It had become something of a habit. "She convinced me otherwise," he said to the open air. "And 'we' don't have plans. I have plans, you're the help." It felt good to talk. Doing everything inside his head when Dominique was around had been difficult. The legacy of his fight with the Father was as irritating as it was useful.
She 'convinced' you? You foolish little boy, you're only convincing yourself. She doesn't love you. If she did, she wouldn't have left. If she did, she'd still be here with you. But now she's gone, going to another man who happens to be her husband. You were a tool, Sizier, nothing more. "She's going to come back, she said she would. I believe her, and she's not the kind to lie." Perhaps he was being foolish, but he'd spent a great deal of his life doing things that other people told him were foolish. Seemed a shame to stop now.
The voice in his head was silent for a time.
Can we still agree that the remaining survivors need to be liquidated or turned to the hybrid strain? Taric grimaced. "Dominique wouldn't like that. She'd want to save them, or something. Maybe we should just let them go. We could call off the ambushers and let them walk out of here like we told them."
He couldn't see it, but Taric could feel the voice sighing.
She would understand. She never objected to your empire, and we both know that she's not as brainless as the maintenance drudge she comes off as. She would understand the sacrifice necessary to do what you do. If she really does love you, if she could love you, then she could love your ambitions too. You need to do this, you need soldiers to carve an empire worth having. Think of it, when she returns, and you have a force strong enough to make yourself a 'lord' to more than computers. Think of that moment, and tell me what needs to be done. Taric paused, then nodded. The voice had a point. It had been foolish at first, demanding servitude, but it had grown increasingly cooperative and reasonable the longer he held it in his mind. "Very well. The conversion continues."
---
Dominique Wakeman and Ashley Fey The inside of the shuttle is nice. Not nearly as nice as the Virtue, but a lot better than it should be, and certainly a massive step up from Ashley's crash-lander. It was designed to seat a maximum of forty in four very tightly spaced rows of ten seats, but now only one row of ten seats is left. Everything else had been stripped out and converted to a bar and lounge. It's a nice gesture, even though it's also pretty clear that no two pieces of furniture come from the same place and it all still smells of industrial cleanser.
Dominique's two immortals take seats as soon as the get on board, apparently content to sit and wait everything out. Wallflowers to the bone.
Emily's voice, unchanged since the elevator, greets everyone as the enter in a sweetly detached kind of way and starts the engines as soon as everyone is in. Both Ashley and Dom can feel the shuttle moving, ascending through whatever mechanism that the Father used to get the Virtue in here.
"Assuming an unobstructed path to orbit and minimal anti-air bombardment, we should break atmosphere in five minutes. I have a course for the Teras research station, are there any other headings?"
Health: 128/128
Stamina: 120/120
Carried Weight: 124/210
Attire: Harlequin Uniform, Styx Assault Armor (150/150, 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
Chitin Nodule
Status: Fine.
---
Tyrin and AnnaHit the sniper with a level 4 surge at -1 difficulty, then lay suppressing fire on the troopers with the light rifle.
Tyrin thanked the medic, asking him to leave any medical supplies with him and to tend to the others as given the situation, they needed every hand possible to hold a gun. He would tend to his own wounds.
Seeing no enemy, Tyrin decides to tend to his own wounds, glancing around the landscape for any area they could take cover if the worst happened, or if any other person is nearby.
Anna: 84+6-1= 89
Tyrin: 73+3-3= 73
Marshal Feuer: 43+6-3= 46
Unchained Kineticist: 58+3-3= 58
Unchained Psionic 1: 98+6-2= 102 (Double Action)
Unchained Psionic 2: 12+6-2= 16
Technocrat Destroyer: 99+3-6= 96
Technocrat Sniper: 42+15-4= 53
Technocrat Sharpshooter: 79+6-3= 82
Technocrat Trooper 1: 19+3-3= 19
Technocrat Trooper 2: 50+3-3= 50
Damien Smith: 40+3-9= 34
Hickie [mobility 14] moves up behind Anna as soon as Tyrin makes it clear that he doesn't need additional aid, leaving his former patient a first aid kit at his request.
The destroyer releases the built charge in the pulse laser a split second later, sending a broad spray of light into the unchained's position. [Fire Control 11+1+1, 24% max, 18% against light cover, 15% against mid cover. Wigs take 9 hits, Unchained Psionic 2 takes 8 hits, Feuer takes 6 hits, Anna takes 4 hits] [Wigs I.S 83, no shield] (Wigs armor -31, 27 negated) (Unchained Psionic 2 -23 armor, 16 negated) [Feuer I.S roll 53, no shield] (Feuer Armor -21 , 30 negated) (Anna armor -21, 8 negated) The barrage is blinding, filling the air with the hiss of flash-drying earth and the lightning crackle of high intensity beams. The kineticist takes the brunt of the barrage, but the sheer volume of incoming fire leaves no one untouched. Miraculously, however, all of the damage inflicted appears to be armor only. Despite being considerably less protected and slightly blind, the rebels are fine.
Anna, scorched but unharmed, attacks the sniper mentally. The Destroyer is a large, painfully obvious threat, but the size of the hole the sniper put in Tyrin's side is a testament to his abilities. The odds of living through this are going to increase dramatically as soon as that rifleman is out of the picture. [Surge 11+1+1-1, Two Effects, 22, Three Effects, 10 Moderate Pain, 1 Nothing, 17 Severe Dyskinesia ] [Control 2, Cost +25%] (-25 Stamina) Pain fills the sniper's mind as Anna pushes energy into it, making the man twitch and jerk as random parts of his brain overstimulate.
The Technocrat Sharpshooter sights to the limit of his range, training his rifle on Wigs.
Tyrin continues to patch up his chest, [11+1, 22+1, 12+1, 17, 18; 83/75] improving upon Hickie's work. It's a lot harder than starting from scratch, but the results are good. (HP +15 [Diminishing Returns])
Wigs Flattens himself completely into the ditch, waiting the spray of fire out. [Stamina 4] (+2 Stamina)
The sniper struggles to stay on target, [Soak 13, marksman bonus lost] and partially succeeds. [Quickshot 5-4-3+1+2] It was a bad shot to begin with, and the sniper's uncooperative body twists it a mile off track.
The healthier trooper advances along the fence. [mobility 6] The combination of fire and personal fear making him move slowly.
"Hold for a little longer," Feuer grunts as he dusts embers off his armor. "Everyone but Wigs, pull back after the next volley. Tease them, but do not engage fully or make a kill until they're over the trench!" [Mark 11+1][Control 1 Cost +50%] (Feuer -5 stamina) Another psionic flare burns to life to the south as the Marshal finishes, pinpointing the sniper.
Damien orders the infantry to curb their fire, trying to keep them from killing the rebels before their time. [Diplomacy 1, Bonus Negated] The Destroyer clips back into the channel immediately, replying in a calm tone bereft of either obstinance or obedience. "Sir, we are under order the Presbyter's orders to purge the rebel element from the colony. We are
all, under orders." The emphasis isn't subtle, and Damien can't help but miss the insinuation that he's breaching orders by suggesting the unchained breathe longer than is absolutely necessary.
The injured trooper [Morale 22-2] charges forwards, a model of bravery under fire. [Mobility 20] He joins the sniper and the destroyer at the entrance to the fields.
The psionic in the trench starts enhancing the cover, [Wall 11] [Luck 20, full strength] [Control 5 Cost +10%] (Stamina -15) adding a two foot tall and twenty-four foot long guard to the top of the trench.
Hickie whistles to the psionic in the trench, then tosses his rifle over. The trench is a bit full at the moment, and a rifle will do more good in his hands than the medic's. For the moment.
(Tyrin gets FAK, Trooper 1 doesn't have to make Morale checks anymore)
(75HP shield covers the trench)
Health: 53/79
Stamina: 53/85
Carried weight: 57/150
Attire: Colonist Worksuit, Limbo Medium Body Armor (78/115, 35lbs)
Inv:
Medical Kit (9/10, 5lbs)
First Aid Kit (10/10, 5lbs)
Bandages (4/5, 2lbs)
Combat Knife (1lbs)
ALR Broadbeam (8/10 E, 14lbs)
.30 Cal pistol clip (10) x1
Status: New Hensfield, South-east.
Health: 96/95
Stamina: 36/105
Carried weight: /130
Attire: Colonist Worksuit, Lethe Armored Infiltration Suit (15/50, 20lbs)
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
Status: New Hensfield, South-east. Stimpack (1), Medium Cover -3 to incoming attacks -1 to outgoing attacks.
'Hickie', Unchained Psionic
Health: 61/65
Stamina: 64/70
Armor: 59/65
Weapon: Chimera Pistol [15/15]
Status: Fine,
Ranges,
Trooper 1: Obstructed
Trooper 2: Obstructed
Sharpshooter: Obstructed
Sniper: Obstructed
Destroyer: Obstructed
Damien Smith: Obstructed
Unchained Psionic
Health: 59/65
Stamina: 55/70
Armor: 26/65
Weapon: Sleipnir SMG (Dual, 25/25 A, 50/50E. 25/25A, 50/50E) [holstered] ; Loaned Kapre Light Rifle (14/15)
Status: Fine, Light Cover, -2 to incoming attacks.
Ranges,
Trooper 1:21RI
Trooper 2: 32RI
Sharpshooter: 28RI
Sniper: 22RI
Destroyer: 21RI
Damien Smith: 23RI
'Wigs', Unchained Kineticist
Health: 98/109
Stamina: 94/115
Armor: 48/90 (3/5 charges)
Weapon: Basilisk Pulse Rifle (8/10)
Status: Fine, Light Cover, -2 to incoming attacks.
Ranges,
Trooper 1: 21RI
Trooper 2: 31RI
Sharpshooter: 27RI
Sniper: 21RI
Destroyer: 20RI
Damien Smith: 23RI
Marshal Feuer
Health: 126/130
Stamina: 111/135
Armor: 65/100 (Full Cell)
Weapon: Hellhound SMG (25/30)
Status: Fine, Light Cover, -2 to incoming attacks.
Ranges,
Trooper 1: 22RI
Trooper 2: 33RI
Sharpshooter: 29RI
Sniper: 22RI
Destroyer: 21RI
Damien Smith: 24RI
Technocrat Trooper 1
Health: 29/70
Stamina: 70/70
Armor: 8/115
Weapon: Jormungandr Assault Rifle (35A 70E)
Status: Fine, Light Cover, -2 to incoming attacks.
Ranges,
Unchained Psionic: 22RI
Hickie: Obstructed
Wigs: 21RI
Marshal Feuer: 22RI
Tyrin Laveros: Obstructed
Anna Witheld: 25RI
Technocrat Trooper 2
Health: 55/70
Stamina: 23/70
Armor: 90/115
Weapon: Jormungandr Assault Rifle (35A 70E)
Status: Fine, Light Cover, -2 to incoming attacks.
Ranges,
Unchained Psionic: 32RI
Hickie: Obstructed
Wigs: 31RI
Marshal Feuer: 33RI
Tyrin Laveros: Obstructed
Anna Witheld: 36RI
Technocrat Sharpshooter
Health: 49/49
Stamina: 55/55
Armor: 90/115
Weapon: Kapre Light Rifle (11/15)
Status: Fine, Light Cover, -2 to incoming attacks.
Ranges,
Unchained Psionic: 28RI
Hickie: Obstructed
Wigs: 27RI
Marshal Feuer: 29RI
Tyrin Laveros: Obstructed
Anna Witheld: 31RI
Technocrat Sniper
Health: 77/77
Stamina: 55/75 -20 (2)
Armor: 115/115
Weapon: Artemis Railgun (2/3A, 2/3E)
Status: Medium pain (2), Severe Dyskinesia (2), Light Cover, -2 to incoming attacks.
Ranges,
Unchained Psionic: 22
Hickie: Obstructed
Wigs: 21RI
Marshal Feuer: 22RI
Tyrin Laveros: Obstructed
Anna Witheld: 25RI
Technocrat Destroyer
Health: 96/105
Stamina: 95/95
Armor: 115/150
Weapon: Sol Pulse Laser (50/100)
Status: Fine, Light Cover, -2 to incoming attacks.
Ranges,
Unchained Psionic: 21RI
Hickie: Obstructed
Wigs: 20RI
Marshal Feuer: 21RI
Tyrin Laveros: Obstructed
Anna Witheld: 23RI
Author
Topic: Deviation-22. The End of All Things. (Read 537266 times)