• Starpath: Scoundrels of the Interstellar Highway - Thread 2
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Taylor plopped down at the setup that Mercy had constructed with Jason, then began to peel off the melted and damaged bits of her power armor. This was gonna suck to repair. Armor plates would need to be bought, systems double checked for damage...just a mess. She pulled her helmet off, and inspected the damage to her body beneath the plates. Minor burns, lots of bruises. She hurt all over. But she wasn't out of the fight. Not as long as Mercy could patch her up. She looked over towards the others. "Did we get 'em? Did we kill Rask? Where's Frosty and Moloch?" she asked, coughing afterwards. Meanwhile, Valk was ordering her drones to split up and focus on individual targets. One of the drones was tasked with covering Moloch and Frosty, opening fire on those shooting at them. Another drone focused on covering Neasha, opening fire with its machine gun. The remaining two were tasked with firing on the Ayr, unleashing automatic fire and rocket propelled grenades on them.
Vakarus turned his head sideways. "Is this some sort of heretical mindtrickery Alex'vakrin or is it just a reference to something irrelevant to our current situation?" He observed Alex closely. "There is still hope for House Koronov, come with me. You and Amy'vakrin can live safely on Adanis. Yuga'atvan has promised me that." ----- Iron walked up to Taylor. "Need help?" He nodded towards the hangar door. "Looks like your band o' gunslingers got both traitors."
"In these past two years you didnt learn a thing about me, did you?" Alex answered with a chuckle. "Or rather. You think you know me. On this day, I see clearly. Everything has come to light." He was carefully taking steps backwards while talking. "You're just like them, Vak. Offering safety in the form of a fancy cage. Backed with empty words." Whatever mockery existed in his voice was replaced with bitterness followed by anger. "I'll give you the same warning as the boyscout. Use my family as a bargening chip against me again. And I. Will. Hurt. You." He turned arround and sprinted up the ramp, grabbing Frosty's severed arm along the way and throwing it inside. --- Amy had hidden behind her cover after taking the shot at Rask. She needed to keep moving. Like Taylor said. She needed to get back to the ship and her best bet was the entrance she used. She turned on her cloack and moved towards the cover closer to the ship.
Vakarus stood still as Alex rushed back towards the ship. Years of friendship now gone. While this saddened Vakarus deeply, Alex had made his choice. "Vakr! Hold your ground!" The warrior sighed deeply. Vakarus unholstered his rifle, kneeled down and fired at Moloch.
In the sky above the battlefield, the Fang ripped into a rapid climb while its on-board fighters scrambled to take off on their bombing run. Siyada's sensory officer reported the rapid change of heading. "[They're coming our way, sir!]" "[Vixe, break off and deliver your marines to the battlefield. We'll handle the cruiser," he ordered. "[All hands, prepare for air-to-air combat!]" Siyada stood and walked to the frontal windows, casting aside the HUD overlay which highlighted the Fang's location. The desolate vista which greeted him was a familiar backdrop on which the Batakya had fought many battles. Some might expect trepidation from a military which has repeatedly failed to capture this ground. Siyada felt confident, however. His opponents weren't khergian savages, and would recognize swift defeat once administered. "[They're deploying fighters,]" an officer warned. "[Meet the threat and eliminate it,]" Siyada replied. The four starfighters, freshly refueled and rearmed, disconnected from the mothership and began to chase the Boome fighters with relentless tenacity. The Viokhmar rolled out to the right and dove, forcing the Fang to choose the closer target. "[In range!]" The weapons officer cried. "[Engage!]" Seth: CH Estimate: 3/5 [B]Actual: 5[/B] Roll Passed. Siyada: CH Estimate: 3/5 x 2(Malevolence) = 1 Roll Passed. As the two ships came within firing distance, they exchanged a blistering volley of shots. The Fang was struck by three laser-guided missiles, the first of which being a directed EMP designed to pierce the shields. Lucky for them, it didn't work, and the following damage was slightly mitigated as a result. The Orikodzek, by comparison, had taken light damage from the bunker-buster style warheads which had been dropped across the ship's upper hull, punching small holes through the armor but failing to damage anything critical. Closer to the ground, the Ryojin, looking like a shadowy monster crouched on the horizon, began to twinkle as the void batteries activated. Yuga: CH Estimate: 3/5 [B]Actual: 1[/B] Roll Failed. Seconds following the flash, the ground along the hillside just ahead of the Boomes exploded into massive pylons of dirt and debris, raining muddy sludge down on the mercenaries but miraculously failing to injure them. In fact, the shot was eerily close to wiping out the ayr right flank instead, who involuntarily dove to the ground at the terrifying moment the strike occurred. Choice words were exchanged over the comm due to the nearly-catastrophic mistake. Meanwhile, the Boomes above gradually unearthed themselves once the mud had finished falling, now shaking as the intention of the Ryojin was made clear. It was highly unlikely to miss again. In the brief silence which followed, the roar of starfighters plunging from the sky alerted them that their air support had finally arrived. ((Due to the already vast complexity of this battle, the fighter wings will be handled as singular units.)) Boome Fighters: CH Estimate: 3/5 [B]Actual: 4[/B] Roll Passed. As they passed over the field, they bombarded the enemy dropship, greatly damaging it in the process. Unbeknownst to the ayr and the vakr, their escape vehicle would only endure one more attack of that scale. The kanad fighters appeared from the mist behind them, filling the sky with their ominous shrieks. They launched air to air rockets against the Boomes. Batakya Fighters: CH Estimate: 2/5 x 2(Malevolence) = 4/5 [B]Actual: 4[/B] Roll Passed. The rockets soared over the battlefield and exploded in rings of death, shrapnel raking and clawing through the bodies of the Boome fighters. As they attempted to cut right for another circular run, one fell out of formation and tumbled into the ground, becoming a funeral pyre for its pilot in the process. The wind and fog had become intense by this point, and the Ryojin disappeared behind the curtain of white. Confusion was taking hold of both sides, and discipline would be difficult to maintain. But on the opposite side of the valley from the Boomes, a new team was readying to deploy. Its neutral gray tones concealed by the poor weather, the Viokhmar was able to land in close proximity to the battlefield. Captain Vixe had no intention of using her ship's guns against the giant carrier, as she wanted to ensure minimal friendly fire, minimal [I]imperfection[/I] in her surgical removal of one of the Collective's most tenacious annoyances. "[Capture anyone you find with a bounty. Kill every irrelevant,]" she said into her comm with a smile. Revenge was calling her. "[Yes, Captain.]" The marine leader signaled for his team, a dozen heavily-armored troopers, to exit the landing ramp. They landed nearly waist-deep in the snow, but centuries of kanad military tradition and technological preparation for winter warfare had made such conditions laughably easy to overcome. They activated a device embedded within their armor which began to cycle air and moisture, super-heating and expelling it from pores throughout the suit's extremities. The snow instantly melted in contact with their persons, and they strode into battle carrying the experience they had gained from the Voyak front. These soldiers were not like those the crew had faced before. Mortars began to fall once more behind the ayr and vakr lines as the battle resumed in full intensity. [B]7 Turns Until the Reactor is Fixed.[/B] ((Actions posted between my last post and this one will occur in the next turn.))
Orso looked to the ship above him. The feeling of dread filled his mind for a moment before he shook it off. He could see that the guns on that thing wouldnt stay silent for long so he had to make a call. "TBC, we cant fight those ships! I'm ordering a retreat. You're gonna have to deal with this on your own." Another voice interupted the comms. "You pull out of this fight and you can forget about comming back to Boome! Mobilize and get out of that killzone, faint a retreat if you have to, but dont actually leave the battlefield. If you do, you will be branded exiles. Do you understand me? TBC, they are still under your command, but they cant stay on that ridge, that will be suicide." Orso cursed under his breath and looked to his men. "Well, you heard the man, get you asses moving! Spread out to avoid getting taken out all together." --- On the Fang, having dealt with the ground team, Seth continued to bark orders to whoever he could. "Fighters, get rid of those houseflies attacking you as soon as possible. As for the rest of you, keep the presure on that ship. Find it's bridge and drop another set of bunker busters on it. If its on the underside, then look for another strategic spot to blast apart." Tarvis couldn keep quiet. "And that other ship that just shot at our guys?" Seth finished off his cigar before replying. "We're going to focus on the ship we're fighting right now. Finish it off and then move on. If we're lucky the Ayr will fuck off. But even if they do, I want that ship's name. It's captain, first mate, chief of security, everyone. Even the janitors and cooks." Tarvis looked confused."What for?" "My shitlist is short. I need to expand it." The Fang's crew went ahead with it's commander's orders. The cannons started to rain fire on The Orikodzek while the ship prepared to drop another ordinance of bunker busters on top of them.
After helping with getting the Boss and Taylor to safety, János turned his attention to the fight. Seeing Moloch and Frosty in dire need of help, he got behind cover. He began switching out a couple of his MAWS' parts, switching out the stubbier ones, and proceeding to pull the machine gun switch on it, extending the barrel and deploying a bipod from underneath the handguard in mere seconds. He placed the gun on the cover, and delivered some suppressive fire for the Artisynths.
Yanim was still in pain, but she grinned as word came that Rask had been killed after all. She opened her comm, determined to steer the crew the rest of the way to victory. "Orso, take your men and charge the valley! They won't risk killing their own marines with friendly fire. Constantine, I want you to target the ayr vessel!" [quote]But we still don't have the power, boss! We'll lose shields-[/quote] "I know; don't fire! Just get a radar lock. We need to protect the Boome advance so we're going to draw some fire," Yanim explained, wincing as she forced herself to sit up. There was no way the ayr ship could know when the Aurikha might be capable of firing again. In the ideal scenario, Yuga would order some sort of evasive maneuver, buying everyone some time. If not, then Yanim said a silent prayer to no one in particular on behalf of the blast doors' structural integrity... an engineer's prayer.
"I hope to the Higher power that you know what you're doing, lady." Orso gritted his teeth. This morning started out great with him staying nice and warm in his cabin. Awayting news from his scouts. Now he was knee deep in mud, shit and snow. Screw it, might as well have some fun with this. "Change of plans, boys. We're going down there. CQC. So get the shotguns, bayonets and fists at the ready. Get that APC moving down there too. Its gun can work real nice for supression. I want them to be in a constant state of shock and awe. Run them over even. I dont care." He spend a moment affixing his own bayonet, before continuing. "Lets have some fun." A few moemnts later, the assault had begun.
The spotter slid down to the Sergeant who was applying a healing gel to his injury. "Sergeant, the opposing force has ceased their mortar fire and are commencing a assault." The sergeant looked around him, his brow deeply furrowed in concentration. His military training had thought him much and now he knew he had to commit to the worst possible scenario, a fighting retreat. "Platoon! Our mission has failed. Fall back to the shuttle! Cover our escape and apply personal protection!" The platoon slung their rifles over ther back and took out small devices which on the press of a button expanded into a small personal plasma shield. With their protection in place they took out smoke grenades and attempted to throw them in such a manner that the wind would give them a sufficient screen to retreat behind. As his men began running past him the sergeant cast a glance towards Vakarus and his commandos. "Retreat, Va'un. That is an order! If you do not I will be forced to leave you behind!" --- The battery commander opened up the comms to the bridge of the Ryojin, "Kapu, we have calibrations for the target. We can strike at the enemy mortars!" Yuga looked onto the hologram of the battle, "Hold your fire. They wouldn't fire mortars into their own troops and we can not fire in fear of our own." She turned to the pilot and the operators at the laser point defense control panels, "Take us in low. Fire in front of assaulting force to send a message." She looked back to the hologram and released some vapors from her compass, "We were here to accomplish a objective, not make more enemies." --- Markus eyed the situation from his cozy position. It was like watching ants go to war outside. Relieved by the apparent ongoing retreat of his formidable marksmen opponents, he turned his rifle on Vakarus who was still fighting. Sting peaked over the cover and decided to join the fray and ran towards the hangar door to be able to assist those still outside. "Boss'll want that blue fokker alive, mate!" Without turning around, Sting answered, "I'll just put his buddies in the dirt then!" With a cheerful chirping warcry, Sting unloaded on the Vakr commandos.
[quote]They're closing in, no radar warnings... I think they're still after the Boomes; either they don't see our target lock or they don't care, Boss.[/quote] Yanim acknowledged Constantine's report. At first things seemed grim, perhaps Yuga was a step ahead again. But then Yanim realized that her rival had made a mistake. "Shnka! In that case, fire on them!" Yanim ordered gleefully. Constantine didn't need to question the order as he immediately understood what his commander had seen: no lock on the Aurikha meant a chance to make a quick strike before dumping power back into the shields, a low-risk, high-reward situation. The guns came online and fired almost instantly, as the computer had already been locked onto its target. The broadside-style barrage was made even easier since the Ryojin had gotten so much closer to the battlefield. Constantine: CH Estimate: 3/5 [B]Actual: 3[/B] Roll Passed. On the Ryojin's bridge, there was barely any warning of the coming attack, as some failure or oversight had prevented the ayr crew of recognizing the Aurikha's attacking stance. There was a panicked shout of "Kapu-!" just before a thundering display of plasma pounded the entire front of the ship and the bridge tower above. The attack was enough to completely strip away the electromagnetic shielding and scorched the metal beneath, blasting away pieces of the bow's armor as well. It ended as quickly as it began, as the Aurikha quickly raised its shields and resumed its defensive posture. The Ryojin meanwhile had sustained the hits well, with no hull breaches to report, but Yuga nonetheless had felt ice in her veins when she realized her miscalculation. Below, the ayr marines had fallen into a retreat in response to the Boomes' charge. The standing orders aboard the Ryojin resulted in a warning shot, aiming for the no man's land in between the two groups, which was growing slimmer by the moment. Yuga: CH Estimate: 4/5 [B]Actual: 3[/B] Roll Passed. The batteries unloaded, once again sending a concussive blast that gouged away at the hillside. The impact was so intense that the Boomes and the ayr alike were made nauseous, but nobody was seriously injured- this time as a case of extremely precise shooting as opposed to inaccuracy. The Boomes would ultimately fail to reach their opponents for the sort of close-quarters combat they had planned for, but the ayr sergeant wanted to be doubly sure that his troops would be protected from a distance. They threw a barrage of smoke grenades toward the Aurikha, hoping to close out the rest of their enemies. Orso: [I]Action Invalidated.[/I] Yanim briefly let out a bit of cackling kanad laughter before tempering herself, having seen the Ryojin take several direct shots. Suddenly reminded of her own wounds, and tired of waiting for Mercy's assistance, she sought to patch herself up with the first aid supplies nearby. CH Estimate: 3/5 [B]Actual: 2[/B] Roll Failed. Unable to discern which medicine was needed for plasma burns, Yanim grumpily decided to wait for the professionals to assist her. She briefly wondered what Gataska was up to, these days. Frosty's arm suddenly flew in through the hangar door, flopping to the ground in the middle of the room. "Vok d'akha?" she blurted. Alex entered a moment later. Squad Leader: CH Estimate: 3/5 [B]Actual: 3[/B] Roll Passed. The ayr troops released their smoke screen, and it, combined with the heavy inclement weather, obscured the enemy line as they broke into a full retreat from battle. Only those who had ventured into the heart of the battle to see what was really going on, and they were all trying to retreat to their own side as well. Only the vakr, standing in the middle ground, were stationary, whereas the kanads on the hill were advancing rapidly toward the hangar ramp, aiming to board the carrier as soon as possible. As if the scene wasn't chaotic enough, the fighters in the sky were relentless as they targeted each other. Alex had gotten lucky by running up the ramp quickly enough that the kanad marines hadn't been able to intervene. Boome Fighters: CH Estimate: 2/5 [B]Actual: 3[/B] Roll Failed. The Boomes had apparently lost sight of their goal of destroying the enemy dropship and had instead decided to address the more immediate threat, their kanad rivals. Their starfighters swung into a dogfight, and after several laps around the field of battle, the Boomes realized they were losing the turning battle. The kanads began to drop onto their tails and get target locks, unnerving since their earlier loss had left them down a fighter pilot. Batakya Fighters: CH Estimate: 2/5 x 2(Malevolence) = 4/5 [B]Actual: 4[/B] Roll Passed. The kanad starfighters let out a terrifying shriek as they closed on their opponents, using the same air-to-air rockets to blast another Boome out of the sky for good. The batakya now outnumbered their opponents 4 to 2, and were eager to establish a monopoly over the sky. --- Far away, the Orikodzek and the Fang were locked in a similar David versus Goliath struggle. The Fang circled around while continuing to climb, trying to remain above the larger kanad battleship so that its ground-based weaponry could still be employed. Seth's team were ordered to target the enemy's bridge, which wasn't difficult to find as it was on top of the ship, near the stern. Commodore Siyada was unfazed, knowing that the Fang couldn't keep up if the Orikodzek simply flew level and in the opposite heading from the Fang. This would limit the latter's window to attack, whereas the batakya's battleship could rely on its accurate missile weapons to target while on the move. Seth: CH Estimate: 2/5 [B]Actual: 1[/B] Roll Failed. Siyada: CH Estimate: 2/5 x 2(Malevolence) = 4/5 [B]Actual: 5[/B] Roll Passed. As the Fang attempted to execute the exact same maneuver as before, the kanad battleship surprised them with its agility and the result was a truly unpleasant affair. The Boomes' bunker busters missed the Orikodzek completely and the smaller weapons failed to penetrate the shields. As the battleship escaped their targeting range, it released a barrage of air-to-air missiles quite like the first, except this time they did what they were supposed to do and blew a [B]massive[/B] hole in the Fang's lower deck, greatly weakening the structural integrity of the vehicle. "[Target confirmed extremely damaged!]" the sensory officer exclaimed to a roar of approval on the bridge. "[Keep at them!]" the Commodore responded. "[We have them right where we want them, now finish the job!]" The Orikodzek veered upward into a climb, twisting so that it would be right side up as it approached the wounded Fang from behind. --- ((Ground battle section coming tomorrow.))
Mercy, now having gotten a nasty shot to her leg, groaned as she pulled herself and Yanim out of the firing line, and set her down into the makeshift triage station. Deciding to let her own leg be for the moment and after taking a few glances at both of her bosses, decided to go and help Yanim first, thinking that Taylor would at least be stable for the next little bit while she helped the [del]fried lizard[/del] Kanad. [Roll for Triage on Yanim]
The vakr stuck to their target despite the chaos unfolding around them, putting Moloch into mortal danger as he fought to recover Frosty from enemy hands. The TBC crew was forced to drastic measures to save him, as he would clearly not survive the sort of barrage that Taylor or even Yanim had received. Moloch wasn't going down easy, either, as he prepped several smoke grenades to create a distraction while he launched himself through the air in a desperate maneuver. Moloch: CH Estimate: 2/5 [B]Actual: 5[/B] Roll Passed. A barrage of plasma closed on Moloch's position, but with a sudden explosion of dark smoke the mystic seemingly disappeared, only to reappear high above the ground moments later, his trajectory high and abnormal to avoid any blind shots into the cloud. Ranak, Vakr 5 and 6: [I]Action Invalidated.[/I] Frustratingly, the same exact trio who failed to finish of Taylor when they had the chance had been outmaneuvered once more. But as Alex ran back into the Aurikha, he left Vakarus in a position to change targets, and he did so after a momentary delay. It was now up to those who had come to the rescue to suppress him. Jason, Warhound 1, and Arkadam: CH Estimate: 1/4 + 1/4 + [1/4 x 2(Malevolence)] = 1 Roll Passed. They brought more than enough firepower to do the trick. In the moment Vakarus lifted his gun to shoot, all three opened fire. It was reckless and most of the shots failed to hit their mark, but enough shots landed on target to force Vakarus back, preventing him from lining up a shot on his rapidly retreating foe. [B]10 DMG[/B] Moloch landed hard in the middle of the ramp and was quickly yanked inside, Frosty slung over his shoulder. His crewmates ushered him back toward the triage station, where, presumably, Moloch could assist with others as soon as his own wounds were patched. It was time to bring the rest of the crew inside as well. Amy decided to avoid the fighting for now and to sneak back toward the maintenance hatch she had crawled out of earlier. CH Estimate: 3/4(Specter) [B]Actual: 1[/B] Roll Failed. Unfortunately, the heavy weather produced an outline which gave her position away to the enemy- a vakr warrior who was thrilled to have a chance at eliminating the sniper who had helped to kill his primary objective. He was joined by three others who needed someone to shoot at. Vakr 1, 2, 3, and 4: {10, 4, 4, 5} x 1.5(Psionics) x 1.75(Concentration) = {26.25... [B]26[/B], 10.5... [B]11[/B], 10.5... [B]11[/B], 13.125... [B]13[/B]} = 61 Amy: DEF Rolls = {4, 4, 1} = 9 [B]52 DMG[/B] Amy HP: 68/100 The vakr plasma rifles tore into Amy, badly wounding her as she continued to scramble toward safety. Eventually she disappeared from view in the heavy fog and snow, but not before the vakr were sure they had inflicted a severe punishment on their enemy. Meanwhile, the four vakr which had been escorting Rask now surrounded Neasha, who lunged back at them with her knife and claws until she had seized onto one of their plasma rifles and forced it out of their hands, while simultaneously stabbing them with her combat knife (Leverage). Neasha: [B]1[/B] x (No Feat Applicable) = [B]1 DMG[/B] The knife failed to fully penetrate the vakr's armor, but nonetheless, Neasha came away with the weapon thanks to her physical strength. The four vakr fought back ferociously. Vakr 7, 8, 9, and 10: {5 + [(9, 7, 1) x 1.5(Psionics)] x 1.75(Concentration)} = {8.75... [B]9[/B], 23.625... [B]24[/B], 18.375... [B]18[/B], 2.625... [B]3[/B]} = 54 Neasha: DEF Rolls = {2, 3, 3, 1} = 9 [B]45 DMG[/B] Neasha HP: 36/99 Only after this exchange had taken place did help arrive from the rest of the crew, as Neasha had been so far from the ramp at the time. The second Warhound drone, backed by Sting and, oddly, Ravis, had all joined in the effort to clear a path for Neasha's return. While the drone worked to pin the warriors down, the other two opened fire to harm them directly. Sting: {6, 6, 4, 7} x 1.75 x (No Feat Applicable) = {10.5... [B]11[/B], 10.5... [B]11[/B], [B]7[/B], 12.25... [B]12[/B]} ((Note: Quickdraw only applies when Sting attacks a single opponent.)) Ravis: [B]{5, 5, 5, 5}[/B] (Consistency) Warhound 2: CH Estimate: 2/5 [B]Actual: 1[/B] Roll Failed. Under attack, the four vakr warriors took numerous shots from Ravis and Sting, but when all was said and done, they weren't overwhelmed, and would be able to attack a target of their choosing. Their main problem at this point was that they were now wounded themselves, and if the TBC crew were to continue pressing them, the whole flank could give out at once. As they looked back, they realized Neasha was already hobbling back toward the Aurikha, and so they were split between the urge to retreat and their orders to stand their ground. Another shot rang out from the Aurikha, this time from Markus's rifle. Markus: [B]9[/B] x 1.25 x 3(Ambusher) = 33.75... [B]34 DMG[/B] Vakarus was knocked to his knees, a lightning bolt running through his abdomen as the sniper's bullet took him by surprise. He quickly forced himself back onto his feet, knowing that he wasn't quite close to dying yet, but would be unless he figured out a strategy right here and now. For a moment, everything seemed to be coming together perfectly for the TBC crew. Rask and Maddox were both dead, the ayr were in retreat, the vakr would likely follow, and the crew had assistance from the Boomes. All they needed to do now was to finish recovering Neasha and Amy and then simply wait until the Aurikha's landing engines could be used to move the ship somewhere safe. There was just one major issue: the kanad marines were now bearing down on the ship. They broke into a full charge, bypassing the vakr who still occupied the middle ground. With the weather having turned to such savage wind and snow, the white battle armor worn by the marines blended in perfectly; the stripes of red trim which normally adorned the surfaces had faded away in the cold. It was a heat-sensitive feature meant to work only when winter camouflage was needed. Thanks to the breakdown happening throughout the rest of the battlefield, the way was almost totally clear for the entire team to assault the ship at once, but when they hit the base of the ramp, a figure spun out to meet them in the hangar bay door: János, with his MAWS configured for machine gun fire. He had originally intended to cover for Moloch, but had acted too slowly. Now he was the first to see the fresh force arrayed against them as he began shooting wildly. After all, someone needed to keep the path open for Neasha to retreat through. János: CH Estimate: 1/4 x 2 (Intimidation) = 1/2 [B]Actual: 1[/B] Roll Failed. As the MAWS sprayed lead in the direction of the marines, they quickly took evasive action and hit the deck. Four landed to the left of the landing ramp and four landed to the right, meaning that only the four in the center were in position to return fire. Kanads 4, 5, 6, and 7: {3, 4, 6, 10} + {8, 8, 8, 8}(Numbers) = {11, 12, 14, 18} = 55 János: DEF Rolls = {4, 1, 3, 8} = 16 [B]39 DMG[/B] János HP: 60/79 The android took a number of shots before getting out of the way, alerting the crew to the immediate threat posed by the batakya's troopers. His suppressive fire hadn't completely halted them, but they were prevented from boarding the ship for a few more seconds as the crew took up positions to defend itself. Mercy had finally decided to do the job she was hired to do. Finding Yanim fiddling with her supplies in desperation, she decided to help the company leader with her wounds first. "It's about time, don't you think?" Yanim hissed at her. "The enemy's at the damned gates!" Mercy sighed as she set to work. CH Estimate: 1/4 [B]Actual: 2[/B] Roll Failed. +20 HP (Triage) Yanim HP: 47/50 With an application of burn salve and some nanites to handle the deeper wounds, and a quick injection of saline, Mercy was able to bring Yanim back to near perfect condition. "That's better... good job," Yanim said with a begrudged nod as she snapped up her rifle. "Now get the captain. Everyone else, get ready!" A metallic voice was carried in on the howling wind. "[Remember Dyatiq! Remember Voyak! No mercy- kill them all!]" The kanads charged up the ramp, 8 with OBVs, 2 with OBNs, one with a VRI, and the last, presumably the Marine Leader, carried and deployed a plasma saber. They arrived. [B]6 Turns Until the Reactor is Fixed.[/B]
Moloch, despite his mortal wounds and being this close to death, tried to suppress the pain from his burning wounds with his psychic abilities as much as he could so he'd be able to focus on getting Frosty back on his feet. Finding his severed arm on the ground, the first thing he was going to do was to reattach it, and then attempt to revive him just as he did on Voyak. (( roll to revive Frosty. ))
"They're coming [I]UP THE[/I] [I][B]GOD DAMN RAMP![/B][/I]" said Valkyrie loudly in the other's direction, as she made her drones shift targets. Once they had acquired targets, Valkyrie examined the group using the camera of one of the drones. Armored up Kanad marines. Hmm. "Switch to Incendiary ammunition. Cook the little fuckers in that fancy armor of theirs. Lob a thermobaric missile at 'em too." she stated into her holotablet. The Warhounds acknowledged the order, switched ammunition types, and opened fire. Meanwhile, Taylor waved Mercy over towards her after she had patched up Yanim. "Hurry up before they get here! And someone get Neasha and Amy inside! Quickly!" she said, before shifting her attention to Yanim. "The rest of you, defensive positions! Bottleneck them!"
Amy clutched the area that was hit. The burning sensation from the plasma was giving her flashbacks she didnt want to have. "Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" She knew she had to get back to the ship. She made another attempt to turn on her cloack and run towards the exit she used before. --- Alex weighted his options with the new arrivals while staying behind cover. He could probably take on the guy with the sword, but he doubted the others would allow for them to have a duel. If he got closer, maybe if he lured him away somehow. "Oh first you have the big boys come and do the dirty work for you and then you come in to finish the job and take all the glory. With this attitude, its no wonder that you wanna-be bolsheviks are so shit at taking planets and keeping them. Like sharks to blood, exept the shark is incapable of swiming and has no teeth and it needs to be pulled by two whales with its mouth open like a retard. No, wait, I'm sorry. Considering your size the regular dolphin must look huge so you confused them for whales. Is the uniform style a fetish thing by the way? You and every other warmonger seem to like that style. Napoleon complexes are a bitch, huh? Didnt know it affected sexual urges too. Top? Bottom? S or M?" [Roll for taunt] --- Orso looked down after the barrage from the ayr ship had halted the assault. His hand shook as it wrapped itself around the piece of shrapnel that had lodged itself into his thigh. With a meaty sound, he took it out and let out a unnatural scream followed by a colorfull display of profanity in several different languages. He was now seeing shades of red in his normal vision. The rage had started to take hold. "Was that a warning shot? You are giving us a warnig shot now? FUCK YOU!" He looked back to his men. "They want to leave so bad, then we will motivate them to move faster. Half of you, start to press them to leave this snowball, the other half with me. We're reinforcing TBC's position." --- The Fang shook as it was hit. Seth knew he had to act now to turn the tide in their favor. A desperate plan formed in his mind, it might be what delivers a crippling blow to the enemy at best or buy them some time at worst. "Prepare the boarding pods for launch and aim them at the enemy ship. Have them loaded up with ordinence reserved for the tanks and artilery and rigged to blow with timed explosives. Rigg em to blow a minute after piercing the hull. If they are dumb enough the enemy fighters will move to intercept them, giving our own an oportunity to fire back. Get the ship higher and the guns aimed at them. And turn it around to face them, I am not having these engines blow up over this planet."
Vakarus watched the kanad marines advance on his former crewmates. He shook his head. The heretic and his corrupted minions were no longer his problem. "Vakr! Retreat!" Yelled Vakarus over the comms channel. Ranak and the rest of the Vakr complied, disengaging from all available targets. The warriors deployed similar shields to that of the Ayr marines and began to rush back towards the dropship.
[video=youtube;MkKMsqH_Hbs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkKMsqH_Hbs[/video] While the battle continued to rage outside, in the air and on the ground, inside the Aurikha the crew was about to meet its Collective enemies. Alex's hurled a perfectly-timed insult at the Marine Leader just before he could enter the hangar. CH Estimate: 1/2 [B]Actual: 2[/B] Roll Passed. When Alex was done talking, the officer motioned for the others to proceed while he dealt with the distraction. It was truly fortunate that the Marine Leader knew enough English that he recognized shit-talking when he heard it. He popped his visor open, revealing his piercing yellow eyes. "You've got a big mouth," his metallic voice replied. "I'll bet your father stretched it nice and wide when you were growing up, you stupid sonofabitch." As he charged Alex, the others stepped up and locked eyes with the opposition. Three out of the four Warhounds were in position to attack first, with the last one accompanying Neasha, Sting, and Ravis. Warhounds 1 and 3: {4, 7}, {4, 10 x Crit(CH1/2, 2, Passed, x2) = 20}, {4, 2}, {10 x Crit(CH1/2, 2, Passed, x2) = 20, 9}, {8, 9}, {9, 9}, {10 x Crit(CH1/2, 1 , Failed), 6}, {2, 9}, {6, 9}, {7, 8}, {5, 9}, x 2(Roboticist) = [B]{22, 48, 12, 58, 34, 36, 32, 22, 30, 30, 28} DMG to Kanads 1-11[/B] Warhound 1 + 3: CH Estimate: 1/3 + 1/3 = 2/3 [B]Actual: 1[/B] Roll Failed. Warhound 4: CH Estimate: 3/5 [B]Actual: 1[/B] Roll Failed. The trap sprung, mincing the enemy kanads with automatic fire from two of the massive droids, their machine guns bearing down with merciless efficiency. The armor worn by the Marines was strong, but with such large-caliber weaponry at such close range, the men inside the suits were shocked by how little protection they had. It could have been even worse, as the incendiary rounds failed to ignite against the cold and wet surfaces of the armor, and the rocket launched by Warhound 4 became stuck on its lugs and detonated within the drone's launcher, failing to do any damage to the enemy but severely damaging itself. [B]20 DMG[/B] Warhound 4 HP: 30/50 Angrily, the second-in-command among the marines ordered his men to focus their fire on the drones to clear a pathway forward. Kanads 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5: {2, 3, 7, 2, 8} + {10, 10, 10, 10, 10}(Numbers), {10 x Crit(CH1/2, 2, Passed, x2) = 20, 2, 1, 1, 9} + {10, 10, 10, 10, 10}(Numbers), {1, 8, 4, 9, 7} + {10, 10, 10, 10, 10}(Numbers) = [B]{72, 83, 79}[/B] Warhound 1, 3, and 4: DEF Rolls = {4, 1, 5, 3, 1}, {3, 3, 3, 3, 3}, {2, 5, 1, 1, 1} = {14, 15, 10} [B]58 DMG to Warhound 1. 68 DMG to Warhound 3. 69 DMG to Warhound 4.[/B] Warhound 1 HP: -18/50 Warhound 3 HP: -18/50 Warhound 4 HP: -39/50 [B]Warhounds 1, 3, and 4 have been destroyed.[/B] An explosive wave of plasma and anti-material ballistic fire shredded the Warhounds limb from limb and detonated their on-board ordinance one by one. Hearing the enemy close in and Taylor's urgent call for help, Mercy set to work to heal the captain. (Auto Roll) Mercy: CH Estimate: 1/4 [B]Actual: 3[/B] Roll Failed. +20 HP Taylor HP: 86/156 At least it was something. Taylor was already grabbing at her gun while Moloch was attending to Frosty within arm's length, frantically trying to get his fellow artisynth back on his feet before the enemy could overrun the hangar. Moloch pressed the severed arm into Frosty's stump and imbued it with his arcane powers, attempting to heal Frosty's wounds. Being the mystic that he was, Moloch did not need tools or medicines to rouse him. CH Estimate: 2/3 [B]Actual: 3[/B] Roll Passed. +20 HP Frosty HP: 19/50 Frosty's eyes flitted open, his head ached and felt heavy while his whole body felt drained of strength. He had lost a considerable amount of blood, but had been rescued with enough speed that, at the very least, he was alive, and his arm was fully functional. He awoke to the sound of the kanad approach. Janos, Arkadam, Iron, Jason, Markus, and Yanim were all there to defend the triage station. As the vakr fell away outside, Neasha, Ravis, Sting, and the remaining Warhound drone mounted the landing ramp to close in from behind. ((Battle outside the ship coming in the next update.))
Seth had a plan which could only come about in a case of true desperation, and there was no better moment than the present. Transforming his ship's landing pods into massive bombs, his crew used the accurate landing trajectory controls to aim the makeshift projectiles. Even though the two ships weren't lined up for a vertical attack, the pods were able to track the enemy ship and glide, their landing thrusters steering them in mid fall, and yet their speed was kept near terminal velocity to assist the piercing power of the bombs. As Seth had hoped, the kanad fighters turned on this obvious threat and screeched in to assist the mothership. The Fang filled the air with flak and other projectiles, engulfing the entire fighter wing in the destruction. Batakya Fighters: CH Estimate: 1/5 x 2(Malevolence) = 2/5 [B]Actual: 2[/B] Roll Failed. One after another, the remaining fighters failed to outmaneuver the danger and were blasted apart by the Boomes' cruiser, falling to the ground in charred fireballs. The pods slammed into the Orikodzek's hull and the timers within continued to tick down. All that remained to be seen is whether it was enough to bring down the battleship. Seth: CH Estimate: 3/5 [B]Actual: 3[/B] Roll Passed. There was a series of explosions along the top of the Orikodzek, sending metal fragments and other debris high into the sky as the bombs detonated, killing dozens within the enemy ship and badly damaging the outer surfaces. Regardless of the fact that the battleship was still flying, the Fang had succeeded in greatly damaging its foe. As alarms blared throughout the bridge and hallways, Commodore Siyada furiously ordered for a response. "[Primary weapons systems are offline, sir!]" the weapons officer warned, pointing at the glaring warning screen on his console. "[Weapons placements were likely damaged by the enemy's attacks-]" "[I've still got reports coming in,]" the chief engineer cut in, "[We've got fires reported on decks 1, 2, and 3 behind the third bulkhead... [I]f- fires[/I], sir!]" he repeated with imploring eyes. "[What about the missile batteries!?]" the weapons officer demanded, fearful that the fires might ignite the weapons caches. "[Stop panicking, you're officers, dammit! Show the fleet your courage,]" Siyada demanded. "[Take us into a wide turn to put some distance between us and the battle until we get those reports and figure out how to stop the bleeding. We'll get our missiles back online or we'll wait for further assistance, but we will not surrender this ship to fear.]" "[Aye sir!]" "[And fire the auxiliary plasma array as soon as we can get a lock. We haven't forgotten our training, have we?]" The Orikodzek lurched a bit before rumbling forward through the air, skulking away away from the Fang with smoke trailing behind. Seth's crew initially interpreted the maneuver as an attempt to retreat, but Seth wasn't so ready to believe it. Sure enough, a series of blue-green flashes from within the oily black smoke cloud signaled a surprise attack. Siyada: CH Estimate: 1/3 x 2(Malevolence) = 2/3 [B]Actual: 3[/B] Roll Passed. The Fang rumbled as its engines came under heavy fire from the battleship's plasma turrets. The shields absorbed most of the hits, but a few were able to pierce through and punch small holes throughout the rear of the vessel. The Fang's bridge crew watched with bated breath as thrust fluctuated dangerously but ultimately settled down. They had avoided being destroyed. Now, as they turned themselves toward their foe, the kanad battleship had gained separation and was moving at an impressive pace away from the battle in what was obviously an attempt to stall for time. --- Orso and Yuga, two opponents who had never seen each other face to face, were now locked in a lethal struggle. The Ryojin, apparently shocked after the previous attack from the Aurikha, was now torn between a desire to guard against further attacks from the crippled carrier, and one to protect its retreating ground forces. It was obvious that Yuga would need to do both. (Auto Roll) Yuga: CH Estimate: 3/5 [B]Actual: 3[/B] Roll Passed. The roll the Ryojin was being forced to play wasn't conducive to a winning strategy, but nonetheless, for the moment it was doing what it had to do. An ordinary commander in Orso's position might have been discouraged by the enemy's ability to juggle tasks, but Orso was a Boome, and he was filled with violent rage. He and his men charged into the chaotic spray of snow, mud, and dirt to close the remaining gap with their opponents, the retreating ayr and vakr. Orso: CH Estimate: 2/7 [B]Actual: 6[/B] Roll Passed. With great effort and some sacrifice, the Boomes pierced the veil of destruction and emerged in the open valley, bearing down on what had been the ayr right flank. Two men had been killed by the Ryojin's barrage, while five of the remaining ten devoted themselves to killing as many of the enemy as possible. Ayr and vakr soldiers were forced into a bloody melee, no longer protected by their Kapu's watch. Orso and four others rode the APC in the opposite direction, toward the Aurikha. They had their eyes locked on the kanads, and could see one was about to lay into Alex with a plasma saber. And somewhere, off toward the bow of the Aurikha, Amy quietly slipped back into the ship unopposed as no one was trying to locate her. [B]5 Turns Until the Reactor is Fixed.[/B]
"Find cover, set up defensive positions. Use grenades if you have any. If they start to overrun your position, fall back deeper into the ship." said Taylor, as she climbed to her feet with her rifle. She was down to just her regular clothes, as her power suit was pretty much useless now. She could already feel the chill from the air outside. [I][B]Fuck[/B], its cold.[/I] She limped away from the door, heading over to where Valkyrie was behind a metal container near the Cataract. "Move the medical station back here behind cover." she stated, once she dropped to her knees behind the container. Valkyrie, meanwhile, had switched to the camera feed from the remaining Warhound, which was outside with Neasha. She wasn't happy that the other three drones had been destroyed, but she still had this one to work with. "Escort Neasha back to the ship. ASAP." she ordered the drone. "[I]ACKNOWLEDGED.[/I]" responded the final Warhound, through the tablet. She looked to Taylor, before pocketing her holotablet and grabbing her SMG. She slid a small satchel over to Taylor, the flap open revealing a cluster of Upyri impact grenades shaped like clubs. The explosive charge shaped like a small brick on the end, and would detonate upon impact with the enemy. A pin hung from the top of the charge, which would need to be pulled before use. Pirates loved these kinds of grenades, but most militaries had banned their use as they could be rather unstable. Plus accidents of one pulling the pin, and accidentally smacking the end of the grenade against something, causing detonation. Taylor looked down at the grenades, then up to Valkyrie. "...Thanks for saving me." she said, almost under her breath as she took a few of the grenades. She had fully expected for Valk to just let her die, or kill her herself on the spot. Like she had tried before. Valkyrie simply grinned at her, and got ready. As the Kanad troops reached the entrance, Taylor pulled the pin on one of the grenades and threw it like a hatchet in their direction. Valk followed with a burst from her SMG, attempting to hit any exposed bits in their armor.
Yuga steadied herself against the holotable and viewed the situation with a deep frown. She looked up and noticed that most of the bridge were waiting for orders. "[The Boome marines are famed for bringing chaos wherever they go. But they are naught but a band of mercenaries, doing their work for just causes disguised as another paycheck. We have given them a chance to rethink their actions and now they will curse the day when they brazenly flew too close to the divine sun. Our furious rays will bring them to their knees!]" She paused and looked up towards the engineers and pilots, "[Bring us about, then slow our speed and divert power to shield and minimum power to weapons.]" As the bridge crew got to work she contacted the armory, "[Battery, ready 4 seeker missiles and prepare to fire on the armored vehicle.]" to which the battery commander replied in the affirmative. One of the comm officers came up to Yuga, "[Kapu, what about our ground forces?]" he asked with a professional voice, but one could detect a hint of anxiousness in it. Without taking her eyes off the holomap she replied, "[Sergeant Kensei is a superp commander. HE has very clear directives and I have utmost faith that he will carry out his orders with satisfactory results."] --- [quote][Media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=br5fqbUhC-Y[/media][/quote] On the ground, Sergeant Kensei and his platoon had almost reached the shuttle when they saw the Boome marines came rushing through the hellscape. He devised that his force had a numerical advantage and looked to his medics, "[Bring the wounded to the shuttle and prepare for take off! If we can not hold them off you are to leave without us!"] he said with a firm voice. The medics nodded and began escorting the wounded to the shuttle along with one marine who was cleared to fly it. Kensei turned to his men, now was the time to envoke the Royal Marines' [I]Meiyoru Gisei[/I], honorable sacrifice. He took out a small hilt that formed into a plasma katana and his men did the same. He pointed his sword at the advancing boome marines, "[Honor calls! Not one step back!]" His men turned towards the boomes and raised their shields. "Teikoku tame!" Kensei exclaimed. The the force began rushing to meet the boomes head on with a thunderous, "BANZAI!" --- Markus had used the time to retreat and climb up to a elevated position on the walkways on the walls of the hangar, from where he took aim at what seemed to be the Kanad squad leader. Sting on the other hand, arrived with the warhound and Neasha. Overjoyed with seeing so many targets with their backs turned the tugged the warhounds arm, "Well damn, robit, smoke 'em!" The warhound didn't avert it's gaze, "[I]Directive currently in process[/I]". Sting grinned and twirled her guns, "Well, I guess it's high noon somewhere in the galaxy." she said as she unloaded randomly into the group of kanads.
Vakarus and his men were almost at the dropship as well when the Ayr marines charged. Vakarus held up a hand. "Vakr! Rally on me!" Vakarus holstered his rifle and slung it up his back. He grabbed his staff and activated the energy blades on each end. His men followed his lead and soon the psionic energy blades of twelve different staffs were cutting through the cold snow. The warriors could feel their pulses sync with one another. String psionic vibrations bounced between them, making their blood boil. Soon the Boome Marines would be the first members of the intergalactic community to ever face Vakr warriors in a psionic charge. The question is, would they live to tell the tale? As one the Vakr charged, striking the Boomes in the side with all their fury. ----- Iron kneeled down next to the baydoor. "These guys mean business!" He said before opening fire.
Alex grinned under his helmet after hearing that his plan worked. He took a stance and prepared to counter the attack. The bigger they are, the harder they fall and sharkboy had a big enough ego. --- Amy managed to get to the hangar as all hell was breaking loose. Nobody noticed the cloaker move arround back behind cover and set up the AMR. She aimed a shot at one of OBN soldiers, if she was lucky, the bullet will go through him and hit another enemy. --- Orso jumped out of the APC with 3 of the men who followed him. "We're proceeding on foot, you stay in and aim the gun at anything that looks hostile." Moving closer to the kanads from what cover they could find, he threw a grenade to catch their attention. --- "Boss, the kanad ship is running away, but the ayr ship is moving over the battlefield." Never a dull moment. He could tell that the captain was planning something. He remembered what he read about the Ayr ships. How devastating they could be to ground forces. Did Orso force their hand even further? Seth thought about actually giving him a promotion or some honors if they made it out in one piece. "Get above them and start circling them, force them to move and not to get a pin on us and keep firing at their direction. If they start getting close, they better hope those shields can last against what we have." He thought about it for a second. "Wait, have us face that ship and open a comm channel to them first, dont do anything before the conversation is done." "You are trying diplomacy NOW?" Tarvis belowed "You could say that."
János, whilst he should've assumed that it could happen, was nevertheless surprised by the quick response of the marines, who hit the deck quite evasivly. After taking a number of shots, he was forced to duck down and get out of the way, having effectively alerted the crew to the then-incoming threat. He quickly moved to the cover behind him, catching his nonexistent breath, hearing as the Batakya's troopers entered. He knew he had to do his best to keep the triage station safe from his position, especially considering he didn't know how Frosty was holding up. He closed his eyes for just one moment, breathed out, and re-opened them, before placing the MAWS machine gun on the cover, firing away.
The comm officer looked towards Yuga, "Kapu, It seems to Boome ship is contact us." Yuga frowned and studied the answer call button briefly before pressing it. A hologram of Seth appeared from the Holotable and Yuga straightened her posture, "I am Captain Yuga of House Shuur, commander of the HMSS Ryojin in the service of his Divine Majesty's Imperial Starfleet. State your name and business." She opened with a cold tone, not in a particularly good mod to talk to someone in charge of the soldiers who was currently attacking her retreating units.
"Commander Seth Rollonso. Current de facto leader of the Boome marines mercenary organization. Usually at your service, but currently at each other's throats." Seth answered calmly. She wasnt in a mood to talk, he could tell. "My buisiness is, or was, reinforcing a specific side in the ongoing conflict on this planet. Then you decided to open fire on us. I want to know what exactly was the cause of that now that its actually the two of us in the air." Just stall for time, buy your men some extra seconds, maybe force something more out of this.
Yugas face reverted from her frown into her usual neutral expression with her tired yet calculating eyes. "Fire was opened not on your men, but in front of them. A clear message someone as famously stupid as Boome marines ought to recognize the meaning of. My objective here was to extract two individuals that were previously in the employ of your current client, Yanim Terika." She paused the release some vapors, "Further more, when our mission failed I ordered my men to retreat and return to the ship. Fighting Ms Terika or the Boome marines were never our intention or our objective. Unfortunately for you and your men, my retreating force which poses no further threat to your client are now being chased down and still fired upon." She frowned once again and glared at Seth, "Now listen well, Mr Rollonso. Should my I receive reports that my subordinates, Sergeant Kensei and his men, have been killed or suffered severe losses at the hands of your men you will officially be classified as a enemy of the empire. Are you familiar with what this entails?"
Seth let himself have a brief smile before contiuing. "Save me the threats captain, you're not my first date. I am well aware of what having a powerfull enemy means. You're not the first one to toss us that threat. Nor were you the only one willing to act on it. There is a reason that planet is classefied as a death world and its not the flowers. I was refering to the hits we took a few minutes ago. Tarvis, remind me again what engineering said about those hits." "Highly likely that it was a shot from a void cannon. Nearly ripped through the shield." Seth nodded and continued "Your ship has those, right? As for my men. Orso has been stationed here for the past 6 months to act as my representative and perform his job as a mercenary. I did recieve news that he was hired as an escort, but not by whom. Client wished to remain annonimous untill the job was done. Looks like you found them. And reports that they engaged with your forces came after you shot at us. And it was ship cannons shooting at them while they were at the ridge, not charging at them. I'm not liking this picture we're painting. Pardon the language, its a clusterfuck" He lid another cigar and continued to talk like he was at a bar having a pleasent conversation. Bad habbits die hard. "Yanim Terika, that name rings a bell. Yeah, she is now wanted alive by the Executor of the Death Vigil. Did you know that? He probably wants to chocke the life out of her himself, the sick old bastard. I can make a propostition if you're keen on resolving this mess without further bloodshed between us."
Yuga crossed her arms, "Also known as Yanim Sidikan, Wanted by the UGC for intergalactic terrorism. But it is of no importance. I may be a battleship Captain but I am also a veteran merchant, so let's hear your terms."
"You said it yourself. Your mission is a failure, you have no reason to stay here save for my men obstructing you. I can override any commands given to them by Orso. I call them off and tell them to stop attacking you. Kanads are a different story, but you dont seem concerned for them. You can then retreat and leave. I forget any insults and threats thrown my way and I punish my leutenant for escalating the conflict. In return I want Terika to hand over to whoever I want. Be it the Vigil or UGC, doesnt matter to me. I still get paid, you get some form of payback for your losses."
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