Contract #5: Marcus Bell: Enemy of the State!

[GM Nick]

The autocannons continue their assault of the team's fortified positions.

Ranged Combat (Autocannon A)

[Targeting (6) + Pilot (5) = 3]
3 5 2 4 2 1 1 3 5 1 6
[REA (9) + Good Cover (4) = 4]
1 1 1 5 5 3 6 4 3 1 2 1 5

Max flattens himself against the snow-covered roof as the heavy barrage continues to erode his hiding place.

Ranged Combat (Autocannon A)

[Targeting (6) + Pilot (5) = 4]
2 5 3 3 3 1 5 5 6 1 4
[REA (9) + Good Cover (4) = 3]
2 3 2 1 5 2 2 5 3 4 5 2 4

Damage Resistance (Max)

[BOD (4) + Bone Density Aug. (4) + Armor (14) + AP (-2) = 8]
3 3 3 5 4 6 3 6 4 2 2 6 5 5 2 3 6 4 6 3

{{ 3P DAMAGE! }}

A slug tears through the Phalanx suit at Max's hip as the elf goes to change cover.

[GM Nick]

The second autocannon opens fire on Sinjin as he bounces between the adept and hermetic.

Ranged Combat (Autocannon B)

[Targeting (6) + Pilot (5) = 3]
6 4 5 2 3 1 6 2 4 2 4
[REA (7) = 3]
4 1 1 5 5 2 6

Tracer fire strafes the roof-top, sending up snow in clumps as the orc feints out of the way.

Ranged Combat (Autocannon B)

[Targeting (6) + Pilot (5) = 3]
3 1 3 6 4 5 1 2 2 6 1
[REA (7) = 3]
4 6 2 6 4 6 2

Sinjin continues to zig-zag, grimacing as a slug riochets mere centimeters from his head.

[GM Nick]

The Legion hermetic brings his hands up and a flash of blinding light erupts from them.

Powerbolt (6) (Hermetic)

[Spellcasting (6) + MAG (6) + Power Focus (1) + WM (-3) = 6]
1 3 5 5 3 6 3 5 6 6
[BOD (10) + Counterspelling (4) = 5]
6 4 4 2 1 2 2 6 5 4 3 5 6 1

{{ 7P DAMAGE! }}

The blast of magical energies slams into Tyros and throws the big troll backwards against a steel heating fixture. To the participants in the skirmish, the light appears to travel backwards, cutting a swathe through the snow and ending abruptly as a troll-sized dent in the fixture.

[Conway]

((Damn that bastard is still conscious?? And wasnt he on full defense?))

[GM Nick]

(( That was the last IP. Conscious until he goes into overflow boxes. ))

[Elliott]

((Oh yeah, geek the Mage because with these ridiculous rolls Tyros is so scary waving his stupid sword around in the air like a tool. I am not arguing the point anymore, but the hermetic still got a free action in this combat because he had to sacrifice his next action initially to get full defense in the first round and then he had to do the same in the following...))

Tyros roars in pain, his giant troll lungs loud even over the background noise of the gunship and combat. As a trained combat Mage, Tyros knows what it feels like to get hit by mana spells in much the same way a Lone Star trainee gets tazed before graduating. But the powerbolt's force feels an order of magnitude of pain greater. Tyros' staccato heartbeat takes a long pause as the troll flies backward, only to restart with the jolting impact of landing on the ground. Every nerve in his body screams and his limbs' responses stutter and seem agonizingly slow.

But there is blood everywhere now. Tyros can not only hear it, he can smell it. It tastes of power and perhaps salvation. Somehow his sword remains in his hand, and continuing the scream that first began in pain and now finishes with rage, Tyros flies off the ground back at the hermetic, claymore extended before him (melee attack, sacrifice).

[GM Nick]

Melee Combat (Tyros)

[Swords (8) + AGI (5) + Weapon Focus (2 ) + Reach (4) + WM (-2) = 6]
1 4 5 2 1 5 5 2 5 6 3 1 2 5 2 3 2
[Unarmed Combat (5) + AGI (6) + WM (-3) = 2]
4 5 2 4 5 1 1 1

Damage Resistance (Hermetic)

[BOD (5) + Armor (7) + AP (-3) = 3]
4 6 1 4 2 3 5 4 5

{{ 9P DAMAGE! }}

Too injured to flinch away and still on his back, the hermetic proves an all too easy target for the rampaging Scottish battle-mage. The claymore makes a clean slice across his neckline as Tyros howls furiously. The helmeted head bounces once and plummets into the blizzard.

[GM Nick]

(( Gunship is maintaining position. ))

[ Max = 48 ]
[ Val = 44 ]
[ Autocannon A = 41 ]
[ Autocannon B = 41 ]
[ Tyros = 30 ]

[John]

Max reels from the barrage of absorbed fire from the autocannon overhead. The elf stumbles to the ground, caught in the hip with the hot sting of a new scar-to-be, and huffs heavily and exasperation and agony. The shotgun falls briefly to the ground at his right side, his left arm jutting out before him to catch him from going all the way down, stopping his fall on one knee. Overstreet coughs and groans as his right hand searches momentarily for the dropped weapon, his eyes clenched shut against the searing explosion radiating up into his midsection and down to his knees. The elf reflects for a second that he's glad it wasn't twelve inches closer to center mass where it would have caught him in the genitals, rendering those already seldom used parts of his anatomy naught but a distant memory of future nostalgia.

Max fights back to his feet and spins toward the last rifleman standing, fighting the urge to return fire on the autocannon and instead assuming that Doc and Val would come through on disabling those any moment now. He sights in on the Legion soldier and squeezes off a fresh volley of lead.

(( BF, SA ))

[GM Nick]

Ranged Combat (Max)

[Shotguns (8) + AGI (10) + Smartlink (2) + FFC (-2) + WM (-1) = 6]
1 2 4 3 2 4 5 4 6 5 1 1 1 5 4 6 5
[REA (7) + Good Cover (4) = 4]
4 2 4 3 1 6 6 6 3 6 4

Damage Resistance (LRB)

[BOD (6) + Armor (16) + AP (-4) = 8]
3 6 1 1 2 5 6 4 2 6 3 4 4 4 6 6 6 5

{{ 3P DAMAGE! }}

The burst catches the soldier in the side, adding a dash of crimson to the flurry of white.

Ranged Combat (Max)

[Shotguns (8) + AGI (10) + Smartlink (2) + FFC (-2) + WM (-1) = 11]
5 6 5 6 5 4 6 2 6 6 6 1 2 1 5 1 5
[REA (7) + Good Cover (4) + WP (-1) = 4]
5 3 3 5 3 3 1 6 5 1

Damage Resistance (LRB)

[BOD (6) + Armor (14) + AP (-4) + WM (-1) = 5]
2 4 3 6 1 6 6 4 3 3 1 5 1 1 6

{{ 9P DAMAGE! }}

Time seems to slow as Max pulls the shotgun down from the muzzle-jump caused by his burst fire. The bright green targeting reticule jitters as his move-by-wire system makes minute adjustments to his gaze and posture. He steadies the weapon and--in the moment it takes to draw a whisper of breath--fires again. The second slug travels straight through the Legion soldier's breast, exiting his body in a magnificent explosion of both synthetic and organic materials. A desperate, struggling gesture seizes the Rifleman's body in his final moment and he crumples.

[Stephen]

Stat1C5hade senses Doc's presence like a whisper from the virtual walls surrounding him. Strange artifacts and syntax errors appear and vanish as the team's rigger toils against the will of the Legion pilot. The node's very sculpting vibrates to the rhythm of their struggle. Stat1C5hade's arms stiffen, shaking with tension, and his fingers elongate and curl around the head of the pilot's avatar as he redoubles his efforts and launches another Blackout attack. He can imagine the pilot's fear as a mirror image of himself reaches out to embrace him and bring the darkness rushing in. He maliciously pipes a digital whisper directly into the pilot's brain.

< No use fighting, 'mano. The sandman cometh. >

The 5hade's mouth twitches under his flight mask, and his eyes grin malevolently behind the reflective visor.

(( Use 1 edge for +2 DP. And hot-sim. ))

[GM Nick]

Cybercombat Test (Val)

[Cybercombat (6) + Blackout (6 ) + Edge (2 ) + Hot Sim (2) = 12]
6 5 1 6 6 6 6 4 3 4 5 6 2 6 5 6
[Pilot (5) + Response (5) = 4]
2 1 6 6 2 6 3 4 6 2

Damage Resistance (Pilot)

[Willpower (4) + Biofeedback Filter (2) = 2]
3 5 5 1 4 4

{{ 12S DAMAGE! }}

The pilot's persona flickers and vanishes as his neural connection is abruptly severed due to his unconsciousness.

[GM Nick]

The program-controlled autocannons continue their mindless onslaught of the Firestarter team.

Ranged Combat (Autocannon A)

[Targeting (6) + Pilot (5) = 5]
3 3 6 6 5 3 6 3 5 2 2
[REA (9) + Good Cover (4) + WM (-1) = 6]
6 4 2 5 6 3 3 6 1 4 6 5

Ranged Combat (Autocannon A)

[Targeting (6) + Pilot (5) = 3]
2 2 6 6 3 6 1 3 2 2 1
[REA (9) + Good Cover (4) + WM (-1) = 5]
6 1 3 5 6 5 5 2 4 2 3 4

Max holds a firm hand over his hip to staunch the blood flow, whilst fleeing the destructive path that the cannons wreak across the rooftop. He tucks into a slide as a shower of sparks erupts from the communications array.

[Stephen]

(( Wow... I wasn't trying to kill him, but after physical overflow and dumpshock... If he's not dead I'm sure he wishes he was. ))

EDIT: (( And Tom... can I borrow some of Sinjin's luck on his bloody dice rolls? ))

[GM Nick]

Ranged Combat (Autocannon B)

[Targeting (6) + Pilot (5) = 1]
4 1 3 3 4 3 5 4 4 4 4
[REA (7) = 2]
5 3 5 3 2 3 1

Ranged Combat (Autocannon B)

[Targeting (6) + Pilot (5) = 2]
4 6 5 2 1 2 1 3 1 2 3
[REA (7) = 3]
6 3 5 1 5 3 4

The second auto-cannon remains fixed on Sinjin, who continues to bob and weave around the various roof-top obstacles as munitions ricochet around him.

[Elliott]

Tyros reels awkwardly after slaying the Legion hermetic, his invisibility flickering in and out, leaving the rest of the team with a quick view of the troll's heavily burned and smoking body. Slipping to his knees, Tyros struggles with the pain and the power coursing through him as he plants both hands on the bloody roof (centering). The blood pooled around him begins to bubble, its rapidly evaporating mist seemingly sucked into the shuddering troll, binding to his injuries and reforming them (heal, f8. Use 4 sacrifice dice for automatic heal success and 5 sacrifice dice for automatic drain successes).

[GM Nick]

(( You can only purchase successes with edge, and sacrifice meta-magic only allocates points to drain. ))

Heal (8) (Tyros)

[Spellcasting (6) + MAG (6) + Power Focus (2) = 5]
5 2 6 1 4 6 2 3 2 5 6 2 3 3

{{ 5P HEALED! }}

[GM Nick]

[ Doc = 39 ]
[ Autocannon A = 48 ]
[ Autocannon B = 47 ]
[ Max = 46 ]
[ Val = 46 ]
[ Sinjin = 35 ]
[ Tyros = 32 ]
[ Legion Adept = 32 ]

[Drew Buddy]

The gunship is now whole. As the last traces of the pilot's meddling interference fades, the awkward, flailing craft finally starts responding to Doc's mental commands.

That's more like it.

He flips one of the thrusters 180 degrees, putting the aircraft into a roll. The autocannons rotate away from the battle, twitching and protesting uselessly as the team moves outside of their usable cone of operation.

I'll deal with you two later.

As the gunship approaches an inverted orientation, he flips the other thruster around as well, stabilizing the craft with the cockpit facing downward. There's a moment-- just a moment-- during the roll that Doc's been waiting for.

It's possible that the Legion Adept noticed that something different was happening with the gunship. If it weren't the whine of the thrusters as they performed this unusual maneuver, then it would have been the sudden silence of the autocannons. If he had, then he might have looked up at the maneuvering vehicle. It would have been then that that he would have seen his reflection framed perfectly in the middle of the cockpit's topmost geometric facet. If he had seen that, then he most certainly would have noticed the canopy pop open with puffs of smoke, shortly before his comrade-- seat and all-- came hurtling straight toward him at the tip of a finger of flame.

(( Maneuver - complex action. Ejection Seat - activate linked device ))

[GM Nick]

Vehicle Manuever Test (4) (Doc)

[Pilot Aircraft (5) + REA (8) + Handling (-1) = 4]
6 4 4 6 3 5 4 1 6 3 2 3

The gunship tumbles awkwardly above the roof-top, doing a zero-gravity pirouette and flaring it's boosters at the last second. Something large and metallic evacuates the cockpit like a champagne cork. Pilot, seat and Legion adept fuse in a powerful collision that sends blood, limbs, and debris in all directions. The wildly spinning ejection seat bounces a few more times and disappears over the edge.

A VR warning flashes in Doc's face, warning him of a reactor overload triggered by the lack of the pilot's vital signs.

[Drew Buddy]

Adams completes the roll, and orients the gunship at a 45° angle away from the roof of the building.

Sorry, baby, we barely got to know each other.

He sets the thrusters to maximum, and the gunship rockets up and away from the bloody scene of battle. With a bit of hesitation and regret, Doc slides his persona out of the aircraft, and logs off.

[John]

Max stands and stares at the gunship over his shoulder speeding away, his feet planted firmly on the ground and pivoting at the waist to watch it go. The battle had come to a sudden, bloody, and surprisingly comical end, and Max is left now feeling abruptly empty and directionless. The carnage around him thrums, steaming in the cold air as the searing pain in his hip rages.

[GM Nick]

Pandora stands roughly and dabs at Max's cheek with the back of her glove. She turns it over in explanation and a bit of fleshy gore flops off.

"We should be able to scale the canyon where it crosses near the roof-top, there."

[Drew Buddy]

Adams blinks as he readjusts to seeing the world with his eyes.

The roof is cracked where the pilot, ejection seat, and adept rendezvoused at high speed. A halo of blood and gore spread out from the center, some of it having come to rest on Max. Blood pools elsewhere, at the alternately eviscerated and perforated remains of the Legion soldiers, and in the wounds of his own comrades.

He pulls himself to his feet with a grunt.

"I suppose you fellas are going to need some patching up," he says, opening his pack, and piling the remaining medical supplies on the ground. "The doctor is in."

[John]

Max nods at Pandora and traces the route with his eyes, casting a doubting frown at Val and thinking about the decker's chances of climbing anything higher than the step into a jolly jumper. Holding the thought for a moment, Max calls Doc over and says, "Nice of you to join the battle, amigo." His grin is small, but good humored. "Slap some duct tape on me and I'll be good as new."

[Drew Buddy]

"Hey while you were going after the little guys, Val and I were taking care of the big prize. You're welcome," he says with a grin.

He patches up his own minor flesh wound before turning his attention to the others.

[GM Nick]

"This is where we part ways," Pandora says quietly. "I think I'm good to trek back now. I've got to report my findings to the Athabaskan council. Word needs to be spread; who knows how many other foxholes Bell has out here."

[Drew Buddy]

Adams nods as he works on Max's wound,

"Well, at least they'll be in for a surprise when the rest of 'em get to Portland, and realize that their care package hasn't landed." His eyes unfocus for a moment, "I'd love to see the expression on Bell's smug face when he sees that."

[John]

Max gives Pandora an affirming nod, and says,

"We'll see you around. Take care of yourself."

Turning back to Doc, Max says,

"You done with that? Let's get the frag out of here. I need a hot toddy."

[GM Nick]

Pandora backs up in preparation for her leap to the canyon edge. She throws a backwards glance and a mischievous grin in Max's direction.

"Sure you don't mean a rusty trombone?"

A few nimble steps later and the adept disappears into the blizzard.

[Elliott]

Tyros stands, gazing off after the gunship. His body is mostly whole again, although some muscle spasms continue and a not insignificant measure of pain remains. Still, he feels strong. His magic feels effortless when harnessed to the power released from the blood of his enemies.

Turning towards Doc, "Why did you send the ship away!? That was our ride! Not to mention a nice prize to take back to HQ! What the frag was the purpose of coming up here if not to get control of that thing!?!"

[GM Nick]

Doc opens his mouth to speak, but the gunship (now a distant point on the horizon) speaks for him. A broad halo of kinetic energy slaps the sky with a reverberation more felt than heard. A half-kilometer wide fireball manifests at the nucleus, burning out in an instant and filling the area with a sagging, fingered cloud of smoke.

[John]

Max shields his eyes from the blast, his curiosity over the same matter sated. Finally, he says,

"Well boys, I think that's a good time to get the frag outta here! Everybody in Calgary must have seen that!"

With some haste and residual stiffness in his hip, Max begins to move out with great haste.

[Elliott]

Tyros continues to stare dumbfounded at Doc for a few more seconds before turning and walking after Max, "Oh yeah, good thing we are speedy walkers! No one will catch us now!"

[Drew Buddy]

Adams peers out into the snowy landscape, hoping to pick out a moving black dot.

"Yeah, they don't build 'em like they used to. Legion must not have unlimited funds if their war vehicles are so goddamn unstable," he laments.

"Our ride should be here soon, though."

He sends a ping out over the satellite link, querying the Rover's position as it makes its way toward the compound.