Run #1 - Big Top Blitz

[Stephen]

Taipan exhales slowly now that he and Mick are firmly in place outside the tent, steeling himself for the inevitable chaos pressing against a thinning temporal barrier as the seconds tick by. The rifle drops to his side on its single-point sling as he plucks a flashbang gently from a loop on his tac vest and shows it to Mick with suitable gravitas. He signs covering his ears, followed by tapping his wrist with a finger before splaying the fingers of his free hand out in front of Mick's face. He searches Mick's face for signs of understanding.

<<We're going loud. Keep them engaged if you can.>>

Slowly, carefully, Taipan draws the monofilament-edged katana from its sheath at his back and works the pin free from the head of the flashbang. Taipan locks eyes with the ork once more. A soft clink issues from the palm of Taipan's hand as his grip eases on the safety lever.

One -- two -- thr --

Taipan rips back the tent flap with the flat of his sword blade, tossing the flashbang in the middle of the Smiles gathered round in the tent. He covers his ears tightly and waits for the familiar percussion of the flashbang to traverse his chest cavity.

[GM Nick]

Dice Rolls

Throwing Weapons + AGI
2, 1, 5, 5, 3, 1, 5, 3, 2
3 hits on 9 dice ( No scatter )
-
Stun Resistance Checks
Papa - Pass (4)
Rusty - Pass (3)
Face Down - Fail (1)
Laughing Boy - Fail (2)
-
Taipan - Small Unit Tactics Skill Check
Small Unit Tactics + LOG + 1
4, 6, 4, 1, 4, 6, 5
3 hits on 7 dice (reroll)
*Second Chance*
3, 2, 6, 4
1 hit on 4 dice (Success)
-
Surprise Test
(Taipan)
REA + INT +3 (aware)
2, 2, 1, 6, 5, 2, 2, 2, 6, 3, 5, 4, 4
4 hits on 13 dice
(Mick)
REA + INT +3 (aware)
1, 6, 1, 2, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 5, 3, 6, 1, 6, 2, 1
4 hits on 16 dice
(Papa)
6, 6, 5, 5, 6, 5, 2
6 hits on 7 dice (pass)
(Rusty)
1, 2, 3, 5, 3, 5, 1
2 hits on 7 dice (fail)

Initiative Pass 1

Taipan - 16*
Mick - 30
Papa - 9
Rusty - 10 -10 (0)
Facedown - 12 -10 (0)
Laughing Boy - 12 -10 (0)

Taipan hears the hollow clunk and tinny rattle of the grenade hitting the concrete and rolling. There's a moment of silence-- that split second where synapses are firing: location, recognition, and finally alarm. That instant seems to draw out for longer than it should, but he chalks it up to the effects Rapture likely have on critical thinking. Taipan bristles, awaiting the crescendo to his assault melody.

A voice comes from inside the tent, equal parts confusion and incredulity: "--the fuck is--"

The confused interrogative is interrupted by a molar-shattering crack. Even separated from the explosion by the thick canvas, Taipan grimaces in pain. The hissing of the excess magnesium burning off is followed by a ringing in his ears. He nods at Mick and leaps through the opening, brushing the flap aside with the hilt of his katana.

Taipan finds himself surrounded by four Smile gangers. The one painted entirely green is currently clutching at his eyes and screaming. Another-- a dwarf with a bone in his nose-- is thrashing around on the floor. A dwarf with clown make-up seems to have his wits about him, but is reaching for a machete and doesn't notice Taipan. The fourth occupant is a heavily disfigured ork draped in robes fashioned from burlap. His eyes widen at Taipan's brazen entry and his scarred lips pull back in a sneer.

[Stephen]

Taipan barrels into the tent, lips peeled back in a rictus even before his gaze alights on the sole ork who appears prepared for their entry. His snarl deepens even further upon meeting that of his rival. His advance is inexorable, every action henceforth driven by the primal brainstem functions of fight or flight. Sword held low, he darts forth with gritted teeth and slashes upward at the ork's torso, fine muscle fibers contracting with the singular purpose of one thing -- killing -- and doing it quickly.

[GM Nick]

Dice Rolls

Taipan - Blade Skill Check
Blades + AGI + 3 (SUT)
6, 2, 5, 5, 2, 2, 1, 1, 3, 4, 3, 5, 4
4 hits on 13 dice (reroll)
~
Second Chance
6, 1, 4, 2, 1, 6, 3, 5, 2
3 hits on 9 dice (7 hits)
-
Papa - Unarmed Combat Skill Check
Unarmed Combat + AGI
2, 5, 6, 1, 1, 3, 5
3 hits on 7 dice (hit)
-
Papa - Damage Resistance
BOD + 0 (1-3AP)
4, 4, 4, 5, 5
2 hits on 5 dice
(( 4P DAMAGE ))

Upon landing in the tent, Taipan immediately adopts a seigan no kamae stance. In a blur of motion he sweeps the blade up, raking it across Papa's chest. The attack rends the front of the robes and scores a deep gash in the Smile's chest, splashing a crescent of blood across the back of the tent.

[John]

The explosion of awareness that happens in Mick's skull is immediate. The world clarifies, shimmers. Time almost seems to slow down, as they see the minuscule movements and muscle contractions propelling the human toward the standing ork. That just leaves the rest of the school upon which to feed.

The ork leaps into the group of three stunned idiots and focuses every ounce of momentum in their body driving directly into the stupid fragging bone in the thrashing dwarf's nose.

(( Critical strike, killing hands, imagining a septum strike if it goes well. ))

[GM Nick]

Dice Rolls

Mick - Unarmed combat skill check
Unarmed Combat + AGI
5, 4, 6, 3, 3, 2, 1, 6, 4, 1, 4, 1, 4, 1
3 hits on 14 dice
(( I'm spending a point of edge to negate the defenseless-ness of the surprise test.))
Face Down
Unarmed Combat + AGI
1, 6, 1, 3, 2, 5, 4
2 hits on 7 dice ( Hit )
-
Face Down - Damage Resistance
BOD + 1 (armor)
1, 1, 2, 5, 1
GLITCH 1 hit on 5 dice
(( 6P DAMAGE ))
-
Papa - Spellcasting Skill Check (Manabolt Force 5)
Spellcasting + MAG
6, 3, 1, 1, 2, 6, 4, 1
2 hits on 8 dice
Taipan
WIL
4, 5, 1, 6
2 hits on 4 dice
Second Chance
1, 5
1 hit on 2 dice
(( 2P DAMAGE ))
-
Papa - Drain Resistance Check
WIL + INT (2)
4, 3, 6, 1, 5, 6, 4
3 hits on 7 dice

Mick straddles the Smile, swatting away the flailing limbs. They unleash a savage right hook that tears the ganger's nose clean off of his face. Face Down screams as a thick fount of crimson squirts from flumes of broken cartilage.

The robed Smile screeches in drug-fueled rage. Violet sparks crackle around his hands as they curl into claws. A ghostly, transparent flame erupts from Papa's hands and blossoms outward. Taipan jukes to the side, but still catches part of the mana bolt on the shoulder. The astral energy suffuses through his armor and white-hot pain rakes his shoulder.

[MattL]

Slightly disoriented after the intensity of the moment, Yung sits in a half slouch against the wall. He looks down to see the crimson stream issuing forth from the collapsed skull of Two-yen trickling under his wingtips. Yung closes his eyes and takes a deep breath; a flurry of comm chatter rifles through his head. His eyes open once more, refocused, determined.

Yung grabs two of the grenades off the body of Two-yen, placing one in each of the pockets of his great coat, and begins sprinting toward the convention center.

<You’re going loud but I don’t hear drek. What’s the status?>

Yung sprints towards the main stage, intent on intercepting the Smile that Axel reported seeing.

[Stephen]

The comm chatter fades to the absolute back of the chaos as Taipan grimaces at the searing pain in his shoulder and a roar erupts from his throat. The blade paints a shining crescent as he swings it back down in a vicious arc.

[GM Nick]

Initiative Pass 2

Taipan - 16*
Mick - 30
Papa - 9
Facedown - 12
Laughing Boy - 12
Rusty - 10

Dice Rolls

Taipan - Blades Skill Check
Blades + AGI
3, 1, 5, 2, 3, 1, 2, 5, 3, 1
2 hits on 10 dice
Second Change
Blades + AGI
3, 4, 5, 6, 2, 1, 1, 5, 2, 3
3 hits on 10 dice ( 5 hits )
Papa
Unarmed Combat + AGI - 1 (wound)
6, 2, 6, 3, 1, 5
3 hits on 6 dice ( Hit )
-
Papa - Damage Resistance
BOD - (1-0)0 (armor)
2, 3, 2, 1, 5
1 hit on 5 dice
(( 5P DAMAGE ))

Papa ties to maneuver out of the glinting blade's path but is too slow. Taipan's katana traces a slit across the ganger's stomach. Blood spatters across the concrete floor. The robed Smile staggers, barely able to remain standing.

[John]

Mick's bloodlust grows and grows as more is spilled, the world going madder and madder along with the ork. The explosion of gore and tissue fills the air, fills the spaces between spaces. More than anything, it fills Mick with a primal rage that comes erupting out of them.

The roar is a roar, but it isn't. Starting low in their chest, it rips out of them at first as a low, ravaging rumble and crescendos to a throat-shredding scream just behind their bared teeth. The sound blasts out of them, filling the tent with fury and mania. But more. Filled to brimming with hatred and violence, the air grows thicker, polluted. A blossom of pestilence bursts out from Mick's war cry, clouding the area around them with a crimson gas that laps hungrily at the pre-mortem dwarves all around them.

Clasping both fists together, Mick rears back with their arms raised skyward, their spine arcing backward and exaggerating their wiry frame. The action seems to hang there a moment, suspended it pre-apocalyptic animation for a bewilderingly long microsecond. At its round zenith, the ork rips the motion back the other way, bringing their joined fists plummeting back down to Earth at what seems like roughly the same entry speed of the meteor that killed the dinosaurs.

(( Free action > plague cloud; killing hands turnin' Facedown to fraggin' paste. ))

[GM Nick]

Dice Rolls

Mick
Unarmed Combat + AGI + 3 (SUT)
3, 2, 6, 4, 2, 6, 2, 3, 4, 5, 2, 5, 2, 6, 5, 2, 3
6 hits on 17 dice
Face Down
Unarmed Combat + AGI - 2 (wounds) + 1 (friends in melee)
1, 3, 3, 6, 5, 1
2 hits on 6 dice ( Hit )
-
Face Down - Damage Resistance
BOD - 2 (wound)
4, 1, 3
0 hits on 3 dice
(( 7P DAMAGE ))
-
Papa - Spellcasting Skill Check (Heal, F5 )
Spellcasting + MAG - 3
5, 2, 4, 5, 4, 1, 2
2 hits on 7 dice
(( 2P healed ))
-
Papa - Drain Resistance
WIL + INT - 3 (1)
3, 5, 2, 2
1 hit on 4 dice
-
Laughing Boy
Clubs + AGI + 1 (friends in melee)
4, 5, 5, 4, 1, 5, 5, 6
5 hits on 8 dic
Mick
Unarmed Combat + AGI + 3 (SUT)
1, 6, 5, 3, 4, 2, 3, 1, 5, 4, 5, 2, 3, 1, 6, 2, 1
5 hits on 17 dice (Graze/Miss)
-
Rusty
Blades + AGI + 2 (friends in melee)
6, 6, 1, 3, 3, 5, 3, 1, 4
3 hits on 9 dice
Taipan
Blades + AGI + 3 (SUT) + 1 (friends in melee)
5, 1, 2, 2, 3, 6, 6, 6, 2, 5, 3, 6, 2, 1
6 hits on 14 dice (Miss)

Mick's fists slam down on Face Down's skull. Blood sprays from every cranial orifice as the ganger's head caves in and his eyes pop free of their sockets.

Clutching at his wounds with one hand, Papa uses the other to trace a symbol in the air. Blood bubbles at the corner of his scars as he murmurs an incantation. The gashes visible beneath the tattered burlap begin to knit themselves back together, but fail to seal completely.

Laughing Boy shrieks with maniacal laughter as he hefts a shillelagh and swings it towards Mick. The hefty club grazes Mick's shoulder, tearing the epaulette off their jacket but doing no physical damage to the ork.

Rusty, now wielding a machete, turns and hacks at Taipan with wild abandon. A cascade of sparks rain down on Taipan as he parries the attack with the back of his katana.

[GM Nick]

Yung arrives at the edge of the convention center, with the main stage in sight. Now that the rain has let up and the first glimmer of morning is approaching, his field of view is far improved. He spots a Smile near the far end of the stage about to cross through the doorway to head inside.

[GM Nick]

Dice Rolls

Taipan - Blade Skill check
Blades + AGI + 3 (SUT) + 1 (friends in melee)
4, 6, 3, 5, 1, 2, 5, 5, 3, 1, 3, 6, 6, 5
7 hits on 14 dice
Papa
Unarmed Combat + AGI - 2 (wounds)
5, 6, 1, 5, 4
3 hits on 5 dice ( Hit )
-
Papa - Damage resistance
BOD - 2 (wounds)
5, 6, 4
2 hits on 3 dice
(( 4P DAMAGE ))

Taipan grows tired of this awakened ganger. He steels his resolve and adopts a shodan no kamae stance with the katana held overhead. His movements blur as he lunges forward on augmented muscles, bringing the blade down. The monofilament blade enters at the top of Papa's head and cuts all the way through the groin, bisecting the Smile. The two halves of Papa fall apart in a fountain of blood and viscera.

[Molly]

At least Axel had the sense to distract Mouse with something shiny before dropping the bad news, tempering dread and powerlessness with her own curiosity. She swallows hard, her attention divided between this new icon and trying to read Axel’s expression.

“YABAI! JUST DON’T LET US EXPLODE BEFORE WE CAN PULL OUT.” The nervous humor is back in full force, lips trembling into a forced smile, as she continues couching any concern she has about the integrity of the strategy or the van in a comforting blanket of dick jokes.

Still, if Axel can extend a fly-spy’s worth of trust to the decker he just met, she owes him as much.

Forcing her attention from the driver to the drone feed, she probes the new controls at her fingertips, sending out a quick command. The view from the camera makes a rapid 360 as the fly-spy tucks its wings into a tight barrel roll, before resuming its flight path.

With a breath of laughter at the little flourish, Mouse stretches her arms out, lacing her fingers for one last dramatic knuckle crack, before pushing the fly-spy forward, ahead of the van’s trajectory. With the comparative speeds of both the fly spy and van, it’s only a matter of time before the vehicle overtakes it, but she can still keep an eye out for whatever dangers inevitably await them.

[John]

Mick rocks on the balls of their feet, gathering momentum to redirect at the ganger who had the audacity to swing at them with a club, of all things. A frightening sneer twists their face into a visage of horror as they explode forward, growling, "Hey baby, how about a smile?"

(( Killing hands ))

[GM Nick]

Axel - Pilot Groundcraft Skill Check

Pilot Ground Craft + REA [3]
4, 6, 5, 2, 2, 4, 1, 4, 4, 1, 2
2 hits on 11 dice (Fail)
BOD + Armor (5)
5, 2, 4, 4, 1, 4, 1, 1, 4, 3, 1, 5, 1, 1, 5, 5, 4, 4, 1, 1
4 hits on 20 dice
(( Van takes 1 point of damage. ))

The steering wheel shudders under Axel's white-knuckle grip as the van jolts and rumbles over the uneven terrain. As soon as the Vantichrist hits the bridge, her tires slip on the wet cobbles and the vehicle begins to fish-tail. Axel counter-steers but not before the van's rear end slams against the railing. A piece of the van's rear bumper falls free and bounces into the gully.

Ten and two, cries T-bone. Hands at ten and two!

[Drew Buddy]

Axel unconsciously moves his grip toward the top of the wheel before catching himself.

"Godsdammit, T-Bone, not the time! Anyway, last time I let you take over, you thought the subway would make a good shortcut. So shut it!"

He grips the steering wheel again, silently cursing fate that he wound up in this place with, of all things, this vehicle. Operating the van with a wheel (a wheel!) and pedals strikes him like trying to play the piano with a deep sea probe.

He jams the accelerator to the floor, and the anemic tapping and whine of the motor seems to change pitch, and not much else.

<<Coming in hot, chummers. Well, as hot as we can. I mean, we'll be there in a bit.>>

In the corner of his display, the doberman lies ready in "turret" mode, and the roto drones report back a readiness to accept a pilot.

[ReiyaEmm]

Fraggin’ bad idea after all, Reiya thinks, gripping the cargo bar as best she can with paws as the van swerves about. She’s also answered one previously unknown question: wolves definitely do feel motion sickness.

[MattL]

Although it is a short distance to cover to the Main Stage, the intensity of the moment has Yung breathing heavily. His quarry in sight, he makes the instinctual decision to strike, hoping to draw the Smile’s attention away from whatever is happening inside the convention center. He sprints toward the Smile, abandoning any attempt to do so with stealth.

[GM Nick]

Initiative Pass 2

Taipan - 16*
Mick - 30
Laughing Boy - 12
Rusty - 10
Papa - Deceased
Facedown - Deceased

Dice Rolls

Mick
Unarmed Combat + AGI + 1 (SUT) + 1 (friends in melee)
6, 3, 5, 1, 6, 6, 5, 3, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5, 3, 6
8 hits on 16 dice
Laughing Boy
Clubs + AGI + 1 (friends in melee)
1, 1, 4, 5, 3, 2, 6, 6
3 hits on 8 dice ( Hit )
-
Laughing Boy - Damage Resistance
BOD + 4 (armor)
5, 1, 6, 6, 4, 4, 2, 4, 1
3 hits on 9 dice
(( 4P Damage ))
(( +1P Damage from plague cloud ))
-
Laughing Boy
Clubs + AGI + 1 (friends in melee) - 1 (wound)
2, 2, 2, 6, 2, 1, 3
1 hit on 7 dice
Mick
Unarmed Combat + AGI + 1 (SUT) + 1 (friends in melee)
1, 3, 3, 1, 5, 3, 1, 4, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 1, 6, 3
2 hits on 16 dice (miss)
-
Rusty
Blades + AGI + 1 (friends in melee)
4, 6, 5, 3, 4, 4, 5, 2
3 hits on 8 dice
Taipan
Blades + AGI + 1 (SUT) + 1 (friends in melee)
3, 2, 5, 5, 3, 5, 1, 2, 2, 3, 2, 6
4 hits on 12 dice (Miss)

Mick throws a body shot in the form of a wild haymaker. The force of the impact lifts Laughing Boy off the ground a few inches. Laughing Boy reels back and erupts in insane laughter while blood trickles from the corners of his mouth. The Smile chokes as the noxious fumes wafting off of Mick's lithe form invade his nervous system. Already the ganger's pallor is turning sallow. If not for the pain nullifying effects of Rapture, he'd likely be on the floor.

Laughing Boy recovers from a coughing fit and swings the shillelagh in a wide arc. Mick is off balance after their hay-maker and barely manages to side-step the club whistling through the air.

"Fuckin' die!" Rusty screams, his eyes feral with intoxication and bloodlust. He cleaves sideways with the machete, trying to hit Taipan in his unprotected side. Taipan shifts his weight and leans away from the strike, which comes disconcertingly close.

[Stephen]

Breath coming heavy through bared teeth, Taipan watches the awakened ork's eyes lose focus and drift upward into his skull. A threatening scream from one of the Smiles assaults his eardrums, but through it Taipan picks out the quiet whoosh of a heavy blade at the zenith of its arc. His eyes dart sharply to his side to meet the threat as he wrenches the blade free of Papa's groin just in time to pivot away from the new attacker, smoothly translating the evasive maneuver back into an aggressive stance. The blade paints a slender line of red spatter on the canvas overhead as it windmills in his hands, coming to rest horizontally in a reverse grip in his right hand, the palm of his left closed firmly around the pommel. The blade darts sideways from Taipan's body in a vicious tsuki, its point seeking a space between Rusty's ribs.

[GM Nick]

Initiative Pass 3

Taipan - 16*
Mick - 30
Laughing Boy - 12
Rusty - 10

Dice Rolls

Taipan
Blades + AGI + 3 (SUT) + 1 (friends in melee)
3, 2, 2, 6, 6, 6, 1, 4, 1, 4, 4, 6, 1, 5
5 hits on 14 dice
Rusty
Blades + AGI + 1 (friends in melee)
3, 6, 3, 3, 3, 2, 6, 3
2 hits on 8 dice ( Hit)
-
Rusty - Damage Resistance
BOD + 2
5, 6, 3, 2, 4, 4
2 hits on 6 dice
(( 4P DAMAGE ))

The glittering monofilament blade pierces Rusty, sinking in a few inches. As Taipan withdraws the blade to return to his stance a gout of fresh blood slops on the floor.

[GM Nick]

Initiative Pass 3

Taipan - 16*
Mick - 30
Laughing Boy - 12
Rusty - 10

Dice Rolls

Mick
Unarmed Combat + AGI + 1 (SUT) + 1 (friends in melee)
1, 1, 4, 4, 6, 2, 2, 6, 3, 3, 6, 2, 3, 1, 3, 1
3 hits on 16 dice
Laughing Boy
Clubs + AGI + 1 (friends in melee) - 2 (wound)
5, 3, 5, 2, 5, 5
4 hits on 6 dice (Miss)
-
Laughing Boy
Clubs + AGI + 1(friends in melee) - 2 (wounds)
1, 5, 5, 4, 5, 3
3 hits on 6 dice
Mick
Unarmed Combat + AGI + 1 (SUT) + 1 (friends in melee)
3, 6, 4, 6, 2, 6, 4, 6, 1, 4, 6, 4, 1, 1, 5, 3
6 hits on 16 dice (Miss)
(( Laughing Boy takes 1 damage from plague cloud. ))
-
Rusty
Blades + AGI + 1 (friends in melee) - 1 (wound)
1, 6, 3, 3, 6, 3, 3
2 hits on 7 dice
Taipan
Blades + AGI + 1 (SUT) + 1 (friends in melee)
2, 5, 4, 1, 5, 6, 1, 2, 6, 2, 6, 6
6 hits on 12 dice ( Miss )

Mick plants a foot and executes a roundhouse kick but Laughing Boy manages to stagger out of the way. The ganger swings his club in retaliation but Mick dances away from the attack.

Despite the hole in his chest, Rusty stumbles forward, hacking with the machete. Taipan back steps, leaning away from the rusty implement.

[Stephen]

Taipan feints left as the blade flashes right, straight toward the ganger's soft midsection.

[GM Nick]

Dice rolls

Sneaking + AGI
5, 1, 6, 5, 4, 2
3 hits on 6 dice
Shamrock
Perception + INT
4, 6, 5, 4, 6
3 hits on 5 dice
-
Yung
Pistols + AGI + 1 (smartlink) - 2 (running)
3, 2, 4, 6, 5, 2
2 hits on 6 dice
Shamrock
REA + INT
3, 2, 6, 6, 4, 5, 2
3 hits on 7 dice (Miss)
-
Shamrock - Long Burst
Automatics + AGI
1, 4, 3, 5, 2, 2, 6
2 hits on 7 dice
Yung
REA + INT + 2 (running) - 5 (long burst)
5, 4, 6, 3, 5, 1
3 hits on 6 dice ( Miss)

Initiative Pass 1

Yung - 15
Shamrock - 9

Just as Yung reaches the convention center, the Smile at the opposite end spots him. There's a brief moment where the two simply stare at each and neither man moves. Drizzle courses down Yung's face as he appraises the situation. His hand flies to the Ares Predator and he launches into a run.

Yung raises the Predator and squeezes off a shot. The round punches a hole through Shamrock's sleeve, but fails to cause any damage. "Motherfucker!" Shamrock glances at the smoking hole in his clothing and then back to the approaching Yung. The muzzle flare of an UZI IV lights up the stage.

Bits of concrete rain down on Yung as the automatic fire rakes the side of the convention center, but he continues running unscathed.

[GM Nick]

The Vantichrist clears the bridge and hits the concourse, sparks blooming from where the front subframe bottoms out. Axel feathers the gas, preserving traction on the slick surface. The convention center is within sight.

[GM Nick]

Dice Rolls

Taipan
Blades + AGI + 3 (SUT) + 1 (friends in melee)
3, 5, 6, 3, 1, 3, 4, 2, 3, 3, 6, 2, 6, 6
5 hits on 14 dice
Rusty
Blades + AGI + 1 (friends in melee) - 1 (wound)
6, 3, 4, 5, 6, 5, 4
4 hits on 7 dice ( Hit)
-
Rusty - Damage Resistance
BOD + 2 - 1 (wound)
3, 3, 6, 2, 3, 1, 5
2 hits on 7 dice
(( 4P DAMAGE ))

Initiative Pass 4

Taipan - 16*
Mick - 30
Laughing Boy - 12
Rusty - 10

Taipan guides the blade horizontally, slicing opening Rusty's stomach. The floor of the tent is now spackled in crimson.

[MattL]

Yung continues to run straight into the face of bullet hell, ducking and weaving in anticipatory movements as Shamrock attempts to adjust his wild burst. Yung charges into melee range, using the momentum of his movement in an attempt to clinch his foe.

(( Running->Charging Attack->Clinch (Simple)->Attribute boost (Str, simple) I think this can all be done in a single pass... ))

[GM Nick]

Dice Rolls

Yung - Full Dodge Action
-
Shamrock - Long Burst
Automatics + AGI -1 (recoil )
6, 3, 1, 5, 1, 4
2 hits on 6 dice
Yung
REA + INT + Gymnastics
5, 2, 4, 4, 6, 3, 1, 1, 6, 5, 1, 1, 6, 6, 5
7 hits on 15 dice ( Miss )

Initiative Pass 3

Yung - 10 (-5 dodge)
Shamrock - 9

Yung keeps his head low and charges forward, racing past the stage. The incoming fire persists but Yung bobs and weaves, easily avoiding the spray of submachine gun fire.

[GM Nick]

Initiative Pass 5

Taipan - 16*
Mick - 30 <
Laughing Boy - 12
Rusty - 10

Dice Rolls

Mick
Unarmed Combat + AGI + 1 (SUT) + 1 (friends in melee)
6, 4, 4, 1, 3, 5, 2, 2, 1, 2, 1, 5, 4, 3, 5, 2
4 hits on 16 dice
Laughing Boy
Clubs + AGI + 1 (friends in melee) - 2 (wound)
4, 3, 4, 2, 3, 3
0 hits on 6 dice ( Hit )
-
Laughing Boy - Damage Resistance
BOD + 4 - 2 (wound)
5, 6, 4, 5, 3, 2, 5
4 hits on 7 dice
(( 3P DAMAGE ))
-
Laughing Boy
Clubs + AGI + 1 (friends in melee) - 3 (wound)
6, 4, 6, 6, 6
4 hits on 5 dice
Unarmed Combat + AGI + 1 (SUT) + 1 (friends in melee)
4, 5, 5, 2, 6, 6, 4, 4, 5, 6, 3, 3, 2, 4, 1, 1
6 hits on 16 dice (Miss)
(( Laughing Boy takes 1P from plague cloud ))
-
Rusty
Blades + AGI + 1 (friends in melee) - 2
6, 2, 3, 6, 6, 6
4 hits on 6 dice
Blades + AGI + 3 (SUT) + 1 (friends in melee)
4, 2, 1, 4, 5, 4, 2, 2, 3, 3, 5, 5, 6, 4
4 hits on 14 dice (Miss)

Mick flicks out a quick jab that smashes Laughing Boy's nose flat. The ganger gurgles wetly and stumbles. His ashen pallor has grown worse at the pollutants from Mick's astral defenses wreak havoc on his insides.

Laughing Boy clumsily swings the club again but Mick ducks out of the way. The Smile teeters on his feet, looking as if he could collapse at any moment.

Rusty's frenzied machete swings are slowing down. As Taipan is moving in one catches him, but the blade bounces off an armor plate.

[GM Nick]

Dice Rolls

Yung
Gymnastics + AGI + 2 (charging)
1, 6, 6, 4, 4, 2, 5, 2, 1, 5, 1, 6
5 hits on 12 dice
Shamrock
REA + INT
1, 1, 3, 4, 4, 6, 1
1 hit on 7 dice (success)
-
Shamrock - Escape Attempt
Unarmed Combat + STR
5, 1, 6, 4, 2, 4, 6
3 hits on 7 dice (fail)

Yung reaches his destination but doesn't slow down. Just as Shamrock is bringing the UZI IV up to fire again, Yung launches himself at the Smile. The two bodies collide in a fury of flailing limbs, but Yung's movements are deliberate and confident. After a brief tussle, Yung pulls the ganger into a full nelson.

[Drew Buddy]

The time for subtlety long over, Axel flicks on the headlights as they approach the stage. The muted oranges and blues of thermal give way to a sharp, full-color scene, just coming into range of the anemic beams.

Axel's heart pours on the speed that the van is lacking. Executive function takes a back seat as terror and instinct take over.

In for a penny, in for a pound.

His shaking hand grabs the icon for Wind, the first of two roto-drones. Without letting himself think about the thousand ways this could go wrong, he almost absent-mindedly throws the icon over his shoulder toward Mouse. He's too damn busy to care.

The frag am I doing?

"Grab onto something!" He shouts as much for himself as the occupants of the van and the wolf on the roof, before cranking the wheel over and grabbing the emergency brake.

(( Mechanics clarification: there's enough time between the warning and the maneuver for people to respond to the warning, and strap down. And the maneuver is Driveby/Broadside from Rigger 5.0 p 176 (Kinda like unit tactics but for vehicles). Want to expose the open rear door (with waiting troll, decker, and doberman drone) to Shamrock. ))

[GM Nick]

Mouse is so wound up with anticipation that she nearly jumps out of her seat when an AR alert flashes in the corner of her vision.

ICONS DETECTED

The signal is weak and winking in and out of existence, but they're there.

[GM Nick]

Initiative Pass 5

Dice Rolls

Blades + AGI + 3 (SUT) + 1 (friends in melee)
4, 6, 4, 5, 6, 5, 2, 4, 6, 5, 5, 6, 4, 6
9 hits on 14 dice
Rusty
Blades + AGI + 3 (SUT) + 1 (friends in melee)
2, 4, 6, 6, 3, 6, 6, 4
4 hits on 8 dice (Hit)
-
Rusty - Damage Resistance
BOD + 2 - 2
1, 4, 6, 1, 6
2 hits on 5 dice
(( 4P DAMAGE ))
-
Unarmed Combat + AGI + 1 (SUT) + 1 (friends in melee)
1, 3, 4, 4, 5, 6, 5, 6, 2, 6, 6, 5, 6, 4, 2, 5
9 hits on 16 dice
Laughing Boy
Clubs + AGI + 1(friends in melee) - 3 (wounds)
6, 2, 4, 6, 5
3 hits on 5 dice (Hit)
-
Laughing Boy - Damage Resistance
BOD + 3 - 3
1, 4, 2, 2, 2
0 hits on 5 dice
(( 7P DAMAGE ))

Taipan moves his blade into a te ura gasumi stance. He takes a breath and then launches his attack. The Smile is too injured and too slow to react in time. Taipan's strike is swift, decapitating the ganger. A miniature geyser of blood spurts from Rusty's neck and his head falls to the floor with a meaty thunk.

Mick's bloodlust has reached a peak. The ork is a dervish of limbs, flicking out attacks at preternatural speeds. The latest of which is a savage uppercut. The blow connects squarely with Laughing Boy's chin, snapping the ganger's head back at ludicrous speed. There's a loud crunch as Laughing Boy's neck breaks. The Smile collapses on the concrete like a rag-doll.

The skirmish in the tent-- having lasted a mere 15 seconds-- is over. A great deal of gore now decorates the interior and the walls look like an ode to Jackson Pollack in arterial red.

[Molly]

The first jolt sends Mouse skidding, only this time, she manages to cling onto the bench, at least enough to prevent her from catching more air and bruises. It’s imminently clear that this unsustainable situation will require some problem-solving, and more than likely, some literal trouble-shooting. The instant the van’s trajectory stabilizes, the decker is in motion.

As the first order of business, she fires a quick command to the fly spy: to maintain altitude over the convention center. If her estimates are correct, she’s about to be severely distracted, and she’d rather not crash this wiz new toy through pure negligence.

She sets to work, scanning the refuse around her until she spots her target: a high-viz yellow ratcheting strap. She immediately snatches it up, letting gravity do the unfurling, the metallic hook hitting the floor with a clatter.

“T-BONE, I’M GOING TO ASK THAT YOU NOT MAKE THE OBVIOUS JOKE HERE,” she states, as she threads the belt in wide loops around her own waist and torso and one of the heavy metal hinges that holds the folding bench. She curls up behind the bench and secures the strap, resulting in what’s clearly more cludge than seat-belt, but at least by her estimation, will keep her from hitting the ceiling when she’s the inevitable victim of ragdoll physics.

Before she can return her attention back to the camera feed, a fresh set of marks hit her deck, this time belonging to a far more shiny, and immeasurably deadlier drone. “WAIT- WHAT?” She asks, a rhetorical double-take more than a serious question.

The shock of the new icon, not to be outdone, is immediately followed by the flicker of signal from nearby devices. “-THE FRAG?” She gives her head a hard shake, rejecting the immediacy of the distraction. There’ll be time to go poking around when she’s off the X.

She takes a deep breath, her focus squarely on the new icon. “ALRIGHT LITTLE CHUMMER, FROM HERE ON OUT WE’RE BFFS.” With that, her eyes roll back into her head as she dives- a trust fall.

(( Going hot sim, then preparing to fully unload on whatever pops out on the other side of the van. She’ll matrix perception the icons as soon as the immediate area is Smile-free. ))