Aureum doesn't bother trying to placate the crowd, and follows her instinct to simply get out of the way. She stows her baton on her hip and moves swiftly to the corner of the bar.
"The music's not starting back up," Diedre says quietly to Aureum, as she tries to get the bartender's attention. "Is this gonna get really ugly?"
In annoyance, she reaches down and taps to dismiss the error message appearing on the sleeve of her top.
"Stupid cheap crap. Hit it once with a piece of pipe and it goes on the fritz. Who designs something like that with a failure state of complete transparancy? It should be gray ... or white ... or anything other then 'let's show Diedre's boobs to the world'."
She taps the sleeve again in frustration.
"Talk about bad breakups! He just wouldn't take 'No' for an answer," she says with a laugh as she starts walking towards the bar.
The half-elf's voice carries over the awkward silence, and the deeper reaches of the club chortle at the plausible explanation while those closer watch with confusion and skepticism. The party isn't about to kick back up, but it seems the risk of a stampede has passed.
Aureum and Miraj move in the same direction as Diedre, deeper into the club and closer to the storeroom; meanwhile, Entiren and Jehir step out into the corridor.
Block 3: Entiren
Block 1: Aureum , Diedre , Jehir , Miraj
Block 2: Downside Kings (Bouncers)
Noting the continued avoidance of the bartender, Diedre moves closer to Aureum and leans her head against the taller woman.
"Let's give 'em something more to talk about, give me a beat and then follow after me," she whispers.
She then pulls away from the Lashunta with a start.
"You knew he was cheating?!" she says loud enough for everyone to hear. "Why didn't you tell me?! I thought we were friends?!"
Deidre stomps away from the woman and conveniently through the doors into the back room.
Jehir whispers to the others, "It's probably all right if the crowd here rushes the exits... as long as we're not in the way. Better if they are out of here in case there's any more shooting."
"Once everyone's out of the stampede lane, we could pull the fire alarm," he continues. "That would clear people out."
As Diedre walks into the storeroom, the door swings shut behind her.
A single door stands in the north wall, occupied by a powerfully-built vesk in hulking, scrappy armor. A heavy laser weapon causally hangs from one hand as he surveys the assault.
Diedre steps back through the doorway.
"We've got armored hostiles in there," she says as she attempts to peel back some of the melted material of her top from her skin.
"Maybe someone a little more shooty then me should go first."
Not able to see into the room from his position, and not wanting to peer around the corner in case a mob comes that way just then, Entiren will remain where he is for right now. He will be waiting for either sounds of renewed combat or for the crowd to pass by before moving back into the bar.
Miraj absorbs Diedre's scouting report and steps to where he can see and be seen by Entiren and Jehir. As he moves, he asks Diedre, "How many?" and at the same time, gestures to the two outside to move in. He tries to think of something he might shout into the quiet to get the crowd moving safely toward other exits, but he can't think of anything, so he settles for just making a sweeping gesture with his sword ending with the sword pointing to a back exit.
"One bouncer and one hard-case - armored and everything," Diedre replies softly to Miraj's query as she watches the crowd out of the corner of her eye.
Jehir looks at Entiren. "You coming? There's more of them in here."
Once Entiren responds, Jehir pulls the fire alarm and then dashes towards the inner door.
Aureum steels herself, quietly clutching the pistol hidden under her jacket as she steps forward, ready to rush the storeroom with the others.
Jehir isn't able to find a fire alarm, but he is able to locate the next best thing - adjacent to the front door is a large electrical panel with controls for the house lights. He quickly flips them all to ON before rushing to join the others near the storeroom. As the harsh light lighting floods the Fusion Queen, the last of the club's ambiance vanishes. Tired, drunk, and confused, the bulk of the patrons start to move to the exit.
As the first club-goers reach the door, they find five corpses on the ground. Somebody screams and the crowd becomes agitated.
Block 3: Entiren
Block 1: Aureum , Diedre , Jehir , Miraj
Block 2: Downside Kings (Bouncers)
"Are we going to rush them now?" Diedre asks as she watches the crowd progress slowly towards the exit. "Or are we going to wait until the place is clear?"
"Let's hit them all at once. But first ... "
Diedre opens the door to the back room just enough to yell in, "Here come the grenades!"
Hearing the screams just before Diedre's question, Entiren replies to her in a low voice as he glances across the room. "I think that it would be best if we were to wait for these people to move away. we wouldn't want for any of them to become collateral damage when the gang members inside attack us. However, that just gives them that much longer to prepare." Looking back towards her, he continues as he gestures towards the doors to the next room. "You said that there is a heavily armored individual inside? My aim may not be the best, but the power of the stars cares little for plates of armor." As he speaks, he moves over slightly, to get a better line of sight through the door.
"Here come the grenades!"
There's a clatter and a swear as the embattled bouncer tries to improve his cover against the hypothetical grenade attack .
"You said that there is a heavily armored individual inside? My aim may not be the best, but the power of the stars cares little for plates of armor."
Entiren moves up next to Diedre (right next to the door) in order to get the best view of the room. As he waits for the doors to open, small motes of starlight begin to race across the surface of his horns, gathering at the points.
Block 1: Aureum , Diedre , Jehir , Miraj
Block 2: Downside Kings (Bouncers)
Block 3: Entiren
Jehir pushes his way through the doors...
Miraj, uses the seconds while people are assembling to transfer a few of his binders to his pants pockets so as to have them to use. "Let's try to take some prisoners so ve get answers to our questions from someone." He tries to block out of his mind his concerns for the people who might get caught by stray weapons fire. They ought to know the type of management places like this have and expect trouble to visit such establishments eventually.
As Jehir throws the doors open, he reveals a storeroom filled with supplies for the bar outside, including bottles of hard alcohol, kegs of beer, and boxes of food and recreational stimulants. One corner holds amplifiers, musical instruments, and costumes for the club’s entertainers. A small card table near the center of the room has been flipped on its side to provide some temporary cover , and the final bouncer crouches behind it. As soon as Jehir bursts into the room, he fires a shot, which glances off Jehir's shoulder as he moves forward.
A single door stands in the north wall, occupied by a powerfully-built vesk in hulking, scrappy armor. A heavy laser weapon causally hangs from one hand as he surveys the assault.
Entiren uses this moment to release his spell, sending a pair of miniature stars streaking at the heavily armored vesk.
Block 1: Aureum , Diedre , Jehir , Miraj
Block 2: Downside Kings (Bouncers)
Block 3: Entiren
Block 1: Hatchbuster , Nadaz
As Aureum rushes into the storeroom with the others, she focuses her mind on the vesk in the corner, trying to affect him with her natural telepathic abilities.
As Aureum rushes into the storeroom with the others, she focuses her mind on the vesk in the corner, trying to affect him with her natural telepathic abilities.
The vesk's eyes glaze for a fraction of a second, but he shakes his head and growls at Aureum, "Need to try harder than that, lashling!"
Block 1: Aureum , Diedre , Jehir , Miraj
Block 2: Downside Kings (Bouncers)
Block 3: Entiren
Block 1: Hatchbuster , Nadaz
Jehir winces as he is struck by another laser blast. Can't stop now! he thinks. Best defense is a good offense!
He sprints into the room. He ducks behind a chair and hurls his spear at the Vesk, who looks like the most dangerous enemy.
"Haii!" he shouts as the spear flies across the room.
"Haii!" he shouts as the spear flies across the room.
Jehir's spear connects with the vesk, puncturing the armor over his lower abdomen and causing him to grunt with pain before the spear leaps backwards, soaring through the air towards Jehir's open hand.
With a snarl, the vesk roars, "Welcome to Fusion Queen!" and hurls a grenade into the storeroom, catching Aureum, Entiren, and Jehir in the shocking blast .
Aureum and Entiren see the attack coming and are able to shield themselves from the brunt of the blast, but Jehir is focused on shielding himself from direct attacks from the vesk and is caught unawares by the grenade on his flank.
Meanwhile, the last bouncer, secure behind the upturned table, fires twice into the room, striking both Aureum and Diedre.
Block 3: Entiren
Block 1: Hatchbuster , Nadaz
Block 2: Aureum , Diedre , Jehir , Miraj
Block 3: Downside Kings (Bouncers)
"Agh! Throw a grenade in your own bar, why don't you?"
"Aaaiiiee!" Diedre screeches as the beam of heat hits her.
"If that leaves a scar ... " she mutters to herself through the pain.
She then shouts back through the door, "Tête de noeud!"
Block 2: Aureum , Diedre , Entiren , Jehir , Miraj
Block 3: Downside Kings (Bouncers) , Hatchbuster
Block 1: Nadaz
Deidre grabs an empty glass from the nearby bar and throws it through the door towards the far wall.
"Grenade! she yells out, hoping it'll work a second time with props.
"Grenade!" she yells out, hoping it'll work a second time with props.
Hatchbuster ducks his head, looking for the non-existent explosive .
Block 2: Aureum , [a]Diedre[/a] , Entiren , Jehir , Miraj
Block 3: Downside Kings (Bouncers) , Hatchbuster
Block 1: Nadaz
Miraj cringes slightly as the grenade goes off, waits for the sparks to die out, and rushes in, making a line toward the vesk. He tries to gain some advantage by scanning his body language, but with his armor combined with the chaos of the moment, he can't tell much. Still, fires Alice at him, hoping to close and attack with his sword next round to discourage him throwing more grenades.
Range = 30
Running up to Jehir, Entiren says to him as quietly as he can "I will not let you die today, friend." That said, he reaches out a hand to touch Jehir reassuringly on one of his shoulders. As he does so, he sends out a mental prayer to Desna. Song of the Spheres, cast some of your gentle light towards this darkened warrior's soul, so that he may continue to protect those in need. As he finishes the prayer, a faint wave of light, akin to an arora or similar phenomena, spreads out from his hand over Jehir's body, closing some of the wounds before fading away.
Miraj's shot connects, puncturing Hatchbuster's armor plating.
Meanwhile, Entiren tends to Jehir's wounds. As the faint light closes the gashes and soothes the burns, Entiren can't help but notice that Jehir's blood runs black, leaving viscous smears wherever it has been spilled. Instead of restoring a vibrant glow to Jehir's flesh, the nuar's magic only succeeds in restoring it to a pallid gray.
Block 2: Aureum , Diedre , Entiren , Jehir , Miraj
Block 3: Downside Kings (Bouncers) , Hatchbuster
Block 1: Nadaz
Aureum swears as the laser bolt strikes her, and crosses the room to put more distance between the combatants and herself. She fires off a shot at the last bouncer before, trying to catch him before he notices her.
Aureum isn't able to break line of sight from her target - despite the chaos - but the lashunta does manage to shoot him in the leg around his makeshift cover.
Block 2: Aureum , Diedre , Entiren , Jehir , Miraj
Block 3: Downside Kings (Bouncers) , Hatchbuster
Block 1: Nadaz
Jehir winces with pain. "Thanks... friend," Jehir says to Entiren. He feels the life-giving energy fight with the undead influence in his blood, but his wounds begin to mend.
His eyes blaze with the pain and his jaws clench. With an inarticulate shout he rushes forward, Doshko raised high.
"Aaaaahhhh!"
"Aaaaahhhh!"
Jehir runs up to the towering vesk and slams his doshko down, catching Hatchbuster in the neck with the central blade. With a mighty heave, the solarian pulls down on his weapon, driving the entirety of the 18-inch steel spike into the gangster's chest. With a choked gurgle, Hatchbuster collapses to the ground.
"Holy mother of Iomedae!" With a look of abject fear, the last bouncer fires twice at Jehir, attempting to down the four-armed abomination that just killed the scariest person the gangster had ever met. The first shot misses Jehir by a hair, and the second is deflected by the roiling black aura encasing Jehir's armor, leaving him unscathed.
Block 2: Aureum , Diedre , Entiren , Jehir , Miraj
Block 3: Downside Kings (Bouncers)
Block 1: Nadaz
After she sees the armored vesk fall, Diedre draws her pistol and strides boldly into the room, pointing her weapon at the bouncer.
"Give it up douche-bag!" she calls out. "Drop your weapon and you can walk away. The odds are against you."
Aureum moves along the wall, taking a cheap shot at the bouncer while his attention is on her companions.
Diedre's "scary voice" doesn't intimidate the bouncer much, but it does give Aureum the opportunity to sneak up on the gangster and shoot him from behind. The laser bolt strikes him in the back of the neck and he crumples without a word.
Block 2: Aureum , Diedre , Entiren , Jehir , Miraj
Block 1: Nadaz
Jehir looks down at the body of the dead vesk.
Jehir looks down at the body of the dead vesk.
A hasty search of Hatchbuster yields a single grenade. It doesn't seem to be a very powerful model, but it's still a grenade, and Jehir picks it up.
Block 2: Aureum , Diedre , Entiren , Jehir , Miraj
Block 1: Nadaz
Miraj advances to Jehir's side, weapons ready. "These guys were fighting to zee death. Must mean something zey feared more than death is behind zis door. Probably their leader. Let's try to take her alive. She must know what these bonzards are meant to be accomplishing and for whom."
"She'll be waiting for us..." Jehir whispers. "We need some kind of distraction or she'll gun down the first one through the door. I can throw this," Jehir holds up the grenade, "And when it goes off we can rush the door."
"Now hold on," Diedre says, holding up one hand. "We don't always have to go in, 'Boom!, Bang!, Pew-Pew!'."
She walks over to where some of the musical instruments are covered with a pale drop cloth. Tearing off a square section of material, she waves it at the others like a flag.
"Let's offer to parlay. We've eliminated the majority of the on-site muscle. Maybe they'll be willing to talk."
She comes back to stand next to the door.
"And if that fails, we can still go the 'Pew-Pew, Kaboom!' route."
Jehir looks around. "Well... all right. Go ahead. But be careful."
"Hey you in there!" he shouts through the open doorway. "We just took out all your guys in... um," Jehir looks at his chronometer. "Less than 90 seconds! You want to talk about what we want? Or should we come in after you?"
"Hey Aureum," Diedre says as she pulls off the remnants of melted material that used to be her peek-a-boo top. "Let me borrow your duster, please?"
"Thanks," the half-elf says as she shrugs herself into the coat. She doesn't bother to fasten it. The view it creates is somehow more enticing then just her bare chest.
Diedre presents the white cloth through the doorway, waving it like a flag.
"Hello inside? Just harmless little Diedre coming in. No weapons. I just want to talk." She waves her other hand along with the flag as if to show she's not armed.
"Please don't shoot ... or throw something ... or cast something ... or blast me with a mind ray. I'd really hate that and my clothes have suffered enough today, thank you."
Diedre slips cautiously through the door, holding up her hands with her white flag held in one hand. Seeing just one occupant of the room, Diedre's confidence returns.
"Hey there! Yeah, I'm Diedre. My friends are still waiting outside. They're kinda the ... 'Pew-Pew' kinda folks. There's bunch of them and all of your people are kinda ... well ... well they might just be unconscious ... we didn't really check 'em. But in any case they're all out of action. So it's just you against all of us."
She shrugs with a smile.
"Now I know with all this, your day is coming off pretty sucky right now. But you could still walk away from this and plan your vicious revenge. Or they could kill you. C'mon, what do you say we finish this another day? Just lay down your weapons and tell us what we want to know and they won't ... "
She makes a gun shape with her fingers.
"Pew-Pew, Arghh!"
Aureum feels her cheeks flush at the the half-elf's state of undress, but she shrugs her coat off and tosses it to Diedre.
"Careful," she warns the girl as she approaches the doorway. "We haven't exactly made the greatest first impressions."
Having been hit with several laser bolts already, she isn't keen on leaving things up to chance; the lashunta takes hold of the table that the last bouncer had been crouching behind, moving it around to provide herself with some form of cover, should the attempt at diplomacy go poorly.
Diedre presents the white cloth through the doorway, waving it like a flag.
"Hello inside? Just harmless little Diedre coming in. No weapons. I just want to talk." She waves her other hand along with the flag as if to show she's not armed.
"Please don't shoot ... or throw something ... or cast something ... or blast me with a mind ray. I'd really hate that and my clothes have suffered enough today, thank you."
Diedre's flag is met with neither bullets nor explosions. As she cautiously pokes her head around the door, she sees what appears to be an office - a desk and two chairs sit in the room, pointed to a collection of vidscreens showing multiple entertainment feeds. In the northwest corner of the room, a door leads to an apparent storage closet.
Diedre slips cautiously through the door, holding up her hands with her white flag held in one hand. Seeing just one occupant of the room, Diedre's confidence returns.
"Hey there! Yeah, I'm Diedre. My friends are still waiting outside. They're kinda the ... 'Pew-Pew' kinda folks. There's bunch of them and all of your people are kinda ... well ... well they might just be unconscious ... we didn't really check 'em. But in any case they're all out of action. So it's just you against all of us."
She shrugs with a smile.
Behind the desk a human woman crouches, pointing a pistol at Diedre. Her greasy blond hair is mostly shaved to reveal a series of crude tattoos covering her scalp and running down her neck, arms and chest under patchwork armor. Diedre immediately recognizes this woman as Ferani Nadaz, the leader of the Downside Kings, from the information the group gathered the previous day.
"Now I know with all this, your day is coming off pretty sucky right now. But you could still walk away from this and plan your vicious revenge. Or they could kill you. C'mon, what do you say we finish this another day? Just lay down your weapons and tell us what we want to know and they won't ... "
She makes a gun shape with her fingers.
"Pew-Pew, Arghh!"
With a scowl, the woman tosses her gun at Diedre's feet and slowly stands, her hands raised above her head.
"Fine."