Sharlavaka waded through the crowds, most of which only came up to his hips, with a surprising amount of finesse and skill. He was slowed more by not walking straight over the Dwarfs than anything else.
Tamrat pipes up as they're moving through the crowd, "Friends please, we must be getting through! If you could kindly allow us passage, it would be most appreciated!"
As Sharlavaka moves ahead dexterously, Tamrat calls out in a friendly but authoritative voice, and the common miners, with some grumbling, move aside as best they can to allow you passage. Of course, in a couple blocks you'll be hemmed in again, but any time saved may be crucial.
Pushing your way toward the light at the end of the vast cavern that makes up The Old City, you get a bit tangled up again a couple blocks to exit. Meanwhile...
"We're going to land at the edge of the Quardath. That means you guys have about a quarter mile to cover. Can't get closer than that; buildings are too tight and Defense Force hovercars are canvasing the area."
Thalin tries to work his way through the crowds as smoothly as he can, causing as little disruption as possible while taking every move forward he can find.
You've made it to the outer city, and from here you can see the battle raging in the air. Defensive hovercars are pelting downward into the streets a few blocks ahead, presumably at Azlanti invaders. The invaders are firing back, occasionally taking out hover.
The PCs are moving toward Map South, to rendezvous with the Exsilium in an open area. Mostly Dwarven bystanders are moving toward Map North (toward the Old City and the safety of the caverns). Azlanti troops are hot on their tails.
Well, this was going to get awkward. Sharlavaka armed his weapon, but didn't wish to fire until he was sure of his fire lanes. Shooting over the Dwarfs was possible, but dangerous. He continued to move towards the Azlant, hoping for a better shot.
Six-Pack, advance via rooftop... Target Azlanti troops, no Dwarf casualties. Indexing images for recognition.
Step aside, let us through... We've got the Azlanti scum, get to safety. James advances as much as he is able.
Hunh. They'r righ' in t' mix w' t' civilians. Gotta git us bet'r angle . . .. No time fer t' kit. Thalin looks to his left, and sees if he can't climb up onto that building so that he can shoot over the other dwarves instead of through them . . ..
Noting how their heavy hitter was having trouble getting into position, Eshenvral approached him carefully from behind and chanted something elvish. The Vesk would then find himself lifted up into the air against his accord, with only Esh's voice there to abate any panic. "You'll get a better angle of them from high up. Take advantage while you can, it'll last seven minutes only."
"Seven minutes? Should be sufficient." Sharlavaka felt confusion and disorientation as he bodyweight shifted to neutral. But he had enough Zero-G experience to make up for this, and began to float over to a building. He suspected that simply floating into the area would be what many would dub 'target practice', and while he was resilient he would prefer to avoid the wrath of the Azlant military's entire might.
Instead, he used the windows of the nearby buildings as cover and kept to the minimum height that would give him a clean shot.
Initiative, Round 1
Tamrat:
Thalin:
Sharlavaka:
Esh:
Joyride:
Azlanti:
Bystanders:
Tamrat radios to Sharlavaka, "Look alive, get ready to start shooting!"
"Let's give them some more targets, shall we?" The elf murmured, taking a moment to look around for good positions. Finding a good building that was higher up and had some blasted out windows, he weaved his hands together and twisted photons into a new form.
To the eyes of the Azlanti invaders, an unexpected squad of dwarven defenders have emerged in a strategic position, yelling out gibberish that sounded vaguely dwarven and blasting towards them in a harrying maneuver. Over his commlink, he spoke a codified message that would let the actual defenders know that these reinforcements were merely holograms.
Getting to the place he could get the best shot, Sharalvaka paused then opened fire.
The dwarven temperament shies through as Thalin doesn't even consider closing with the Azanti at this point, but continues to try to climb this wall!
Sharlavaka hits one with a solid attack. They survive the hit, however.
Thalin is capable of reaching the top of the building in one move action.
So...
Joyride stated he wanted to move, Sixpack is also moving into place to rain hell on the additional Azlanti, which appears to be an entire platoon of about 40 (whom Sharlavaka and Thalin can now see because they've got altitude).
Esh cast flight LAST ROUND, technically he can still act if he wants.
Sharlavaka flew up and attacked.
Thalin climbed the wall (technically I think he can still attack as well.
Tamrat use a special ability.
Most of the Azlanti continue to open fire on the fleeing miners and other civilians. Several others manage to take out a Defense Force hovercraft, which crashes off-map and destroys a building.
One of the troops fires his rifle at Sharlavaka.
Three of them managed to perceive Sixpack, but only one is in a position to bother with him.
"Let's give them some more targets, shall we?" The elf murmured, taking a moment to look around for good positions. Finding a good building that was higher up and had some blasted out windows, he weaved his hands together and twisted photons into a new form.
To the eyes of the Azlanti invaders, an unexpected squad of dwarven defenders have emerged in a strategic position, yelling out gibberish that sounded vaguely dwarven and blasting towards them in a harrying maneuver. Over his commlink, he spoke a codified message that would let the actual defenders know that these reinforcements were merely holograms.
Once in position, Thalin pulls his ring and sends a plasma blast downrange. Literally.
Thalin hits as well, doing some damage.
The Dwarves continue to push inward, attempting to get out of the way of the invaders, or occasionally turning to counter-attack.
Top of Round 2
Ignoring the incoming fire, Sharalvaka opened up again. It wasn't like he could easily miss firing into the pack like this.
In the back of his mind Eshenvral continues to have his holograms fire into the Azlanti platoon. If return shots are being given, he has one of phantom dwarves 'die' after getting hit, in order to seem realistic. He himself moves forward through the crowd, before then taking a left and stepping into the clear grassy area. His hands began to spark with arcane power, sending shiver down his spine. The mage then stepped forward, and unleashed it all at once through his enemies.
The dwarf tries to adjust position to maximize his cover, before taking a shot at the one closest to him . . ..
Six-Pack clambers along the rooftops, finally perching behind what cover he can find. The words stream across Joyride's terminal. [i]Approaching unsubs identified as Azlanti troops. Nearest enemy cluster found, no risk of civilian casualties, no structure damage. Launching...
Opening an encrypted channel, including the team and ship - Gardathir, this is James Maxwell, callsign "Joyride" of the Exsilium... we are about to bug out - once we board, requesting intel and video feeds for analysis.
Will overlay to discern attack pattern, goal and enemy vulnerability. Will share results.
If there is anything we can help with, please advise and I will relay to the Captain.
Message acknowledged, Joyride. Still no word from your handler Morgrym. Afraid he might have been in a safehouse that was hit with grenades during initial incursion.
Six Pack's attack hits but with limited effect.
Safehouse? What safehouse, please forward coordinates to my node and Exsilium... Otis, please query the Captain regarding a possible focused search and rescue sortie.
Unfortunately, Morgrym is the high value target.
Thank you, Gardathir Communications. Keep us advised, we will reciprocate.
Tamrat leans out from cover and takes a shot at the Azlanti directly in front of Sharlavaka and radios to the party, "Focus your fire on that one!"
"Why focus on one when I can focus on all of them?" The technomage proposed, his hands sparking with seed lighting in preparation for another strike.
Thalin's trick attack was a miss, BTW.
Tamrat's shot is a success, but the trooper fights on.
Speaking of which:
Two fire at Thalin, though being on the roof he has cover; they need to hit KAC 27, which is gonna be rough.
Two more of the ones in front fire at Sharlavaka:
- A hit
And one finishes off the Dwarf to the left of Sharlavaka. They also march forward, prepared to enter melee with the Vesk if necessary.
Dwarves take some potshots, but fail. In fact, one fails to badly it hits Sharlavaka from behind, but glances off his armor without damage.
Top of Round 3
Whole party may act. New map is coming, but essentially, the dwarves will have moved past you, and the Azlanti will have advanced.
The mage then stepped forward, and unleashed it all at once through his enemies.
Almost all of the opponents in question are caught completely off guard by the attack. One falls to the ground, dead. The rest of that entire row of the Azlanti now have smoking entry marks in their armor, and are visibly shaken by the damage they've just received. Unbelievably, they seem prepared to soldier on.
Well, Sharlavaka wasn't sure fighting them all in close combat was a good plan. Even if Azlant soldiers were made of foam, enough foam could bury you. Instead, he floated backwards and kept firing. Flight was useful. Maybe he should get a jetpack?
Deciding that he has a chance for at least one more shot with his spell, esh peaks himself outside of cover long enough to finish another shot of lighting, tearing through his already battered and rattled targets.
Up in the structure, his false contingent of dwarves give off the impression of cheering, making rude gestures and redoubling their apparent efforts. As Azlanti continue to fire upon them, more of the 'dwarves' seem to die. One he decides to execute in a particularly goresome manner, a wild Azlanti shot appearing to sever it's arm and causes it to seemingly loose balance. It falls, crashing with an apparent rattle of leaves into a shrub just below.
James targets the nearest standing Azlanti and pulls the trigger... all the while wondering if there is something more useful he could be doing.
Six-Pack... give me a smoke grenade, center mass and don't include the front line. Let's buy the miners some time. We already lost one.
Shalavaka's attack heavily damages another, though it still struggles on.
Esh's bolt takes out an astounding 7 of the troops he'd already injured, injuring two more critically.
Joyride's shot is a miss, but Six-Pack's smoke grenade strikes right where he wanted it, causing confusion as the Azlanti struggle over their injured and dead comrades.
Tamrat and Thalin still to act.
Tamrat forward to the next available cover before taking a shot at the closest Azlanti and saying, "Keep pushing, fend them off!"
The explorer will attempt to trick the one in the front on his side of the street, moving a little further away from the Azlanti mass before shooting at his selected target.
Tamrat's shot finishes off a highly injured troop.
For Thalin, I'm going to give a +1 bonus for higher ground for a total of 17, but that's unfortunately still a miss (barely). Six-Pack should also get the same bonus.
At this point, the Azlanti still standing open fire yet again.
From the side street, two fire at Thalin on the roof (with cover):
Amazing! one hits!
In the front row (those not distracted by the smoke grenade), two focus on the (illusionary) Dwarves firing from above, while one fires on Sharlavaka, now several feet above and behind them.