Ueda spins and levels his pistol at the door as it hisses closed, and lowers it. Spying the control panel just after Brass, he steps forward, pulling a small parcel from his satchel. "Allow me."
Deftly unrolling the bundle, which he clips to his chest to hang down with his tools, Ueda sets to work on the panel.
The panel pops off exposing the circuitry underneath.
You hear Jade's muffled reply through the door. The sounds of struggle make it somewhat indecipherable "He ...ling the Ch...! ... stee ... our ...!"
Ueda calmly sets the panel on the ground and spends a moment examining the circuits, during which his eyes return to their usual bright blue-green. "Once I have unlocked the door, you may be able to force it open," he comments, fetching the proper tools from his kit. "It could be faster than having to activate the hydraulics."
A moment later, the sound of the lock giving way comes from the door and Ueda nods, not yet turning from the panel. "Now," he says.
"I think I've got this!!"
When the door opens you see Jade and the invisible man engaged in combat
Behind them, on the screen, you see Carson being held at gunpoint just inside the entrance to the Chariot by what appears to be a bear in overalls and goggles.
As Moreau boards the Chariot it becomes apparent that he isn't holding the camera; by its movement it seems to be on a flying drone. The camera hovers outside the ship as Moreau takes over the holding of Carson at gunpoint.
"He's stealing the Chariot! He's stealing our ship!" shouts Jade.
Moreau smiles at the camera, and at you. He's showing both sides of his face now, bestial and human. It's not a good look.
When the invisible man fails to make it out the door before it closes, he grabs the first thing available to defend himself with--the portable fire suppression system--and starts swinging it around like a flail.
While he does this, Moreau complains that he has lost his audience and no longer feels a need to hide the fact he's standing outside the Chariot. The camera follows him as he approaches the ship. A bear-like creature in bear-sized boots and with bear-sized coveralls holds a bear-sized pistol in large non-bearlike hands (complete with opposable thumbs). Carson looks helpless with this bear-sized pistol to his head.
Through the door Jade can hear Vonash checking on her and tries to yell, "He is stealing the Chariot. He's stealing our ship." but the cry is somewhat muffled by the fighting.
Brass sees them at chariot, and with split second thinking only capable due to the advanced computing in his head he makes a split second decision to try and stop them.
Brass turns around and takes off double moving to get out of the ship.
Ueda stands with pistol in hand even as the door opens, his eyes flashing orange again as his tools jangle against his chest. He raises his arm toward Griffin's outline and pulls the trigger twice.
As Brass runs he encounters the challenges of moving through a ship on a slant with no compensating grav plating.
Ueda's shot hits. Dr. Griffin moves back from Jade and tries to hide.
Moreau, happy to see Ueda (and Vonash?) again at least, smiles and says, "In case I wasn't clear, I'm the bear. Or, well, we're the bear. We are big, bad and scary and we have your ship. We even have your pet ape..."
An orangutang that looks an awful lot like M'ilo emerges from the shadow of the ship and gently takes Moreau's belt.
If that was enough to spot Dr Griffin, she'll say
"You're nowhere near as well hidden as you think, I DO see you"
Whether or not she can see him :
"Griffin, we really don't want to kill you (I don't, anyway). Just surrender! Please. If you hide or fight we're going to have to hurt you more and that would be a bad thing"
Hopefully
To Dr Moreau
"You're the bear? What did you do with the REAL bear? Why are you attacking us like this anyway? Can't we just talk this over like civilized folk"
"Frackin-fricker ....," a voice grumbles as the naked Dr. Griffin allows himself to become visible. He modestly dangles the compact fire extinguisher in front of him like a high tech fig leaf. He addresses Moreau, not Vonash, "You'd really leave me here in the worst of all centuries?"
"Immanuel!" Jade shouts as the door opens. "Moreau's heading for our ship, meet the others there."
Without waiting for a reply, she turns her attention back towards the chameleon-skinned humanoid, keeping her knife at the ready and her eyes trained on him, but not moving closer or taking any aggressive moves. "Doctor Griffin, you are both wounded and outmanned. You may think your disguise will save you, but I can assure you that, much like Doctor Moreau's plan, it will fail. Already I've begun analyzing the patterns at work, and my companions will stop Moreau's escape, if they have not already. Surrender, and you have my word, we will get you back to where you belong."
"I am Doctor Jade Essex. In a previous life I fought for android liberation, and in this one I am a physician and professor of genetics. I am a being that values life - all life - and I do not wish to harm you. Please, do not force me to."
Brass is at the door of the Deepwell ship. He can see the Chariot from here and can see Moreau holding Carson at gunpoint. However, there are stumps and felled trees in the way, caused by the crashing of the ship; it would take him two rounds to get to the door of the Chariot going full tilt.
Griffin doesn't move. His voice is careful and deliberate, "I'm not going back to prison. And I'm not going back to the future. I've seen what's coming."
Ueda is still focused on Griffin for a moment, but when Jade calls his name, he turns to listen. With a brisk nod, he dashes out the door and follows Brass's path, moving as quickly as he can on the sloped surface.
At least feeling like Griffin is open to conversation, Jade continues following that track, though drops the prison idea immediately. She shakes her head. "It would not be appropriate for me to ask about the future you are from, but tell me about yourself. What are you a doctor of?"
Vonash will still with Jade while the others rush after Dr Moreau.
"Ok, no going back to the future. No prison. But we DO have to tie you up right now. You've got my word, no prison, no going back to the future. Ok?"
She frantically looks around for something to tie up the Dr with. Will whip off her shirt from underneath her armour if that is all there is.
Body modesty is NOT one of her problems :-)
Brass sprints forward eyes focused on the man in front of him. he moves in between the downed trees and the stumps stopping after a short sprint to refocus. Seen his companion at gun point he stops and starts to move unseen and quietly between the broken forest to get a closer and a clear shot on Moreau.
Griffin fumes quietly.
"He has a Masters in hacking and and a PhD in safecracking," says Dr. Moreau, answering Jade's question. "I'll play a farewell song for you, old friend. Tell them nothing. Adieu."
Griffin fumes harder.
Brass is going to sneak up a little closer and find himself a good position to shoot from that gives him cover and has a clear shot at Moreau. Once he’s found a spot he’s going to try and get a get a clean shot on Moreau.
Vonash will bind Dr Griffin with his shirt.
While she is doing that
"So, why don't you please fill us in on what is going on. Because I, at least, am very, very confused. First off, what ARE you? You're not any race that I've ever seen before"
"I'm human," says Griffin somewhat defiantly. "And prisoner #14920803. Dr. Moreau made me like this. He made the others, too--Kitty and Ursus. He promised us a whole new world."
"Griffin," says Moreau "The more they know, the harder it will be ..."
A bullet pings off the side of the Chariot not far from Moreau. He gazes around quickly and, not seeing where it came from decides it is safer to retreat. He fires his pistol into Carson's back and steps back into the ship as Carson falls to the ground outside. Orangutang Milo looks shocked.
Brass is going to move forward and look to see if Carson is wounded or dead.
Ueda can still see Moreau, who has just retreated a couple steps into the ship. He still gets a chance to act this turn, as does Jade.
He’s going to try to remain in cover, if he can’t get close enough he’ll move from cover.
Brass can see Carson without physically examining him, and remaining in cover. Carson is lying on his side. Brass can see that the laser blast that shot Carson went right through. He's bleeding from wounds on the front and back, although not as heavily as he would if the weapon hadn't partially cauterized the flesh as it passed through. If Carson isn't dead, he will be soon.
One of his arms is stretched out, his hand pointing into the bushes.
Ueda pauses for only a moment as he steps out of the ship, his eyes locking on Moreau holding Carson at gunpoint. His eyes flick to Brass, and even in that split second, he knows how this will go. If the two of them were humans, or other biological races, they might hesitate longer. Second-guess themselves, the situation, wonder about risks and rewards. But androids think clearly, especially those who've done what Brass and Ueda have done. Nothing is worth the mission, or losing the Chariot.
So when Brass fires, Ueda's eyes flash orange, locking onto Moreau once again, and he fires a shot, knowing the distance will make it difficult.
Seeing a friend go down, Vonash will quickly rush outside and head towards Carson. While she'll dodge a bit and try and get a bit of cover her priority by far is to get to Carson.
As soon as she gets within 25 ft of Carson she'll cast Stabilize
At the beginning of the round, Jade and Vonash are on the bridge of the Deepwell ship watching on a monitor. They would have seen the same events during the round through the monitors, but cannot see directly without exiting the bridge, making your way down the corridor, and looking out through the entrance (where Ueda is now.)
Jade looks at Doctor Griffin, keeping an eye on him as Vonash binds him. As much as she longed to run out and check on Carson, she knew better than to jeopardize the mission. Were she human, she would surely have begun destroying the room - as an android, she was aware of the fury bubbling within her, but followed the path of logic.
Her eyes meet Doctor Griffin's, and while she still fears for Carson, she finds herself overcome with pity for Griffin, saying softly, "It was wise of you to surrender. Doctor Moreau will come to regret the decisions he has made." Pausing, she looks at the video feed again, speaking loudly now, such others can hear her. "Tell me, Doctor Griffin - Kitty and Ursus - where will they stand? Will their bodies lay beside those of my comrade, or will they, too, make the smart move, and abandon the butcher who has lied to them, used them, and experimented on them, and who would gladly cast them aside to save himself?"
Orangutang Milo looks at Carson's body with an expression of burning rage, but he does not turn and show this face to Moreau.
When Jade speaks, a fur covered humanoid pops into view beside Moreau briefly. You don't get a very clear look, but the pointy ears and sleek outline were feline. "Which one said that? Was that Jade or Vonash?"
"Get this ship in the air, Kitty," growls Moreau before turning his doggish side to the camera. "Apparently, Kitty is a long-time fan. Personally, I've never heard of you and now I'm bored of talking to you."
Moreau stomps back into the ship, pressing the panel that shuts the outer door as he goes. The last thing you hear is him yelling something to Ursus. The hovering camera zooms after him and into the ship as the door shuts. Angry orangutang Milo looks at Brass and then follows Moreau. The door shuts behind him.
Those on the Deepwell ship, see Moreau fire his weapon a second time--this time at his own hovering camera. The video screen goes dark. You are no longer in communication with Dr. Moreau. Brass, outside the ship, could only hear the weapon's fire not what it was fired at.
"I'm going to kill Dr. Moreau," says Griffin to himself.
"You may have to get in line." Jade mutters dryly as the screen goes dark. "That... happened much faster than I was prepared for."
Speaking into her comms, "Team, we need to get inside..."
Waiting for a response from the others, she cocks her head at Dr Griffin, glancing around the ship. "I do not suppose you have any ideas??"
Not being a doctor, Vonash wasn't sure that Carson was dead until she got close enough to cast stabilize, only to find it failing due to an invalid target
"The bastard killed Carson. For no good reason. Please tell me that we have a way to follow him.
Or maybe we go back in time and stop him that way? Can one do that? Rewrite the time stream. Yes, that should work shouldn't it?"
Brass gets out of the bushes and growth slinging his rifle and taking off his helmet, he looks over Carson’s dead body for a moment and a somber look comes on his face. the death of a teammate is always hard. But we can not let it stop us from getting the ship back. Or ensuring that Dr. Moreau understands just how painful death can be.
He puts on his helmet and starts to look at toward the ship. He is going to look for a way to broadcast to everyone in it, and another way into the ship.
There is a second entrance to the rear of the ship for loading cargo. Like the door Moreau just shut, you'd need to make an Engineering check to bypass the lock. Communicating with everyone in the ship would probably require a Computers check made from the other ship.
In response to Jade's question regarding having any ideas, Griffin looks thoughtful, but then only asks, "Can I get dressed now?"
"What do you all think? Dr Griffin seems to be in same category as us. Should we trust him do you think?"
To Dr Griffin
"If we DO let you go, do you promise to help us and not attack us or go against us in any way?"
Assuming he says yes, she'll try to detect deception on his part
Griffin raises what would be an eyebrow if he had any body hair, "I will not move against you; I will help you to get out of this disaster of a century in one piece; But, I will not go back to the future."
He seems to be sincere about that.
As Brass searches for a way into the Chariot, someone on board has found the ship's external speakers. Moreau's voice booms "This is going out to Griffin, and all those we'll be leaving behind." Music plays loud enough to be heard across the island.
Brass goes for the back cargo entrance
As the external speakers blast, "Open the door, Richard!" Brass gets the entrance to the cargo hold open. It is stocked with clothes and other common items appropriate for 1968.
Brass can hide here or attempt to move through the ship. Stealth and Perceptions checks would be appropriate.
Ueda has a couple of rounds available to him. Ueda is at the door of the Deepwell ship. He can see the Chariot from here. He cannot see the smaller ship that read "Temporal Enforcement" on the outside.
Brass is going to use his comm unit and speak to the others, “The back cargo hatch is open I’m going in, I’ll try to open the main door if I can. then brass is going to climb in working his way to the front of the ship.
Following Carson's apparent death and the doors to the Chariot sealing, Ueda moves after Brass, reloading his pistol as he goes with a spare magazine from his satchel. His eyes fade from orange to blue, but lose none of their intensity, and his steps are quick and purposeful. The android nods as Brass begins moving into the ship. "I will provide backup and overwatch," he says.