"I'll tell ya what your problem is, man." Spin gasps as he fires a shot and pain flares in his side... sending the bullet wide. "You're too damn picky."
Spin's bullet takes a chunk of plastic from the bar-top, forcing Back-Up to seek cover yet again. Bleeding and in pain, the bar patron has had enough. He drops his piece and surrenders.
Scenario 2: Full Auto Rescue
Spin had run-ins with Waco Red and his crew before. He was a bottom-dwelling trader/smuggler who would take any piece of work that came his way. He wasn't above using a shiv or a bullet on a competitor, or a client, if a better deal was to be had. All that aside, Spin got along OK with Red because they weren't in the same orbit. Spin took the odd jobs and small hauls - fitting the size of his small boat. Red had a Far Trader - easily three times the size of a Scout. He took big hauls and the dirtiest deals. So when they crossed paths, it was mostly semi-aggressive barbs but little blood.
Opportunist that he was, Waco Red liked to poach - whether that was stealing a job or good crewmen. Over the last year, he'd made several approaches - subtle or aggressive - to Moon, Spin's Engineer, trying to steal her for his crew. His engines were notoriously temperamental, probably from the abuse Red put them through. Fortunately for Spin, Moon had no interest in working for Red or nursing a fat galley through the stars.
But some men don't take 'no' for an answer. So when, Spin and Rai returned to the ship and found the place tossed, their Engineer gone, and her room roughly emptied out... it only took quick check with ground control to learn that Red's boat was on-planet. Much as the boys didn't have an interest in shedding blood - Red and his cutthroat crew weren't going to hand Moon over if Spin and Rai said 'pretty please'. They were going to have to take her back...
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Waco Red and his cutthroats have kidnapped Moon and are holding her somewhere on board their Trader. They are prepping for take-off so you have to load up and raid to get her back. What you know about the crew is there are at least a half dozen of them, they are all combat vets, and have some military training. They go armored and heavily armed.
Sadly, in your haste, you didn't have a chance to research the likely floorplan of this type of ship... so you are going to have to go in blind. You do know a few things. The Far Trader has two levels. The bottom holds the cockpit, crew quarters, the majority of the hold space, and the lower engineering section. The upper level is mostly passenger spaces, small storage, and the upper engineering section.
There are multiple points of entrance (you'll see those on the combat map) but entering by the front or sides will put you in sight-line of either the cockpit or one of the two turrets. Needless to say, that is potentially disastrous. If they bring the turret to bear on you, you'll be a skidmark.
Fully load out your character up to TL 10. You can be in Combat Armor if you like. I strongly suggest you take an automatic weapon, sidearm, melee weapon, and possibly grenades.
Feel free to ask questions about the combat map so we can plan the assault.
Spin and Rai prepare for war, strapping on armor and every piece of hardware they can conceivably use. Surprise is their only edge and they take full adavantage of it. With luck, they can hit Red's ship and retrieve Moon before Red has a chance to put a wrench in her hand. They load their gear in the air/raft and launch within 15 minutes of returning to the pilfered ship.
Spin downs the 'raft in some woods and they hike the rest of the way in - approaching the Fat Trader from the rear, it's only blind-spot... unless Red was watching the external cams.
After a brief debate, they decide to try the iris valve. Stooping beneath the boat, a difficult task in Combat Armor, they approach their access point. The bloody pin-lights on the panel controlling the sphincter-like flat door are discouraging. The ship is locked down and opening the door will likely set of an alert on the bridge.
Rai works the pad but fails to rascal the lock. Fortunately, Spin is able to disable the sensors before the alarm is tripped.
Muttering darkly to himself in Nepali, Rai pops the pad and finally manages to trip the lock. The iris valve slides open nearly silently, and our adventures climb inside, silenced sidearm's drawn...
Spin pats the big soldier on the shoulder as the iris-door opens, whispering, "Good of'em to leave the light on for us."
He double-checks his pistol's safety as he climbs through, eyes peeled for Waco's men.
Sheltered from view, our heroes slide slowly up the uneven corridor created by the dual nacelles of the jump engine. They hear a gruff voice speaking into a comm-link somewhere in the room beyond.
"...That's what I told ya. The Power Plant and M-Drive are in the green. Don't need the girl to tell me that! We can go whenever Red gives the word."
Despite the echoing chamber, Spin is fairly certain the thug is ahead and to the left. Rai apparently isn't so sure, giving the pilot a 'huh?' look.
Spin points to the left side of the end of the short hallway, indicating where he thinks the man is. Just to make sure, Spin creeps forward, hugging the left wall, trying to determine if the man is alone as well as getting a general sense of the room.
Spin and Rai creep forward until they can glance around the back of the nacelle. If there is another man in engineering, they don't see him.
Spin considers.
Spin points in the direction of the man, then holds up a single finger. He then points to both his own gun, Rai's gun, the man, then runs his finger across his own throat, finishing by mouthing "3... 2... 1..."
Hoping Rai understood, he quietly steps around the corner, a soft tak tak accompanying two shots from the snub pistol as he glides toward the man.
<-- Wild Die
In a fluid motion, Spin rounds the corner, braces against the engine, and squeezes off two silenced shots which stagger the guard.
A second behind, Rai clears the corner and fires another double-tap. While his shot grouping isn't as precise as Spin's, the larger calibre rounds are devastating. The guard drops - dead.
As Spin heads towards the body, he takes a second to look for two things: 1) security cameras and 2) a place big enough to stash the body.
Once over the dead man, he begins checking for keys, pass-cards, a radio or comms unit... as well as checking the man's personal weapons load-out for anything useful.
"Sorry, bud." Spin mutters as he quickly rifles through the man's pockets, "but you are in the wrong place and this is definitely the wrong time."
Rai checks the corpse's lack of pulse before sweeping the room, looking for stragglers.
Spin has no problem finding a place to hide the body in this engine room dominated with the blocky, asymmetric, drives. He also grabs the comm sitting in the fellow's ear. His only weapon is his still holstered sidearm and a dagger.
Spin finds what passes for a computer... a greasy screen for monitoring and controlling the Drives and Power Plant. If Waco installed internal cams, Spin can't see them.
Spin looks over the greasy surface, "Say, Rai. How much you know about ship's engines?" He looks up as if he could see through the metal sheeting between this room and the room above. "Should we blow sh!t up down here or up there?"
Spin pats the dead man's cheek twice as he settles the ear-piece in place, "Thanks, bud." He walks back out next to Rai and looks up at the ceiling before fishing his lucky coin out of his pocket.
"Heads is me. Tails is you." he says before flipping it into the air.
He catches the coin, then pockets it with a 'thems the breaks' look. "Let's go through this door." He points to the iris above himself , and taps the barrel of his pistol on his leg. "And the coin says I go first… who am I to argue?"
Decision made, Spin makes his way to the iris, giving Rai one last chance to make any suggestions before he takes a deep breath and opens it… gun at the ready.
Spin climbs the ladder and triggers the iris valve. It opens with a whoosh and the din from the Power Plant pours into the lower engineering section. He pops his head into the room, no opposition in sight.
Spin darts up through the floor-hole and slinks to the nearest machinery, quietly sliding along its surface towards the back of the ship. he takes a quick peek along the back of the machinery, looking for more of Waco's men as he waits for Rai.
Rai scampers up the ladder and silently indicates he plans to sneak around the other side of the massive power plant in the center of the room.
You slink around the machinery and determine you are alone in engineering.
Spin takes a quick look around for a way to bring the ship's power off-line... hopefully in a non-explosivey way (at least for the time being).
Spin shrugs at his friend. "So, power down the ship and head back down and forward?" If Rai agrees, Spin heads back towards the leftern iris... allowing the coin's decision to stand.
Rai considers the options. "Well, if we want to draw them to us, that'd be a good way. They are bound to come looking for the problem - particularly when they can't get in contact with that corpse downstairs."
"Oooohhh... good call. Let's do it." Spin makes his way to the controls. "What this place needs is some mood lighting… ambiance." He gives a satisfied 'aaaaahh' as the lights dim "Much better."
He begins to step away, then thinks better… putting four bullets into the interface. He shrugs at Rai, "Why make it easy?" He grins as he ejects his pistols' clip, sliding a fresh one home.
"Now, you're the soldier, mind helping me pick a decent ambush spot?"
The air handling system goes silent and bars of dim luminescence flicker into life along the edges of each wall.
Rai replaces the spent shells in his revolver and then holsters the sidearm before chambering a round in his ACR. "Well, staying here gives us the high ground... but it's where they expect the problem to be. I'm liking the idea of positioning ourselves downstairs near the engines. We got good escape routes and they probably want to avoid using heavy artillery around their delicate J-Drive." He smiles. "I can live with that terrain advantage."
"Sounds good to me," Spin responds. He follows his friend's instincts, holstering his own sidearm as he slides down the ladder, unslinging his own assault rifle and double-checking the clip as he looks for a good firing position.
As Spin looks at the three doors, a new idea blossoms in his mind, and he grins. He reslings the assault rifle and pulls free the auto-shotgun he bought specifically for this job. He looks over at Rai, then holds the stock of the shottie against his crotch, angling the barrel up at a suggestive angle. "Damn, man... this thing is so heavy!"
"That's why you're popular with the ladies."
For good measure, the soldier slides several large shells into the ACR's integral grenade launcher slung beneath the main barrel. "Waco s'gonna need an a$$load of paint after we're done."
Spin sees the grenade launcher, his hip-thrusting coming to an abrupt halt as he looks at his own gun. "Damn, man, they come with grenade launchers?! What'll they think of next?"
At the paint comment, Spin leans back on the wall and shrugs, "Well, unless he likes red."
Any further comment is cut off by a squelch from the dead thug's comm. It chatters to life.
Jonesy! Gaddamn it! What did you do?
There is silence for a moment.
Jonesy? Jonesy? You better not be on the crapper! Get that gaddamn powerplant up NOW. You read me?