Fixit and Chikasa continued to work on the shields and power core, patching them up as best they can, even as the pilots maneuver to gain advantage. The lumbering enemy ship slid backwards again, its turret tracking your ship.
Round 8 HELM PHASE - Pilot (janilla up!)
Drake status:
Shields light 70 (forward 7, port 14, starboard 15, aft 12)
HP 33/85; CT 17
Grumbling to herself, "Yeah, yeah, sure....go fix the power core....that is so much more important than balancing the shields....yeah...right...well....I guess I have to do this my way...."
With that Janilla throws the ship forward, evading as best as she can. Knowing her forward shields are WEAK, she does her best to put her aft shields towards the enemy, while attempting to keep the enemies port side the main target of Saryn and Senesdar. This of course makes them fly RIGHT next to the enemy ship. A fine sheen of sweat is obvious on her forehead.
Piloting (evade DC 16):1d20 + 11 ⇒ (12) + 11 = 23
AC 21, TL 21
"Talavet, I pray they don't have any self-destruct ability" she prays to herself.
Male N Kasatha Gladiator Soldier 4 | SP 32/32 HP 32/32 | RP 5/6 | EAC 16; KAC 16; ACvCM 24 | Fort +5; Ref +3; Will +5 | Init: +2 | Perc: +1, SM: +1 | Speed 40 ft | darkvision 60 ft (in armor), normal vision | Active conditions: none
Senesdar keeps aiming at them with the turret coilgun, firing off a shot after they pass the strange ship.
Saryn missed completely with he heavy laser, but Senesdar managed to drop the port shields completely. Janilla's firing left the aft of the drake open to enemy fire, and the twin-linked cannons punched right through the shields and ripped into the drake, causing all the weapons systems in the aft and turret to go haywire.
"I'm on it," Chikasa sighs as a whole other system goes on the fritz following another impact. He switches over to the weapons systems and works on rebalancing the power distributors to keep them from overheating.
With that she throws the ship forward as fast as she can, and at the last minute pushed hard down on the thrusters....flipping the ship on its end, having them face the baddies directly.
With that done, she immediately grabs a handy barf bag she left there when she was told she was going to be the pilot, and noisily uses said bag.
Sounds of retching starts
Gunners, sorry but I think the enemy is going to be ~7 spaces away....it was the best the few options I had to make certain that the forward guns were facing the baddie. Guesstimate is that if GM does what I would do...they will have their forward and port to us, and they will be able to target our forward and port (it will be on that diagonal where either forward or port weapons can be used, and will hit forward or port....if that makes sense)
Not looking up from the barf bag...wishing she had brought a few....."Gurk", "Thanks",More retching follows.
Not to hurt our chances, but I really think Janilla should for the next round be at a -2 to her init and piloting rolls...mainly because she did something STUPID and made her lose her cookies...yeah, self-penalizing myself for roleplaying her quirks and disadvantages...
Oh yeah, AC 19, TL 19...didn't get to evade because of flip-and-burn (but as such an evasive maneuver I wonder why it doesn't give AC bonuses....oh well, realism vs. mechanics)
Male N Kasatha Gladiator Soldier 4 | SP 32/32 HP 32/32 | RP 5/6 | EAC 16; KAC 16; ACvCM 24 | Fort +5; Ref +3; Will +5 | Init: +2 | Perc: +1, SM: +1 | Speed 40 ft | darkvision 60 ft (in armor), normal vision | Active conditions: none
Senesdar fires at the opponent ship.
Coilgun (+Comp):1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 6 + 1 = 27Yes! Damage:4d4 ⇒ (1, 2, 4, 4) = 11I don't think that the damage gets doubled, but that is a Critical Damage (assuming that it hits their hull).
It is a slugfest once more as your two ships spun and wove in space to face off once more. Coilguns and missile launchers sent their ammunition downrange, while bursts of coherent laser light flashed in the minor particles in space. At the end of the exchange, both ships were badly damaged, with air and metal fragments jettisoning into the black ocean.
A critical plus enough damage for another CT gets you 2 rolls on the CD table - sensors and starboard weapons (and turret).
Your drake takes enough damage for a CT - port weapons (and turret)
In the interests of finishing this combat off quickly, I am going to bot the Engineering phase
Chikasa patched this and rewired that, desperately trying to keep up with the damage coming in from the enemy ship. He managed to put some more shields up, but they wouldn't last long.
The lumbering enemy moved directly towards you, ignoring any chance of more evasive flight. It seems that the enemy pilot was either desperate or taking foolish chances.
Round 9 HELM PHASE - Pilot and SO up
Drake Status::
Port weapons (and turret) - Glitching
Shields light 70 (forward 7, port 9, starboard 9, aft 9)
HP 13/85; CT 17
I looked at the Init, and even with my self imposed -2 to skill checks I did win the init....keeping that with my roll for the combat this round
Still looking very green, and doing a lot of deep breaths trying to keep her stomach as settled as possible, Janilla attempts to keep their forward weapons aimed at the (hopefully) weakened Port side of the enemy.
"Hold on again..."Gurk"...this might still be a bit bumpy."
Pilot (Maneuver to reduce distance on turns to 1 DC 21):1d20 + 11 - 2 ⇒ (15) + 11 - 2 = 24
She is so going to hate herself later....
If it was possible for her to get more green, she would be, but as it is maybe she is getting a bit grey now?
"I hate my life....why can't I just stay in the library....." as she reaches for a waste container.
Male N Kasatha Gladiator Soldier 4 | SP 32/32 HP 32/32 | RP 5/6 | EAC 16; KAC 16; ACvCM 24 | Fort +5; Ref +3; Will +5 | Init: +2 | Perc: +1, SM: +1 | Speed 40 ft | darkvision 60 ft (in armor), normal vision | Active conditions: none
Fixit desperately rebalanced the shields, though at this point it was moot as the enemy's shots flew wide. Saryn also missed, and the glitching turret weapons had Senesdar missing as well.
Janilla hears the words of Dr. Morvius and smiles a little. This seems to settle her stomach a little. She is able to put down the waste container, thinking she might want to dispose of that after the combat, and gets back to work.
Thinking more on how the ship has been flown, she almost by instinct realizes that the enemy will flip-and-burn. With that she decides to evade the best she can, and keep her ships forward weapons facing the enemy's port.
Male N Kasatha Gladiator Soldier 4 | SP 32/32 HP 32/32 | RP 5/6 | EAC 16; KAC 16; ACvCM 24 | Fort +5; Ref +3; Will +5 | Init: +2 | Perc: +1, SM: +1 | Speed 40 ft | darkvision 60 ft (in armor), normal vision | Active conditions: none
Reminder Saryn, you can shoot with two weapons once per fight with a -4 on both shots.
Fixit can see from the scanners that the enemy ship is in as bad of condition as you are, if not worse. Air is streaming from many torn spaces in the hull, and the shields are flickering. It is likely that with a bit of luck, you could win this fight in this next pass. Especially with Janilla's flying keeping you on their wounded port side.
Male N Kasatha Gladiator Soldier 4 | SP 32/32 HP 32/32 | RP 5/6 | EAC 16; KAC 16; ACvCM 24 | Fort +5; Ref +3; Will +5 | Init: +2 | Perc: +1, SM: +1 | Speed 40 ft | darkvision 60 ft (in armor), normal vision | Active conditions: none
I'm just hoping that we can get out of this combat, and that could help. Don't feel pressed to do it if you don't want to however.
Senesdar takes aim with the coilgun once again, hoping to get a good shot on their opponent.
With a flurry of shots, you tear down the enemy's shields and rip through his torn hull. The unknown ship ceased firing and maneuvering, coasting dead in a straight line from its built-in momentum. The combat was over for now, and you take stock of your own losses. One of the crew cabins was gone, its far wall open to space. Much of Engineering was a shredded mess, and only Chikasa's armor kept him breathing air instead of vacuum. The engines were damaged and the power core was on its last legs. Still, it appears you survived the contest, and that is what counts.
"Well that went about as well as a starin' contest with a mountain eel," Chikasa says as he leans back in his seat with a sigh. "But still, we made it through. Good work, ever'body! I'll make sure we can make it down to the surface in one piece here. Cap'n you wanna get back in touch with those kind folks back on the surface an' let 'em know we're on our way in?"
"Talavet be praised!" Janilla says, and then quietly to herself mostly,[b]"Renny, you will be amazed on what I learned from you....I need to tell you this when I next see you."
"Are we going to do anything with that hulk? Or should we just ignore it and get back to talking with the people down on the planet?"
Ooookkaaayyy. That now falls in the hardest ship combat I have had so far...only one scenario that is tier 5-8 comes close to that...
Male N Kasatha Gladiator Soldier 4 | SP 32/32 HP 32/32 | RP 5/6 | EAC 16; KAC 16; ACvCM 24 | Fort +5; Ref +3; Will +5 | Init: +2 | Perc: +1, SM: +1 | Speed 40 ft | darkvision 60 ft (in armor), normal vision | Active conditions: none
Same here as well.
Senesdar leans back in his seat, glad for the confrontation to finally be over.
