Alf and Aldo's aim are WAY off. Chip and his drone score a couple of hits, but here comes Kaz! The vesk shoots the hobbe hound in the rump! The beast is slowed and wounded, but not out!
ROUND 1:
Alf: Miss
Chip: Hits
Angel: Go
Aldo: Miss
Kaz: CRIT
Hounds: TBD
******************************************
Location: Vohxa
Red: 17
Black:
Angel scores a light hit, but the mad hounds keep coming. They come charging in.
ROUND 2:
Alf: Go
Chip: Go
Angel: Go
Aldo: Go
Kaz: Go
Hounds: TBD
******************************************
Location: Vohxa
Red: 17
Black: 5
Aldo, calms his nerves as the pair of hounds race toward him and his crew. He watches, aims and pulls back the trigger just before they arrive. The beam of fire shoots out of his azimuth rifle and strikes the Red Hound directly in the face!
target red if it's still up, then black
Chip and the drone continue to fire
With Rhonda's guidance, Angel fires again at the same hobbe.
Her shot goes off prematurely.
"Rhonda! Target the damn things, not my foot!"
Round 2
With the hounds closing distance Kaz changes tactics. He drops his rifle and lets his sling catch it. He pulls it in tight with his off hand while he reaches out and slashes with his vesky claws.
Melee
Claws of Slashing
Alfonse gets all tricksy with Red as he shoots at the beast.
Aldo incinerates the first hound with a well placed shot!
Alf's feint falls flat, but his aim is still true. Chip and the drone also connect, but Angel is off.
Kaz then slashes the hound, leaving it quite wounded. The hound fights back!
for It then latches on to the vesk's arm!
ROUND 3:
Alf: Go
Chip: Go
Angel: Go
Aldo: Go
Kaz (SP: 2/8): Go
Hounds: TBD
******************************************
Location: Vohxa
Black: 18
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Elated that the first hound has been dealt with, Aldo notices Kaz dealing with the remaining vicious hound up close! The captain uses his Inspiring Boost to give the vesk a surge in Stamina!
"You are not alone, Kaz. We've got this!"
Round 3
Kaz gives a hiss of pain and yells to his comrades Shoot it, shoot it!
The vesk uses his other arm to claw at the hobbe.
Melee
Claws
Aldo boosts Kaz, though he can't follow up with a hit.
ROUND 3:
Alf: Go
Chip: Go
Angel: Go
Aldo: Boost
Kaz (SP: 8/8): Miss
Hounds: TBD
******************************************
Location: Vohxa
Black: 18
Alfonse tries to trick and shoot the one biting Kaz!
Alf hits again, this time he tricks the hound!
Aldo boosts Kaz, though he can't follow up with a hit.
Aldo incinerates the first hound with a well placed shot!
Alf's feint falls flat, but his aim is still true. Chip and the drone also connect, but Angel is off.
Kaz then slashes the hound, leaving it quite wounded. The hound fights back!
for It then latches on to the vesk's arm!
ROUND 3:
Alf: Hit
Chip: Go
Angel: Go
Aldo: Boost
Kaz (SP: 8/8): Miss
Hounds: TBD
******************************************
Location: Vohxa
Black: 22
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Chip continues to fire.
Chip's effort drop the second hound!
Gideron Authority troopers stroll onto the scene; they’re in no hurry to help, but they first move to take the shirren into custody and punish them for their failure....
"Let's get out of here before they get any ideas."
Alfonse fires up the tractor, ready to go.
"Let's get out of here before they get any ideas."
"I like the way you think, Alf. I also don't want to be paying the hobbies some of our profits just because we killed two of their out of control dogs! Let's go!"
The party puts their heads down as the authorities rough up the shirren a bit before hauling him in. Just as you grab the first boxes of the last palette, a hobgoblin guard approaches you, “Word is you all are transporting guns and grenades,” he says in a casual tone. “It sure would be a shame if they ended up in the hands of the resistance.”
“Word is you all are transporting guns and grenades,” he says in a casual tone. “It sure would be a shame if they ended up in the hands of the resistance.”
Aldo's ears perk up at the comment as he turns his head to sense his meaning.
"That would be a shame, wouldn't it?"
"Let's get out of here before they get any ideas."
Alfonse fires up the tractor, ready to go.
The vesk pries the dead hobbes jaws off his arm. He nods to the others Thanks, good shooting everyone. . Kaz is ready to go to.
Chip hits a few buttons on his communicator, ordering the drone to top off its current ammo supply
You can tell that there's some tech altering this hobgoblin's appearance, but you're not sure what his true form looks like.
It's obvious to enough of you that this isn't a guard, it's a resistance fighter.... He can tell that you can tell, and he switches to Common.
“You can see what’s going on here. Vohxa is a peaceful world of miners and their families. The Authority’s come on some trumped up excuse, and they’re not going to stop until we’re all enslaved or dead. We want to fight back, but hunting rifles are no match for hovertrucks. But if one of these trucks ends up going to a resistance hideout instead of an Authority armory, we might have a chance. Now, we could make that happen. What do you say?”
Aldo, I believe this job is going to "go south" very quickly if those hobbe hounds get out of the cage. While a distraction would be excellent to try to cause chaos here, this does not appear to be... here, Chip tips his head a bit, and puts on a slower, slurred drawl the...opportune moment... then he returns to his normal voice I believe I can take care of the cage, maybe even a bit surreptitiously.
Now THIS is...the opportune moment.
"Hold up. Hold Up."
His voice drops, "I'm a realist, and in a situation this dire, I don’t expect anyone to do anything for free. I promise that the resistance can pay, but it’s only half as much as the Authority is paying for the cargo. We’re just working people not a star-spanning corporation or conquering empire. You're just going to take your truck for a little detour. What do you say?”
”Maybe we can work out a deal. We’re on the hook for the whole price here… gonna be our heads, literally, if we can’t bring back the right amount of cash to our bosses.
“However, perhaps you are looking to have some of them minerals you are mining transported and sold. What is it that you are mining?”
Aldo's eye have a glint of excitement at the idea of being able to have a group of resistance fighters actually fight back against the oppression. He slowly turns to the crew and says, "I know we are trying to get back in the black, but I hate the thought of innocents being enslaved. I recognize that we may not be able to get our full asking price, but we would get quite a bit. What are your thoughts?"
“However, perhaps you are looking to have some of them minerals you are mining transported and sold. What is it that you are mining?”
"You are one crafty ysoki. Do all of your family think that way?"
Alfonse just grins at Aldo.
Kaz looks pretty grim and dour about this. Than again, its sort of his default look.
We have a contract. We need to honor it. Anything else is poor business. The vesk looks a little uncomfortable. There is no honor in slavery. I do not approve of it. But until we have independent funding, we cant save everyone.
"You are one crafty ysoki. Do all of your family think that way?"
Chip's head tilts. WAIT 'TIL HE GETS GOING!!!
Kaz looks pretty grim and dour about this. Than again, its sort of his default look.
We have a contract. We need to honor it. Anything else is poor business. The vesk looks a little uncomfortable. There is no honor in slavery. I do not approve of it. But until we have independent funding, we cant save everyone.
chip looks back and forth between Kaz, and Aldo/Vizzini. I'm having difficulty fully processing this. If we do as the resistance asks, we're essentially giving "the finger" to EJ, especially considering our last botched job. We would have to either turn ourselves in for disciplinary action, or steal the ship and strike out on our own, avoiding EJ and their representatives. However, if we do NOT do what they ask, we will have to live with our consciences for as long as our memory holds.
He holds on Kaz for a beat. Yet our large friend has a salient point; we would be setting a precedent for not honoring a contract, which is a poor way to start any new venture, if we were to help the resistance.
He pauses. Is there more data to analyze? Angel, do you have an opinion?
"Sorry, but they practically check our butts for ore when we leave, we can't use that for leverage." The resistance fighter waits for a vote with baited breath.
”Yeah, I am sorry, but if you can’t cover our costs, I don’t know what we can do. We sell these to you, we are signing our death warrant. Maybe follow us up, stealthily, and after we leave steal the weapons? I dunno, just I don’t think we can afford to sell, these to you. ”
"I say screw the bosses! What if we unpack most of the weapons and sell them to the resistance? We leave the cases in the truck and fill the boxes with rocks or other crap with enough weapons on top to keep it convincing. We get paid by both of them and get the hell out of this dump before they blow us to hell. Maybe we leave one box intact and our Ysoki friend can talk them into inspecting that one. Make it look real conspicuous that it has been tampered with so they want to check it first."
Chip looks at each of his (still) new crewmates in turn.
The consequences of purposefully tanking this delivery are unknown, at least to me, but could be dire. And doing so will dictate our path from this moment forward as probable targets for EJ. I am currently disinclined to stray from our current job, yet my emotions are tugging strongly toward the resistance fighters.
He turns to Alfonse. Do you honestly think EJ would hunt us down and kill us, were we to, um, "eff up" this deal?
He pauses. What about a ruse, where we are "attacked" and "robbed?" That way, we have plausible deniability...
"I have not known you long, but I am getting to know you better every day. As I wrestle with this difficult decision, I think that whatever we decide, we need to all be in agreement, because it will affect all of your lives from this point onward. We will make many enemies as a result of this decision. Before we vote, I am also thinking that Kaz's point about being true to our word should at least be considered. If we get the reputation of not being reliable then we will never be hired again and that will end our careers very quickly. That being said, I am heartbroken to see good people's lives in ruin all because of these hobbie oppressors. I fear that I will regret this decision for the rest of my life if I do not find a way to help them. If we decided that selling these weapons to the resistance at half price is the way to go, then I will use Chip's suggestion and let EJ know that we were attacked and robbed and that our luck has apparently completely run out. I will ask for you to keep the affair secret until you go to your grave, which I intend to hold off for as long as possible. Now is there any more debate before we decide?"
Chip pauses again. I have my decision, and my vote. To hell with our orders.
”Works for me, boss!”
Aldo looks at Kaz and speaks kindly in a sympathetic tone, "I know. I know. You are not happy with this decision. I know you believe in honor and that your word has meaning and value. This is a quality that I respect and admire. In truth, I have tried to cultivate it throughout my own life as well. However, I also feel like I have been used and abused over and over like a worn out cog in a machine. I am just getting old enough now where I want to make a difference and I'm getting tired of the bad guys always winning. I feel like my life is suddenly taking a strange course and I am actually feeling good about it. Maybe it started with Prat, but somehow, the universe is putting me in a place where I can make a real difference. Yeah, we may face some consequences, but I think this is far more important than seeing all of the rich and greedy get more powerful and at the expense of the little guy. I am asking if you can give your word to us and use your talents to make the universe shine a little brighter."
The vesk looks uncomfortable and takes in a breath. He holds it for a long time then lets it out in a long hiss sound.
Only minutes ago that hobbe hound had me in it's jaws, you all shot and killed it. I guess I owe you. He pauses a moment longer and gives a short nod. Make it so.
”Rather than try to get to the camp, we should just make it look like we were attacked, and overpowered. Plausible deniability, which we know won’t matter. We can work with the rebels to even get some footage of us being attacked.
“We can claim that we just didn’t have the firepower to repel them, but we could make a big show of protecting the crates and trying to keep them intact!”
He thinks a minute, ”Maybe the rebels should use nonlethal guns, though. ”
A capital plan, Vizzini, but I have another suggestion along those lines. How about a simple show of overwhelming force, against which it is obvious (at least to us) we can't win? Minimal damage and risk that way.
The resistance hobgoblin nods, "I like the fabrication of your wings. Let's do it. I'll tell you right now though that I expect the Gridiron to get wise to the situation not long after. Make sure your guns are loaded.
We don't have nonlethal weapons, but we can make sure to shoot poorly. After a little firefight, one of us will take over your truck and steal them. I'm 100% positive that your bosses have insurance for this thing."
He goes over the plan with you one more time:
"Deal?"
"Sounds like a pretty good plan. Do you mind, when we hand over the guns, if we keep a few of the guns and grenades for ourselves, so that we can defend ourselves better when the inevitable happens?"
"Sounds like a pretty good plan. Do you mind, when we hand over the guns, if we keep a few of the guns and grenades for ourselves, so that we can defend ourselves better when the inevitable happens?"
I TOLD you to "wait til he gets going!"
"I am on board. Everyone makes some money and these scumbag slavers take it on the chin. Let's do it."
"I like this plan! Let's do this! Alf, do you need a booster seat to drive this?"
”Booster seat, my ass! Boost this, Aldo!”
Alfonse gets the truck going.
”Booster seat, my ass! Boost this, Aldo!”
"I knew that would get him going.". Aldo comments to Kaz.
Your contact gives the nod, but before he can answer the question about a finder's fee, the official hobgoblins start to head your way, and the contact slips away.
Quartermaster Siib returns with a group of six hobgoblin soldiers in tow. “A member of my squad can drive the second truck,” she tells
you with a finger to indicate that Alf needs to slide over, “but you’ll be in the lead with a couple of my troopers to give you directions. If there’s any trouble along the way, they’ll know what to do. This is Private Glaka and Private Shenk."
Glaka takes over in the driver's seat. Shenk positions himself on the trailer, among the cargo containers.