Randy . . .
XIII says, “That is a Junior Police Officer’s badge. I am on Public Relations duty. And you are also confused about infiltration.”
The fembot struggles to simulate how she is supposed to feel.
“I think the marshal may agree with your methods. Please report to him Monday morning for a briefing.” She then hands Randy a bag of Skittles. “You may have this as well. The marshal does not care for this candy, despite the label clearly advertising that it tastes similar to a rainbow of flavor.”
She then wills a cruiser to self drive to her. It spins 540 degrees and halts to a stop inches from you both. XIII gets behind the wheel.
The marshal calls to her, “DON’T DRIVE OFF WITHOUT YOUR NEW PARTNER!”
“I work alone.” She puts on a pair of sunglasses. “Until Monday.” She probably winks. You can’t tell because of the sunglasses.
“DON’T DRIVE OFF WITHOUT ME EITHER!” the marshal shouts to the steam-cruiser speeding toward the horizon.
He turns to Randy. “NUTS.”
Randy . . .
XIII giggles, “Oh, you humorous and irrational humans and the illogical things you say! I cannot keep up! I was just deputized today! I told the marshal how extremely brave you were, hurling yourself through the titan’s chest embedded in a metal projectile.
“And he said—” The fembot mimics the marshal’s voice perfectly: “IF HE LIKES PENETRATING BAD GUYS SO MUCH, HOW ABOUT WE HIRE RANDY AS AN UNDERCOVER AGENT?”
In her own voice, she goes on, “Semantical confusion between infiltration and penetration aside, I find it alarming that the marshal is willing to violate several rules on your behalf. Crimes you have committed warrant consequences which include barring you from employment as an officer of the law, teacher or scoutmaster, and the cumulative penalties for your felonies, if enforced, would mandate a minimum sentencing of 850 years, three consecutive life sentences and two consecutive death sentences.
“Yet because of a piece of candy, your slate is clean. Anyway, I came to make you an offer. Please consider a future in justice.”
Before you can answer, XIII presents you with a badge.
XIII observes the corpses. “These are among the most brilliant minds of the Southtopian province.” She names a writer, a governor and a psychologist that non of you have ever actually heard of. When she points out the one seemingly female corpse and the bearded skeleton next to her, she refers to them as Dr. and Dr. Mayne. “It is for the best Raptor-Woman did not see her parents like—yaaah!”
The fembot shrieks when Emi screams! She gets swept in a swirl of copper sand!
XIII’s jaw drops as Randy’s risky behavior proves highly effective! He has exposed a soft target—a fleshy fungal heart!
Badia, you may leap to left or right cannon, or opt for a melee vs titan’s exposed heart. I’ll rule you can leap that far unless you nat.1 the leap attack (which is arguably better than landing on the titan and missing.)
“According to my calculations, this outcome is highly improbable!”
As Randy conjures ore from the stone, the creature turns to face him.
XIII sees this and dashes to shield Randy, but—
All she can do is watch in awe as the earth mage launches himself!
“So unpredictable… I can never fully simulate the human mind,” says the fembot in a tone programmed to denote awe.
Will resolve the round after Emi’s post…
Randy gets the satisfaction of rolling a few of the spidery droids into the sea in pieces. One remains on the causeway, crushed and partially split open.
There’s a greenish vapor that soon dissipates in the breeze. (Would have been potentially harmful had Randy used melee.) When it’s safe to look, you can see there is fungal matter all over the wires, and the red eye of this droid has several mushrooms—like the mushroom “beard” as seen on a zombarian or two.
XIII does not have any of this fungal matter on her, as far as you can tell.
XIII says to Randy, “If you want to hurt those things, you will have an opportunity. Our shore needs protection, and whoever controls the machines is prepared to destroy us all.”
She turns to Badia. “I am a shield. I am not a warrior.”
Alarms blare throughout the city square warning the people to evacuate. Most of them figured that out when Bullet Hell broke loose. Now the gawkers look like they’re about to s~+* their pants. Instead, they flee.
XIII apparently willed the alarm. Now she wills three cannons to rise from a wall overlooking the eastward sea.
Everyone, please choose where you will be when the final enemy rises from the sea.
• Causeway
• Sandy Beach
• Left Cannon
• Center Cannon
• Right Cannon
_
Badia, assuming you pick a cannon please roll a d5 for me. (I’ll roll one after you do.)
XIII approaches our heroines.
“On behalf of King Joshua, I want to thank you. But words are all I can offer for now.” She looks over at the sea. “I can hear her… calling to me. She is Mother. She controls the machines. She is trying to control me as well, but I cannot do as she commands.
“I am a shield. I do no harm. I cannot harm the king, nor can I harm Mother.” She pauses, perhaps to contemplate… or calculate. “That is unfortunate.”
Nobody successfully rolled a 10+ to notice XIII’s tattoo at the beginning of the game.
LINK
Queen Waifu the 13th watches as sand blasts several droids off of the south-side rooftop!
She looks to the east and west, not sure where to go to shield her king.
Those who look at her will notice her synthetic skin has been shot away clean, revealing a seemingly-metallic face. With her dress in tatters, you can see the T-shaped logo between her (anatomically incorrect) breast and shoulder.
Randy, please attack east or west.
The Cowbot holds his hands up passively. "No tricks, Ma'am. Cupid taught us to be good sports, and ye won mah game. Yer friends can come out now."
Cashara is quicker on the draw, but her bullet bounces harmlessly off the Cowbot's armor.
Yet the Cowbot places both hands over his upper torso and says, "Oh. She got me." He collapses on his face with a metallic thud.
He is still for a moment, then he peeks his head up with a wide grin. He lets out a child-like giggle, then in his drawl that is many octaves lower in pitch, he says, "You won fair and square, Ma'am. Come to the manor! I'll have mah friend's honor ye with the official title, Best in the West."
The Cowbot follows, though he has no chamber to empty. He opens his coat slowly to reveal the derringer at his hip.
"Mah piece has but one shot, Ma'am." Standing back-to-back, he says, "May the best in the west win. By mah count... one.. two..."
He quietly counts the paces, quiet enough so both gunslingers can hear each other step in the snow.
"...nine... TEN!"
The Cowbot turns! He reaches for his piece—
1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14
@Cashara, roll initiative! If you roll 14 or better, you win—draw and fire!
_
(And if you roll 13 or less, feel free to post the silent thought crossing Cashara's mind as she sees the machine move quicker.)
I actually took 5 paces across kitchen tiles. Fifteen 8" tiles = 10 feet, so that 10 paces each puts you about 40 feet apart, plus a little more distance to account for body size centering each of you a couple feet apart. So ~42'. If the Cowbot's gun has a 20' increment, his shot takes a -4 penalty and Cashara takes no penalty, but also doesn't get the +1s from point blank.
The Cowbot giggles like a squeaky ten-year-old boy, them drawls like a manly old man of the Ole West, "I accept your term of ten paces, ma'am. And seeing how we're talking rules, I have a term as well. One bullet. No need to trouble yourself emptying your chamber, ma'am. Your word'll do. Do you accept mah term that only one bullet is to be fired?"
A toy emerges from the sphere near Cashara. He has guns in his holsters, but does not draw them.
"Ma'am," he says to Cashara with a tip of his hat, "that was some fancy shootin'." The toy speaks with a baritone drawl, despite its skinny, noodly-armed frame and its stature. The cowbot is inches shy of five feet tall.
"What say we settle which of us is the big shot 'round these parts. We settle with a draw!"
Pointing out the gun in Cashara's hand, the cowbot goes on, "Ye'll need to put your smoke-wagon away, ma'am, then whip it out again, if it's not too much trouble."
The cowbot stands patiently, expecting an answer.
(If Cashara or anyone else attacks, that will put us back in combat rounds.)
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