Thank you Fabian! It's been great so far - hope I get to enjoy another of you sessions.
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OK, so KIp spends one resolve point to get all her stamina back, then one more resolve point to get one HP back. Plus we get one for a long rest, so a total of two HP back?
Thyx sat on the ground and looked well and truly spent. He took off his shiny evergreen flight jacket and bundled it under his head. As he drifted off he mumbled, "Hey, Havalus. Wake me when it's my watch." He didn't move after that. It was like he turned off. Hours later he woke and yelled, "JUST GIVE IT BACK!". He looked around. His eyes like slits, and then relaxed.
He sat back on his backside on the wet ground staring at the tools in his hands. "Kip? Mags??" The android looked ... lost.
Thyx took out his baton and beat a path through the jungle leading the way into the wild. He kept going until he felt gunfire could no longer be heard from the camp. When he stopped he rushed to reload his sidearm and his rifle. "OK, so, what's next?"
"Don't rest long. I think we're 'out' now." Thyx trotted north to scout out the path into the jungle, gun still in hand and the new rifles on his back. His voice could be heard faintly as he talked to himself in that familiar monotone. "Here's where the fun begins."
The electrical charge hit Thyx full on and he nearly fell to one knee. Smoke rose from his body and his voice was modulating wildly as he managed a, "Goooood Shhot ot KiyyyyP!" He squeezed off a raggedy shot before pulling back. His bullet ricocheted off the armour of one of the drones and hit the other!
Rifles over his shoulder and ammo packs on his back, Thyx followed Kip's example and smoothly drew his sidearm, pointed at a drone, and made a fist.
"And even if they didn't, someone will have heard all the gunshots. So I'm all for bailing." "And the grenade," Thyx added as he hurriedly gathered equipment. "Looting the bodies will be a giveaway as well."
Thyx rushed and gathered rifles, ammo, and knives, occasionally looking up to see if anyone was coming.
"Sounds like she got a report off. Do we stay and fight the next team, or run?" Thyx looked to the Captain.
Thyx went down on one knee and braced his rifle against the tombstone. He looked at Kamiya and, hoping she was listening, thought hard at her, 'They're in a group - throw it.' He trained his rifle on the front cadet and waited for the grenade before firing.
"If they walk past the cemetery perhaps we can draw them in? A noise? A ... I donno ... 'mind trick'? Kamiya, you got anything? Mags?"
As they made their way to the cemetery Thyx talked strategy, "Cap, what if Kip and I hide in the cemetery. If we call the gate the centre of the clock we could hide around 1 and 2 o'clock. You could hide between 7 and 8, perpendicular to the gate. Kam and Mags could hide near you, around 6 and 9. When the guards go to enter the cemetery, Kam could toss a grenade and Mags could do his thing. When the guards try to take cover then Kip and I ambush, and you come up the centre. If the guards try to attack Kam and Mags or try to escape then we all pounce."
Thyx checked his weapons against jams and waited at the door.
The corner of Thyx mouth bent upward. He was smiling.
"Maybe we should gather a little more information, check the ship out, try to find Cedona, at least find out her location." If the team didn't know better they'd swear they could hear something in Thyx voice. It sounded a tiny bit like a whiney child promising to eat his spinach. "Then we create some mayhem. Moisture collector, bam. Hobgar cage, bam. Maybe try to collect a few guns in the cemetery." The sound was gone. "After that we make our final play to help Cedona and the other colonists. If that means we escape with the ship ... or just the artifact ... or we destroy the box."
"No sense in making traps here, since the Azlanti were here already - might be some local kid scavenging for supplies who would "find" it. I say we just hide the evidence we were ever here and move on." Thyx nodded.
The captain frowned. "Really? I mean, Drift, non-Drift. Still has the same tactical implications. If it was that much better they'd be using it, right?" Thyx thought for a moment, "Cap, it would mean the possibility of travel without the chance of encounters with 'other spacial' anomalies. No more power leeches, for example. And no more slow contamination of Drift space." Pause "Shall we take the pad. Evidence in case we can't find the artifact itself? The right people need to know about this ... right?. Also, do we leave the genny running? It might serve to increase the 'strange occurrences' quotient. Monsterous attacks, soldiers missing, chapel power turning itself back on ... it could play on their morale." Thyx made for the door they came in, intending to head directly for the natural cover nearby.
Thyx looked about as the rest did and found nothing ... as the rest did. The image of the golden city painted on the door had fascinated him. Now, he couldn't take his eyes of the holy symbol and the image of the key. He wasn't spiritual by nature but some religions tapped into symbols of some power ... the key was one. He stared for some time then slowly reached out, to touch it.
Thyx reconnected the genny and got it started.
”Could be they are here for just this one relic and don’t care for anyone who isn’t a real threat? ..." Thyx shrugged uncertain but happy to see someone was in agreement.
The android felt a twinge deep in his gut but couldn't figure why. He was spoiling for another firefight but the Captain, Kamiya, even Robert kept coming back to the getting the colonists. "Maybe they don't find the first group of four we shot. We did hide the bodies. Maybe they blame the three cadets we found on Fulson. He said he thought he shot a fourth ... that may mean nine cadets down instead of eight ... the ruse with the last cadet may have worked. Mags is right. If we are very lucky we may still have time. Hopefully they will chalk the butcher's bill up to a weird planet. We don't need to fool them, just keep them off balance. If the administrator's house is your call then I on board." Thyx drew his automatic, checked the slide, and re-holstered it.
"Maybe. But it still seems odd to leave people at large when you're trying to subjugate a planet. It makes them an uncontrolled variable." She holds up her hands as if surrendering, "I know, I know. Who are we to know how the Azlanti think? I'm just saying that it seems weird from my point of view." 'Hmmm, perhaps they are too interested in this ancient ship!' Thyx forgot to speak out loud and was curious that no one answered.
"We aren't stationary. They have to defend a base of operations while we can move where we like. This lends itself to 'hit-and-run tactics'. "We have the assistance of colonists. They have their help through coercion only. "Also, at this stage, Kip, Kamiya, and Robert are particular advantages for information gathering. I'm just another gun. I can face off against any cadet perhaps. I don't think the other side has a mind talker, a scientist with the incite of our Mags, or anything like Kip. We should be trying to get both yourself and Mags in the best position to use your special skill sets."
As they got to the right point in the woods the android took lookout and couldn't help but flinch a little as the Captain did a good job of making the dismemberment thorough. As they were about to leave he spoke the remembered phrase into the helmet, removed the ammo he added to the breech, and then fired a shot into the deep woods. "We better hustle." He jogged with the captain back to Aibretta's. There was a kind of twisted little smile across his lips - bonding time, just him and the captain doing 'guy stuff', he thought.
Thyx looked at the shelves and grabbed some cleaning supplies. He got down on his knees and got to it. "We'll have to shift the rack to move the body but we have to hurry. He's expected to report in with the manifest ... oh, we better remember to leave a copy on the body." Still his blank affect made it sound like he was house cleaning.
She handed the list over to Kip and Thyx, "Any engineering tools that would be of use?" After finishing Robert's transmission, Thyx took the helmet off and put it back on the cadet. Then looked over the list. "What's a sashimono?" He went over to the drawer indicated on the manifest, pulled out a small projector turning it on. A two by three foot banner projected upward with an animation of a drill logo turning. Across the bottom it said 'Nakondis! A world of Opportunity!' It was slightly transparent and seemed to be on a six second loop. "Hmm, Robert? Could you record a short looped image in place of this? It might fool someone at a distance, in the mist. It is nearly Kip's height. A distraction?" He looked around a bit and found a fire extinguisher and a laser drill. The drill he put on his left hip. The extinguisher he strapped to his back.
... "You can be honest, I'm looking for feedback." Thyx listened carefully, 'Dammit! I just finished cleaning the rifle!' 'Sir, as the cadet was just in contact with command from this location, I suggest we clean up the blood here. We leave the rest of the mess, throwing in a few spent batteries. Some hobgar fur would be helpful. We take our chances and transport the body to the woods. Werip it apart there. Then spread some rumours. The story is some hobgars broke in, caused calamity, the cadet chased them into the woods and met a predator." BTW: we seemed to have settled on a slower pace than I normally run PBPs. I guess I'm OK with that as long as you all are. Let me know if you would like to speed this up a bit (to a one post per day).
”You, tin man. Repeat after me,” Robert muttered, then crafted Thyx a simple message. ’Got it, Sir. Heading back shortly. Right after I teach this scum to waste our time.’ Thyx did as he was told without questioning Magnusson, concentrating on repeating exactly what he was told.
"Sir, we won't be able to pilfer anything from the body. I can clean the rifle and try to make it look like it hadn't been fired. Replace the round in the clip. We'll have to return the helmet but I suggest we remove any battery packs. It will point to Hodgars having at least been at the corpse. Do we have something to wrap the body in. I don't want to leave a blood trail." Thyx searched the space for a tarp or sheet plastic.
Something was off. He tried to make eye contact Kamiya ... she seemed to have a sense for these things.
Action 2 Thyx made sure his clips were full and offered up ammo to the others where needed."We should go to the storehouse first - if there's just one there and we can save a life, that would be a good start!" "I agree with Kip. That seems a matter of some urgency. It may take us off mission but if this Rendell Tace fails at his ploy then it could turn this whole situation pear shaped. We should do something there double-quick."
"The short stuff has it dead to rights - we came here to see a friend, not get dead playing freedom fighters," Listening to Magnusson, the android's face shifted to something serious?, something looking very down-to-business. A thought seemed to be going through his mind, 'But we can play freedom fighters a little bit???'
Action 1: The android stayed vigilant as his Ysoki companion scouted the way forward. When they reached Aibretta's place of work he visibly relaxed. He scanned over the mechanic but didn't really get a read on her. Her place, however, was a curiosity. He suddenly hoped they could spend some time in this strange sort of wonderland of half-discarded things. When Fulson brought out snacks, Thyx awkwardly walked through everyone,took some, walked back, and started chewing - just loud enough for background noise. Action 2: ..."There's 100 of you, and five of us, and you want us to save you? We almost died just getting here. If you want help, you'd better have some healing serums lying around." She glanced around her. "Do you have any healing serums lying around?" Thyx walked over and stood behind Kip, intentionally mirroring her posture like he was some kind of giant shadow with slightly delayed timing. When she looked about the room he did the same, unagressively and un-ironically hoping for some medicine, as if he had been asked if he liked the decor. He was still working on a half-eaten bisquit.
Fabian:
As Magnusson started wiping the motion detector did Thyx notice if the 'escapee local' as one of the people attuned to the device? I (the player not the character) am wondering if this guy is some kind of spy. Thyx waited for Robert to finish with the hexagonal device - watching intently. He tossed Kip the motion detector before she took to cover. "A little technical aid?" He knew she didn't need it, her senses were already keen, but scouts would encounter her first. Thyx went to checking clips and taking inventory, including his own. "I count seven new rifles with twelve rounds each. Minus the one Kip is using, we can arm six locals. Limited. We should see if any are 'bolo' before handing them out. Who took a knife? I have one. There are six others. That is, if arming them is what we want to spend our time on." Thyx listened to what Magnusson had to say. "I agree with Mags, Captain. You know this Cedona? I think we should go get her. The longer she's captured the more likely she may be harmed. As for pros and cons? They have numbers and arms and some tech. They are all at least trained. We have surprise, could pick them off in small groups. We have some inside knowledge - the local here, and perhaps we can utilize the local wildlife. Collect the batteries from the fallen cadets and use them as a lure. Unknowns? What did Cedona find? A barganing chip? A tool for us? A weapon for them?" Thyx seemed to be holding his breath. It was like he was getting up the nerve to speak. "Captain, I think we should stay on point. Priority one: rescue Cedona and find out what she knows. Knowledge is key. Priority two: rescue as many locals as possible. If there is a way to drive the Azlanti off then we take it. Priority three: if the Azlanti want their presence here to be a secret then we start shouting."
After listening to Magnusson's description of the badge Thyx was quick with some questions, "The badge doesn't relay information to a central server? We're in trouble if they already know we're here. Can we log into it right away? It could be useful, especially if there is a fourth guard out there. It also means there may be more of these devices. I suggest those who can switch longer range weapons. Kip, covert work just became more dangerous. Where possible stay more than 60' away. Especially if you can spot a badge. At east they don't all have them. " He talked as they walked to get out of the clearing.
"A good point Sir." 'It may mean the settlement is near by. If this one made a break for it then the three may be a disorganized group that managed to take chase. A second wave with an organized team may be underway.' "We should get to cover, as Kamiya suggested." 'How is Kamiya doing that with he voice? She's much better at this.' |