Adolphus surveyed his two prisoners as they were strapped into their seats on his shuttle. The mission to apprehend the human and Twi'lek dissidents had been routine and Adolphus was a little suspicious of how quickly the pair of criminals had given up fight was he and his troopers had shown up. As the repulsorlifts engaged and the ship left port, he had a small coughing fit, but waved off his 2-1B droid. Spaceflight always aggravated his system a little bit. He was sure the apprehension nagging him would be shaken off once he was back on his command ship, the Parascaptor, that was waiting in orbit around Moshaw.
Meanwhile, Elkar, a Duro captain of his own band of miscreants and pariahs, was trying to calm his engineer's nerves, "Look, the shuttle's heading out. If they were here for us, they'd still be waiting in port lettin' us ride in on their vapors."
The Wookiee's snuffed a response that even someone with no fluency in his language could probably take a guess at what it was. Elkar sighed and turned back to the controls. In the seat next to him, Lidian Bala, a young human turned her head towards the controls, "Boo's not happy, boss."
"Boo is hardly ever happy, Lid. That's alright though, like I said though, the Imps aren't here for us. We've got clear sailing right into port..." his voice trailed off as a light on his console flickered.
"What is that, boss?"
The alarm klaxons on Adolphus's shuttle started blaring. Adolphus turned on his heel and yelled to his pilot, "Report!"
"Sir, someone has a firing solution on us and the shields are not responding! Taking evasive action!"
Adolphus was thrown into the side of the shuttle as the pilot smashed the rudder into the ground in order to shake the lock. He pulled himself up onto his feet and made it into the cockpit, falling into the seat.
"Where are the shields? Why aren't they..." Adolphus was cut off by his pilot.
"Incoming, Commander. Brace for impact."
"Boss?" Lidian's voice was drowned out as the freighter's engines groaned in complaint to the maneuver Elkar was demanding from them. The shuttle had quickly veered from its exit vector and was followed even quicker by a missile from the surface.
The explosion was close enough to shake the frame of Elkar's freighter. Elkar slapped the intercom button, "Grab something! This is going to hurt!" The missile had thrown the shuttle into a dead spin and Elkar couldn't see any way out of the shuttle's path. The shuttle collided with his ship, metal screaming and tearing as gravity wrested both the ships out of their brief embrace.
Off in the distance, a swoop's engine engages as the two ships crash into Moshaw's jungles.
Adolphus:
Spoiler:
After the crash, you are left with your two prisoners, two troopers, and your pilot has a broken arm. Doc has suffered some light damage and is moving at half speed (15 ft.). Your comms are being jammed and you are unable to raise your XO on the Parascaptor. Your ship can enter atmosphere, but it will take time to get to your location and whoever launched that missile might be looking to make sure the job gets finished.
You can also see through the trees that at some point during the chaos, you've managed to bring another ship down with you. A crashed freighter is off in the distance. If their ship is damaged less than yours, you might be able to hitch a ride.
Elkar:
Spoiler:
Boo is pissed. The ship isn't going anywhere any time soon, and needs to be towed out of here before some massive repairs get made. Your crew is all a little banged up, but everyone has sounded off and is okay. You can see the Imperial shuttle that collided with yours through your cracked cockpit and can see it's in far worse shape than your shuttle. Your attempt to raise the port authority is returned with static, someone's jamming the signal.
More importantly, if anyone on that Imperial shuttle survived, they might take a keen interest in your cargo hold full of medical supplies and foodstuffs that don't bear a single Imperial customs stamp...
Refresher on your crew:
Boochacca and R2-AS1D: You know these two. Acid is still just a slightly eccentric R2 unit at this point, and yes, Boo has the wrench.
Jeho Shuah: Modeled after Josh's usual character's archetype, he is your muscle and bodyguard. Prefers archaic slugthrowers (M1911A1 .45) to blasters, and has a pet dog.
Ser'Amor'No: Defel that you keep around for his skills at information gathering and getting his hands on gear you need quickly.
Lidian Bala: Slicer you keep around just in case port authority does not want to give you clearance to leave or enter port. Takes the role of the crew's collective little sister.
Remy's character (name pending):
Spoiler:
You grimace as the civilian freighter goes down in the explosion, but a little collateral damage is the least of your worries right now. You disengage your armor's electrobinoculars and kick on the swoop's engines. Time to make sure that Shayla Paige-Tarkin has paid the price for attacking your home and killing your master and the people that you loved.
Adolphus takes a few moments to ascertain his situation. "Secure the prisoners, but keep them mobile!" he orders the guards as they recover. "The comms are.. jammed.." the pilot manages to gasp as he tries to push himself out of his chair with his broken arm.
"'Doc! Bandage up his arm, we don't have time for anything fancy."
Adolphus' lungs begin to violently reject the dust and debris around the ruined shuttle, and he stumbles out of the wreck coughing. He slowly recovers and uses that time pondering the sky, attempting to determine the missile's trajectory.
'Doc catches up to Adolphus, trying to check him for injuries. "Doc! Not now.. oh, you're damaged. No, stop, we'll worry about me later; now, we need to move."
OOC: Did we name the guards? He calls back in to the shuttle, "Everyone! Let's get moving before they come to claim their kill. Prepare to detonate the cockpit.."
Before the Crash
"D@mn! Boo or Lidi, do we know what or where that missile came from? I am NOT about to get arrested by a bunch of Imps over something we didn't do!"
After the Crash
To Boo:
"Pipe down, Boo! I know the ship needs repairs, epecially after that landing we just had. I don't know where or what we can do about it right now. I just want to make sure everyone's alright."
Slaps the intercom:
"Everyone alright?"
for the GM
Spoiler:
Remember that Elkar does understand Kashyyk, I understand that Boo was likely cursing up a storm...
Doc seems slightly put off by your dismissal, but goes over to your pilot, Lieutenant Jord Kraas. He very calmly states that Jord should feel slight pressure as he sets the bone. Jord cries out in pain and you hear a very audible pop that makes your stomach do a little turn.
You are relieved to see one of the troopers that survived the crash was your unit's Captain, Arhul Holt. Glancing at the other trooper's insignia, you mark him as the unit's number 6 man, you recall from the duty roster that his name is Tabric Kugal. You realize you never asked their names and start to wonder what the names of your other troopers might have been.
You get snapped back to reality as a high pitched tone starts up. "Charges are set, sir." Besh-4-1 slings a light repeater over his shoulder and secures his pistol in the holster.
"We have 5 minutes to evacuate the blast zone. Your droid has the medical supplies and Trooper Kugal has secured the prisoners. We should have enough provisions for 6 days, more depending on how you prioritize rations for the prisoners. We move at your command."
You glance through the newly made clearing at the downed freighter and can make out what sounds like a very unhappy Wookiee yelling at someone.
Elkar:
Spoiler:
Lidian lifts her head from the control panel and has a nasty gash along her forehead, "I think we'll be fine boss, just make sure we can't fall down again." You pat her on the shoulder and start to head aft to assess the damage.
Jeho meets you on the way, first thing you notice is that he seems to be favoring his right leg a little bit. "I'm fine, cap'n, but we need to keep our heads down. That Imp bird came down nearby and they're gonna be here next, you know that, right?"
A shadow sidles up next to you, startling you...again. "Dammit, Ser! What have I told you about that?" you take a deep breath and allow your temper to settle. You remind yourself that you are more angry about the condition of the ship than having your nerves rattled.
"Just checking in, sir. I'll head over to the downed shuttle and make sure our backs are covered." Before you can get a word out, Ser disappears through one of the newly created 'egress hatches' from the landing.
You round a corner and run directly into Boo. "Give me some good news, Boo," you say in your most optimistic voice.
"I've got great news for you," you look up at Boo and start to smile a little.
"That's great, Boo, after that I need..."
He quickly cuts you off, "As soon as we find exactly where our engines our, I'll be able to reattach them with about 30 kilometers of duct tape. So, if you wanna head on out there and find me my engines and the duct tape, I'll get started on putting the ship back together." By the end of his little tirade, Boo is screaming at you at the top of his sizable lungs.
You take another deep breath and rub your eyes. You are really hoping for someone to give you some good news. However, your optimism does not hold up when you hear Acid add some of her beeps and twitters to the conversation.
Boo looks down at you and crosses his arms, "And Acid wants a raise."
Remy:
Spoiler:
For now we'll just assume your character is on his way to the crash site. As soon as you get your skills spent, we'll figure out your Sneak check and who notices your approach
"Okay, Boo, I'll see what I can do about locating the engines. Acid, you're on duct tape duty. You find and acquire that 30 kilometers of duct tape for Boo, and you can have that raise."
what, exactly am I paying Acid, anyways?
Elkar's going to find Jeho and Lid, and make for the main hatch to see if there's anything we can do to seal the hold, maybe making it look like the crash jammed the door shut.
"Jeho, Lid, I need the hold to be locked shut, and if you can make it look like the crash did it, all the better, even if we can't get into it later, we can always cut it open. Frankly, I'm going to have to put up with talking to the Imps, and I don't like that idea at all. I don't even know what the hell just happened, or why that shuttle got hit, but I'm not going to let anyone else get hurt if I can help it. Any ideas?"
I just hope the Imps don't get here before this is all set
"Jeho, I'll also need you and Lid with me once we have to talk to the Imps."
Are we doing these posts all in spoilers since they're potentially antagonistic? Foghorn
Spoiler:
Foghorn wrote:
... We should have enough provisions for 6 days, more depending on how you prioritize rations for the prisoners. We move at your command."
Who's Besh-4-1? Another surviving trooper? If so, he's with Holt, not Kugal.
"Let's hope we don't have to wait that long. Captain Holt and Corporal Kugal, go ahead and discreetly see what the situation is at the other crashed ship." Adolphus draws his heavy blaster and levels it at the prisoner. "I think we can handle these. Lt. Kraas, draw your weapon. You have my permission to kill either prisoner if they try to flee or reveal our location."
"Yes, sir." Lt. Kraas says unenthusiastically. Adolphus waits a moment to make sure the orders are clear and that Lt. Kraas is able to handle the blaster with his uninjured hand. With a final glance at the shuttle he is about to abandon, he makes the motion to move out. "We will be following you, Captain."
He prods the prisoner Garir forward but otherwise keeps a few meters distance from the prisoners, occasionally demanding that they move faster. He knows Doc is lagging behind somewhat, but will catch up. The most important thing is to get away from the soon-to-be exploding wreck of a shuttle.
The jungle is once again rocked as the Imperial shuttle is ripped apart in an explosion. The only sound throughout the jungle canopy is the crackling of what remains of the shuttle as the flames consume it.
Adolphus:
Spoiler:
Besh-4-1 is Holt. That was a case of me knowing what I was talking about before explaining it to you. The unit of troopers in your command is unit Besh-4. Troopers are then known as their spot in the pecking order, Holt being lead makes him Besh-4-1. I'm gonna change the nomenclature up a little bit to Besh-4/1 just to make it a little easier to discern what's going on with that.
Captain Holt steadies the light repeater against his shoulder and motions to Kugal. The two of them take lead and head towards the downed freighter. You notice Kugal fidgeting with a piece of his gear before he finally gives it a good smack and secures it back on his belt.
Garir grunts as he tries to keep his footing while his hands are bound. "This is the beginning of some serious trouble, Commander. I'd hardly call our predicament an accident. How much do you trust who survived because looked to me like your security's been compromised."
"That's enough out of you!" Lt. Kraas brings his pistol down hard on Garir's temple. The young man goes down to one knee and you see the Twi'lek make a quick move towards Kraas.
"Hold. Both of you," you keep your weapon trained on Tott, but you give the Lieutenant a stern look. He takes a step back from the prisoners and tells them in a much more subdued voice to keep quiet and moving.
When you approach the freighter, you can see that it has sustained some heavy damage. One of the engine pylons was ripped completely free during the crash and is nowhere in sight. You can still hear the bellows of a Wookiee coming from somewhere inside the ship.
The hatch in the side of the ship opens and a Duro flanked on either side by a male and a female human steps out from the wreckage of the ship.
The Duro stands tall and holds himself with a confidant air. You make him out to be the captain of the vessel. The male looks to be in his late twenties and wears holsters on each hip. You can't make out from here exactly what it is, but there's something strange about the guns in the holsters. The female is younger and has a nasty gash on her forehead. She idly wipes blood away and you notice that her attention doesn't seem to focus on anything, that she is just kind of lazily looking around.
Elkar:
Spoiler:
Jeho, Lid, and yourself work furiously to work the cargo bay door closed and jam the controls, making your sabotage to look like a result of the accident. Throughout the process, Boo makes sure that everyone is aware of his feelings on the situation. You can make out some of Acid's tweets and whistles, but after hearing Boo's responses you feel a sense of relief that you can only understand half the conversation.
"Door's done, cap'n. Time to see if any of the Imps survived their landing." Jeho reached down and released the safety on his guns and made sure they were secured firmly in their holsters.
"If they did, let's try to be friendly for now, okay?" you try to remain optimistic, but check the charge on your blaster before heading for the front hatch.
"Can we get this taken care of soon, boss. The landing left me pretty rattled and I'd like to head back to my bunk whenever it's good." Lidian looks up at you and you have to admit, she has seen better days.
"I need you for this, Lid. We need numbers for now. I doubt the Imps are going to come in guns blazing, but the bigger of a mess they have to make, the more they won't want to make it." You key in the code on the main hatch and mutter as the iris lets the sunlight into the airlock, "I hope."
You step out into the jungle and see that you don't have to go far to find the Imperials. There are two troopers that have weapons drawn and trained on you. One of them has a light repeating blaster that could probably put you, Lid, and Jeho down in a heartbeat. Behind them are two haggard beings, one human and one Twi'lek, with their hands bound behind their backs.
Trailing behind them are two officers. You aren't able to read insignia to determine rank, but one of them clearly has a larger insignia so you peg him as the leader. He's a bit on the older side and while he doesn't look that beat up from the crash, his frame is slender and his face gaunt with a skin tone that's just a little too pale. The other officer has his gun trained on the prisoners, but his hold on the gun is clumsy and you guess that the arm in a sling is his dominant hand.
You see a flash of metal behind all of them as Ser signals you to let you know he's in position.
Yeah, it's the big meeting, and a bit of a standoff. Adolphus and Elkar no longer need to post general things in spoilers. Of course, anything you want to mention specifically to me you will still want to spoiler it up.
Sorry it took me a bit to reply, trying to finish Remy's character, design a star map for the sector, and possibly recruiting some fresh meat to add to the game.
Raising his hands slowly, and indicating for his crew to raise their hands, Elkar begins to speak.
"Hello there, neighbors. Sorry about getting in the way, and that your ship isn't... here anymore. Do you mind aiming those blasters elsewhere? We've already crashed, made our ship inoperable, and suffered some injuries. We're not used to this sort of thing."
waits for blasters to be lowered, and indicates to his left and right.
"Oh, and I've forgotten my manners! I am Elkar of the Darting Sparrow, well, it should be called the Broken pile of Rubble now. This is Lidian" Indicating a young woman with a head injury "and this is Jeho." Indicating the young man with 2 blasters at his side. "And you are?"
Sense motive/Detect Lie check? +1 Wis, 8 skill levels. Does Elkar believe his ship is operable?
Elkar wrote:
"And you are?"
The prisoners, Adolphus and the pilot join the two troopers. "Captain, you may lower your weapons. It wasn't this ship that fired on us." In response to the order, Capt. Holt and Kugal merely stop aiming at the trio, lowering the barrels. Adolphus keeps his weapon trained on the prisoners, but moves to a position that puts the prisoners in between him and Elkar & Co.
"My condolences on the damage to your ship, Elkar. I am Commander Tarkin of the Parascaptor. These are my crew and two fugitives we are transporting. Forgive me for not making the rest of the introductions, but we are in some haste! I sincerely hope that your shuttle is not as damaged as you believe. We will likely be joined shortly by whoever targeted my shuttle, and they didn't seem to mind much for your safety. Your ship was quite close to my shuttle."
He pauses to let the indirect threat register and composedly appraises the damaged vessel. Looking back at Elkar, he smiles to relieve the tension. "Shall we try to get the Darting Sparrow up again? I hope you will yet find this encounter to be.. fortuitous."
The Duro believes that his ship is inoperable. Whether or not you want to press the issue as to how inoperable is up to you.
There is something you notice out of the ordinary, though. Given your medical history and all of the knowledge that you've absorbed through that, you're pretty sure that Lidian's head wound is far graver than Elkar's crew seems to be taking it. Her lack of focus and blown pupils have gotten you nervous that she is in danger of some sort of hemorrhage or swelling.
You are also pretty certain that you can hear a heavy repulsorlift vehicle approaching from the southwest. Glancing over to the sky in that direction, you can make out the faintest remains of the smoke trail from the missile. Whoever fired that missile is on their way to visit.
Elkar:
Spoiler:
You smile on the inside thinking about introducing this "Commander" to your 'chief mechanic' and letting Boo explain to him the current condition of the Sparrow. While silently hoping that Tarkin doesn't understand Shyriwook, you become distracted by a slight noise.
You are also pretty certain that you can hear a heavy repulsorlift vehicle approaching from the southwest. Glancing over to the sky in that direction, you can make out the faintest remains of the smoke trail from the missile. Whoever fired that missile is on their way to visit.
Elkar slowly lowers his hands, making sure that it’s obvious he’s not going for his blaster.
“The ship really is not airworthy, if you want to try and help get us at least airborne, I’d be okay with that. I hear some sort of repulsorlift out that way,” Elkar points to the southwest. “So we might want to hurry. On top of that, do you have anyone on staff that can help Lidian here? She’s my second, I keep her on the computers at all times, and that head injury isn’t good. I can’t let her fall asleep unless I know she’s under medical care. Also, do you have anyone on staff who can fly second, provided we can get in the air? If not, the ship will provide a modicum of cover in case our resident assassin decides he want to attack my ship.
“As to your prisoners, I don’t really have a brig to hold them. You could use one of the spare quarters for them, but that is all I have to offer, as my hold was damaged and is not able to be opened right now thanks to that landing.
“If you do have someone who can help get us in the air, I’d recommend flying low to the tree cover, to give us some cover, so high power isn’t really necessary, just enough to get us up. Mind you, my engineer Boo and R2-AS1D unit are both working on the problem as we speak. If you want to help let’s go now, just play by Boo‘s rules, as even I do that, mainly because he‘s the best engineer in this sector...” More softly “That, and he’s a wookie.”
Foghorn:
Spoiler:
Elkar is worried about Lidian, she wants to rest with a head injury. He really won‘t let her fall asleep until they reach civilization, she could have a concussion or worse. As to ‘help‘ from the Imps, he‘ll let Boo know to let them help without tearing their arms off (in those words), over the intercom. He‘ll give them one of the rooms not being used right now (I think there should be one not being used. He‘ll also let Ser know that it‘s time to come back from recon by external loudspeaker once everyone‘s inside… This is going to be interesting. Elkar really is worried, but he‘s out gunned, and he‘s got the more banged up crew by the looks of things, and the ship really could use the help. He‘s not liking being a prisoner ship at all, and he sincerely hopes they don‘t offer to repair the ship at one of their facilities.
Doc arrives, limping in behind the gathered Imperials. "Let my medical droid here take a look at Lidian.. I agree, I think she may have a serious injury. May my men take a closer look at the quarters your propose to hold the prisoners?"
Assuming he accedes.. Holt and Kugal enter the shuttle to make certain ambush does not await us inside, and, that quarters could be secured. In the silence after the team leaves, Doc and Adolphus approach Elkar and Lidian. This movement is fairly awkward given that Adolphus has to keep his attention and weapon fixed on the prisoners. "What do you mean by not being airworthy but able to get airborne? I think myself or my pilot should be capable of assisting piloting the craft."
Elkar directs the Imperials to one of the quarters without a new egress hatch.
Looks at the medical droid dubiously, and takes a deep sigh
"Lid, let the droid help."
Turning to Commander Tarkin
"Thank you for helpin Lid, Commander. I don't even know if we can get the engines running, as Boo stated plainly that they aren't attached properly, if at all. If we can get at least one up and running, we can get away from here, although the ride will be quite bumpy. We would not be able to go into orbit, as the crash has torn some nice-sized holes in our hull, so atmospheric flight would be the safest, and even that wouldn't be terribly safe. Evem of we don't get airborne, I would certainly prefer to have the cover of my ship to the cover of the jungle when it comes to fighting off whomever attacked us. We could even use the ship as bait for the person responsible." Elkar winces at the last idea "But, frankly Commander, I think we are in no shape to be traipsing around the jungles here."
Foghorn
Spoiler:
How many of the core weapons systems are still operational on the Sparrow? I know it was built as a fairly sturdy craft with a quadlaser or two, multiple laser canons, and a missile port (I assume the laser canons would be the only "legal" part of that array, as the missiles aren't exactly legal). I'm just thinking of other defenses that started on the Gozanti Cruisers.
Wookiepedia wrote:
The ships were purposely designed to protect ships from pirates, and came equipped with multiple laser cannons, quad laser cannons, and a single proton torpedo launcher.
So the question is how much of that is serviceable?
We'll say you've got 4 laser cannons pointed forwards, one quad turbolaser on a top mounted turret, and the proton torpedo launcher would be very, very illegal so I'm going to go ahead and yank that since it's still a VERY well equipped ship with the lasers.
I'm going to be brushing up hardcore on vehicle rules tonight while I crunch the numbers on the Sparrow and Parascaptor for you and Pat. I'll let you when I hit my final decision and put the numbers up on the Crafty Works page.
Adolphus:
Spoiler:
Elkar seems to be playing along for now, but you don't believe for one second that the crash caused his cargo bay to become inaccessible. He was very clearly flying in on an unauthorized vector.
The sound of the repulsorcraft is rapidly increasing and you estimate that they will be within visual range in less than a minute. Captain Holt leaves Trooper Kugal inside the ship and reports back that the quarters on the top deck should be sufficient as temporary holding cells for the prisoners, but they will need to be kept on constant watch.
"But, frankly Commander, I think we are in no shape to be traipsing around the jungles here."
"I agree, although I think that repulsorcraft will arrive too soon." Adolphus replies as Captain Holt returns and reports.
"Commander, with supervision, the top-deck quarters should be adequate to contain the prisoners."
"Just in time, Captain. Take the prisoners to the quarters and have Corporal Kugal keep them secure and safe. Return quickly, you should set up here," Adolphus gestures the entryway that Elkar used when greeting. "Stay low and hidden until the repulsorlift arrives."
"Ok. Doc, take Lidian out of the way inside, please. Thank you. Lt. Kraas, Elkar, let's set up our welcoming party.."
Tactics/Ambush check. The short version. +1 Wis, 8 levels, I doubt any synergy skills apply.
Elkar takes Commander Tarkin to his bridge, where he does a quick systems check. Unhappy, but satisfied with the systems check, he begins assisting the Commander.
"Commander, I believe we can win this, provided we have a bit of luck. According to my systems check here, we have the fore lasercannons, as well as my turret. We could take one of your men up to the turret, as I'm sure they're better at gunning than myself, and we can set up a proper ambush just outside so they have to cross the front of the ship, we could even use the turret to force that point. What do you think?" Elkar awaits a response from the Commander on the idea
If we are rolling our own dice for this, I got a 15 on my Tactics roll to set up the ambush. I definitely want to be on the opposite side of the fore of the ship from the repulsorcraft. I'd hope the repulsorcraft would cross the line of fire, especially if they are unharmed, and we're in such sorry shape.
Foghorn:
Spoiler:
So, a quad turbolaser is legal now?! I thought quad laser canons were iffy at best, which was the original configuration of the ship. The only reason it was legal was due to the ship's sublight speed (too much wookiepedia...)
The Ambush check is secret, so I figured Adam would roll for it. One of my feats makes it 'cross-check,' but sadly we don't have time for that.. the assistance will definitely help.
"That's an excellent idea. I think I'd better take the turret. Lt. Kraas, see what you can do with the forward guns. Hurry, they could be here any moment!"
What can we see from the sensors? Any more detail?
Lt. Kraas snaps a salute to Adolphus with his good hand, "Yessir! We'll make those pirates regret firing on us. He brushes against Elkar without making eye contact on his way up to the bridge.
The ship's intercom comes to life and the Wookiee on the other end echoes through the ship. He's not on for very long and the intercom immediately clicks off as soon as he's done talking.
Elkar:
Spoiler:
"I'm sure I don't have to remind you that Imps sell my people like they're property. Keep them out of my engine room. Also, Acid's punched through the jamming. Nothing long range, but our personal comms are back online."
[ooc]You grit your teeth as the message comes through the intercom. You ease Lidian down on one of the couches on the lounge as the medical droid starts to examine her. You don't particularly like taking orders from anyone on your own ship and Boo couldn't have found a better time to start pushing your buttons.
Also, I think I forgot to mention it but you got an action die for your response to Acid's raise.
Elkar heads over to the nearest intercom and clicks it on, "Good news, people. My engineers have gotten through some of that jamming and our personal comms are back. Open them up to a public channel and Acid will sync us up and load us with an encryption package." The Duro's voice is the closest to sounding relieved since he first saw the Imperial shuttle.
"This is Commander Tarkin. Everyone sound off and prepare to open fire as soon as we have visual confirmation of hostiles."
"Lt. Kraas. I've got the main weapons online and am making out one approaching skiff. The pirates are jamming the ship's sensors so the exact size is hard to make out. We could be looking at anywhere up to around 20 hostiles, sir."
Adolphus:
Spoiler:
Your comm clicks on a private channel and Doc's voice warbles through, "I have some grave news, Commander. The female's injuries are worse than we first assumed. If I am not able to operate within the next ten minutes, she will suffer permanent brain damage and possibly die. How do I proceed?"
"Jeho here. I'm at the main hatch in position and one of your troopers just joined me. We're going to have a clear shot on them when they come through, but we won't be able to hold this position long if they really want it."
"Captain Holt reporting. Trooper Kugal has secured prisoners on the top deck. I also agree with Jeho's assessment of our position. While it's good for a first drop, holding it against numbers will be difficult."
"Well, just hit the damn thing with the turret there, Commander, and we shouldn't have to worry about how many are coming, right?" Elkar's voice was starting to lose its earlier optimism as he slides his blaster out of the holster. He pressed his back up against a bulkhead and took a peek out into the jungle through one of the hull breaches.
Lt. Kraas's voice crackles across the comm, "Incoming hostiles. We have visual confirmation in 5...4...3..."
"Weapons free," Adolphus calls out on his intercom as he rests his hands on the controls of the turret and exhales deeply.
"2...1..."
Paizo once again ate my post so I'll keep this part brief. Tactics/Ambush was successful. Everyone's at +2 Initiative and has 1d6 sneak attack and gains 1 half action for the surprise round. For now, your respective crew members will go on the same Initiative Count as you until at least I'm a little more comfortable with running combat on the forum.
I'm going to kind of play with some formats to see how the best way to make combat work, but I think this one should work fine.
Surprise Round wrote:
Initiative Count
15 - Pirates
11 - Elkar
11 - Adolphus
Pirates wrote:
The bad guys are on a large skiff and you can make out around a dozen or so people on it. The skiff is 150 ft. away during the surprise round.
They failed on their Notice/Awareness checks and expect Elkar's ship to be out of commission and lifeless. They do nothing in the surprise round.
Called shot at the motor, rolled a 15, if second action die is allowed a 15 was rolled (2 6's and a 3). That makes a total of 30, plus 4 for BAB, +4 for Dex being ranged, and -10 for 6 range increments, -1 recoil, and finally -6 to hit. Total of +21 to hit, given all modifiers. If that still hits, then a 4 for damage. After the surprise round, we'll see what happens. Obviously, the minus 5 to initiative is going to hurt.
Elkar mutters something nasty under his breath about pirates and pulls the trigger on his blaster pistol
"Let's see a pirate take a ship that was designed to take out this type of scum!"
I don't know all the details for the turret.. so I'll write what I can. Sorry for the delay.
Adolphus lets loose with a spray from the turret.
BAB +4, Dex +1, 1 action dice, -?? for a burst and other modifiers. Rolled 12 on the attack roll, and a 6 on the action dice = 12+6+4+1=23 before any penalties. I think.
Adolphus' impatience in fully utilizing the ambush bursts forth in the midst of the blasts."Fire, Lieutenant!" Moments later, Lt. Kraas manages to fix the slight mechanical difficulties he was having and engages the forward guns.
BAB +4, Dex +1, 1 action dice, -?? for a burst and other modifiers. Rolled 12 on the attack roll, and a 6 on the action dice = 12+6+4+1=23 before any penalties. I think.
As Steve pointed out, action dice explode! I rolled a 2 for that -> 25!
Also, I probably wont be able to post again until Sunday. I'm going on a climbing trip tomorrow after work until then!
Hey guys, just wanted to let you know that Tina's visiting me here at school this weekend and it's been finals week for Skills I for me so the update might be a little bit. I hope to have it up some time this weekend, but if I don't, it'll be up right after that.
The pirate's skiff banks hard to the right as the Sparrow lights up and spits bolts of crimson out at it. The turret scorches the side of the skiff in multiple places as the crew on the deck ducks down out of sight. Lt. Kraas lets loose with a salvo from the forward guns, but isn't able to add to the carnage.
"Get those repulsors up! I can't get any sort of shot from here!" he yells into the intercom, his frustration almost palpable through the speakers.
The response from the speaker sounds almost like Boo is actually wrestling with the engine in order to come back online. Repeated metal banging on metal with the astromech droid coaching from the ropes.
Captain Holt lets loose with a blast from his light repeating blaster trying to pick off the pirates still visible on the deck with Jeho's pistols spitting slugs. Between the two of them, you can see a few of the pirates that did not hit the deck fast enough get tagged from the soldiers' combined fire.
Elkar's blaster homes in on the skiff's engine as they come nearer and he manages to score a well-placed hit on the pirate's engines. The pirates continue their arc and drop low, using the Sparrow as cover from the fire coming from inside the ship. Unfortunately for most of your crew, only Adolphus has a line of sight on the pirates at this point.
Jeho and Captain Holt bolt out of the airlock as the skiff goes overhead and start to head around the side of the Sparrow, using it for cover. A small black dog also bolts out of the ship, running alongside Jeho as he approaches the nose of the ship.
Adolphus:
Spoiler:
You see lines coming off the skiff and maybe a dozen or so pirates come down them quick. You can tell that these guys are organized and trained by their movements and coordination. You also see someone set up a large gun on the deck of the skiff and point it towards you in the turret.Also, you hit the skiff and did some damage, in case you were wondering
Doc comes over your commlink, "Sir, the female is going into shock. Without an extra set of hands down here, there's nothing I can do for her. Please advise.
Elkar:
Spoiler:
Boo almost has the repulsors on and running, which will give the ship a very limited degree of mobility. As long as the pirates don't get wise to the fact that Sparrow isn't completely out of commission, you should be fine.
Round 1 wrote:
Initiative Count
27 - Jeho
27 - Cpt. Holt
15 - Pirates
11 - Adolphus
6 - Elkar
I went ahead and rolled Initiative for the NPCs also involved in the fight instead of having them rely off of your guys Initiative since I realized that they are the more combat-oriented members of the group and you'd be missing out on the benefit of their Initiative bonuses by doing so. Still, think of the NPCs in games like Baldur's Gate where they have things that their AI will have them doing (that's me!) unless you mention something directly in your post you'd like them to do otherwise.
Sorry it took so long to get this up, and no offense or anything, but Tina took priority over the game for the last couple of days. Now I'm back and rearing to get this back up and running full swing. We had some good momentum going so I'm gonna do everything I can to reestablish that. Let's get back to some fightin'!
Edit: HA! Typed it in Notepad first and then just copy/pasted it so Paizo wouldn't eat this one! IN YOUR FACE PAIZO!
Adolphus whispers into the private comms to Doc, "I'll be there as soon as I can. Try to keep her stabilized.."
Adolphus fires off another volley at the skiff, but tracks the skiff's movements poorly. His voice comes in over the intercoms in staccato punctuated with the turret fire. "Elkar ... if your firing ... line is blocked ... can you ... take over ... the turret!" Attack roll: 1! A mighty 6 w/ dex and BAB
After my refresh action, I'll head to the turret, unless a target puts himself in harms' way, then I'll fire off a single shot and take a move action to the turret.
Adolphus quickly turns his head back around to the turret as he notices a high pitched whine that is growing in intensity. As more and more red lights turn on, he slaps the release on his chair's harness and tosses himself down the access hatch. The quickly vacated seat is enveloped in searing bright light and Adolphus lets out a groan as his shoulder connects with the ship's deck.
From the ship's cockpit, Lt. Kraas feels and hears the loud thump of the turbolaser going critical and dashes down the corridor, "Commander!"
Elkar swears and ticks one more thing on the list of things that have gone horrendously wrong with his day. Both he and Lt. Kraas arrive to find Adolphus laying on the ship's deck with a very dazed expression.
Right about then your commlinks crackle and Jeho's and Cpt. Holt's overlapping voices yelling, "Grenades!" Quickly followed by some more muffled explosions and the ship groans in complaint of the abuse it is sustaining.
Boo's voice comes over the intercom and the hull of the ship reverberates slightly. Everyone experiences a slight sensation of vertigo combined with sea legs as the repulsorlifts come online and actually level the Sparrow out so that it is no longer off kilter from the improvised landing.
Adolphus:
Spoiler:
Damage wrote:
You only take 3 damage from the turbolaser's critical error, however you are also temporarily blinded. I can tell you the number of rounds that this condition will affect you, but I was hoping to just play it out. Thought you'd like it better that way, too. Additionally, the 4 action dice used to activate the critical causes your Initiative Count to drop by 8.
Elkar:
Spoiler:
Boo's voice comes through strong and closer to a good mood than you've heard in a while, "Got the repulsors running. Also locked the Imps out of navigational controls from the bridge, it's being run directly by Acid from down here. Don't want them mucking the ship up any worse than they already have."
Also, you posted twice for last round, so we'll assume your move action to get to Tarkin took 1 half action and you have 1 half action still remaining for Round 2.
Round 2 wrote:
Initiative Count
Jeho - 27
Lt. Kraas - 26
Cpt. Holt - 22
Pirates - 15
Elkar - 13
Adolphus - 3
As of right now, only Jeho and Holt have eyes on hostiles and are still outside the ship. Even though Boo has the repulsors engaged and the ship is hovering, it's only hovering a foot or so off the ground and Jeho and Holt still have access. So do the pirates. Adolphus, Elkar, and Kraas are on the top deck huddled around Adolphus who is positioned directly below the now-burned-out turret. Doc and Lid are in the lounge directly fore of that position. The prisoners and Trooper Kugal are down the aft corridor. Boo and Acid are further down the aft corridor in Engineering. Think that's everyone accounted for.
Adolphus tries to pull himself up, but crashes back down as the ship evens out. His hands reach out, clutching the wall beside him more desperately than should be required for balance. "Kraas.. are we airborne? Help me up.."
He makes another attempt to stand, but expects to balance himself against a non-existent wall and stumbles over again with a gasp. Lt. Kraas pulls him up by the elbow. "Commander?"
"I'm just having some trouble seeing, Lieutenant. Thank you.." Adolphus is shaking his head and blinking frequently, as if he can literally shake off the effects. He is breathing heavily, but sounds otherwise under control. "Elkar, are you here? (Assuming he is..) Sorry about the turret. Can we get underway once our men are onboard? I need my pilot for a moment to lead me to 2-1B, then he can help you."
He pats around for his radio, then speaks into it, "What's her condition, Doc? I may.. need a moment for my head to clear."
"What's her condition? What the hell's going on with Lid?!" Clearing his head for the moment (he'll want an answer, but there are other things going on).
"Commander, get your men in here, we're leaving with or without them. But I'm not leaving any of my own behind."
He turns towards the bridge, and speaks over comms as he's headed for the bridge.
"Ser, you still out there? If you can reach the ship, we're gonna make a break for it, if not, give me a direction and Acid'll get us there. Jeho, get your backside in here, it's going to get dicey real quick."
"Acid, I'll be in the bridge, get those fore laser canons ready for me if we have the power."
Foghorn
Spoiler:
He'll spend his time moving from where he is to the bridge (let me know if he gets there). He's going to lock & load if he can, and a strafing run might just break the damn pirates. He'll be talking over the communicators as he's headed for the bridge. Sorry about the extra action last round, I actually figured it would be done this round, so that didn't hurt a thing.
"We're on, cap'n, but so are they! We've got multiple breaches in the hull where this mouthbreathers are coming in at! I'm not sure how many we're infested with." Jeho's voice comes through terse and yelling over the thundering of his handguns as he downs two pirates in the main corridor.
As Elkar departs for the bridge, Lt. Kraas swears out loud in what Adolphus can only guess is fright. A voice he does not recognize trails off as it heads in the same direction that Elkar went, "Sir, we have at least a half dozen..."
Adolphus:
Spoiler:
"Commander! They have some sort of shadow alien on board! Who are these people?" his voice calms down a little bit as he puts your arm around his shoulder.
You've heard of a race of beings that actually absorb light instead of reflecting it like most do as some sort of defense mechanism or something. For a 'common' ship captain to have someone like that on his crew would be unlikely at best. You start to wonder what exactly this crew does.
"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to...it was just...unnerving. How bad is it? Your medical droid is just in the other room, I'll take you to him."
You test your footing as you allow Lt. Kraas to escort you into the next room. You will be a little bruised from the fall, and you think that things are starting to become bright blurs instead of just nothing, so you're relieved the blindness is temporary.
You become a little concerned when the sound of fighting on the main deck subsides, but Cpt. Holt does not check in. Doc's voice breaks through your concerns, "Sir, I'm sorry to hear you've been injured but I would appreciate the Lieutenant's aid as the young women is starting to seizure and I think I may need to take some extreme action in order to stabilize."
Kraas sets you down in one of the chairs in the lounge. You take a moment's reprieve while you've got it.
Elkar:
Spoiler:
Ser follows along with you on the way to the bridge, "Sir, we have at least a half dozen pirates on the main deck. I understand the necessity to get to the bridge, but that's a one-way..."
As you come down the main corridor, you see Jeho and Cpt. Holt go back to back as the pirates come up on either side of them. The pirates close the distance quick and while another goes down from a well-placed burst from Cpt. Holt, you see the pirates address the situation with some well placed stun batons and it does not take long for their numbers to overwhelm the soldiers.
When the squad of pirates turn and see you and Ser, he shoves you into the bridge, "We will hold." He slams his knife into the panel outside the door and it slams shut in front of you before you can protest.
Looking out the main viewport, all you see is the skiff with a few of the pirates still on board. Acid has kindly swiveled the ship around centering your view directly on them. Which also means they'll be right in the center of your target reticle. The panel that translates Acid's binary speech simply reads, "Roast them".
I think it's hilarious that you mentioned Ser right before I was going to bring him in. I love playing the ghost game with Defels...
Round 3 wrote:
Initiative Count
Lt. Kraas - 26
Pirates - 15
Elkar - 13
Adolphus - 3
Adolphus is now in the lounge with Lt. Kraas, Doc, and Lid. Elkar's down in the bridge, with Boo and Acid still in Engineering.
Sorry for the delay... no computer for a couple of days due to dealing with a sick little one.
Elkar moves into the seat, and fires the lasers at the skiff. Over the comm "Boo, Uglies in the ship, be on alert, we'll need some help up front."
Foghorn, while Elkar is insuring the targeting doesn't miss, he'd like to see if there is a vehicular mounted weapon that could take down the ship in the manner of the Imp's ship
Foghorn:
Spoiler:
Attack roll of 10 + 4 BAB + 1 for the Forte + 4 for dex is 19 to hit (if Intelligence based then the to hit roll will be a 17). I don't have a clue for damage, but there we go.
The forward guns of the Darting Sparrow come alive and rake along the side of the pirate's skiff as they try to get away. The salvo cracks the casing along the engines and the skiff is swallowed in a fireball that reverberates back through the ship's hull.
Elkar slams his fist into the console and screams in unadulterated excitement as the glow from the skiff fades. As the adrenalin ebbs slightly, he realizes that he's now locked in the bridge and can only guess the number of pirates on the other side. He chews his lip for a moment as he tries to recall the skiff's deck before the explosion. It all happened so quick he's not sure if he saw a laser cannon mounted, or if it could have been the missile launcher that started this whole mess. His hand slams down on the intercom, "Boo, we've got incoming pirates. I want you to lock it down. Now."
The Wookiee's voice comes back over the intercom along with the warblings of the R2 unit behind him. For the first time, Adolphus hears a Wookie (and the astromech?) laugh in what he guesses is excitement. The sound is extremely disconcerting.
The Sparrow drops onto its landing struts and the lights dim momentarily. A split second later, the bulkheads start slamming down and sealing. "At least Doc will get to work in peace," Adolphus thinks as he tries to make out which blur is Doc and which is the Lieutenant.
Adolphus:
Spoiler:
"Lieutenant," Doc's gravelly voice droned, "her condition is dire and I cannot anesthetize the patient for this procedure. I am going to need you to hold her still while I relieve the pressure in her skull."
"Anisthethicam if you can" Lidian's voice was weak he grip on what was occurring around her was obviously slipping by the moment.
"Uh...okay, D-d-doc. Um, Commander, how are you feeling? I really don't know about," Kraas seems a little shaken up by what's going on right now.
Elkar:
Spoiler:
"Welcome to my funhouse" is all Boo says before you hear the bulkheads through the ship sealing. "Initiating plan, "Repulse the monkey" he then laughs before cutting off the intercom. You rub your temples for a moment trying to remember if what just happened is a reason that you keep Boo around or why he scares the hell out of you.
The door keeping the pirates from you is not that thick. Ser bought you some time, but you're not sure what to do from here. Then you remember Adolphus saying something about Lid's condition.
Over the ship intercom: "Pirates, this is your captain speaking. You've angered my crew and ship, your skiff is gone, so prepare to surrender or die, probably both."
Over the party comm: "Commander, how's Lid?"
Foghorn:
Spoiler:
Elkar takes his move action to brace himself somewhat behind his chair while drawing his blaster, granting some sort of cover, I hope. He'll use the brace action, which will grant him a bonus when the pirates get in. That covers both actions, right? If the talking requires a half action, then I'll wait for the next round to brace.
"Holt! Report!" Adolphus demands out of his tactical radio. He then carefully stands up, "I can help hold her. Kraas, take her shoulders and arms. I'll take her legs."
I'm assuming Kraas has higher strength than Adolphus and the more important job is to keep her torso and head from moving. If this is something I should roll for assistance on, tell me!
The intercom comes alive, but this time you do not recognize the voice on the other end, "Captain, I applaud your engineer's enthusiasm and ingenuity but I think you are not giving my crew enough merit. While you have home field advantage, we have numbers, weapons, and most importantly hostages. I have no interest in killing you or your crew, but I will if I have to to salvage your ship."
"Especially now that we've lost the skiff I really need something to recoup my losses from this particular venture. Now, you have one minute to stand down or I execute the Imperial soldier. I don't expect this to upset you too much, but it will prove that I will do what I threaten to do. If you still have not stood down a minute after that, your man is next."
"The lockdown has slowed us down, but we are still moving forward with taking this ship. I hope for your man's sake you make your decision quickly," the intercom shuts off and the ship is eerily quiet after the last 10 minutes of crashing, explosions, and close quarters combat.
Adolphus:
Spoiler:
Lt. Kraas assists you in getting you over to the table that Lid is on. You take her feet and try to hold her, but she's starting to squirm. Her eyes are hazy and she's mumbling, "What's going on? Where's Elkar? Who are you?"
Make an Impress/Persuasion check to try to calm her down and get her to trust you.
Your commlink buzzes, "Commander, Trooper Kugal here. The prisoners are getting restless and claim that they can help. Normally, I wouldn't bother you, but if the pirates really do have Cpt. Holt, can we trust that alien to help us right now?"
Elkar:
Spoiler:
The pirates seem to be making no effort to get into the bridge. Boochacca comes over your commlink, "What're you going to do here, Elkar? I can only hold them off for so long and what're they going to do to Lid if something happens to their soldier?"
I'll call that the end of the combat as well. You can go back to posting as freely as you want between the two of you without worrying about timing and Initiative and what not. Because of the deadline imposed by the pirates, I'll try to add a countdown as a response to either of your posts so Steve-o knows how much time he has to do reply to the pirate.
"Lidan. Lid. Elkar is on the ship, but he is dealing with another problem. Before you can help, we need you to get better. You have an injury that my 2-1B droid can fix, but you need to stay still. Can you do that? It'll be over quickly. Stay calm." Impress/Persuasion: 13 + 5 + 3 = 21. Synergy w/ Medicine?
After Lidian is calmed, Adolphus speaks into his team's radio. "Kugal. Do the prisoners know who the boarders are? Do they recognize the voice?" It's obvious from his focus and his renewed sense of vigor that the blindness has passed.
Over the comm to Acid
"How quick can you get us to town. Can you unlock the bridge controls until they break in so I can drive? Second thought is creating a 'diversion' of sorts with a fake self destruct... or a real one. These >expletives< deserve it. Lid's hurt somehow, and I can't risk being stuck in some godsforsaken Jungle while she dies in our arms. Worse yet, they have Jeho, and probably Ser. I have to risk getting us to town for Lid."
Elkar moves into piloting position and straps himself in
Over the comm to Commander Tarkin
"Tarkin, brace yourselves if you can. If you have a status on Lid, give it to me now, so I can decide what to do. Tarkin, this is not going to be pleasant, and I'm going to get us all through this, but you HAVE to trust me."
Adolphus responds to Elkar's request, sounding a bit apologetic, "She's suffered some severe brain trauma, possible hemmoraging, risk of shock. My droid needed some assistance to treat her." He hesitates and amends, "We'll know more in few moments."
Lidian seems to relax slightly, but you see Lt. Kraas wince a little as her knuckles whiten on his arm. Doc tells her in a quiet voice that she should only experience a slight pressure. The droid's arm extends and a number of medical tools rotate and as it approaches her head you look away.
"They don't claim to know the pirate, sir. I have a spare sidearm that I could equip them with. Please advise." Trooper Kugal's voice is calm over the commlink, but you suspect he plans on some revenge for the threat on Holt's life.
The door to the lounge starts to throw sparks as someone on the other side starts to cut through.
Elkar:
Spoiler:
Acid's display comes alive, "Helm is yours, Elkar. Boo and I will do what we can to help from here."
You grab a hold of the ship's yoke and lean on the rudder while dialing up the inertial dampner trying to make the turn as smooth as possible. You're not really sure what Adolphus is doing up there, but you are guessing that jarring the ship around as little as possible is probably the best for everyone right now.
The intercom clicks back on, "Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. 45 seconds, Captain."
Drive (pilot/maneuver) roll of 20 (natural) for a total of 34 (14 Ranks [7 wheelman, 7 scientist] +4 Dex +2 Speed Demon) I will spend my action die to activate this critical threat. I want the ship to be ascending as fast as possible (heading towards space, but not quite that high, as even I'm not that crazy) but a still be making a good bee line towards town. If I get to add the result of the action die, then I got a 37 total. Further down I am talking to the pirate, and I want to sound very calm and collected intimidate (wis) (same mod) roll of 11 (10+1, untrained). Elkar is not bluffing.
To Acid & Boo
"Get any life support systems offline now Acid. We're going to a low oxygen zone here. I know I can draw them to me, so once they break in my door keep going up. We have a better chance with lower oxygen and them passing out and our mayday than anything else. Once they get here, take control back there and complete this for me. I'll draw them to me, and that's how this will end, I hope. I'm going to have to call the Imps for help to do it, but d@mmit we'll make it through!" [/ooc]
To Adolphus
"We're going to go up, Tarkin. What frequency are your guys on? I'll send a mayday to them, telling them what has happened. More of them versus the pirates will help us. That, and thinner air for the pirates. Sorry this isn't my usual first class ride."
Over the General Intercom
"Mr. Pirate, I do ask that you look out the port side windows. While you may have my men hostage, I also have you hostage, this ship is air worthy. In case you hadn't noticed, this ship isn't exactly ready for the rigors of space flight. Stand down now, and we all walk away alive. Don't stand down, and I guess we all find out what a hard vacuum feels like. You're right, you haven't anything to lose. I have everything to lose. I'll be piloting the ship whenever you're ready to stand down."
To Kugal: "Do not arm the prisoners. Repeat. Do not arm the prisoners." How close is Kugal to the door to our cabin? And, is there a way I can talk to the Parascaptor without going through Elkar?
To Elkar: "You'd better patch me through to the Parascaptor as well." Gives a code to Elkar that would be for priority merchant clearance. "If you're in communication with your troops: They're working on cutting through our door. The doc is still working on Lidian."
When can I stop restraining Lidian? Aldophus is going to want to get to his weapon quickly after that..
The increasing familiar voice comes over the intercom.
"Interesting play, Captain. I think you might enjoy my countermove. 30 seconds, by the way. Did you know the Imperial's name by chance? Not that it bothers me, I'm just wondering how easily you write off a life."
Adolphus:
Spoiler:
Kugal comes over your comm, "We will make our way towards you, Commander. The prisoners are unarmed and unbound."
Doc's arm twirls as he cycles through his different medical tools. Lidian whimpers slightly as your droid continues his work, but remains calm.
"The patient seems calm enough, I can proceed without your assistance Commander, I advise you direct your attention elsewhere."
Lt. Kraas speaks up, his voice getting increasingly tense, "Commander, what the hell is that crazy alien thinking? It's going to take longer than 30 seconds for us to break atmosphere."
You look out the forward viewing port and see the sky darkening but the Lieutenant has got a point. You curse your tightening chest as you overturn the dejarik table to try to provide Doc with some cover. You try to focus past your pain as you bring your carbine (MP5 blaster) and rest the stock against your shoulder.
The pirates will be coming through the door soon.
Elkar:
Spoiler:
You glance over your sensors and do the math. Your repulsorlifts will take you up high enough to possibly give the pirates a nosebleed, but you cannot break atmosphere with them. It'll take about a minute for you to hit your ceiling.
You send out a distress beacon on the frequency that Adolphus provided you with. The Sparrow is beaten and battered and what power you aren't already pumping into the engines is going to your comm array.
Frustration reaches it's boiling point and you scream in frustration and kick the console. The screen still displays static but you hear, "...chant vessel. You are tran......ured channel. Please sta...mergency."
"Lieutenant. If 'Doc can spare you, our next task is to disable any foes that come through this door. One task at a time. Doc? Is he needed?"
"I'm not trusting Elkar, but given cooperating with our current attackers, whomever fired upon our trip, or the fugitives we've taken captive, I'll go with the smuggler bystander with a common foe."
To Elkar: "Elkar, where will they may be holding my Captain?"
If Boo's lockdown procedure works the way you think it might work (his 'security protocol' diagrams usually look like a cross between an alien language and a toddler's doodles) the pirates should be stuck in whatever stretch of corridor they were in when the bulkheads closed. If the pirates haven't split up, then they should all be right outside the lounge door trying to cut through with Captain Holt and Jeho.
There isn't really a whole heck of a lot I can do at this point, the ship's going to go away. And NO, Elkar doesn't know the blasted Imp's name.
Electronics roll of 21 (rolled 16) to patch Adolphus through to the Parascaptor, with me able to listen if possible. Drive (pilot) roll of 25 (rolled a 5) to keep us steady in the air for now. I'm readying a computer use roll (for a burst transmission of coordinates to the Parascaptor) of 20 (rolled an 11).
to Boo & Acid"*deep sigh* We're beat guys. I can't let the Imp die, 'cuz they got Jeho and probably Ser. They'll kill Jeho & Ser if the Imp dies. I got one shot here, and I hope this works. I'm probably dead by trial, but you'll all be fine."
Angrily to Adolphus "You're patched through. Do what you can, I'm going to land, have 'em follow my trajectory 'cause I can't let them kill your guy or mine... and they plan to. And if the pirates haven't split up, then they should all be right outside the lounge door trying to cut through with your guy and Jeho.."
Angrily, to the Pirate over the main comm. "Fine, you win. Don't kill anyone. Get me coordinates so I can land a little more safely than last time, and I'll get us landed. From there, I hope we never meet again."
"A wise move captain. I'm glad we could resolve this without any further violence. Any spot nearby that you can put down will do us fine." The pirate's smug voice turns off and the ship is silent. Everyone feels the ascent taper off as the Sparrow begins it descent back to the ground.
Elkar:
Spoiler:
Boo comes through on your comm, "I'm sorry, Elkar. I don't know how to stop them...but I could always," his signal ends abruptly which doesn't add any comfort to the sinking feeling in your stomach.
As the signal to the Parascaptor begins to fade, you beam them your coordinates and hope that they are able to provide some kind of assistance. You pat the console as you try to conjure up another plan for once you're on the ground.
Adolphus:
Spoiler:
The torch comes full circle on the door. As the door falls to the ground, a grenade comes into the lounge and starts spitting out smoke that obscures your view as to what's coming through from the corridor.
As Kraas brings his blaster up and lines his sights on the door, you realize that the pirates are testing you and want you to fire first to give away your position inside the lounge. You hold your hand out to halt Kraas from firing and then put a finger to your lips indicating for him to be silent as well.
After a few seconds of maddening quiet, the first pirate comes stumbling through the smoke.
To Acid "Acid, land the ship, and help get me the >expletive deleted< out of the bridge. If I'm dying, then I'm dying on my terms, not the Imps or the >expletive deleted< pirates."
Elkar stands up after her response, and prepares his pistol, wishing he had something a wee bit larger... But then, he muses, he'd be compensating like the pirates :P He smiles and starts trying to open the lock between the bridge and the rest of the ship.
That which does not kill you has made a gross tactical error.
