Operation River Recon

[Venatus Vinco]

Operation River Recon

Finally. An operation!

The newly minted Special Exploration Team has done some training, mostly figured out each others names, and hashed out an informal pecking order, but this is a group that craves action. Being cooped up inside the castle walls is starting to wear thin on all of them - not just the juicer. When orders come down for a briefing with the Top Chief, head of all specialist teams and operations, the group knows this is no training run.

The Top Chief keeps her office on level three of the Legion Special Units HQ building, a small tower of the castle tucked neatly next to engineering and maintenance. Near the office is the “situation room” where info from all the specialist units in the field is fed back to headquarters. The rest of the level is taken up with briefing rooms. The rooms are barely big enough for a team, before accounting for the bulk of cyborgs and various oversized d-bees - one of the drawbacks of a building built by dwarves. Nonetheless, the Top Chief and one of her aides stands ready at the front of one of the briefing rooms with a map of the White River behind her.

Top Chief Elle of Owls is a beautiful humanoid with owl-like features and wings. She is graceful but also sometimes-haunting. Her mystical abilities make the Top Chief even more of an enigma. She is a longtime compatriot of the Legion’s Commander, General Henderson “Hank” MacGruder, and knows his mind—some say literally—where the various specialist operations are concerned.

Scanning the room with her large owl-like eyes the Chief gives a quick overview of the situation, “For the past few weeks some of the fishing villages along the White River been reporting disturbances. Unfortunately, the reports are conflicting with some saying a gang of bandits while others swear the "earth itself came to life." We sent an Emergency Relief Team into the area to assist the villagers but have lost contact. I want your team to head to the last know location of the ERT and figure out what’s going on - and deal with it if you can.”

Pointing to the map behind her the Chief outlines a series of small villages set along the White River with the caverns and cliffs behind them , “In addition to being under our protection, these villages help supply food to our markets and Legion troops, they are strategically important. As you can see many of the villages make use of the extensive network of caves along the river so it is hard to determine their exact condition by aireal means. You’ll need your boots on the ground, and under the ground, for this one.”

Zooming the map into one area, a village labelled “Illmarsh” the owl-like d-bee finishes her presentation, “This is Illmarsh, a largely human community and the last known location of the ERT. Start there and figure out what’s going on.” Motioning to her aide the Chief gives a curt nod, “Specialist Smith here will help you with any logistical needs or informational follow-ups. Good luck.” With a rustle of feathers the Chief exits the room.

[Jackal]

Eagerly tapping his fingers against the sides of his legs the Juicer smiles widely. Time for action! One more day of quartermaster duties in the armory absently counting and stocking weapons was going to drive him crazier than a snake's armpit, and loonier than a hopped up Crazie on snake venom juice.

Ready, set, Burn!

Look forward to it

[Qoat]

Listening to the Top Chief, Qoat absently looks down at the "Q" he has been engraving, then back up to the front, then to the windows, then at his teammates, and back to what he's working on. I think we are all ready to get out of this castle and start helping people. Like all Quick-Flex, Qoat is confident in his abilities. Nodding his head, he says to loud enough to be heard by his teammates, but not to the chief, "We got this."

As the Top Chief exits the room, Qoat puts the stylist he's been using to engrave a small piece of metal back in one of his many pockets and raises his hand, a dial on the glove reflecting the lights in the room. Once called upon, Qoat stands and says, "Specialist Smith, Mechanic Specialist Qoat, sir. A map showing how to get to Illmarsh from here would be helpful, along with that map of the town itself. This mission would seem to require us to be out in the field for an extended period of time, may we requisition Comms for the team, along with food supplies and additional ammo? I'd like to lay in a supply of repair parts for our armor, weapons, vehicles, and," nodding to his two mechanical compatriots, "for them as well."

Qoat rubs his hand across his cheeks, emphasizing his lack of a nose, and then scratches his chin, thinking for a second. "If we are going into caves, lights, rope, and climbing gear might be useful." He looks at his team and says, "My vehicle should have enough room for all of us, if any of you need a ride."

Qoat sits back down, elbows on his knees, leaning forward to hear the answer, so he can quickly get up and get moving when the meeting is done.

[Jackal]

Nodding at the Quick Flex Alien Fell states, "Alright fellow SET members! Those monkeys in ERT need our help again!" Fell grins widely. "What's new right?"

"Operation White River is a go and we are going to kick some butt. Grab gear if you need it then lock and load and I will meet you in the vehicle bay. First one there gets shotgun...."

After a crisp salute, not particularly directed at anyone, the Juicer bolts out of the briefing room.


OCC: On that note my fellow SET members, do we have a rank order? Captain Fell....Private Fell? Does anyone have a desire to "lead" this operation? I don't want to step on any toes.

[Cory Tetrascroll]

Notice:[dice]0[/dice]+[dice]1[/dice]

Cory looks around the room at the heavily armored group. She wonders at the "management's" funny idea of team building. We haven't been on a mission yet, so maybe this will be great. she ponders. Qoat's questions are very astute, and she grudgingly nods in agreement. She has a question of her own, and says just a bit snippy, "So do you know what ley line activity in that area is?" She's thinking both of her boost in magic along the mystic powerlines and of her ability to travel via wingboard. Wingboards are pretty dang cool.

She stands up on her tip toes to take a better look at the presentation map. She runs her hands along the river and the roads. There's no forests or groundcover shown on the map. "The map doesn't show the plants. Why not? What's the plant life like around here, is it, uh, foresty?" she asks, seeming a little annoyed. She seems to be on a natural feature kick, she asks yet another question, "Do we have a weather forecast?"

Returning to her seat at the table she plops back into the chair. Her feet dangle several inches above the ground. She looks to Qoat, and asks him a question, "Can you strap my wingboard could strap to your vehicle? What kind of 'vehicle' is it anyway?" She pauses, that question apparently lacked enough teenage angsty sarcasm, so she lays it on thick, head tilt in full effect, deadpan voice: "Got big nasty monster hunter guns? Blam!"

As the juicer bolts out the door, Cory laughs, then rolls her eyes. Well, he's not wrong, she thinks standing up and grabbing her gear. She follows him out to the vehicle bay.

"I'm ready, so what's keeping the rest of those guys," she half says to Fell, half to the world at large. It's not a question. She pulls the magic flyer from it's rack and waits for the others, impatiently tapping her feet. She rubs her rosary in her hands, quietly mumbling prayers. She might talk to Fell, but probably not.

Finally when no one else arrives, she sets the wingboard back down and goes to see if Qoat needs help with the gear. Gawd. What would they do without me.

"Hey. Do you have this under control, because I could go back to the bay and just stand around if you do," she says to the Quick-flex, again, her tone and inflection don't indicate a question.

[Timothy Hernandez]

Notice: ([dice]5[/dice]+2)

Timothy is summoned while he is exploring the castle, getting his bearings and learning how things are works. Timothy learns that Top Chief Elle of Owls is the equivalent of a Colonel. With that bit of knowledge, Timothy hustles to her office confident that he will be one of the first ones there. We have a quick flex, and a juicer that could get there either before me or at the same time. As he runs to the office, Timothy notices that the hallways start to shrink and become tight Ugh, this sucks. This would be great defensive measures. Timothy will open a file on his computer to notate his observations such as this. This file is then password protected. The Colonel always said make it as difficult as possible.

As Timothy enters the office, if he notices the Top Chief he will immediately snap to attention with an audible metallic sound of his heels hitting each other. "Legionnaire Timothy Hernandez reporting as ordered Ma'am" Timothy will note the quality of the salute the Top Chief returns. The rank structure is not that different then the coalition. Don't break what works right? Timothy will assume a stance of parade rest during the briefing and will record the entire briefing, along with the Q&A portion, as well as notate the rank structure and the apparent special groups the freedom fighters use, into his note file.

As the Top Chief leaves the room, Timothy snaps to attention with the same audible metallic sound of his heels hitting each other. After the Top Chief leaves the room Timothy will return to parade rest. Once other questions are answered Timothy will raise his right hand. "Specialist Smith, sir. Would it be possible for me to requisition attachment for my hands and feet to create hand holds in the rock walls?"

Once the briefing is completed, Timothy will notate Fells salute, indicating previous service, and proceed to the Armory and sign out his weapons w/3 clips apiece. Once he get his great sword back, Timothy will rotate it in one hand, enjoying the weight and feel of the sword. Timothy will then proceed to the vehicle bays and approaches the group. "Legionnaire Timothy Hernandez, equipped and reporting as ordered." Timothy will stow the weapons following the drivers instructions. The Great Sword will be the closest weapon in case the other weapons are not available, followed by the rail gun, then the JA-11 followed by the ion pistol.

[Crunch]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]

Crunch tosses his playing cards on the crate that he and his companions were using as a table. "Gotta go boyos, Boss calling me name for some work." Crunch says with a smile as he stands up to his seven foot height. Crunch carefully makes his way out of the tiny room they were using to play cards and walks the halls to the meeting. Crunch is amused at the size of the room, it would have been small in his meat body too, seeing as Crunch was always a big man. When the Top Chief begins talking Crunch pays attention.

“For the past few weeks some of the fishing villages along the White River been reporting disturbances. Unfortunately, the reports are conflicting with some saying a gang of bandits while others swear the "earth itself came to life." We sent an Emergency Relief Team into the area to assist the villagers but have lost contact. I want your team to head to the last know location of the ERT and figure out what’s going on - and deal with it if you can.”

Pointing to the map behind her the Chief outlines a series of small villages set along the White River with a large , “In addition to being under our protection, these villages help supply food to our markets and Legion troops, they are strategically important. As you can see many of the villages make use of the extensive network of caves along the river so it is hard to determine their exact condition by aireal means. You’ll need your boots on the ground, and under the ground, for this one.”

Zooming the map into one area, a village labelled “Illmarsh” the owl-like d-bee finishes her presentation, “This is Illmarsh, a largely human community and the last known location of the ERT. Start there and figure out what’s going on.” Motioning to her aide the Chief gives a curt nod, “Specialist Smith here will help you with any logistical needs or informational follow-ups. Good luck.” With a rustle of feathers the Chief exits the room.

Crunch snorts. "So some wee Errt's got lost. I guess makes sense that you want to send a fine bunch such as ourselves to find them. No questions from me sir, my teammates seem to have covered everything I cared to know." Crunch looks to the others and makes a few observations.

Juicer seems cool, bit amped up, but cool. Other Cyborg seems a stick in the mud. Operator seems to want the top dog position... not that I really care. Not sure about the girl... likely trouble on a stick. Crunch thinks as he slowly extricates himself from the cramped room to stand outside of it.

[Venatus Vinco]

Questions & Answers

Smith seems like a nice enough person, when the questions start flying he answers directly, tersely, and with a slight shade of impatience.

"A map of the village is included in your briefing package," he then points to the large map behind him showing the White River and nearby villages. "So to is the large map of your area of operations. As far as supplies go, of course you will have standard personal communications as well as one long range unit for reporting back to the situation room. We can also dprovide some ammunition and rations. However, this is a short range, short term mission, more than that is not strictly necessary. Make is back and your consumables will be replenished and repairs made."

The Specialist adjusts the map to remove a "layer" showing pulsing blue lines of energy, "As you can no doubt tell Castle Refuge sits on a minor ley line nexus. One of the intersecting lines follows the river but passes through the hills and caves. You might not see it but will likely feel and draw from its power."

Taking any questions that remain the Specialist offers one last piece of guidance, "Before you depart please let me know your command structure for this mission. As special operatives you are all equal in ability but must choose someone to make final decisions and be responisble to the operation' outcome."

OOC: In case it isn't clear, click on the link in the original post (or here) to see a map of the village of “Illmarsh” . You won't need the map of the area, just imagine a river, some villages, and some hills with caves.

[Cory Tetrascroll]

Notice:[dice]0[/dice]+[dice]1[/dice] Wild Die [dice]2[/dice]
Wounds: 0 | PPE: 20/20 | ISP: 20/20
Constant Effects: Alertness; Auto-Mega Damage; Danger Sense; Sense Supernatural Beings (with Notice check)

In Briefing Room
Cory smiles at the map-reveal. A ley line! That makes things easier. Still no weather report, oh well, can't expect everything.

At the question of leadership, she is at a loss. She certainly doesn't want to be in charge. But looking around the room, she's not sure she wants any of them to be in charge either. Ultimately, she decides she doesn't care. She tosses out offhandedly as she leaves, "Last one out's in charge."

She only shakes her head at Timothy's rigid and excessive military protocol.

In the Hangar
With confirmation of the ley line presence at the mission site, Cory polishes up the wing board, making sure it's in top shape for flying.

[Timothy Hernandez]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild die: [dice]1[/dice]

Default Wild Die: [dice]2[/dice]

Seeing the lack of discipline, Timothy soon realizes this will be a difficult group to manage. These kind of people, don't even make it out of boot camp. And the leadership wants to trust lives with them?

As the team walk out of the briefing room, Timothy will approach the Specialist. Time to violate rule #1, "Excuse me sir, in regards to the leadership position. It would appear that our options are quite limited. I would like to propose the chain of command to be myself and Fell as my XO. From our training, I did not get the feeling that the others have the training or the discipline for military leadership."

[Crunch]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]
Conditions: Cyber-Senses: +2 to Hearing & Vision-based Notice checks, Danger Sense.

---

Crunch shakes his head at the question. "Not me boyo, I'm good for taking orders not giving them." Crunch makes his way to the Hanger with the group and collecting up his weapons on the way. I really hope I won't have to use them. Crunch thinks larconicly.

Once in the Hanger, Crunch turns to the others. "My name is Patrick, but everyone calls me Crunch. Used to fight in small arenas. Bare hands mostly." Crunch says as he looks down at his metal appendages. "So who are all of you folk?"

[Cory Tetrascroll]

[Rolls carried over]

"Cory. But most people, Cory starts, slowly tilting her head vaguely in Crunch's direction, finally finishing her thought, "call me Cory. She turns back to her wing board, seemingly done with the conversation. "If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm the infiltration borg disguised as a short human mystic. It's a pretty good job too, I can cast spells."

[Jackal]

The Dice...
Wild d6: [dice]0[/dice]
d4: [dice]1[/dice]
d6: [dice]2[/dice]
d8: [dice]3[/dice]
d10: [dice]4[/dice]
d12: [dice]5[/dice]
JiC d20/d100: [dice]6[/dice] / [dice]7[/dice]
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Leaning against a Mountaineer ATV parked in the vehicle bay, the Juicer watches as the others enter. Idly ensuring his Mohawk is standing straight the chemically augmented man smiles at his team members as they arrive.

This will be a breeze, a Mystic, two 'Borgs, a tool slinging speed demon D-Bee and me. ERT needs rescuing, here we come.

After the Mystic addresses the 'Borg the Juicer grunts in amusement.

"Ahh, so we have three combat, slash, magic cyborgs on the team. Awesome sauce!"

Winking at the small Mystic Fell straightens up and salutes the others.

"Welcome to SET! You are supposed to be quick Qoat, I totally beat you all here."

Fell chuckles and looks around.

"So. You mentioned you had a vehicle Qoat? I don't think we will all fit on Cory's Wingboard."

The Juicer moves closer to the young Mystic eyeing her ride, "Although it might be fun to try that."

Turning back to face the others he says, "Right. So I am not too concerned who is in charge, as far as I am concerned we share the same rank of Specialist. He, or she, who is in charge is merely the one they blame around here if things go sideways. I will take that dis..honor of command if you want, won't be my first rodeo, but if some one else wants to sign us out as leader speak up now!"

Grinning the Juicer waits for Qoat to point the way to his ride, he has obviously earned shotgun in what ever vehicle it is.

Additionally the Juicer watches to see who might claim leadership, wondering at their motives if they do.

[Ulysses]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]


The most irritating thing about a Dwarf-built Castle wasn’t the cramped spaces. As a slender, nimble fellow Ulysses can fold himself up to near-nothingness. I once spent a week in a Cyclops' backpack as she carried me across the Gargoyle Empire, this place ain’t so cramped. But dammit if I light up a smoke in here, anywhere in this damn tomb, everyone in the Castle will know it, be able to figure out where I’m at and what’s me druthers! Intolerable! Ulysses shudders at the very idea. Instead of lighting it up, he chews on his cigarillo sitting in the back of the situation room. As is his habit Uly showed up early, before the others, and found a spot that inclines him to go unnoticed.

He sizes up each of his new colleagues, he raises an eyebrow when he sees Crunch enter the room. Crunch? Jaysus Shiteing Murphy! It’s been a minute since I saw that metalhead… wonder what his feelings are on that whole... Situation we had.

Pointing to the map behind her the Chief outlines a series of small villages set along the White River with the caverns and cliffs behind them , “In addition to being under our protection, these villages help supply food to our markets and Legion troops, they are strategically important. As you can see many of the villages make use of the extensive network of caves along the river so it is hard to determine their exact condition by aireal means. You’ll need your boots on the ground, and under the ground, for this one.”

Ulysses listens to the briefing with interest, but is especially intrigued by the description of the village. River port? Extensive network of caves? This place sounds like bleeding Smuggler’s Cove, might be a choice spot for me lads in the Market.

As the various military-types go through there posturing, and the talk turns to leadership, Ulysses is only half listening… however one thing brings him back to full attention:

As the team walk out of the briefing room, Timothy will approach the Specialist. Time to violate rule #1, "Excuse me sir, in regards to the leadership position. It would appear that our options are quite limited. I would like to propose the chain of command to be myself and Fell as my XO. From our training, I did not get the feeling that the others have the training or the discipline for military leadership."

"That’s a mighty fine line-up for a kill squad. If we’re meant to go and murder the entirety of the river valley then I vote for those two. But if we’re entering an situation of infinite unknown variables, where some kind of finesse might be in order… I’m gonna go ahead and vote nopers."

Ulysses thinks for a moment… None of these eejits seem a fit… that one there’s a right bollix. I’ll follow the orders of a meth-head as soon as those of a Juice-monkey, and I'm loathe to follow a leader that nominates themselves. But somebody’s got to take the blame when it all goes to shit.

“Of those who seem interested, I say, Qoat as C.O. and Hernadez as X.O.. With all due respect I’m not comfortable taking orders from a Juicer,”


The Hangar

As Qoat offers a ride, Uly puts up his hand, “I’ll take one of those! Tanks a bunch!”

He loads up his gear, and finds a place to curl up, drops his hat over his eyes and takes a nap until they really get going.

[Timothy Hernandez]

(rolls carried over)

Timothy notices ulysses for the first time. Shit, where did this guy come from? Sneaky bastard.

“That’s a mighty fine line-up for a kill squad. If we’re meant to go and murder the entirety of the river valley then I vote for those two. But if we’re entering an situation of infinite unknown variables, where some kind of finesse might be in order… I’m gonna go ahead and vote nopers. Of those who seem interested, I say, Qoat as C.O. and Hernadez as X.O.. With all due respect I’m not comfortable taking orders from a Juicer,”

Looking at the unassuming individual as he speaks, Timothy thinks it over and replies "I can live with that."

Timothy leaves the room to acquire his supplies. Upon arrival, Timothy sees that he is the last one to show up. Seeing that most everyone has loaded up their gear, Timothy will stow his gear where available. Hearing Fell speak up about the command issue, Timothy will pay attention.

"Right. So I am not too concerned who is in charge, as far as I am concerned we share the same rank of Specialist. He, or she, who is in charge is merely the one they blame around here if things go sideways. I will take that dis..honor of command if you want, won't be my first rodeo, but if some one else wants to sign us out as leader speak up now!"

Timothy replies, "While I do appreciate your initiative, I myself would vote no. Please don't take this the wrong way. Of everyone else here, I believe you would do well. The problem I have is your a juicer. Who would be your second in command? How can we trust that you are not going to run off on your own? Like it or not we are a unit. The only way we will make it home is with each other." Timothy looks at the other members of the squad to gauge how they are reacting. "Some of you may have notice, I spoke with the specialist after the briefing," Is it a good idea to tell them? I hope so."I spoke with him about this subject. I suggested to the specialist for me to be the commander, and for Fell to be my XO. Unlike most Juciers, I want to live forever." Timothy pauses a moment for the joke, hoping it didn't fall flat. "Our friend of vast life experiences, Ulysses, however has a counter suggestion. Quoat as commander and myself as second. Regardless of who is in charge, unless someone else has had military experience either myself or Fell should be XO at the very least. The military machine can be integrate to down right maddening and we will need someone who knows how to navigate that minefield to get the supplies we need."

Timothy stands back to let the other members speak. Lets see how it plays out.

[Qoat]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]

Hearing his teammates discuss who should be in command, and logically coming to the conclusion it should be Qoat, Qoat begins to imagine what it would be like:

Qoat walks into a room and hear's his XO, Timothy, yell, "ATTENTION!" and sharply salute him. His troops all line up in height order, the tiny, but feisty mystic, the worldly Ulysses, the flamboyant Fell, and the companionable Crunch, each following suit with their hands stiffly held at their brows. In unison, they all exclaim, "GOOD MORNING MASTER CHIEF QOAT, WE LIVE AND DIE AT YOUR COMMAND!" Qoat walks past them, his corn cob pipe blowing scented smoke into the air, as he smacks his riding crop in his hand. Magnanimously he says, "At ease troops. Today we will be stripping down that salvaged Glitter Boy to mount it's main weapon on my ATV."

His joy is short-lived as his vivid imagination moves forward to the other part of command: Endless Meetings, reports, one on one meetings, discussions about personal growth and development, customer complaints, and of course performance evaluations. The vision ends with him stuck in a cubicle, fiddling with his tie and a color of a badly tailored suit.

Qoat's smile fades as he looks down at his engraving. Leading this rag tag group will cut into my research and development time. How can they not see that my time is more valuable than all theirs put together. He says, "Thank you all recognizing my skills and abilities, but I must decline. I say Fell as Team Leader, and Timothy as XO would be best." To Timothy, he says as an aside, "Worst case, he's only in command for about 5 years."

"Gentleman and Cory, my Mountaineer ATV is down in the central garage in space 16C. Don't let it's outward battered appearance fool you, I keep it that way so no one will consider stealing it. Cory, there should be enough room for the Wing Board."

Before leaving, Qoat asks Ulysses and Crunch, "I am going down to the Quarter-Master to pick up the comms and ammo, I'd appreciate some assistance carry it. Do you two mind coming along?" Ulysses has been a pretty smooth talker, maybe he can help me sweet talk whoever is at the counter into giving us some extra gear.

At the Quarter Master's office, Qoat asks for a half dozen reloads for a standard 'borg mini railgun, a dozen e-clips, and rations for 6 people for two weeks. He also asks for the long range radio and the other portable short range devices. Better to ask for more, so when they push back, we get what we need.

When the push back comes, Qoat counters, "Hey just be glad I am using my own vehicle to transport my team and that I am not asking for fuel too."

Persasian [dice]2[/dice]
Wild Die [dice]3[/dice]

Streetwise [dice]4[/dice]
Wild Die [dice]5[/dice]

At the ATV, Qoat opens up the doors to let everyone stow their gear. The inside is a stark contrast to the multi-colored patched exterior. Everything is in pristine condition, the chrome accents shining brightly under the glow of the garage lights. At various places, Q's have been applied tastefully, including the leather of the seats. Qoat stands aside with obvious pride, he hops in the driver's seat after the loading is complete, turning on the engine, the low rumble of the turbine music to his ears. "Let's roll!" Hang on to your hats everybody. Qoat says with a grin to Fell.

OOC: Hmm, I may have to trade a team member for the gear with those poor rolls.

[Jackal]

Nodding slowly and looking at the others the Juicer calmly states, "All teams go through a process. First they kinda...Storm. Then they find a....Norm. Eventually they really shine and, well....Perform. I imagine we will go through a similar process if we stick together for any length of time."

A smile creeps onto the Juicers face as he continues, "Five years", he chuckles, "Good one. I admit my motto is, Fast, Furious, and Burn on!"

Gods that doesn't really rhyme when I say it out loud, whatever.

He laughs then states, "Tarn offered me this job. I ran into her and we get to jawing about another dimension, one we both had the misfortune of visiting. Next thing I know she's offering me a job. Shiii…I ran ops and patrols for years in Kingsdale before I juiced. I've lead. I've followed. I can do both, I think this here Legion is going to do some great things. Tell you what. I'll roll you for it Borg. Fair enough?"

Glancing around at the others with a relaxed smile Fell pulls a set of worn bone dice out of his cargo pant pocket. The Juicer offers one to Timothy. Rolling the other die onto the hood of an adjacent table the die bounces across the desktop, comes to a rest and the result is...

[dice]0[/dice]

"There you have it. I just want to go. ERT needs help. Let's roll. We can devise a more permanent rank order after this op, okay?”

Once in the Mountaineer ATV Fell will glance over at Qoat, “This baby has some juice to it right? Rock and roll mate!”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________


(((OUT OF CHARACTER: I don't care if I lead, I will except Command, Second, or none - happy any way we go)))

[Ulysses]

Can't make a dead dog run. Uly shrugs, "If Qoat's out then there's only two candidates for two jobs. 'Nuff said"

Before leaving, Qoat asks Ulysses and Crunch, "I am going down to the Quarter-Master to pick up the comms and ammo, I'd appreciate some assistance carry it. Do you two mind coming along?" Ulysses has been a pretty smooth talker, maybe he can help me sweet talk whoever is at the counter into giving us some extra gear.

"Aye, requisitions are what I do best, I'll come with ya." Ulysses goes along to the Quarte-Master. If needed Ulysses will lay it on a little,
"Look mate, you know Elle of Owls? She sent us down her personally, you want I should go back up there and tell her you wouldn't provide the necessary materials for our top-priority mission? There's a missing ERT team, goddammit!"
Ulysses slams the table and waits for the Quarter-Master to respond.

If that doesn't work then Uly will say "One minute," to Qoat and rush of who knows where, calling in favors, begging borrowing or maybe even theft to procure the items Qoat has requested.

Persuasion [dice]0[/dice] (Charisma +2 if it applies.)

OOC: If needed I will apply the "Scrounger Edge" to get the items Qoat has asked for.

[Timothy Hernandez]

(rolls carried over)

Timothy stands there with the die in his hand, looking at the die on the table. This has got to be one of the most screwed up way of ever picking leadership. Lets see what fate has in mind for us. Timothy rolls the die onto the table, letting fate decide this teams future.

[dice]0[/dice]

There you have it. Any objections from anyone else? If not. I say lets get going.

[Cory Tetrascroll]

[Rolls carried over]

Cory watches the leader selection fiasco in the hangar with detachment. She knows that none of these tough boys respect her or consider her leadership material. That only irks her in principle. She doesn't want any of that stuff. Her role is clear. She is the only mage in the group, and likely the most potent psychic as well. So her disinterest is also part overconfidence. She agrees with Fell and Timothy, "Yeah, let's roll, bitches."

She hoists the wingboard and says to Qoat, "I will definitely store it along the way, but I think for a while I'll fly and keep an eye out." She couldn't resist peeking inside though, and she is silently impressed by the interior. The inside-outside contrast is an unexpected surprise. Looking furtively she stands on her tip-toes and says to him, "Unless the big boss men don't like it. Then again, I may not ask."

"Uh, Qoat, I don't know if it might help, but before all this magic stuff, I was a pretty good programmer. Just sayin. Whatever. Let's go already." She all but scampers off embarrassed and surprised at her admission.

Hitching her pack up, Cory tightens down her belts and secures her gear. She secures the mask and light helmet of her armor and uses one of her scarves to wrap her head so that only her eyes are visible. She gives the rosary a last run through, murmuring her prayers to the Sun and Moon. She double wraps the chain of beads around her left wrist and grabs the wingboard. Leaning on it, it's clear she has no intention of getting in the ATV, but is completely ready to go.

[Timothy Hernandez]

(rolls carried over)

Seeing Cory getting ready to use her wing board, Timothy fights the urge to hoist his rail gun. This is an infiltration mission, not an execution mission. At least she is the only one with magic I can tell. Might as well try to fit in.

Timothy returns to mission prep mode, ensuring everyone has their gear. I would love to have a Mark V. right about now. space to walk, and get comfy. Timothy turns to radios.

Fell, Radio check

Ulysses, Radio check

Cory, Radio check

Crunch, Radio Check

Quoat, Radio check

Once everyone checks in on the radios, Timothy will radio to Cory. "I don't know much about magic, What I do know is a lot of spell slingers appear to have some form of shield to protect against rail guns. Do you?"

[Venatus Vinco]

Preparations
After a short discussion the group elects, or rather allows chance to decide, that Fell tje juicer will lead with Hernandez acting as a second-in-command. Specialist smith receives the news with barely a nod and wishes the group well. Hitting up the Legion supply depot Qooat and Ulysses try to get some extra gear for the mission. Whether his list was too long or the desk Sergeant just got up on the wrong side of the bed Qooat finds himself stonewalled.

“Special units take care of themselves, they’re not part of the regular chain of command and don’t get regular supplies. Take a hike!”

Fortunately, Ulysses knows how to grease the wheels to get things done. By invoking Top Chief Elle the Owl’s name the Sergeant settles down a little and hands out the requested rations (6 weeks per person) and radios (one long range with one hand held for each person). He offers up a half dozen (6 spare e-clips) and two (2 borg rail gun drums) ammo drums for a light rail gun.

“Best I can do, boys.”

While the supplies are being collected an impatient group makes ready in the vehicle area. Cory’s wingboard offers the group some eyes in the sky while Qooat’s Mountaineer ATV is perfect for the rest of the group and for the hilly, mountainous terrain in the area.

Pulling out the map the group is able to determine that Illmarsh is about 43 kilometers (27 miles) from Castle Refuge in a straight line. The only way there by ground is to follow some old pre-Rifts highways that are pretty grown over but avoid some of the steeper terrain, that route is about 69 kilometers (43 miles). Given the state of the roads (or lack thereof) most known settlements in the area are along the river, so it’s mostly rough, open, country ahead.

OOC: Here is a map of the area and some general info, since I can’t hide it from you please don’t activate the “local intel” layer until I say so.

On The Road
The first few miles from Castle Refuge are uneventful as Tomorrow Legion patrol activity keeps the area relatively clear of miscreants and monsters. About 20 kilometers into their journey the group starts to see evidence of dinosaurs, large tracks, shorn bark and leaves from trees, and even spots a small herd of three horned herbivores off in the distance. High above Cory can another herd moving toward the group at high speed, after another moment she sees why - they are being chased by a giant demonic rhinoceros!



OOC: Herd of triceratops charging toward you being chased by a rhino-buffalo

What are your intentions?

[Cory Tetrascroll]

Notice:[dice]0[/dice]+[dice]1[/dice] Wild Die [dice]2[/dice]
Wounds: 0 | PPE: 20/20 | ISP: 19/20 (recharge in 1 hour)
Constant Effects: Alertness; Auto-Mega Damage; Danger Sense; Sense Supernatural Beings (with Notice check)
Temporary Effects: Name (Duration)

Pilot [dice]3[/dice]
Wild [dice]4[/dice]
Wild Ace [dice]6[/dice]

Psionics (Telepathy) 1ISP [dice]5[/dice]
Wild

Hangar
She grabs her upgraded (?) radio and rations stowing them with her other gear. She hooks the radio into her helmet.

Cory acknowledges the radio check, "Cory, check, boss." She's actually somewhat professional about it. To the followup question, she's a little less so, "Well, most of the time it's best not to get hit." She pauses they decides contributing to the conversation is probably a good idea, "No, blowing crap up is more my style." That's closer to contributing, but seeing as they're actually heading out on a mission it might be a good idea to be actually communicative. "So, yeah, flamethrower, holy light - the kind that melts faces, wall of fire. And of course, my favorite, I can make your laser pistol as powerful as any railgun. Or a knife into a chainsword, a club into an absolute ass kicker."

Airborne
Tossing the wingboard aloft into the ley-lines mystic current, Cory hops on and steadies herself. Then she guides the mystic wing up and over the walls of Castle Refuge. She loiters there waiting for the ATV with the rest of the team to emerge from the gate. Flying is hella fun. she thinks in the air.

On the Road
Cory is enjoying the ride so far. She keeps tabs on the ATV making sure not to lose track of it. She kind of wants to talk to Qoat. That Ulysses guy might be okay too, but she hasn't really talked to him yet. And she may be just a little bored. Just for kicks, she tries to use her telepathy. She drops a little bit for a clear view of the ATV, then she calls out to the driver, "What's happenin' Q."

Before she can get more conversational though, she shouts over the radio, "We got trouble! Rhino-buffalo chasing dino herd our way! Coming from [direction]. Herd is moving at high speed!"

[Ulysses]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild: [dice]1[/dice]

Radio Check
"Check, check 'n all that.. Ulysses out."

Stampede

Ulysses raises his hat over his sleepy eyes. then raises an eyebrow. Bloody 'ell, what's the what?!!
When he realizes what's going on he calls out,

"Try shooting the lead Trito, block the ATV from the herd, then see what the Rhino-Buff does... probably shoot him too, but maybe we'll just drive around while he feasts on our kill." Two 'Borgs, a juicer, that magic kid... "Let me know how it goes." Uly pulls his hat over his eyes and tries to fall back into napland.

[Qoat]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]

As they load all the gear, Qoat is surprised to hear that Cory is a little hacker at heart. Cool beans! he thinks. "I've done a little bit of code myself," pointing down to the computer strapped to his leg. "But I am more skilledl in the physical world," as he pats the side of the ATV a little surprised at his own admission the the might not be the best at something.

Radio Check
"Qoat here. All systems go, Chief." Qoat replies after he actives the radio in his helmet.

Telepathy Check
Qoat doesn't like to advertise his psionic abilities, but he's no stranger to telepathic contact, he quickly accepts the telepathic contact and replies:
Hi Cory, just putting the Q-mobile through it's paces. Let me know if you see any obstacles headed our way. He deliberately waggles the ATV as a visual hello to the Mystic up in the air. Hearing almost immediately, her follow up that a stampede is headed their way, he mentally says, Sh*! They better not scratch my paint!

Drive: [dice]2[/dice] Evasive Maneuvers
Wild Die: [dice]3[/dice]

Qoat clicks one of the switches on the dashboard, and says to the group in the back, "Hey, how about one of you mechanical adonis' open up the top hatch and get ready to shoot anything coming to close." Turning to Fell, he says, "I hope your seat belt is buckled. Do you see any cover we can use to stay out of those creatures path?" The Quick-Flex, makes sure his skill calculator strapped to his thigh is turned on, and with one hand does some quick typing, but doesn't slap the submit button, the keys so familiar with his hands that he doesn't need to look down. Man I should have worn my "Do my own stunts' T-shirt today.

Qoat either accelerates to stay ahead of the herd, or looks for some high ground to roll up onto (assuming stampedes, like water, follow the path of least resistance).

[Cory Tetrascroll]

[Rolls carried over]

Having established contact with Qoat she focuses on the image of the stampede and rhino-buffalo sharing that with Qoat instead of words. "There, that might help." If she can see any useful terrain she will relay the info via radio over the group channel.

[Jackal]

Fell looks down at the unused seatbelt. Ignoring it he looks back out the window. Green hills, old cracked and mostly grow over pavement, a barely legible sign, “Welcome Ridge Church, five miles ahead, God welcomes you all.”

Aloud he says to Qoat, “As much as I love excitement, I might suggest turning towards the left and into one of these flatter patches. See if your ATV can 4x4 around these dino’s and the demon buffalo.”

Sliding the mag out of his JA, he grins and slaps it back into place, “But if you want to drive straight at the big demon buffalo I will lean out the side window and pop it in its eye with my JA. Your choice.”

Glancing out the forward and side window Fell looks around to see if there is anything else out there worth noting.

__________________________________________

Fell's Notice Skill: d8

[dice]0[/dice]
__________________________________________

[Jackal]

Out of Character Post

____________________________________________________________________________

And a 8 on a d8, explodes......so roll it again:

[dice]0[/dice]

____________________________________________________________________________

I forgot my Wild Die above, shrug, sorry about that....here it is - Wild Die [dice]1[/dice]


So I'm Noticing as much as I can...hehe.

[Timothy Hernandez]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild :[dice]1[/dice]

Timothy positions himself at one of the doors. Rolls down the windows. "Hey chief, how do you want to play this? We can use our rail guns, we can drive by with our swords, or if you want to go full on crazy we can ram the dam thing and Crunch and me pushes it over, then we cut it's legs off."

Edit: Notice exploded [dice]2[/dice] = 9

[Crunch]

Hearing the request for someone to open the top hatch, Crunch grabs his rail gun and pops open the hatch to climb halfway out of it. "I'm on it I guess." Crunch points his rail gun at the nearest Tri-Tops he lets loose a shot at him. Maybe Seemenomore is right and this will slow them down.

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Ace: [dice]3[/dice]
Ace 2: [dice]4[/dice]
Total: 14
Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]

Action
Fire Light Rail Gun at nearest Dino.
[dice]2[/dice]
AP: 6

[Cory Tetrascroll]

On Wingboard

Cory is shocked by the railgun shot. Stampeding animals weren't a terribly big deal. They have lots of terrain to work with, and no one is in immediate danger. She also just doesn't like guns that much, even before taking a vow to never use them. Seeing her home town mowed down by guns of various sorts kind of made her into a non-fan. She's not a pacifist or a non-pragmatist, it's just that shooting a dino for no reason seems stupid.

"What the hell? We're shooting things already?" Cory blurts out over the radio. She just can't believe that these jokers are already shooting stuff. This might be a very long mission.

Telepathically Cory asks for more information from Qoat, Q-man, what's going on down there?

---

Wounds: 0 | PPE: 20/20 | ISP: 20/19 (recharge in 1 hour)
Constant Effects: Alertness; Auto-Mega Damage; Danger Sense; Sense Supernatural Beings (with Notice check)
Temporary Effects: Name (Duration)
Notice:[dice]0[/dice]+[dice]1[/dice] Wild Die [dice]2[/dice]

[Timothy Hernandez]

(rolls carried over)

Seeing Crunch take the gunner spot and open fire on the Dino. Jesus, did he have to shoot up the dino? It doesn't look like Fell is being the leader. This does not look good. Might as well finish it off, hopefully it will stop the Rhino.

Timothy pulls out his rail gun and shoot at the same dino.

Shooting: [dice]0[/dice]; [dice]5[/dice]; [dice]6[/dice]; [dice]7[/dice]

Wild : [dice]1[/dice]

Exploded Wild die: [dice]2[/dice]

Damage:([dice]3[/dice]+[dice]4[/dice])+4; [dice]8[/dice]+4; [dice]9[/dice]+4; [dice]10[/dice]+4

Exploded damage dice [dice]11[/dice]; [dice]12[/dice]

[Jackal]

Listening to the rail gun fire from above, Fell's blood gets pumping faster.

A chemically induced spike flushes into his system adding to his desire "to get into it."

Fell feels ready to jump out the window and race ahead and fight.

As the ATV rolls and bumps across the land the Juicer listens to the radio chatter...pretty predictable actions and statements so far... the Juicer decides to see how the others handle the minor issue of the Rhino buffalo.

Glancing towards Qoat the Juicer says, "If that big fellow doesn't stop for a snack, the dino they are shooting, do us a favor and turn this rolling hotrod that way so I can fire out the window at the demon."

Over the radio Fell ask's, "So? Did you get it or do I need to jump out and slice it up?"

Chuckling he looks back out the window.

A little excitement always makes the Juicer happy, however his thoughts are on getting to the village and seeing what happened to the ERT.

[Timothy Hernandez]

(rolls carried over)

Looking at the work of two mini rail guns do their job and shred the target up, Timothy takes note about overkill. Note: using two rail guns on a target will more then likely be messy. Timothy will look at Fell "Too much?

[Venatus Vinco]

Like Shooting Dinosaurs in a Field

New combat map (it appears viewers can't use the ruler function, I've allowed you to edit in order to measure distance etc. just click "edit" if you need this feature. Also I have written in ranges to each target so you can see it when you click on them)


Despite Fell's suggestion Qooat continues down the worn road as the herd of dinosaurs draws closer. The ATV moves down the road a bit, closing in on a small creek, the small bridge has long washed away leaving a shallow ford, easy enough for the ATV to cross over when necessary. The current section of pre-Rifts roadway, or what's left of it, is slightly elevated offering a view into the forest and clearing below. It's not much of a rise but is certainly the "high ground" in this fight. From the gunner's seat, Crunch can count out seven charging three horned dinosaurs with what looks like an alpha bull leading the pack away from the rhino. Waiting until the lead is in mid-range of his rail gun the combat cyborg opens fire hitting the lead dino with a single round. The round embeds in the thick bony plates in the triceratops' head but doesn't slow the creature down one iota. Seeing Crunch open fire Hernandez plops a spread of rounds into the thick skinned leader. The bullets crack through the armored skull and mush the beast's tiny brain while passing through to the other side. Momentum carries the beast a few more paces but ultimately it's nearly headless carcass falls to the ground with a thud.

Caught between two predators the remaining herd makes a bee-line for the Tomorrow Legion's ATV. No doubt intending to ram the group and let the rhino and this new enemy deal with each other!

At the back of the herd the Rhino-Buffalo is closing in on one of the slower tri-tops. If it is aware of the dead pack leader, so far, it has paid no attention.

OOC1:
The dinos are between 250 and 420 yards/meters away. Remember, in SW 1" of pace/range is 2 yards in real life. The dinos are running so they can move about 16-28 yards per round.
The rhino is about 465 yards away and can close at 24-48 yards per round.
For most of you the dinos are just entering "long" range.
On your turn you can move your pace and then take an action...or you can drive away.

Since you have a big range advantage initiative cards aren't necessary for this round, I will reconcile combat in the order in which you post.

OOC2:
Crunch: Your rail gun has auto fire and can hit up to 4 different targets, or the same target 4 times (roll 4 shooting die plus 1 wild die). Also, you didn't specify what range you were shooting at. I selected mid-range and applied that to Hernandez as well.

EDIT: I edited the map a little to make the dinos tighter together, they don't look like a stampede with 100 yards between each of them. This also brought everything a little closer to you (and makes Cory's MBT more effective!).

[Cory Tetrascroll]

Notice:[dice]0[/dice]+[dice]1[/dice] Wild Die [dice]2[/dice]
Wounds: 0 | PPE: 16/20 (recharge 1 per/30min) | ISP: 19/20 (recharge 1/hour)
Constant Effects: Alertness; Auto-Mega Damage; Danger Sense; Sense Supernatural Beings (with Notice check)
Temporary Effects: Name (Duration)
Bennies: 3


Mysticism [dice]3[/dice] / Wild [dice]4[/dice] Entangle, Med Burst Template centered in front of herd
Explode [dice]5[/dice]

Goddammit Cory curses as she sees the dino go down and the herd change direction. Stupid boys and their guns. With the herd charging the ATV, Cory reluctantly feels the need to help out, though part of her thinks the asshats blasting away deserve to be trampled. All this chaos could have so easily been avoided.

She guides the techno wizard flier closer to the ground and mumbles a quick prayer and then reaches her arm out, shooting fiery filaments that weave into a dense, random net forming a barrier in front of the herd. Well, if the rail guns didn't ring some warning bells somewhere, that did. She's not necessarily happy about what she did, but if she can stall the beasts long enough for the land based morons to get out of the way, maybe no more animals will be needlessly slaughtered. It's the paradoxical relationship she has with life and death. Her mandate from the Sun and Moon is to protect life. But the rhino buffalo needs to kill to live. The herd could in their panic kill several individuals. Deserving or not isn't the right question. She's still struggling to find the right question, she can't even comprehend answering it yet. She wishes her hands weren't driving or casting, this is a time to find comfort in the rosary wrapped around her wrist.

[Ulysses]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice] / Wild [dice]1[/dice]

Shooting: [dice]2[/dice] (+2 if character doesn't move.)
Damage: [dice]3[/dice]

Survival: [dice]4[/dice]

When it takes longer than he figured to deal with a few pesky dinos, Uly lifts his cap and looks around.
He chimes in over the radio,

"Well, normally I'd say, hit the gas and let's get out of here. There's nothing keeping us in stampede alley. But.... if we let 'em go they'll trample the village down the road. Not too mention that's a whole lot of good quality protein we'll be letting drift. I say we shoot 'em all and radio the 'Fuge to come pick up a year and a half's worth of prime dino meat."


With that in mind Uly pulls his rifle and takes careful aim. He is looking for a large tree, rocky outcropping or other landscape feature to drop in front of the dinos to slow them down, so the heavier weapons have time to make burgers out of them. When and if he finds one he shoots until it falls.

If the animals are slaughtered:

When all is said and done, Uly looks around for a means to temporarily preserve the carcasses until a processing team can arrive. If possible he'll jury-rig something to help protect the meat: A rhino-buffalo headed Scare Crow? A camouflaged reed fence? Disguising the scent with poo harvested from the RB's corpse?

Using the long-range radio, he calls back to base and leaves a message for his new pal, the Quarter Master.
"Maybe a dozen tons of Tastysaurus, waiting for pickup and processing at the following coordinates *****"

[Qoat]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice] / Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]

Covering for not following Fell's instruction, Qoat says, "Sorry Fell, I didn't make sense of what you were saying until it was too late." Man, I almost lost control of the wheel there for a second. How dumb will I look if I have to say I was run over by dinosaurs on an open road? Okay, got to stay cool. I am just going to drive casual...but not to casual.

"Well, normally I'd say, hit the gas and let's get out of here. There's nothing keeping us in stampede alley. But.... if we let 'em go they'll trample the village down the road. Not too mention that's a whole lot of good quality protein we'll be letting drift. I say we shoot 'em all and radio the 'Fuge to come pick up a year and a half's worth of prime dino meat."

Piloting: [dice]2[/dice] / Wild Die: [dice]3[/dice]

Piloting Exploding Roll 1: [dice]4[/dice]

Piloting Exploding Roll 2: [dice]5[/dice]

Piloting Exploding Roll 3: [dice]6[/dice] Total Piloting Roll: 20

The idea of some dino burgers makes Qoat's stomach rumble. That sounds like a pretty good idea. Qoat let's his foot off the accelerator to let the Q-mobile slow some to keep his team in an optimum firing distance while still continuing to head down the road, minimizing turns unless he needs to take evasive action.

[Crunch]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]/Wild Die[dice]1[/dice]
Conditions: Cybernetic Sight/Hearing: +2 Visual/Hearing based checks), Danger Sense: Notice at –2 to detect surprise attacks/danger
Bennies: 3


Actions
Shoot Rhino-Buffalo with Mini-Rail (Long Range; AP: 6)
Shooting: [dice]2[/dice]/Wild Die: [dice]3[/dice]; Damage: [dice]4[/dice]
Shooting: [dice]5[/dice]/Wild Die: [dice]6[/dice]; Damage: [dice]7[/dice]
Shooting: [dice]8[/dice]/Wild Die: [dice]9[/dice]; Damage: [dice]10[/dice]
Shooting: [dice]11[/dice]/ Ace: [dice]14[/dice]/ Wild Die: [dice]12[/dice]; Damage: [dice]13[/dice]

Damage Raises if Needed: [dice]15[/dice], [dice]16[/dice], [dice]17[/dice], [dice]18[/dice].

Crunch sighs inwardly. Shooting animals is not what I signed up for, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Crunch thinks morosely as he traks the Rhino-Buffalo behind the herd and lets his mini-rail gun rip. The sound of elecro-magnetic coils hurling dozens of rounds from the barrel drown out most of the sound around Crunch, and he seems okay with this. Maybe if I kill the Rhino Buffalo the Tri-Tops will stop charging. Crunch thinks.

[Timothy Hernandez]

Notice = [dice]0[/dice]+2/ Wild: [dice]1[/dice]

Timothy sees the lead Dino drop like a brick and immediately feels bad about it. Damit. To kill all of these dinos could cause people to starve. Timothy Clicks over to his radio. "I don't think we should kill all of the dinos. There are people who could use that meat. What if we gun at the Rhino to draw it towards us and we can jump into the field behind us for maneuvering? If we continue to use the mini guns like this, we'll run out of ammo quickly. I'll hold my fire unless we need the firepower.

[Ulysses]

"I don't think we should kill all of the dinos. There are people who could use that meat. [/color]

"Aye, we are those people. That's the point of shooting them all, mate. The refugees at Castle Refuge can use the meat. Who are you talking about?"

[Jackal]

As the action transpires...

Fell states, "No worries Qoat. All good."

As the Juicer looks out the front window of the ATV at the slightly elevated view into the forest and clearing below his finger is stabbed heavily down on the "open" window button.

Waiting for the painfully slow window to descend he grumbles across the radio: "Big Brutus, Rhino Buffalo, doesn't seem distracted. I suppose, at this point, continue to concentrate aimed shots at any dino's that look like they might cause us a issue. You want to kill them all and call HQ for a meat run - fine. Time to engage Big Brutus with a little chainsaw action if he keeps coming at us! Hopefully we can drive past him with no more issues but if not...try not to shoot a fellow in the back as he dances with the demon-rhino."

Leaning out the open passenger side window Fell laughs wildly, swinging his chainsaw sword into the air and says, "Qoat my man, just keep steady on. If Big Brutus charges us I'll be going out the window and jumping out to say hi to him! We need to expedite our trip, get on with rescuing ERT as fast as we can, but that may mean dealing with Mr. Brutus first."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Out of character: new photo of Fell
Also, wasn't really sure what to type above, not sure what is still alive dino-wise and such....
If I get into a position to go out the window and attack the Rhino Buffalo it might be time for a Burn roll in order to make it spectacular!

[Timothy Hernandez]

(rolls carried over)

"Aye, we are those people. That's the point of shooting them all, mate. The refugees at Castle Refuge can use the meat. Who are you talking about?"

"It's called farming. I'm sure someone like might have heard about it at some point."

Time to engage Big Brutus with a little chainsaw action if he keeps coming at us! Hopefully we can drive past him with no more issues but if not...try to shoot a fellow in the back as he dances with the demon-rhino."

Listening to Fell, Timothy is trying to decipher exactly what was said. Did he say try to shoot a fellow in the back? Timothy plays back the last command.

"try not to shoot a fellow in the back as he dances with the demon-rhino."

By the Emperor, I need to get my hearing checked out.

Timothy stows his rail gun and pulls out his chain sword. "Sarge, if you are planning on taking this thing on your own, you are just plain crazy." Timothy position for a jump out of the moving vehicle."Give the word Sarge."

[Ulysses]

"Aye, we are those people. That's the point of shooting them all, mate. The refugees at Castle Refuge can use the meat. Who are you talking about?"

"It's called farming. I'm sure someone like might have heard about it at some point."

"Aye, I know a bit about farming, do you? What good is a stampede of wild dinos to the grain farmers down the valley? Trample the crops and trash the town? What in the feck are you talking about?"

[Timothy Hernandez]

(rolls carried over)

"Aye, I know a bit about farming, do you? What good is a stampede of wild dinos to the grain farmers down the valley? Trample the crops and trash the town? What in the feck are you talking about?"

Timothy looks agitated with the radio chatter coming from Ulysses. How the hell does this bumpkin think food is even made? And who the hell is he?

"How do you think animal meat is available? You gotta breed them. Here is a good start for a new herd. Breeding the Dino's will be better in the long run."

[Jackal]

Leaning further out the window Fell hooks one boot into the passenger seat to keep him in the vehicle, barely. Looking up at the wing-board floating above and the magic caster riding it he grins.

Mentally noting the distance between the ATV and the Rhino Buffalo the Juicer taps the comm button and says, "Cut the chatter you monkeys! We are about to engage hostiles, get on board with it, anything that doesn't flee...kill it! Hey Cory? Before we get close enough to go hand to hand, so to speak, with these dino's do you think you might have anything up your mystical sleeve? Say something to brighten the day and lessen whats left to kill. Normally I'd enjoy mixing it up with these critters but we got places to be."

With the wind in his face, sunglasses on, Mohawk flattened back from the high speed ATV rambling down towards the enemy, the Juicer takes a two handed grip on his Chainsaw Sword and continues to lean precariously out the window laughing.

[Cory Tetrascroll]

Notice:[dice]0[/dice] Wild Die [dice]1[/dice]
Wounds: 0 | PPE: 14/20 (recharge 1 per/30min) | ISP: 19/20 (recharge 1/hour)
Constant Effects: Alertness; Auto-Mega Damage; Danger Sense; Sense Supernatural Beings (with Notice check)
Temporary Effects: Name (Duration)
Bennies: 3


Cast Burst (2 PPE)
Mysticism [dice]2[/dice] / Wild [dice]3[/dice]
Cone Template, [dice]4[/dice] Heavy/Mega Damage

Cory talks all high and mighty, the earth friendly mystic warrior out to protect life, and she truly believes it. She is also just barely not a teenager. She has a lot to learn about life still. That also means she is eager to show off especially if it might shut some stupid old people up. And casting magic and blowing stuff up is fun. That's probably a side effect of the Sun's passion that powers her, she is compelled and excited to use her powers. In the heat of the day, the sun up and shining, she is almost aggressive in thinking about her spells, even if it is reckless. Casting the fiery barricade was the first step down a slippery slope.

She glides in towards the leading edge of the herd, staying 10' or so above the deck. The flight plan angles to put her cutting across the direction the herd is running. She sizes up the situation, feeling her mystic reservoir nearly full. Her focus becomes detached somewhat from her action's consequences, the attention only on performing her magic.

She breathes deep centering herself. Then with another outstretched hand and quiet chant, a broad jet of fire erupts from her fingertips sending a cone of destruction across the world in front of her. It only takes a moment to unleash the destruction and then she turns the wingboard skyward again.

Embarrassed and thrilled, she takes a timid look at the spell's effects on the area below. She is sad she hurt the dinos. She looks next for the rhino-buffalo, the adrenaline rush urging her to more action.

She is smiling.

[High Command]

Map here
Time: Late Morning to Mid Day
Weather: Clear, Sunny
Butcher's Bill: One Dead Tri-Tops, One Dead Rhino-Buffalo; Timothy - 4 Rail Gun Shots; Crunch -5 rail Gun Shots

Qoat brings the ATV to a halt, slightly rocking the inhabitants, but ultimately settling them into premium firing position. Crunch lets loose his rail gun, the whine and pulse of its electromagnets sending slug after slug down range. The shots rip the creature and the trees behind him to shreads, killing it where it lays. Fell leans out the window to find the wind dying down as the vehicle rolls to a stop. On the plus side, the Rhino-Buffalo is no more. Fell, Ulysses, and Timothy have a good time talking while the vehicle eases into a resting position. That said, even with the predator gone, and their lead creature dead, they seem to be pressing forward, angling TOWARDS the ATV.

Cory, unable to enact either plan to her satisfaction continues to accelerate into position. Perhaps a few more seconds...

• GM Notes: The Rhino Buffalo is disabled or dying. The Tri-Tops are still charging towards you. If Cory wants to, her net will be very effective next round.
  The ATV has a current speed of 0 or 5, Qoat's choice. It is still on the road proper. You will have no penalties to piloting rolls unless you try to pull a hard turn.
  All Dinos and all corpses have their current range to the ATV and Cory listed in both inches and yards.

[Qoat]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice] / Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice] Exploding Die [dice]5[/dice] Total: 6

Qoat brings the Q-mobile to a momentary stop, but releases the brake, letting it to continue to roll forward (Speed 5) with what his driving instructor called a mysterious 'California stop' for which he never found a satisfactory answer on what it meant (not that he looked hard). The rolling stone gathers no moss, and the moving ATV takes no dino dents. Qoat follows the road, looking over to make sure that he stays ahead of the stampede. "I am going to gun it and keep going down the road if they get to close. Shout out if I miss something."

Contingency:

Drive [dice]2[/dice] / Wild Die [dice]3[/dice] Exploding Die: [dice]4[/dice]; Total: 9 + Handling 1. Follow the road, but accelerate 10 (Spd 15)

[Timothy Hernandez]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice] Expoded die; [dice]7[/dice]

Wild Dice: [dice]1[/dice]

With the vehicle slowing down to a near stop, Timothy jumps out with the chain sword in hand. This really sucks. We would have done something different, maybe use the vehicle to turn the herd?

Timothy clicks on the radio. "Roger, Qoat, can you get us closer? possibly on the side?"

Timothy lines up his rail gun and opens fire on the lead dino and allows the gun to walk back with each kill.

Shot: 1
Shooting [dice]2[/dice]
Damage: [dice]8[/dice] Expoding die: [dice]15[/dice]

Shot: 2
Shooting [dice]3[/dice] Exploded Die: [dice]9[/dice]
Damage: [dice]10[/dice], [dice]11[/dice]

Shot 3
Shooting [dice]4[/dice]
Spending a bennie to add to attack
[dice]12[/dice]
Damage: 13+4 Exploding die: [dice]14[/dice]

Shot 4
Shooting [dice]5[/dice]

Wild
[dice]6[/dice]

[Venatus Vinco]

Tenderized & Barbecued

In all happens in a flash. Literally. Qo'ot slows down the APC giving Crunch and Hernandez ample room to open fire. Their rail guns cutting through foliage and dinosaur hide alike. Four more of the creatures drop before anyone can blink. Thinking better of their strategy the remaining dinos try to run away but before they can, mystical tendrils of light reach up from the ground grabbing them around their legs and holding them in place. Then Cory sweeps in from the skies spouting mystical flame that encompasses the remaining dinosaurs burning their hulking bodies to a crisp.

As the din of the rail guns falls silent and the gout of flames die down a smell not unlike bacon wafts through the air, and the light crackling of still burning trees and grass are the only sound. Where once there was a rushing stampede of prehistoric thunder there is now a burnt patch of grass and bleeding unrecognisable carcasses. The Rhino-buffalo fared little better. It's blood spilled out on the open field from a stomach wound.

In only a few seconds the Tomorrow Legion Special Exploratory Team showed the true savagery of the post-apocalyptic world is found in humanoids as much as any monster from the Rifts.

Clean Up
Moving closer to inspect the damage the team hears a reply back on the radio. A group of fishermen and farmers are coming down the road from the village of Persimmon, about 9 kilometres north, will come down to process the meat and ship it back to Castle Refuge by boat. Before too long a few rusty pick ups and a tractor pulling a big trailer come bumping down the old highway toward the group. A bunch of men jump out of the back of one of the trucks and survey the mess. More than a few of them look aghast at the scene, and give the SET a wide berth.

One of them gets up the gumption to speak, "You shot 'em up pretty good, but we should still be able to salvage some edible food and hides. Once we get the best parts cut off we'll truck 'em up to Persimmon and move 'em down to the Refuge by boat. Should feed plenty of people and that there rhino has been a problem in these parts for a while. Guess you legion folks ain't too bad after all."

For a moment he looks silently at the destruction, "Course if you were bad, we sure as hell couldn't stop ya."

Moving On

After crossing the old creek the rest of the journey passes without too much incident and the group finds themselves winding down an old dirt path toward the village of Illmarsh. The old highway veers off into the hills and becomes more of a cart path. The group goes up the hill, have a good view of the village below from a natural look off point. From their vantage point, about 1.5 km away, the village looks empty, some structures have been destroyed but the boats are still tied up at the docks. They know the ruins of Bull Shoals, a community already destroyed is about 2.5 km north on the other side of the hill.

What are your intentions?

Area Map
Village Map

[Timothy Hernandez]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice] / Wild: [dice]1[/dice]

Timothy stands there looking at the carnage of the battlefield. The one sided slaughter of innocent life, that was afraid for itself. The Rhino Buffalo was dead, they were afraid of us just as much. What kind of humanity is out here? There is no order, there is no sense of value for life. Back in the Army we killed to protect people, these individuals are killing for what exactly? Timothy is taking note on who is celebrating and who is not.

Timothy access his encrypted file and adds notes for the next letter to command. First mission as a unit. We encountered a rogue Rhino Buffalo and a herd of three horned dinos. Unit attempted to stop the herd of dinos by neutralizing point animal. Primary target did not take the bait and did continued pursuit. SET member named "CRUNCH" (Combat Cyborg) fired upon the Rhino-Buffalo and neutralized target. The herd continued approaching the vehicle. After a brief discussion on our next actions, (I wanted to protect the herd for a steady supply of food and Ulysses (job unknown) wanted to kill the herd.) Unit leader FEll (Human Juicer) ordered the full destruction of the herd. I followed orders and opened fire unto the herd and walked the gunfire from animal to animal. Our unit magic user (Cory, Mystic?) used magic to capture and burn the herd. Mission accomplished, herd destroyed. The death of all of these animals for no good reason is something I will not understand. The dinos were threatening anyone at all. Driver of ATV is Qoat (quick flex d-b). Side note, we might be able to make more maneuverable self sufficient unit by using dinos like the herd we destroyed. I plan on training one, having a seat made that will holster my smaller weapons, and a gyroscope for the rail gun so I can use it while riding the dino. Support units to gather food are inbound, Timothy out.

Timothy watches the farmers work quickly and efficiently on harvesting the meat. While Fell is talking to the workers, Timothy is standing next to him in case any orders are given.

"Course if you were bad, we sure as hell couldn't stop ya.

Timothy looks at the worker "It was because of our superior firepower that allowed us to stop them quickly and completely. I assure you that our weapons are only used to help protect people."

Timothy remains quiet during the trip to the target town. How can a unit or an army function when the people you are protecting are afraid of you? What will happen when we enter the target town? Will we be heroes or will we be the conquering villains? How much can we trust Fell with the leadership? Who is this Ulysses and what are his motives? The magic user is kinda weird. She seems like she doesn't want to burn everything down, but her powers are just that. Will she be able to control it or will it control her?

[Ulysses]

Notice [dice]0[/dice]
Wild Card [dice]1[/dice]

Uly convinces the locals the SET are good folks and inquires into the Illmarsh situation.

Persuasion [dice]2[/dice]
Investigation [dice]3[/dice]

A bunch of men jump out of the back of one of the trucks and survey the mess. More than a few of them look aghast at the scene, and give the SET a wide berth.

“Oi, me boyos! Are you answering me call on the radio?” Ulysses waves the locals down.

One of them gets up the gumption to speak, "You shot 'em up pretty good, but we should still be able to salvage some edible food and hides. Once we get the best parts cut off we'll truck 'em up to Persimmon and move 'em down to the Refuge by boat. Should feed plenty of people and that there rhino has been a problem in these parts for a while. Guess you legion folks ain't too bad after all."

For a moment he looks silently at the destruction, "Course if you were bad, we sure as hell couldn't stop ya."

“Come now, just ‘cause we can’t shoot nor hunt for a good goddamn don’t mean we’re bad. Sure we’re a bit rough with the meat but hearts of gold have we. Takes what you need, and send the rest up the river to the castle, sure. Be certain to tell the Quartermaster it was the SET. Us, bad?!” Ulysses laughs and points at Tim, “This one wanted to adopt the lot of them and start a herd, ERT boys be damned!”

Ulysses works the query, "So ya heard any news from Illmarsh?" into the conversation.

The group goes up the hill, have a good view of the village below from a natural look off point.

There's a trap down there... or something bad, I'll bet me hat. "That doesn't look too promising fellas. who's going first?"

[Cory Tetrascroll]

Notice:[dice]0[/dice] Wild Die [dice]1[/dice]
Wounds: 0 | PPE: 14/20 | ISP: 19/20
Constant Effects: Alertness; Auto-Mega Damage; Danger Sense; Sense Supernatural Beings (with Notice check)
Temporary Effects: Name (Duration)
Bennies: 3


[How much time has passed? Cory will recover 1 PPE in 30 minutes or 2 PPE and 1 ISP in an hour.]


Piloting [dice]2[/dice] / Wild [dice]3[/dice]
Investigation [dice]4[/dice] / Wild [dice]5[/dice] Exploding Die [dice]6[/dice] Total: 11

It happens without thinking, Cory smiles at the destruction. But it's only for a moment, no one could possibly notice with her face swathed in her filter mask and scarves. She noticed. It horrified her that she found enjoyment in slaughtering animals. Defenseless animals. They should have let these beasts, even the rhino-buffalo pass in peace, maybe some creative redirection to keep the surrounding villages safe. Death was not the only possible result. And most of the killing was done at her hands. She bar-b-qued them. Her body shakes as she brings the wing board up in to the air. She can't understand what happened, and how she became such a big part of it. Did she just need an excuse?

Dammit. Dammit. "Dammit!" Cory curses. She's not drained, she expended some of her energy to be sure, but no where near what she's capable of. Still she feels like a rest. This has been far from the most danger she's been in, but it has likely been the most ambiguous in morality. She guides the board down and lands a few yards from the SET vehicle.

"Q-man, can I hitch a ride, I'll sit on the roof."

If he says okay she stores the wingboard along side and takes up a position on the roof, She sits there and works on the rosary, eyes half closed and mumbling softly. It doesn't bring her any peace though. This is a situation the Sun and the Moon want her to figure out herself. She knows she can't change the past, so though outwardly brooding like a 16 year old after her first crush dumps her, she is actually methodically working through scenarios in her head to avoid the situation they just had. She doesn't just work out peacenik, touchy-feely solutions either, she is working out her own sort of Rules of Engagement. When the time comes to bar-b-que something, she wants to react as quickly and without hesitation as possible. She hides from herself the fact that she is really looking forward to bar-b-queing an unequivocally evil bad guy.

When they get to the look out point above the village, Cory hops down and grabs the wing board, taking flight again. She surveys the town from the air looking for any clues or signs of danger. Is there anyone alive down there? The aforementioned bad guy she can roast? She doesn't restrict her search to just over the village but flies a short ways over the river and woods adjacent to the ghost-village.

[Timothy Hernandez]

(rolls carried over)

Timothy notices the comment from Ulysses.Should we be more concerned about security? What did the Colonel say? That's right, "Be sure to do everything you can for the enemy, you are no good to us dead." I will talk to Fell about this later on. Timothy makes a note on his computer and sets a reminder for 1 week to talk to Fell about operation Security.

Timothy notices Cory needing to ride for a bit after the fight. Using the magic appears to have taken a large toll on her. As a soldier, she is doing well right now. If we have an after action report, I'll have to be sure to include her taking point and recon without prompting from Fell or me.

[Qoat]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice] / Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice] Exploding Die: [dice]2[/dice] Total: 6

As the din of the rail guns falls silent and the gout of flames die down a smell not unlike bacon wafts through the air, and the light crackling of still burning trees and grass are the only sound.

The Q-Mobile comes to a gentle stop and Qoat hops out with everyone else. Yum, Dino-bacon. Before the villagers arrive, the ever-hungry Quick-Flex, finds a few choice cuts of meat for himself and the others, "Anybody wants some?" He heads back to his vehicle as the trucks roll up and eats while, his team leader speaks to the townsfolk.

"Q-man, can I hitch a ride, I'll sit on the roof."

Talking through a mouthful of food, Qoat says, "Sure, I'll help you." He wipes his gloves with a rag, and Qoat helps secure the Wingboard to the roof so it won't slide off. "Pull this cord to undo the knots."

When everyone's ready, Qoat hops back in the driver's seat and maintains a moderate pace, enjoying the drive through the countryside. He goes up the hillside, the ATV easily gaining traction up the slope. It comes to a halt with just a smaller shudder, Hmm, I am going to have to take a look at the right central tire, make sure the brake rotor is not obstructed. Qoat quickly ciimbs to the top of the Q-mobile to take a look at the fishing village.

[Crunch]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice] + Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice] = Total: ? (+2 with visual and hearing based test)

Crunch sits quietly in Quot's vehicle as it rolls to a stop in the small village of Illmarsh. Once the vehicle is fully stopped, Crunch climbs out to stretch his legs so to speak. "What a charming little shite-hole." Crunch says with a low rumble of his mechanical chest. "So we're here, we should probably start looking around." Crunch says as he starts slowly plodding up the road towards the village center. Got a bad feeling in me bones about this place. "Seemenomore, keep an eye out. This is a pile of bad luck wrapped up in a bad deal."[/b]

[Jackal]

Looking down at village below Fell wonders at the lack of defenses. This village was not in a very fortified location. It would need walls, or a lot of defenders to protect it.

As the team moves in closer the Juicer grumbles, "Eyes open" across the radio.

As the ATV rolls in and stops Fell jumps out the window with Chainsaw Sword in hand he points it towards the destruction.

Over the radio he says, "Good call Cory. Let us know if you find anything. Ok people lets search the place. Meet back at the ATV. If no one is here then we need clues of where they went".

Notice Roll: [dice]0[/dice]

Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]

[Venatus Vinco]

Illmarsh
Cory makes and flyover of the town while the others look through their various optics and scopes. Sharing information quickly they surmise that the town has been attacked in someway but not totally destroyed. In fact, important assets like the fishing boats and nearby hydro electric dam are still in tact. When Fell orders them in closer the group finds definite signs of combat and even more revealing, a number of Tomorrow Legion cargo cans. The cans are empty but likely, at one time held the relief supplies from the Emergency Response Team.

Moving through the village, house by house, the team finally stumbles upon a root cellar beneath one of the homes. Opening the door they are immediately greeted by a gun wielding man. A number of women and children cower behind him in the cellar. He trains the gun nervously - unsure who to target. The man is not wearing armor and has an antiquated Northern Gun laser rifle. Not much compared to the latest tech but good enough to put holes in people.



"We got nothing left. If you're going to kill us. Be quick about it."

What are your intentions?

[Ulysses]

Notice [dice]0[/dice]
WC [dice]1[/dice]* Ace [dice]4[/dice] = 10
Investigation[dice]2[/dice]
Persuasion [dice]3[/dice] Ace [dice]5[/dice] = 14

During his converations with the dino guys from Persimmon, one of them reveals to Ulyssess that his sister married a guy from Illmarsh (his name is Gordon Whiterock). Her name maiden name was Elena Whiterock.

Illmarsh




"We got nothing left. If you're going to kill us. Be quick about it."

"Good gravy, friend we're not going to kill ya, we only murder innocent dinosaurs. Anybody know Gordon or Elena Whiterock? I was talking to Elena's brother not but a few minutes ago. We did a fine bit of trade involving the meat of said dinosaurs. Perhaps some will come your way if you head there, ya know until ya can regroup and... rebuild here. What in buggery happened here anyhow? Have you seen the Emergency Team?"

[Venatus Vinco]

Mini-Update

As Ulysses starts talking the man slowly lowers his gun, looking somewhat bewildered, "Yeah we know the Whiterocks from up Persimmon." Before he can finish a woman pushes her way past him and speaks up, "I'm Elena Whiterock, well I was anyway. Last name is Ford now. You saw my brother? Glad to hear things are still good in Persimmon. My husband died in the fighting here. Your emergency team was up in Bull Shoals providing relief. They brought the survivors here and gave us some aid. We were trying to fit everyone in, next thing you know the rocks came to life, attacking like dogs made of stone. We went for cover here while the Legionnaires and some of our men fought them off. We came out when the shooting stopped but everyone was dead and the supplies gone."

Her eyes well up as she tells the story, and the man takes over the conversation again.

"We think they took what they stole up into the caves. There are a few entrances around here."

At the mention of caves both Ulysses and Crunch immediately see this place as a prime potential smugglers port. The deep water, natural caves, and out of the way location would be a great place to set-up a stash or hideout.

EDIT: Map updated with cave entrances locations

[Timothy Hernandez]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]/ Wild: [dice]1[/dice]

"We think they took what they stole up into the caves. There are a few entrances around here."

Hearing the destination of the attackers, Timothy checks to ensure his chain sword is primed and ready to go, his ion pistol is charged, his Rifle is charged, and his rail gun is chambered with a satisfying "ka-chink" from the bolt sliding into place.

Timothy looks at Fell "Lets head on down the road here kill those magic using sons of bitches."

[Qoat]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice] / Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice] Exploding Die: [dice]2[/dice], Total: 10

Qoat drives the Q-Mobile down into the village and puts it into a position to move out quickly without having to turn it around. He hops out and locks the vehicle and follows behind his team leader. Qoat is focused on any of the mechanical devices that may need repair, trusting Ulysses smooth tongue to placate any worries of the townsfolk. Qoat listens in on the conversation in the root cellar, Rock dogs? Some sort of elemental magic? I remember when 607th was ambushed in a gully and a giant hand of rock reached out of the wall and sucker punched the UAR-1. Fun times, not. Hearing about the caves, he mutters, "Just great." Qoat shakes his head. Crunch and the XO are going to get stuck in a cave, and Cory and I are probably going to get stuck with gopher duty."

[Ulysses]

Ulysses O'Moore
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d10, Spirit d8, Strength d4, Vigor d6
Charisma: +2; Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 11(5); Strain: 6
Notice: [dice]0[/dice] / Wild Card [dice]1[/dice]
Investigation: [dice]2[/dice]
Streetwise: [dice]3[/dice]
Survival: [dice]4[/dice] ** [dice]5[/dice] = 11 (for choosing best cave entry point)

Ulysses catches Crunch's eye at mention of the caves and winks. Wellity, wellity... a secret cave system? Better store that in the memory banks for later.

When they get back outside, Ulysses darts this way and that, looking in containers and houses. He is trying to get an idea what the attackers were after and what they took/left. Looking at the number of entrances Ully thinks, We should probably reduce the number of variables here, choose the most advantageous entrance and fill-in the remainder.

For his part, he attempts to find and assess the entrances on the map.

"Anybody think we should scout out the most favorable entrance and then block the rest?" Uly shrugs, "That's how you do it when hunting rats anyway."

[Jackal]

Overhearing Qoat, Fell chuckles.

Turning to face the party the Juicer says, "Alright lady and gents. I hear one option. Rat hunting. Before we decend into the depths of unknown horrors are there other suggestions? I think trying to be stealthy might be our best option until we encounter hostiles. Then it's dynamic time! Remember, our top concern is rescue. Thoughts?"

Securing his Chain Saw to his back the Juicer lovingly pulls his JA rifle out and holds it at a combat low ready position.

[Venatus Vinco]

Rat Trap
Moving around town the team investigates the attack a little further before making their move. From what they are able to piece together from their observations is that a large pack of four-legged animals set upon the village. However, animals don't normally steal. In this case, food, electronics, and other high value goods were all taken. The sheer number and disorganization of the pack tracks make it impossible to tell if there was a group of sentient beings behind the robberies, but Crunch and Ulysses recognize a smash and grab when they see one.

Ulysses is able to garner a general direction of the pack's travel, pointing to the cave entrance that sits between Illmarsh and Bull Shoals. This seems to make logical sense given that that both towns were attacked. The road up to the cave entrance is mainly a narrow walking path, too narrow and overgrown for the ATV to navigate without some serious trailblazing. The good news is that it's only a short hike of a little over a mile. The bad news is the trail goes up into the hills creating all sorts of tactical choke points and unfavourable terrain. The other cave entrance is much closer to the water and would also make for a great smuggler's hole. However, there is less evidence of the pack heading to or from that location.

The villagers know little about the trail, most of their travel and trade to Bull Shoals was by boat, it was always considered safer than overland travel.

OOC: Map updated to "star" the entrance with tracks leading to it.

[Cory Tetrascroll]

Notice:[dice]0[/dice] Wild Die [dice]1[/dice] Ace [dice]10[/dice] Double Ace [dice]11[/dice]
Wounds: 0 | PPE: 14/20 | ISP: 19/20
Constant Effects: Alertness; Auto-Mega Damage; Danger Sense; Sense Supernatural Beings (with Notice check)
Temporary Effects: Name (Duration)
Bennies: 3


Spiritual Channel (divination): [dice]2[/dice] Wild [dice]3[/dice], Vigor [dice]4[/dice] Wild [dice]5[/dice] Ace [dice]8[/dice]
Knowledge (Mystic Arcana) [dice]6[/dice] Wild [dice]7[/dice] Ace [dice]9[/dice]

Cory has been sulking. For no good reason, but she breaks out of it eventually. Maybe it was a village wiped out by violence, maybe that brought up memories she was ready to deal with. Or she was just being moody.

She listens to the stories about the rocks coming to life*. It sure sounds like magic, so she tries to piece it together with any of the magic lore she has. It is intriguing, magical creatures are definitely fascinating. This time though, it doesn't seem like some benign fairy playing tricks. She wants to get up in those hills and see what's going on, right now.

Crawling through caves is not a pleasant idea. But these people need help, and clearly the threat is big enough the ERT got in trouble. That is the mission after all. Cory is pretty well worked up now, between the curiosity and the building righteousness.

"Rat hunting sounds just fine. Rats can burn. Let's get this moving!"

She won't quite dash out towards the hills. She twirls the mystic club around in her hand while stalking around the entrance to the suspect trail. She studies the area, she's no tracker, but it hardly seems like "stones coming alive" would grab the supplies. She's puzzled. She looks for anything that might indicate magic was involved. She kind of hopes there is. A clearly evil magical enemy would do a lot to easing her troubled conscience. Decimating a horde of clearly evil magical beasts would be okay too.

Recognizing that she doesn't know enough to be effecting gathering information physically, Cory pauses and centers herself. She reaches out to any of the forest spirits and asks, "Are the creatures that robbed this town in the cave up this path?"

Approaching Hernandez, Cory offers (along with any knowledge from divination), "I can create an illusion while we're on the trail to use as a decoy." She is smacking the club in her hands, anxious to get going. Scowling she adds, "And, if we have time, I can cast a ritual over our weapons to make them more effective."


*Could just be these guys right?

[Crunch]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]/Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]
Cyborg Senses: +2 for Visual/Hearing Checks.
Danger Sense: Notice at –2 to detect surprise attacks/danger

Crunch is hard to read on the situation, mostly due to not having a human face. The only sign of possible agitation is a minute amount of finger tension. Once the group begins formulating a plan of attack. "I'll do whatever seems prudent to the group, I'm not a mining borg, so caves aren't my specialty. I ain't never heard of no pack of rats that act like these ones do, so we got that going for us chaps." Crunch says with a deep grumble.

[Ulysses]

Ulysses
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d10, Spirit d8, Strength d4, Vigor d6
Charisma: +2; Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 11(5); Strain: 6
Danger Sense: Notice at –2 to detect surprise attacks/danger
Notice: 1d10+2 Wildcard: 1d6
Investigation: 1d6+2

Ulysses moves with the group and makes an effort to stay somewhere in the middle of the pack. He keeps his eye open for any details that might identify the attackers or shed some light on the situation. Great, spelunking in monster-infested caves is just the sort of hobby I need to start up at this point in my life.

[Timothy Hernandez]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild: [dice]1[/dice]

Hernandez sees Cory approach him.

"I can create an illusion while we're on the trail to use as a decoy. And, if we have time, I can cast a ritual over our weapons to make them more effective."

Hernandez stands there and listens to Cory. While the expression is difficult to see, he is listening to every word she says.

When Cory is done speaking, Timothy looks at her "Decoys are always a good idea. How would make the weapons more effective and what kind of decoy can you make?"

Timothy will allow Cory to complete her explanation. Once the explanation is complete Timothy will holster the rail-gun on his back, and charge the JA-11 Energy Rifle. We are going into caves, confined space, lack of light, and the rail-gun could get out of hand. I'm not sure about about the magic to make the weapon better. Timothy looks at his rifle for a few moments, deep in thought. He looks at Cory and says "You have a good idea. Let me speak with Fell about this.

Timothy walks to Fell and looks him in the eyes. "It looks like rat hunting. We can be more prepared. I suggest if anyone has any weapons, equipment, or skills to be effective in the dark needs to be active. If no one else has night vision capabilities, I will take point with my rifle. Cory has also came to me with some suggestions. She said that she can make a decoy, and she can make the weapons better. I think a decoy is always a good idea, I don't know about the weapons part. Honestly, i'm not entirely comfortable, however you are in charge. If you say she alters our weapons, I'll do it."

[Cory Tetrascroll]

[Rolls carried over]

Illusion: Psionics [dice]0[/dice] Wild [dice]1[/dice] Screw that! Bennie time!
llusion: Psionics [dice]2[/dice] Wild [dice]3[/dice] Are you serious???
llusion: Psionics [dice]4[/dice] Wild [dice]5[/dice]

Cory stares at Timothy for a few seconds. She scowls a little. "Dude, it's m-a-g-i-c. I focus and then call on the Sun and Moon to empower the weapon. Even a stick works. I beat the shit out of a monster with a stick once. It doesn't last very long though. But most of the time it's long enough." She sighs. She rolls her eyes again. Closing her eyes and pointing to her head, she pauses and then says, "I close my eyes and think of the anything I want somebody to see, and the Moon puts the idea in their head, they think it's totally real." Her annoyed expression changes to wicked glee as she adds, "But I mean, to be honest, it's the fire that's awesome." The way she says "sun" and "moon" definitely convey the proper noun aspect. Her reverence is clear. If she wasn't smacking the motley collection of plumbing she calls a club in her hands she would be worrying on the rosary.

She gets serious though, "But, like it is friggin' magic, so sometimes it like doesn't work. I think it's a focus thing, I mean, it normally works."

Cory looks startled, badly acting, and says, "Where did that giant rabbit come from!" She is pointing over Timothy's shoulder.

IF the psionic illusion is successful, she will create the illusion of a 7' tall plush bunny standing and just blinking its beady eyes at Timothy.

[Qoat]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice] / Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice], Exploding die: [dice]2[/dice], Total: 9

While not exactly happy about travelling the underdark, Qoat is curious to find out what attacked the village and put things right. He checks his armor and pistol to make sure they are working correctly. He grabs a pair of the extra e-clips from the ATV that Ulysses was able to obtain after Qoat's failed attempt back at Castle Refuge. As he closes, the cabinet, he spots an audio-disc, The Power of Persuasion: Become a Believable, Charismatic, Positive, Influence on Everyone in Your Life. Going to need to listen to that one again, before going back to the quartermaster.

Qoat trots behind the group to catch up before the cave entrance, "Hey guys, I am coming!". When he catches up, he says to Timothy, "This armor has both directional lights.," as he points to the top of his helmet. "And, it also has night vision capabilities. Where do you want me?"

[Jackal]

Scratching his head for a moment the Juicer looks Cory over. Starts to speak, then closes his mouth. Faintly smiling at her he looks at the borg in front of him.

“Alright, if Cory gets her stars and moons to align and does pop a spell or two awesome for us.”

Returning his JA rifle to his back he pulls his Chainsaw out. “Let’s cut to the chase ladies and gentlemen. You are all tired of being cooped up in the ATV and are as eager as little Juicers to get into the action.”

Wink.

“Right, Qoat, headlamps on, up front on point adjacent to Hernandez. If it gets too tight then stay on point and have Hernandez directly behind you on tackle cover. I’ll roll in third. Cory with me, be ready, once we engage with hostiles I want you save but able to line of sight have access to cast any spells you might need to do or can do to help. The rest of you bring up rear guard. Most times I have stepped into a confined tunnel which had a trap waiting, it sprang at the rear.”

Shugging his shoulders and swinging the Chainsaw around carefully to loosen up, the Juicer chuckles.

“What could go wrong?" With an almost eerie look the Juicer glances from Cory, to Hernandez, Crunch, Qoat, then Ulysses.

Sighing Fell toggles off the headset and say, "Sorry forgot I had that on. Let’s get this rescue op underway!”

Looking very much like he is concentrating on not running ahead Fell heads towards the cave entrance.

"Screw it. Look I will scout ahead. I'll run on up to the entrance and stop there. I'll fall in with you there. Be safe."

(((Pace 16))) Fell quietly runs ahead, on tip toes, and stops stealthily by the cave mouth.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Stealth Roll for run: [dice]0[/dice]
Wild die for stealth: [dice]1[/dice]
Notice Roll while running ahead and watching things as the party approaches the cave: [dice]2[/dice]
Wild Die for notice roll: [dice]3[/dice]

[Venatus Vinco]

Into the Deep

Outside the cave the group debates their strategy. Cory's attempt to toy with Hernandez is met with limited success, although she does manage to make him look - just nothing appears. Finally Fell gices the order to move up to the entrance ith Q leading the way with his fast reflexes and headlamps. At the entrance, Fell takes up a defensive position while Q shines his lights inside.



The cave is very narrow, worn through the old limestone by the flow of water and pressure of a thousand years. After the small entryway the cave opens up ever so slightly, taking a winding path toward a bend a few meters ahead. Seeing beyond the bend will require moving up and shining lights. Crunch and Timothy don't really need Qooat's lights as their bionic optics systems cut through the darkness well enough.

Each person notices something slightly different about the caves. Tactically, Fell sees right away that the group will have to move single file and be very bunched together. A nightmare if they are jumped by something. For her part Cory cannot sense any mystical forces at work, it just looks like rock for now. Ulysses is reminded of the alleyways and sewers of the Chi-Town 'Burbs or the Warrens of MercTown - not a place one wants to get caught. Structurally Qooat can see the caves are a natural construct with no reinforcements of rafters, meaning heavy weapons fire runs the risk of a cave in crushing everyone under tons of white limestone. The two cyborgs immediately see how hard it will be for them to navigate through the passageway, at certain points they will definitely have to duck - it's a tight fit.

What are your intentions?

OOC: Each square is 2 "inches", so if you have a pace of 6 you can cover 3 squares per round.

[Crunch]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice] + Ace: [dice]2[/dice] + Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice] Total: 15
Cybernetic Senses: (Night vision, +2 to Sight/Hearing based Checks.)
Danger Sense: (Notice at –2 to detect surprise attacks/danger.)

Crunch nods at Fell as he gives the orders. A low rumble issuing from his chest as he mulls over the situation. Tight squeeze, most of my weapons will be useless. Crunch thinks as he stows his rail gun and draws his sidearm. Easier to use in tight spaces, should have plenty of time to bring out the big guns if need be. Crunch thinks as he watches the team enter the cave. "I'll take up the rear." Crunch says to no one in particular.

Note: I'm certain it's going to take a round or two for the others to pile in to the cave, Crunch will wait his turn and go in last, leaving a (2") space between himself and the second to last.

[Timothy Hernandez]

Notice [dice]0[/dice] Wild: [dice]1[/dice]

Timothy falls in line behind Qoat with the rifle ready to shoot. Seeing the tight quarters in the cave, Timothy is having difficult time with not only keeping an eye on point, but in ensure his weapon is clear. Timothy will click over to the radio. "Tight space boys and girls, check your fire, keep your range clear. Friendly fire isn't"

With a stoic look on his robotic face, This is a bad place to be in. Timothy will try to minimize the hardships of the tunnels as much as possible.

[Jackal]

The Juicer watches as his new team files into place, taking up a single file rank in the dark entryway.

Momentarily the Juicer is teleported through time and space in his memory, to a time of working with X team. He had been armored up, sporting heavy weapons, no drug harness, just his determination, and performing forced entries into Xiticix hives.

A deadly and well-paying job, it had paid for his Juicer conversion. His mind returning to the present his eyes flash about and took in the scenario before them. Quickly the Juicer decides, “This needs to be a dynamic entry, we are going to need a tactic where surprise, speed and domination are key.”

As the Party enters the cave Fell says, “We need to stack up here at the entry point, then breach and enter the tunnel quickly. A light jog. Stay about a foot or two apart, at most. If we get to a room the first two operators enter the room together, once inside split directions, step through the door of the room, muzzle up, and take a corner to clear. The second operator in the stack enters and takes the opposing corner to clear. When the room is clear, announce “clear.” As you exit the room, announce “coming out” and rejoin the rest of us. If it’s not clear in the room call for backup and we will all file into the room to help. Thats your crash course in dynamic entry, got it? The advantage to this style of dynamic entry is that it provides speed through the objective, especially when the location of your adversary is unknown. Speed in the dynamic entry buys you surprise, and surprise affords you the opportunity to neutralize your threat before he engages you.”

Taking a deep breath Fell continues, “Look if nothing else, if it goes to hell in here, borgs in front, mages in rear, and I’ll bounce around killing bad guys.”

Fell laughs quietly, “Stay alert, lets save our people.”

Moving into the tunnel with his JA Rifle at a low ready, he hopes whatever is in here it's not Xiticix.

[Qoat]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice], Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice], Exploding Die: [dice]3[/dice]; Total: 11

Pace: 8 (d8) [dice]2[/dice]

Qoat takes point, his helmet lights illuminating the tunnel. The mechanical noise of Crunch and Timothy reassures him as he moves forward at a walk. Just going to lean forward a little here, I am not much taller than Cory, and definitely not as big as the borgs. It should give them a clean window of fire if necessary.

Qoat hears Fell's instructions. A jog? Hello traps, meet my foot. Qoat, picks up his pace. If he comes across an intersection or room he moves to the left and crouches, pistol up ready to take aim, and says into the radio, "Room/Intersection, Qoat's on the left."

[Cory Tetrascroll]

Notice:[dice]0[/dice] Ace [dice]6[/dice] Wild Die [dice]1[/dice]
Wounds: 0 | PPE: 17/20 | ISP: 18/20
Constant Effects: Alertness; Auto-Mega Damage; Danger Sense; Sense Supernatural Beings (with Notice check)
Temporary Effects: Name (Duration)
Bennies: 1


Make torch: Survival [dice]2[/dice] Wild [dice]3[/dice]
Bolt: Mysticism [dice]4[/dice] Wild [dice]5[/dice]


Cory looks at the cave. The she looks at the rather larger gentlemen on her "team". She shakes her head, cursing herself for not bringing a flashlight. Amateur.

"Someone loans me a flashlight, I'll go first. That way you won't be in the way if I need to bbq something.

What Really Happened:
Of course if she doesn't get the torch rigged up, she will wait for someone with a light to go in, i.e. follow Fell's plan.

Mages in the back. What crap. I can't see a stupid thing around these walking dumpsters. She does her best to stay alert and focused in the cave. Did they forget that I've got heavy 'fire' power too? I can't use it with them in front of me. Stupid. Dumb jerks.

She mumbles from the rear, "I can fill a room with sun-fire and I'm at the back."

Wait, is she stewing and taking offense and nothing? That could be.

What I wanted to happen:
She'll wait a minute or so to see if someone hands her a flashlight, very intentionally running her fingers along the rosary on her wrist. Finishing her silent prayer, she edges closer to the entrance peering in, searching for any clues or signs.

Whether or not she gets a light, she will crouch down (unnecessary, but that's just what you do going into a dark scary cave) and move in as far as the daylight goes. She has her club held out in front of her to detect any walls or barriers she can't see.

She'll scurry back out once it's pitch black inside. She grabs a stick and tears off part one of her robes. She wraps the robe around the stick and looks around for something flammable to douse her makeshift torch in. She'll also try to light the torch with stuff lying around (or a lighter from one of her cohorts). But if all else fails, she lights it on fire with a little bit of magic.

Torch ready, she'll head back into the tunnel going deeper. If she loses sight of the others, she does a radio check, "Radio check, like can you hear me?" She keeps going until she loses sight of the entrance, then she will wait for the others.

[Jackal]

If someone hands Cory a flashlight and she goes first:

Fell chuckles, "Okay, ma-lady, sorry to offend, was try'n to keep you safe. Safe from being stepped on by the borgs."

Shrugging the Juicer continues, "I have no issues with you going first if you want. In fact it'll be nice for some of us to see how handy Mages can be!"

Slapping a hand on Timothy's back the Juicer grins and says, "Ready big guy?"

[Cory Tetrascroll]

...Rolls Carried Over (at least the Notice Roll was worth keeping!!)

Cory feigns a look that says "whatever I don't care" but the way her hand darts out to grab the flashlight and the spring in her step as she muscles in front of the big tin cans, show that she is very excited. Not only is she the smallest, she thinks, but she is also the best equipped for massive damage in a confined space. And her head is already below the borgs and their big guns and totally awesome swords.

She waits impatiently for everyone to stack up then she moves into the dark as Fell ordered. She jogs lightly her eyes open, but she's trying to force her ears and nose to do more work than normal. She plays the flashlight on the walls, the ceiling, and the floor. She carries it in her left hand and her club in her right, ready to cast smite on it if a fireball isn't the right answer (which is only rarely the case.)

[Timothy Hernandez]

(rolls carried over)

Slapping a hand on Timothy's back the Juicer grins and says, "Ready big guy?"

Timothy looks down at Cory, then looks at fell. what the hell? Is she even old enough to hold a gun? "Remind me to get an upgrade to my face. That way I can show you what i'm thinking." Is he out of his mind? On the plus side, she is shorter and can navigate the tunnels better.

Timothy looks back down at Cory. "Since your taking point, be ready with defense on a moments notice." Timothy Moves with Cory, ready for an attack.

[Ulysses]

Ulysses
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d10, Spirit d8, Strength d4, Vigor d6
Charisma: +2; Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 11(5); Strain: 6
Danger Sense: Notice at –2 to detect surprise attacks/danger
Notice: 1d10+2 Wildcard: 1d6
Investigation: 1d6+2


Ulysses continues to stay somewhere in the middle of the pack. Who the hell fights about going first? Let the fellas that can buy new parts go in front I say, never-the-less he shouts out encouragement to Cory.

"Steady on, brave lass, steady on."

[Venatus Vinco]

Rock Monsters

Qooat and Cory share the point while the others fall in behind them. After a short jaunt down the narrow corridor the cave opens up into a large cavern littered with boulders and small accumulations of water. Thanks to Qooat's bright lights he and Cory are able to see that some of the rocks are moving!



A closer look reveals that each of the twenty to twenty-five boulders is actually a small rock covered monster that looks like a large dog with sharp spikes and teeth. Seeing the intruders into their lair the rocks monsters turn, snarl, and charge like a pack of wolves!

Fortunately, the group has a chance to ready themselves. Without Cory and Qooat's keen eyes the group may have wnadered right into the midst of the creatures.

OOC: Let's use the Quick Combat Rules. Describe what you want to do, and provide the appropriate skill roll (fighting, magic, shooting, etc.). Borgs add +2 as the monsters cannot do MD. Each "K" on the map represents 4 rock monsters.

[Cory Tetrascroll]

Notice:[dice]0[/dice] Wild Die [dice]1[/dice]
Wounds: 0 | PPE: 9/20 | ISP: 18/20 | Parry: 6 (including bonus)
Constant Effects: Alertness; Auto-Mega Damage; Danger Sense; Sense Supernatural Beings (with Notice check)
Temporary Effects: +1 Parry (while using club)
Bennies: 1


Smite [dice]2[/dice] Wild [dice]3[/dice]
Fighting [dice]4[/dice] Wild [dice]5[/dice] Damage [dice]6[/dice]+[dice]7[/dice]
Entangle [dice]8[/dice] Wild [dice]9[/dice] Med Burst Template (4 PPE) Ace [dice]12[/dice]
Burst [dice]10[/dice] Wild [dice]11[/dice] Bennie [dice]13[/dice] Wild [dice]14[/dice]


Boulder animals huh? Cory makes a split second decision after that obvious observation. The rest of the team is behind her and she made fuss of going first, so she had best make something happen. Knowing her power flows from the Sun and Moon, she draws upon them to give her the strength to fight the beasts as she kneels down to quickly blesses her club. Then she stands up and whacks away with marginally skilled attacks on the closest stone monsters (probably K1). As she is smacking the beasts, she tries to avoid being hit in return, her club enhancing her moves to block the bites and claws. Taking advantage of her stature, she stays below the bigger SET members attacks. She idly wonders if telepathy would work on the animals. But there is no time to test that out, so she smashes her mystically imbued pipe into the rock monsters with all her limited mite.

Her physical assault is predictably less effective than she envisioned. She knew it would be, she chides herself and scowls. Since starting her life as an agent of the Sun and Moon, she has been fascinated by the physicality of battle, but her home is magic. So she falls back on her connection to the Sun and Moon.

"Watch out boys, it's gonna get hot!" Cory says to her teammates, trying really hard to be as much of a hardbitten warrior as they are. Making sure they are all clear, she calls upon the Sun and summons an entangling net of fire capturing as many of the stone dogs as she can, the tendrils of fire covering a large section of the cave. With the beasts captured, she ruthlessly unleashes a solar flare on them, hot enough to melt stone. She will channel the Sun's fury to blast the dogs until they are all melted slag.

Damaged or not, through all her robes it might be hard to tell, Cory is starting to look tired. There is less fire in her eyes. She just seems to have lost some level of her spirit. She doesn't seem to have lost the will to fight though, and continues to either blast with a massive gout of fire or swing her dorky club with abandon.

The animals are clearly dangerous, but just animals. Whenever she has a chance, she looks around the room for anything that might give more information about these animals. Somehow Cory wonders if they are really the end game or just a stop on the way - maybe a distraction? She is pretty much compelled to figure it out one way or the other. In the meantime, the stone dogs are definitely aggressive!

[Qoat]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice] / Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]

Seeing Cory trying to open the gates of hell, Qoat moves off to the right. Don't fry the Q-ster He decides to try a Smarts Trick, and confuse the rock dogs, he yells out "Sit!"

[dice]2[/dice] / Wild Die [dice]6[/dice]

If it doesn't stop the rock dogs, he shoots at K5, and if it goes down K4 going around in a counter clockwise order.

Shooting: [dice]3[/dice] / Wild Die: [dice]4[/dice] AP 2 -- Damage: [dice]5[/dice]

Edit: Qoat's armor adds +2 to ranged attack roles. I had only added the +1 from the pistol.

[Crunch]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice] Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice]
Shooting: [dice]2[/dice] Wild Die: [dice]3[/dice]; Damage: [dice]4[/dice]

Crunch looks at the situation and shrugs. Monsters, or messed up pets... who knows. Holding his Ion pistol in a one handed grip Crunch slowly makes his way forward as the people in front of him allow. In between those moments of movement, Crunch fires his sidearm, feeling it's better to use the smaller gun in such confined spaces. These tunnels make fighting a bit rough. Crunch rumbles from his metallic chest. Crunch seems infinitely aware of the fact that his size is both a detriment and a danger in these tunnels, and acts accordingly.

[Timothy Hernandez]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice] / Wild: [dice]1[/dice]

Timothy will take a shot at K6 with his rifle.

Shooting: [dice]2[/dice] / Wild: [dice]3[/dice]
Damage: [dice]6[/dice]
The rock monster takes a blast to the face, slumping to the floor with a melted form of goo on its head.

Timothy Follows up by walking into the middle of the foray. The dog to the right lunges at Timothy with an intent to pin him down. Timothy sees the intented attack and responds with a straight punch to his chest. The impact stops the dog dead in the air and falls to the floor with a caved in chest. What counts as blood for the creature oozes out of the chest cavity and onto the floor.
Fighting: [dice]4[/dice] / Wild: [dice]5[/dice]
Damage:([dice]7[/dice]+[dice]8[/dice])+2

Timothy continues to walk up to the last two remaining dogs in the pack. The two dogs flank him and attempts to grab his arms.
Fighting: [dice]9[/dice]
Fighting: [dice]10[/dice]

The grapples does not work. Timothy grabs the two dogs by the scruff of their necks.

Fighting: [dice]19[/dice]/Wild: [dice]20[/dice]
Fighting: [dice]21[/dice] / Wild: [dice]22[/dice]

Once the dogs are grabbed by the neck, Timothy crushes them together.
Fighting: [dice]11[/dice] / Wild: [dice]12[/dice]
Damage: ([dice]13[/dice]+[dice]14[/dice])+2 (Raise Die: [dice]23[/dice])

Fighting: [dice]15[/dice] / Wild: [dice]16[/dice]
Damage: ([dice]17[/dice]+[dice]18[/dice])+2

The dog on the left is able to absorb the impact of the assault. The dogs behind this group sees a very threatening target and charges in to kill the intruder.

While fighting the rock dogs Timothy is looking at them with interest. They are easy to exterminate, and study if need be. Timothy clicks onto the radio. "It would appear that these d-bee's are not supernaturally strong."

[Ulysses]

Ulysses
Attributes: Agility d8, Smarts d10, Spirit d8, Strength d4, Vigor d6
Charisma: +2; Pace: 6; Parry: 4; Toughness: 11(5); Strain: 6
Danger Sense: Notice at –2 to detect surprise attacks/danger
Notice: [dice]0[/dice] Wildcard: [dice]1[/dice]
Investigation: [dice]2[/dice]
Persuasion: [dice]3[/dice]
Intimidate: [dice]4[/dice]

Uly moves to a position where he can fire unimpeded at the enemy and cover his comrades. He studies the creature for any indication as to what they are or are inservice of. Clueing in to Q’s trick, Oh me boyo not a bad try, gives me an idea... He calls out, not to the beasts but their master, “Warlock!” which isn’t an educated identification but rather Uly’s shorthand for all spellcasters, “Give it up! We’ve got you bottled in like RATS! Face justice peacefully and we may let you live!”

[Jackal]

Glancing behind the party to make sure no one is coming up from the rear Fell then stays to the right wall, running close to the wall he makes sure to stay out of the other party members aim. Don't want to take any friendly fire. Keeping his JA-11 pointed down at a low ready he assesses if there is a target he can fire on without hiring a team member. If not I'll watch for more and .. Warlock, huh? Keep an eye open. Calling out the juicer says, "Get some!" and laughs aloud.

If the opportunity arises to fire at a rock dog or other enemy the Juicer will happily do so. Finger itching to fire he looks for a target he can safely fire on.

Gods I'm itching to blow something up. Come on, faster! Faster kill kill.

"Rock on, watch friendly fire, kick ass, good job!"

---------------

Fell will cover the party, but the second he has clear shots he will open fire on enemy targets...
Rolls as needed:

Notice [dice]0[/dice] / Wild Die for Notice [dice]1[/dice]
Shooting [dice]2[/dice] / Wild Die for Shooting [dice]3[/dice]

EDIT: Wild Die for Shooting Aced.... [dice]4[/dice]
So if Fell ends up shooting his roll is: 11


Of Note Edges:
Quick - Discard draw of 5 or less for a new & higher card for Initiative.

Split the Seconds - This Edge grants an extra action/attack to the character each round. No multi-action penalty. (( If he is able to get a extra attack in his Shooting roll will be: [dice]5[/dice] with a Wild Die of [dice]6[/dice] ACE ADD [dice]7[/dice] ))

First Strike - May attack one foe who moves adjacent. (( If the opportunity arises for this to be used his Shooting roll will be: [dice]8[/dice] with a Wild Die of [dice]9[/dice] ))

[Venatus Vinco]

Rock 'Em Sock 'Em

As the rock monsters run toward them, the group opens up on them without a moments hesitation. Cory is able to catch a group of them with her magic, tendrils of light creeping up from the floor and grabbing a whole pack of six monsters by the legs - the tendrils shine brightly lighting up the whole cavern. Laser fire follows quickly behind her, the light reflecting at small pools of water formed on the floor, and ripping to the tough hides of the creatures. Everything gets even brighter as Cory melts a group of monsters into slag with a fire burst. Despite the initial onslaught a few of the monsters manage to close to melee range. Fell reacts with ridiculous quickness to cut some of them down while Timothy, Crunch and Cory defend themselves with powerful melee weapons. At the back of the line Ulysses shouts out at anyone who might be handling the monsters to show themselves, but no one comes forward or reveals themselves.

At the end of only a few seconds the cavern is littered with the bodies of twenty four rock monsters, some have missing limbs or heads from chain sword strikes, others smoking from laser holes and mystical fire. A quiet fills the cavern and everyone can hear the small drops of water falling from the ceiling to the puddles on the floor.

Suddenly the group can hear a slight pounding and faint yelling from a nearby crevice that has been sealed up by rocks. Moving away the rocks they spot an elderly man bound and gagged, stuffed in a hole in the wall (OOC: Sir Sayeen Gabbersleaf).

After dealing with the bound up man, the group can see the cavern has two tunnels extending deeper into the caves, one to the left and one forward.

[Sayeen Gabbersleaf]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice] / Wild [dice]1[/dice]

Sayeen Gabbersleaf removes his helm which was covered in a fair amount of dirt. With his helm off he reveals an elderly man. White wispy hair, and a scraggly white beard framed his head. Whatever color his hair had been it had been years since he had seen it. His face was marked with sags and crags of someone who had lived long enough to love and lose many times over. His green eyes were unique. They betrayed no sign of age, and in fact upon closer inspection they were a bit larger than a normal humans'. His shoulder's sagged against the weight of his medium cyber knight armor. Sweat dripped from his brow.

" Hours, days, weeks, maybe months I had been trapped in this cave. No light, no water, no food. Hope was the only thing that fed me. Long was I in the dark but now you have freed me"

He grinned and shook the hand of each member of the SET team in silent thanks. Lastly he stopped at Cory and his eyes grew wide. He knelt to one knee and grasped her hand.

"My lady, I never thought you yourself would come for me. What joyous occasion and happy merit! The head of..." His voice trailed off in sheer amazement. How could the head of my fan club have traveled so far and wide. What a debt I owe her!
He smiled at the team realizing who they were and why they had come.
" Friends I lost my pen, but when we get back to Castle Refugee, I will fulfill what was most obviously promised to each and everyone." He pats down his trousers just to make sure his pen had really been lost.

His eyes took in the carnage the SET team had unleashed against the rock monsters.
"A pity. I hold no hatred to those who imprisoned me. Had they not wiped them out I would still be incarcerated in my bitter tomb. A dilemma to be sure and one that deserves lengthy discourse. It reminds of the time my pappy and I crossed a river near the great lakes. A dog was being chased by a pack of animals... Or maybe it was a water elemental doing the chasing. To interfere with the natural order or not? Well if it was an elemental then perhaps not so natural, but a pack of wild animals... We rose to the occasion setting our morals on a righteous path! So has this group done what was right and required. These brave men and women coming to save me. Never has one seen such stouthearted and dutiful..."
Sayeen Gabbersleaf realized then his internal monologue was actual quite external. He only trailed off just missing a few beats.
" A tale best saved for the light of a campfire with warm food and drink... I am a bit parched"

[Cory Tetrascroll]

Notice:[dice]0[/dice] Wild Die [dice]1[/dice] Note: can be used to detect supernatural
Wounds: 0 | PPE: 9/20 | ISP: 18/20
Constant Effects: Alertness; Auto-Mega Damage; Danger Sense; Sense Supernatural Beings (with Notice check)
Temporary Effects: Name (Duration)
Bennies: 1


Knowledge (Mystic Arcana) [dice]2[/dice] Wild [dice]3[/dice] To identify any signs of magic on Gabbersleaf.
Knowledge (Mystic Arcana) [dice]4[/dice] Wild [dice]5[/dice] To look for mystic clues from the dogs.
Detect Arcana [dice]6[/dice] Ace [dice]8[/dice] Wild [dice]7[/dice] To identify an actual magic capability of Gabbersleaf.

Finding an old man of some sort locked in the rocks came as a complete surprise to Cory. While the old geezer rambled she was mildly amused, but when the dude got all crazy up in her face, she was no longer entertained at all. "I have no idea what the hell you're talking about, gramps," she says a little peeved. She tries to ignore him after that. With his attention elsewhere, Cory studies the man, her curiosity totally piqued by his strangeness. She especially looks for any signs of enchantment or magic.

[If by some freak chance, Cory notices his elf qualities, she will say "Who are you old man?" in Elven.]

Shaking her head, Cory is a little embarrassed as she pulls a robust camping flashlight from her survival pack. She plays the beam between the two tunnels looking for any clue as to which way to go. She is most definitely going to go down one of the tunnels, she is just having trouble deciding which one. She turns to the dogs for help. Poking at the dead with her club, she tries to ascertain what they are. Some alien? Something magical? She still doesn't believe they are responsible for masterminding the attacks. They couldn't even stop this crew, a fully armed ERT should have wiped them out with no problems.

"There's got to be more to this, these dogs just can't be the end," she says looking vaguely towards the SET members. "Old man, like, who put you in the rocks? Was it the dog things?" she asks, the tone of last question clearly indicating that any answer in the affirmative about the dogs will be met with scorn. With a bit of an eye roll, she adds, "And, gawd, stop rambling and just answer already."

[Sayeen Gabbersleaf]

Notice (to gain a deeper understanding of the SETs souls): [dice]0[/dice] / Wild [dice]1[/dice]

Sayeen Gabbersleaf pauses briefly in his monologue when Cory spoke in Elven. A look of terrible regret and pain touches his face briefly.
Reflexively he whispers as if haunted by a ghost, " I never knew her." My mother's language, it has been over 80 years since I heard such beauty. It still stirs my soul and leaves me saddened. The moment passes too quickly that it might make one wonder if he was even conscious of this silent break.

Cory's pointed questions drew his happy smile back towards her. His smile is reminiscent of how a proud father would look upon his child. I still cannot believe that the president herself came all this way! With a club in hand to boot!
" Indeed who put me in these rocks is the question. Are these rocks an eerie tomb? Do we mean to fall into silent slumber here? A soft bed perhaps, or the dominion of a monster? He caresses some of the rocks that had held him.
" Friend or Foe? Would you do your master's bidding? But you had no choice did you?

Sayeen Gabbersleaf eyes each member of the SET taking them in. His eye's are piercing and forthright, not even trying to gain an understanding of the combat prowess each team member held, but instead his eyes go deeper beyond the front searching their very souls.
" My bane lies deep in the cave. It dwells and plots my very ruin. Gabbers Bane! A monster unloved; large and terrible. Not unlike the rocks that held me, yet wholly different. A contradiction upon my heart. Once forgotten..." Sayeen Gabbersleaf nods at Cory a small thanks.
" But now remembered in horrible glory. My breath has been caught, stopped and slowed, but now it quickens at the ready."
He puts his helmet back on ready to proceed although apparently with no weapons.

Magic Items

• Cyber Knight medium armor with the heal spell

[Timothy Hernandez]

Notice: [dice]3[/dice] / [dice]0[/dice]

The old man walks up to Timothy, grabs his bloody hand and vigorously shakes it. Timothy looks at the hand shake and pulls his bloody hand away. TImothy Looks away and down the hallway, intently listening down each tunnel listening for any signs of enemy presence. Notice: [dice]1[/dice] / Wild: [dice]2[/dice]

TImothy will take the occasional glance at the old man who keeps on talking. Will this asshole shut the hell up? Who the fuck is this guy anyways? Timothy walks to the other tunnel to listen for signs of the enemy. With the old man babbling on about a fan club and what not, Timothy clicks on his radio. "Can someone shut this old man up? He's getting on my nerve. I'm about to do it myself."

If Timothy hears any sign of enemy positions, Timothy will announce it to everyone, which way the enemy is.

[Sayeen Gabbersleaf]

Notice ( for looking for signs that a large beast went down either passage) [dice]0[/dice] / Wild [dice]1[/dice] ace [dice]2[/dice] Total =11

Sayeen Gabbersleaf sees the borg Timothy silently looking for more enemies. Sayeen looks down at his own hand still slightly wet from the blood dripping down from the combat cyborg's hand. He thinks, A noble sacrifice. Giving over literally limb and life to be able to give strength to those who need it most in this world. A beautiful act. Perhaps he is a bit shy and thinks I disapprove, before this day is out he shall know otherwise

Underneath his helm a solitary tear drops as the notion of self sacrifice overwhelms his faculties. Sayeen slides up next to the borg approaching with caution not wanting to startle the borg's quiet reprieve.
In a tone quieter than before trying to respect the combat borg's silence he says, " You went for the full conversion I see. You must have been brave and most honorable. Today I am most glad to meet such a member." He held his hands up in mock defense, " Yes I know, I know... It of course is an honor to finally meet me, after what I can only imagine months of having not, but in this moment the honor is most deservedly mine." Absentmindedly again Sayeen Gabbersleaf pats down his armor looking for his lost pen.
" Look it seems fate has deemed I cannot give you what was most likely promised." Sayeen lifts his visor up cracking a wirey smile, " But I think I can do you one better. And rightly so for such a valiant individual. How could I offer any less? When we get back I will sign your glorious frame..." Sayeen's hand wards off any protest. " No need to be shy, wherever you like... You have my word, as the cyberknight Sir Sayeen Gabbersleaf, that this oath shall be fulfilled"
Sayeen slaps his visor shut and peers at the two passageways.
" I remember little from my time incarcerated in the rock. The creature that captured me was large and it seemly could command these rock creatures. Which way it might have gone I do not know. My pappy was the tracker, and I spent little time learning his craft. Oh what a doomed choice! Truly in this second I curse my impatient younger self. I was always quick to learn the stories of before, but I never had the temperament to listen with my eyes and grasp the story that was hidden on the earth's surface." Sayeen shakes his head in frustration wondering which way to go.
" But perhaps not all is lost. Valiant borg, maybe it would not be surprising if one of the others' in your group knows what my pappy once knew and could read the earth uncovering its many pertinent secrets?

[Timothy Hernandez]

(Rolls carried over)

why won't this asshole just shut the hell up? The tension is audible to those who pays attention. "Listen old man, I don't know who you are an' I don't care. I don't want no autograph. Not on paper, not on me. I have no use for it. Wat I do want is for you to just shut the hell up before I take that talking jaw off you." Timothy will put the rifle in his face not only for effect but to pull the trigger if needed.

[Qoat]

Notice: [dice]0[/dice] / Wild Die: [dice]1[/dice] Exploding Die: [dice]2[/dice], Total: 5

Suddenly the group can hear a slight pounding and faint yelling from a nearby crevice that has been sealed up by rocks. Moving away the rocks they spot an elderly man bound and gagged, stuffed in a hole in the wall (OOC: Sir Sayeen Gabbersleaf).

After dealing with the bound up man, the group can see the cavern has two tunnels extending deeper into the caves, one to the left and one forward.

Hearing the yelling, Qoat says, "We've got a live one.!" I hope this isn't like the last time I went spelunking and the cave was full of...



Qoat helps dig the old man out, and leaves him to Cory and Timothy to find out his story. He checks the rock dog bodies to see if they are really just made of stone, or if they have a rock like hide, but gooey guts. Afterwards Qoat moves cautiously down the left hand path as most beings he's met have been right handed, "Going to take a quick peek down this side." He activates the T-13's thermal and night vision modes and stops walking when he gets to the first turn, or if he spots any light.

[Sayeen Gabbersleaf]

(Rolls Carried over)

Sayeen Gabbersleaf sees the armored figure move through the dead rock dogs. Ahh looking for my pen! Let's hope he finds it, this borg is going to blow a gasket unless he gets my signature... I was thinking along the back might be a nice spot, or bicep? Hmm the bicep has been done before. As the armored figure moves past the dogs Sayeen thinks , I wonder what kind of armor that is? Not coalition, NG? Triax? It has some interesting attachments, and a nice holster. A bunch of pens could fit in there, or maybe just one really great one.

But after he passes ,without so much as a word, and goes left Sayeen shakes his head and mutteres, " Fore shame, I had hoped that person had found my pen."

Now looking down the rifle's barrel he speaks softly with serious intent, " Friend you are tense, you took out a bunch of rock creatures. It is now plain to me a signature really is not warrented for this kind of dedication. For that I am truly sorry."
He points to the rifle, and tries his hardest to restrain his amusment out of respect for the dedication the cyberborg has shown by undertaking a complete conversion, but you can just tell his eyebrow is cocked ever so slightly with the teensiest amount of amusement.

" Son, from me to you a quick tip. You really cannot use rifles in close quarters. Now, your friend there has moved along, we might want to prepare to back him up so to speak." Liquid metal swarms out of Sayeen's chest and in a blink of eye it has covered him from head to toe in a slick silver sheen reinforcing his cyber knight armor. From his right hand a gleaming orange maul made from psychic energy springs forth. Only the maul is not completely orange. Swirls of white hot energy dance to and fro across the maul's head.

Absently and quite off handedly as if a stray thought rung out from the rifle smacking him in the face he says with all amusement gone, replaced with his normal gibbergabber drone, " I was thinking though, just now. I need to know your name. A signed photo would work better. My pappy left me this great camera, it was his great grandfathers, a prerift artifact. Now it would of course be just the two of us. I insist though on your name. My pappy told me never to take photograph with someone unless you know them. So just your name and when we get back to the castle I take care of the rest. Really it is the least I can do for you, we can even get this beautiful rifle in the frame."

Sayeen reaches out with his free hand offering it. Somehow he summons a feverish strength not normally in his voice bows slightly perhaps unlocking a subconscious gestalt image of an ancient ritual of bonding and friendship.
" I am Sir Sayeen Gabbersleaf, the elder and eldest of half-elves, we are well met."

Actions
Free action

• Cyber Armor: +2 toughness

• Psi-Maul

[Timothy Hernandez]

(rolls carried over)

Seeing the Cyber knight in action gives Timothy pause. Aww shit. Don't tell me he's a fucking Cyber Knight. Fucking half human. Not too many of them creates hammers though. Timothy tries to recall who this person is, with the unique mystical weapon. Smarts: [dice]0[/dice]

Timothy realizes that this person he is threatening is one of the very people he is supposed to help. God damit. You mean to tell me this talking asshole is the leader of the very group that we need to rescue? No fucking wonder they got caught.

Timothy, while looking into the cyber knights eyes will say "If you want the rest of your friends to be alive, shut up and let us do our job." With that, Timothy will lower his weapon, and walk towards fell.

"If he fucks with my systems so help me, you might be peeling him off whatever happens to be around. How many did you say was in the party?"