A Fast Exit — Legacy Forums — Strolen's Citadel

Re: A Fast Exit

#281

"I say we pull Jarvy out," Quan pitched in. "Can't tell from this vector exactly how deep the kid is, and he did give us a warning when he could have let us fry. We owe him the benefit of the doubt, at least.

"As for Yulo, may as well give 'im a chance to explain hisself. But I think our contracts are void as the black."

Re: A Fast Exit

#282

"Agreed" Autumn said in response to their input. "The Dessy should respond to verbal commands once the adaptive A.I is online, if the incoming ships prove friendly the A.I should adapt to not open fire as well regardless, but our verbal overrides should be accepted if need be."

She moved with haste towards the Liracor, making sure Sunny stayed close behind, and she pondered ideas for contacting Yulo.

"We could explain to him the Dessy was our baby now, and if he didn't stand down and relinquish control to Jarvis we'd punch in his ship to the Dessy's fire control solutions?" She offered as a quick concept. "Or we could imply re-board her once the mess with the new comers is sorted out and inform him in person of our contract cancellation and gather our personal effects?"

Re: A Fast Exit

#283

"Okay Quan, lets get this done. Need a hand with the robotics?"

Re: A Fast Exit

#284

Quan nodded. "Gonna try to make it as straightforward as possible. Rig up the controls, slave the pilot to the Lil', and we should be set."

Boarding the frigate - a pretty standard one, by the looks of her - Quan headed for the bridge. "Hey Irina," he said over the comm, "do me a favor and rig up one of your consoles for a virch pilot screen. Whatever standard setup you've got should be fine, and I'll beam the specs over when I get them loaded up."

From the frigate's bridge, Quan loaded up the main captain's console and moved through the appropriate screens. "Jer, see if you can't bypass some of the manual controls into whatever auto systems are in place. I hate to use 'em, but I might need to be driving two boats at once, and comp assist might make things easier. Probably get it through the pilot's rig over there." He turned his attention back to the main console and stroked it affectionately. "Alright, honey, let's see what you've got."

Rolling to rig the frigate with Mechanical Repair skill:
(10:26:21) Minion: Dozus rolls 1d100 and gets 42.

Re: A Fast Exit

#285

"On it." Jerome said, diving into the computer systems..

65% robotics engineering

11:48:00) Minion: valadaar rolls 1d100 and gets 65

Ooh, no exceptional success here :)

Re: A Fast Exit

#286

The Daedalus (42) was a standard Scout Service design - quick, durable, and designed for service in regions where ship theft was scarce, but repairs hard to come by.
It was modular, with redundant systems, easily replaced and re-wired components, and could be piloted from afar using a modified SlayStation 40K.

Ah, the SlayStation. Jerome thought. Me and my cousins spent hours shooting rebels, terrorists, fringers, separatists and mutants out of the virtual sky.

Quan was long done when Jerome got around to his task, slaving the autopilot to Quan's computer. The ship would respond like a smart toy - the AI was rudimentary, but akin to a good dog would run and fetch and sit and roll, or follow you without bumping into things.

It was almost empty, too, the pilot likely having come to salvage a thing or two while scouting the system; only a couple of crates were in the hold.

"We're good to go, girls!" Quan was finally able to say. "Still ten minutes left!"

Irina noticed that the arriving frigates were broadcasting, and the Prize replying on a coded frequency. Whatever they are up to?

Re: A Fast Exit

#287

"Excellent, you should make it back with a minute or two to spare." She told Quan over the comlink, giving sunny a thumbs up and Irina a nod.

"I'll be in engineering, give me an update on anything relevant, the repairs I made are serviceable but don't push too far into the red line or we'll be dead in space." She told Irina quickly padding towards the engineering deck.

"Quan, do you want priority power distribution to any specific system? Jerome, the belly guns got a nearly full magazine and a good firing arc, I'd recommend manning it rather than the side guns, I can't guarantee their status."

Re: A Fast Exit

#288

Striding across to one of the auxillary flight stations, Irina sat down and prepared the V-HUD. "You'll need to get me the access code to the cockpit controls and their ERC frequency so they can be entered here for your use."

Irina noticed that the arriving frigates were broadcasting, and the Prize replying on a coded frequency. Whatever they are up to?

"Artimisia, let's see if we can't listen in to that, maybe it'll help make sense of the situation." She moved from the auxillary station to one of the intelligence panels and made to breach the communications between the Hollen's Prize and the incoming vessals. Whatever you're up to, I'll soon know.

Opening up a private channel to Autumn, she told her of what she'd spotted, asking her to relay the information with the rest of the crew.

Roll against Hacking + Security Systems to listen in on the comm traffic between Yulo and the incoming ships. - (16:19:18) Minion: Kassy rolls 1d100 and gets 54.

Re: A Fast Exit

#289

Snarled at the new info, quickly keying her suit mic and filling Jerome and Quan in on Yulo's potential treachery.

"Irina is attempts to listen in on their communication, if the Liracor detected it you can bet the Dessy has as well, and likely has added the Prize to her list of targets."

Re: A Fast Exit

#290

Though suit to suit communications:

To: JARVIS

SUBJECT: Action Required

Body:

"You have 3 minutes to take control of the Prize. Some gear can be found _here_ with access code XYZ. END"

Re: A Fast Exit

#291

"Pump the aux into engines and thrusters," Quan replied to Autumn. "Shields, too. I guess drain from life support and sensors. Don't worry too much about weapons, this li'l lady's just going to be making a big show of laying down suppression. I plan to be gone by the time they notice it's just pinpricks."

Quan's stubby fingers moved across his screen. "I'm faxin' the codes over to you, Irina."

The V'rak made a sort of gurgle from deep in his throat in apparent dissatisfaction. "I was still kinda hopin' it would turn out to be a misunderstanding with Yulo. Not lookin' that way. Hope Jarvy can pull through for us."

Re: A Fast Exit

#292

Yulo was a sly old coot, and his encryption algorithms were too much for Irina and Artemisia to crack. "Military polymorphic software" the metal cat noted, right before cutting the connection. Polymorphic software could adapt and morph into something nasty that fried your system if you pushed too much.

I have to get better software tools, Irina noted. With the right sort of wrench and hammer, the job is always easier.

Jarvis texted back: "Is sneaky. Will get Prize. Am helping."
Briefly, nothing happened.
Then, the Prize hailed them; Jarvis' laboured breathing was audible on the comm: "I shot him dead, everybody! He's toast, the traitor!"
The tone changed from jubilant to puzzled: "There's something blinking on the back of his head..."
Then, Irina and Autumn had to hold their ears as a deafening detonation first almost burst their eardrums, and then silenced the comm.
The hell?

The bogeys appeared on visual, sleek frigates the hue of night, approaching from opposite vectors. The debris field had concealed them until now, but their deadly curves were visible in full glory now. New designs fresh out of the factory, the golden logo of the United Federation Corporate Security - or, FedCop to fringers - emblazoned boldly on their sides.
They were far out of their jurisdiction. All alone in the black of night. What corporate agenda had driven them here? They were not broadcasting any IFF, nor any of the pompous drivel the Feds spewed whenever in the fringe to highlight how very important and untouchable they were.

"Witness the wrath of Morskoi" the Desdemona whispered into their comm as her front armament came to life, particle streams as blinding streaks of white, lasers in angry red and grasers noticeable just as streams of ions in the darkness impacted the first frigate head-on into the wide open muzzle of her gravitic sheath.
She might have been cutting edge frigate, high-tech and modern, yes.
The Desdemona was a military cruiser of a nation that once had threatened the Federation itself, her prow armament firing in an alpha strike at point blank range.
For a brief moment, the shields of the approaching vessel flared from red to white, then the hull transitioned along the same spectrum, followed by the vivid blossoming flower of a reactor meltdown.

Encouraged by their success, Jerome and Quan launched the Daedalus with a malicious grin. Slowly gaining speed, the scout ship emerged from the hangar, setting a collision course with the second approaching frigate. The Daedalus' gravitic sheath was not yet up - they could not be engaged in a hangar - when she collided with the other spaceship. The FedCop vessel had its sheath engaged, and the spatial distortion carved up the scout vessel - cutting it into debris that impacted across the warship's prow, tearing gashes into the plating, ripping off an exposed beta coil, a part of its prow battery, and even had her trailing air from a torn compartment.

Their celebrations were cut short as the other frigate used the Desdemona's blind spot in her destroyed aft to enter. While Irina knew to move the cruiser well by using the docked Lilarcor, she could not do so swiftly.

"A fair warning" the AI spoke, "the foemen have dared to enter the hallowed ground that is my body. I will have primarily to defend the seat of my consciousness, as I am not yet ready to depart my ruined shell. My defenses will provide whatever aid they can."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtcnt_VkvGU

Re: A Fast Exit

#293

Jerome cursed.

"Irina, can you jar both ships, HARD? Everyone brace yourself. They will be in the process of unloading, and maybe we can get their ship to smash em up a bit as they board. Run retrorockets and primaries in matched output, then cut the primary enough for a 20G burst. Make sure you are fucking braced though unless you like new joints..."

Re: A Fast Exit

#294

Tango down, 1 remaining. The Morskoi ship was a bruiser and no mistake.

Her ears still rang with the blast of the exploding Prize, but she made her way straight to the pilots chair before strapping herself in and directing the Kotiri that it was probably best for them to find something to latch onto as well.

Firing up her Lilacor's engines she gave maximum power to the right thrusters aiming to give a jarring high velocity spin, hopefully just enough to deter the frigate's entry and maybe even enough to realign them to engage her. Realizing that this was not to be she did so regardless. This'll shake the fuckers up! Another blast to the second ship like the first would be enough to see them clear. Perhaps after this was over they could take the Desdemona, still attached to a nearby neutral or unaligned port and refit her.

Shame about the blast, it would have no doubt given valuable intel about what was going on. Why the Fed's weren't broadcasting their usual propaganda. The fellow they called Jarvis, he'd mentioned a blinking light on the back of the Captain's head. Cybernetics? Had he been controlled?

Another thing to upgrade and fix would be her ships intelligence station. They would need better kit if such a thing were to occur again.

"Witness the wrath of Morskoi"

Irina made a mental note to add that quote to her log entry once they'd cleared out.

Re: A Fast Exit

#295

The connected hulls of the ships creaked as Irina stepped on maximum impulse engine thrust. After all, they were connected by an airlock and the Desdemona's docking gear - and inertia worked even in zero gravity.
The Kotiri covered as the tortured metal groaned; the many-headed fellow even hid in the footspace under the control panel on the bridge, right next to Irina.
The rest of the crew just gritted their teeth and held onto the chairs as the seatbelts dug in. Maneuvers with the gravity compensator on sucked.

The joined ships spun around and tumbled through space - the intruders in the hangar likely experienced some turbulences as well. Damage warnings flashed across the Lilarcor's main display. Damage to the port hull, damage to the port airlock. Luckily the inside door held.
The Desdemona chimed in: "My docking gear is damaged. Central control over release is unavailable."
Lila: 2 Hull integrity points lost, 8 left.
Finally, Irina killed the thrust, leaving the Desdemona and Lilarcor spinning with no friction to slow them down; a far gentler reverse thrust brought them to a halt.

She gazed at the display - the frigate's reactor was still running, the Desdemona's as well, her inner drones were still operational.
Then, one of the small energy signatures petered out.

Re: A Fast Exit

#296

Then, Irina and Autumn had to hold their ears as a deafening detonation first almost burst their eardrums, and then silenced the comm.
The hell?

Autumn winced slightly as her sound cut off implants activated, removing the sound of the blast as soon as it crested unsafe levels.

"So much for Yulo and Jarvis." She growled softly, feeling only a slight regret at the Jarvis's demise, the man had felt slimy from the first meeting.

* * * * *

"Pump the aux into engines and thrusters," Quan replied to Autumn. "Shields, too. I guess drain from life support and sensors. Don't worry too much about weapons, this li'l lady's just going to be making a big show of laying down suppression. I plan to be gone by the time they notice it's just pinpricks."

"Understood." Autumn replied firmly, quickly routing power and diverting the minimal amount to life support and weapons, taking external sensors offline entirely. With the uplink to the Dessy they had tactical intel streaming in that put their sensors to shame anyway.

* * * * *

"Irina, can you jar both ships, HARD? Everyone brace yourself. They will be in the process of unloading, and maybe we can get their ship to smash em up a bit as they board. Run retrorockets and primaries in matched output, then cut the primary enough for a 20G burst. Make sure you are fucking braced though unless you like new joints..."

"I'll compensate with inertial dampeners to lessen the G force on our inhabited decks, the structure won;t like it though." She fair warned the crew, trsuting in Jerome's plan, and Irina's familiarity with the ship to see them safely through.

* * * * *

The joined ships spun around and tumbled through space - the intruders in the hangar likely experienced some turbulences as well. Damage warnings flashed across the Lilarcor's main display. Damage to the port hull, damage to the port airlock. Luckily the inside door held.

Autumn picked herself off the floor with a growl of discomfort, thankful for her bone lacing and muscle enhancements, padding towards the likely entrance points of the intruders at a cautious pace. "Irina, direct the crew to the airlocks in preparation to repel Borders, "Jerome I'll be assisting in the conflict at the primary Airlock."

Re: A Fast Exit

#297

Jerome followed and positioned his autosentries near the airlock.

"Can you locate any of the hostile entities? "

Jerome double-checked the seals on his suit and readied his little crawling grenades, heading towards the shuttle bay.

"I'm going to look at giving them something else to think about."

Re: A Fast Exit

#298

"Roger" Autumn told Jerome, quickly comming the Dessy and updating it's orders. "Begin live tactical update of all hostiles currently inside your hull, transmit to all currently surviving crews tactical H.U.D."

She quickly switched channel back and updated the crew. "Expect live tactical feeds from the Dessy A.I, if you need a hand Jerome just say the word."

Re: A Fast Exit

#299

"My internal sensors are in a sore state of disrepair" the Desdemona noted gravely, perhaps with a hint of embarrassment.
"Live feed starting" she added, and an image of her insides appeared in the corner of their vision. The intact sections were blue, the damaged ones red, and large expanses of grey told of the memory of parts the cruiser had lost.
Several angry red dots appeared in the scheme - the foemen, moving swiftly.

"Please coordinate your efforts with my defense drones. They will respond to verbal commands from your suits at the 106.6 frequency. Please record your voice samples."
Multiple blue dots appeared, progressing along corridors in a steady tempo.

"A sizable group is making rapid progress towards the Lilarcor along my outer starboard corridor."
"Another is heading towards my seat of consciousness."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMpjy6CAxKc

"The hostile vessel is guarded within and without by a skeleton crew."
"My apologies - my sensor grid may on occasion miss singular hostiles. I also possess multiple blind spots."
The Desdemona highlighted areas where she had no coverage.
"My drones are ready to assist. Further reinforcements will be available in 30 minutes."
She sighed then, a rare thing for an AI to do.
"The Swanmay is in the arriving escort. She may arrive sooner if I command, but I ask your understanding for not doing so - my people may still be alive on board, and I would not risk them without support."

Jerome sat down in the Lila's shuttle, a swift lightly armored skiff capable of carrying a dozen people or some goods. "The support is here."
The little crawling grenades beeped in anticipation.

Re: A Fast Exit

#300

"Diverting to Defend the Dassy's Main Core, if it goes down the Dessy's just a hulk and anti piracy fail safes my cause a self destruct. Sunny, Quan, with me, Irina coordinate the Liracor's defense. Understood Dessy, allow the Swanmay to arrive at her own speed, I agree the lives of our people on board are of importance." She barked out the commands in rapid succession, trusting Jerome to handle his own area without needing her input, and to countermand her orders if he saw a superior tactical opportunity.

Was the A.I testing my authenticity as Paladin Rhombus? Seeing if I would refer to Swanmay's people as hers rather than my own? After so long without input or maintenance the A.I could also be mechanically insane too.

Re: A Fast Exit

#301

"Copy that." Irina said, her voice holding a confidence in the new crews capabilities as she directed them to reinforce likely entry points, taking the opportunity to arm herself with the best possible weaponry she could acquire form the bridges small weapons locker, deciding to remain on the brig for the time being in the event the enemy made it past the Kotiri.

Fight to defend the ship and I'll help see you all home.

The above post was made by Silveressa, posting from Kassy's account during her absence with her permission.

Re: A Fast Exit

#302

Although not a shuttle pilot by training, these low speed manoeuvres were in line with the combat robots Jerome had directed in battle before.
Quite simply, the shuttle would engage autopilot, and make an unsafe docking in the exact same location as the intruder's frigate.

Or so he thought, the system was unfamiliar.

"Captain Irina, can you remotely control the Alpha shuttle? I don't have a handle on the autopilot, and I'd rather not crash it manually..."

"Take off, engage figure 8 course to get some speed up and full burn into the frigate. Impact in 2 minutes? I'm heading out ..Now."

Jerome de-pressurised the hanger bay, its doors now open to space. The shuttle was not the only thing being launched.

First stop, starboard. Need to find an appropriate rent in the hull, just before the boarding parties get there. EMP grenade, 6 second fuse should do it.

"Dessy, need a 20cm hole or therebouts in close proximity to the boarding party's expected position in 2 minutes.."

Hopefully a Shuttle explosion should occur about that time.

Jerome made his way out, manoeuvring thrusters and hand over hand making his way along the hull.

Before the shock of the grenade wore off, he'd fire a burst of heat-seeking rockets through another hole into the party.

"If you can get some drones to the starboard boarding party in 2 minutes, 10 seconds, they may be able to benefit from some distraction. Don't come early!"

Re: A Fast Exit

#303

"Can do." She said, settling herself into the auxiliary command chair and patching into the shuttle, laying in a quick figure 8 course ending with a hard docking on the enemy ships engines; and taking the safety limiters off the engine and reactor outputs, it wasn't like the imminent maintenance needs of the shuttle were going to matter 2 minutes from now.

"Two minutes.... Mark!" She shouted over the coms to Jerome, giving a smile of satisfaction.

(13:38:35) Minion: Kassy rolls 1d100 and gets 19.

The above post was made by Silveressa, posting from Kassy's account during her absence with her permission.

Re: A Fast Exit

#304

The shuttle (customized by the space scoundrels to differ highly from the standard issue Jerome was familiar with) obeyed Irina's commands readily - verily, she had been a space scoundrel far longer than the still rather upstanding Jerome. Her previous employment also had had some definite scoundrel-esque attributes.
"Got it" she let him know, kicking the shuttle's impulse drive into high gear. Having landed, the frigate did not have any shields up this time.

The Desdemona meanwhile, with an edge of indignation in her voice, reported a wide selection of hull breaches to Jerome.
Why did an AI display emotions like this anyway?

Wondering a bit, he found a suitable hole, saw the boarders approaching - heavy space suits, still more dextrous than genuine power armor, but with a distinct advantage in durability. And a distinct advantage in style, if you consider menacing gunmetal-and-gold designs to be stylish. The designer of the armors went for a 'man of steel' look, with a nod to their plutocratic masters with the intricate decoration hinting at opulence.

Shrugging, he tethered himself to a protruding pipe to compensate for the rifle's recoil.

Grinning at the idea of the troopers floating in space, their servomotors frozen by an electromagnetic burst, Jerome grinned and produced an EMP grenade. Nothing leveled the playing field like one of these babies - one flash, and the man with the shotgun may suddenly be the most lethal combatant in the engagement.
Catch.
Rolled a botch for you, feel free to thank me later :P EchoMirage rolls 1d100 and gets 97. EchoMirage rolls 1d6 and gets 6 - this one for unpleasantness.
With a sickening frizzzz and stroboscopic flashes, the faulty grenade exploded in the breach, hitting Jerome square in the middle of the burst and flashing the approaching team likewise.
"Oh crap."
The radio went out, his legs stopped giving feedback, the HUD went haywire and his artificial left lung would have a few things to say about such treatment as well. Were it responding, that is. At least he could find solace in the fact that one of the boarders shared his predicament.
The FedCops spread out in the search of the assailant when an explosion visibly rocked the Desdemona. Without further ado, they left their floating helpless comrade to his devices, and stormed on.
I leave it up to Jerome whether he wishes to fire the rifle in his situation.

***

Irina smirked as the shuttle hit home into the hangar, its front camera displaying several very surprised men around the frigate, then nothing.
"Jerome, got them! Jerome?"
"..."
"Kurwa."

***

Autumn was quickly followed by Sunny as they made progress towards the inner reaches of the Desdemona again. She had to have been a splendid vessel in her days of glory, the intricate carpeting, clever combination of wood and ivory replicas and polished metal more fitting for the palace of a fringe tyrant than a military craft.
An arachnid robot joined them with a nod of its sensor-studded 'head'.
"Unit C7 will arrive within one minute. The intruders are expected in 40 seconds."
"Jocular hopefulness: perhaps they suffer from arachnophobia?"
Rolling her eyes, Sunny slipped behind cover - the cruiser's core was akin to a fort, with concentrically spaced cover and firing arcs pointing outward.
"Heads down, here they come" she hissed, and the foemen advanced around the corner.
It was obvious they were not military men, but rather contracted enforcers. They were blissfully unaware of the defenders - the crew of the Hollen's would get the first shot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DL8lutHKpw

Re: A Fast Exit

#305

Jerome cursed silently in the vacuum.

No servomotors to cease, Jerome was still somewhat helpless.

He legs were flesh and bone up to his knees, so that wasn't too big a problem. The thrusters, CO2 scrubber and his right fucking lung being off where much bigger. Jerome decided not to complicate life with drawing additional fire so held his, instead running through the accident procedure for power loss in the space suit.

Reaching back to the O2 supply, he switched to manual override - old school scuba style. Would not last that long before CO2 reached toxic levels, but he set the o2 levels to higher than normal, partly to last longer, partly to compensate for his dropped breathing capacity.

Back to the shuttle bay - nothing to do otherwise. Propulsion? His hyperpneumatic pistol would have to serve. A nice blast of compressed nitrogen would be what the doctor ordered.

amage Control roll 20:57:42) Minion: valadaar rolls 1d100 and gets 4. Ok, can breath for a while.

20:58:10) Minion: valadaar rolls 1d100 and gets 6. And it would seem in good order to get back to the hanger. Guess will have to either punch the door or shoot it to get attention.

Re: A Fast Exit

#306

"Hit them with everything you have, overwhelming display of aggression should push them into retreat, especially if they're not being paid enough to deal with the level of hostility we present." She kept her voice low, aiming with her hand cannon from behind a firing port at the center mass of what appeared to be the leader.

"Fire!" With a squeeze of the trigger she discharged her first charge round, adjusting for accuracy and triggering off two more shots, hoping to down at least one of them.

Rolls for her 3 shots
(23:56:21) Minion: Silveressa rolls 1d100 and gets 67.
(23:56:26) Minion: Silveressa rolls 1d100 and gets 30.
(23:57:58) Minion: Silveressa rolls 1d100 and gets 77.

Re: A Fast Exit

#307

The muzzle flashes without sound were surreal as Autumn, Helia and the jocular drone opened fire. With no gravity and no air resistance, every shot went perfectly straight - only the recoil let them know that the laws of physics were still in effect. Recoil, and the impacts of the bullets against their foes.

Helia sprayed the advancing borders with a hail of flechettes - not poisonous, but any tear in the suit was a dire problem. Geysers of leaking air erupted from the group as the needles punctured weak spots in the armors.
6 hits by Sunny. Not immediately lethal, but...
The arachnid stoically stepped over their cover, advancing upon the policemen, the rotating barrels of its weapons dispensing armor-piercing shells with wild abandon.
Was it deliberately drawing fire from the two?
Under its assault, a handful of black-clad spacers turned into a fine mist, while the others sought whatever sparse cover could be found in the kill zone.
Most troopers lost their wits in blind panic, except for their captain, who knelt, hoisting his rocket rifle, and placed an aimed shot in the drone's undercarriage. It swelled with exothermic indigestion, then scattered its components across the corridor.

Autumn used the opportunity to place a well aimed shot in the captain's chest, sending him sprawling. Was he dead? He could not know.

"Hold them up longer please. My other minion is advancing on their position."

Re: A Fast Exit

#308

Jerome made slow progress, luckily undetected. The lung began to reboot, the rest of the equipment being less responsive to his pleas though.
The aft airlock let him inside the Lila, while the commando attempted to override the damaged airlock.
Can't hack what's ruined, idiots.

Slower than Jerome, they came to the same conclusion, and left the confines of the Desdemona to advance along the Lilarcor's outer hull. Its turrets were along the bottom, so they continued unimpeded across the ship's back, carrying a crate with an unmistakable radiation sign.
"Calling whatever inbred hillbilly currently runs this rustbucket. This is sergeant Smithers of the United Federation Corporate Security. Cease all resistance, and switch the airlock to local control, otherwise we blow this excuse for a ship out of space."

Re: A Fast Exit

#309

"Calling whatever inbred hillbilly currently runs this rustbucket. This is sergeant Smithers of the United Federation Corporate Security. Cease all resistance, and switch the airlock to local control, otherwise we blow this excuse for a ship out of space."

"Try it and your captain's corpse will be waiting for you near your airlock." She told the Sergeant, putting enough menace and conviction in her tone she hoped it would convince him to stay his hand, especially if the Captain was the sergeants friend or better yet, a relative of some sort, or romantic partner.

"Understood, will continue suppression." Autumn told the A.I, firing off two more heavy charge pistol rounds at visible targets before flicking her hand cannon over to the single shot of flechette's, aiming towards the largest cluster of remaining enemies as they dared emerge from cover, before firing off the charge round.

(13:49:21) Minion: Silveressa rolls 1d100 and gets 3. (for her threat to the Sergeant)
(13:50:25) Minion: Silveressa rolls 1d100 and gets 81. (For her two pistol shots at visible targets)
(13:50:33) Minion: Silveressa rolls 1d100 and gets 20. (For her Flechette shot at the biggest cluster of foes as they emerged from cover.

Re: A Fast Exit

#310

Jerome sighed once more, Back into the Breach once more.

He began to work his way towards the intruders and their bomb, hoping to hell it wasn't equipped with a dead man's switch.

Too much blood had been shed for diplomacy. Now it remained only to kill or be killed.

"Captain, will attempt to disrupt the bomb. Please confirm, contact will be soon. Over."

He made some adjustments to the sensitivity of the RR's IR targeting - not too necessary, a space suit couldn't help but have hot spots if it wasn't going to be a stove for its occupant.

He also ran a diagnostics check on one of his legged grenades - one of these crawling on the hull might distract them, or even kill them if they missed it.

Or he could try another of those damn EMP grenades...

Re: A Fast Exit

#311

The rifle re-booted, but soon its IR settings were adjusted. About one half of the walker grenades were shorted out rather thoroughly, the rest seemed operational. All of the EMPs though blinked happily, capacitors charged - perhaps to blow up in Jerome's face once more?

Re: A Fast Exit

#312

The floored captain attempted to reach for a sidearm under the pretense of applying a seal to his damaged suit - yet the action did not escape Autumn, who somersaulted over to him, her bestial reflexes unmatched by the civilized man. With her magnetic boot, she kicked the gun out of his hand, broke his wrist with a sickening crunch and kicked his faceplate for good measure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npUo36gRJx0

Absent-mindedly, she fired a few shots into the corridor, but it was Sunny who chased the rest of the commando back with the flechette. Luckily so many of them were busy with fixing the pierced suits that the few who dared to come to the captain's rescue were repelled by another flechette salvo, and withdrew to fix their suits.
"Take that, Federate scum!" the redhead vented her anger. "You didn't expect resistance, just a scant few frightened fringers?"

Smithers came through on the comm, a far more diplomatic tone this time. "We wouldn't do anything hasty now, would we? We are legitimate authority - please release captain Jenkins, allow us to search the vessel, and we will not need to use the bomb."

That's when Sunny's triumphant cries were replaced by a gasp of surprise, then a hushed "they've got me".
Autumn cautiously turned around, holding the shotgun to the captain's head.

A lone FedCop was holding Sunny fast, using her as cover, a long monowire blade under her throat.
"You are surrounded. Release Jenkins, and you will only be arrested. Otherwise, the wench dies!" an implacably cold female voice commanded.

Sunny whispered: "Shoot, Autumn, shoot!"

Re: A Fast Exit

#313

"Jerome can you verify the presence of a bomb near the Liracor? Jerome?" She repeated the message a second time hoping to get a message through on his emergency back up suit radio when he didn't respond via the regular channel, keeping the hand cannon firmly pressed against the captains helmet.

"Dessy, open fire with the reinforcement drone upon any remaining hostiles as soon as I give the signal, Quan, back me up." She told them, slowly sliding her empty hand upwards along the captains suit as if getting a better grip on her own hostage..

"With an offer like that how could I refuse?" She told the cold voiced woman with a soft purring growl.

Sunny whispered: "Shoot, Autumn, shoot!"

I hope you know what your doing Sunny, and my trust in you isn't about to get us both killed.

With a flick of her wrist she grabbed the captains side arm, pulling it from its holster and firing in one fluid motion aiming for the hand holding the mono blade, hoping the quick draw by her formerly weaponless hand would catch the woman off guard, and the shot would buy Sunny time to escape and she was correct in her order to shoot.

"Now!"

Electronics check for contacting Jerome via radio, despite his EMP fried suit:
(18:26:24) Minion: Silveressa rolls 1d100 and gets 94.

Tactics/Leadership for coordinating the attack with the Dessy's reinforcement robot and Quan:
(18:26:28) Minion: Silveressa rolls 1d100 and gets 55.

Pistol skill for drawing the captains pistol and shooting the woman holding Sunny hostage:
(18:26:49) Minion: Silveressa rolls 1d100 and gets 19.

Re: A Fast Exit

#314

There wasn't a cat in Hell's chance of them surrendering the Lilacor. Especially not to these FedCops.

Breaking into the conversation now would be pointless, and likely to make worse an already unstable situation. When standard diplomacy fails...

Checking that she still had her sidearm with her, Irina made her way toward the airlock connecting them to the Desdemona. Arriving in chamber before the airlock she went over to the racks and quickly changed into a light suit, manouverability being better protection to her than something heavier.

As the helmet seal clicked into place, she approached the airlock, ready to key in the code which would allow her to pass through and aid her comrades aboard the Desdemona.

Opening up a secure channel to Autumn she whispered, "I'm on my way to help, I'll try getting around them. Anything I need to know?"

As she finished getting on the suit she noticed the damaged airlock. Bugger! Of course the airlock would be non-operational after her jarring burst. Woman, you really need to pull yourself together, there's no time here..

She struggled to get out of the suit and into an EVA as quickly as she could, but without rushing it. After all, she'd be no good to them if she forgot to close a seal.

With the EVA suit on, she checked her sidearm, replacing fired off rounds with new ones.

Re: A Fast Exit

#315

Jerome realized he was talking into a dead circuit. He was on his own.

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
"Forward, the Light Brigade!
"Charge for the guns!" he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Well, one.

Jerome decided to give it all a go. The Gernades were ordered to scramble over the hull and engage ((12:03:59) Minion: valadaar rolls 1d100 and gets 10.). Jerome watched them go. He was a believer in hitting from multiple directions if possible, and these bots might draw the enemy's attention from his incoming rockets.

EMP gernade #2 had its pin pulled out, and Jerome held it under the Rifle. If he fell, the grenade would go of too shortly therafter, and hopefully scramble the bombs electronics even if he failed.

Kicking himself into motion, as soon as he judged his rockets would find the attackers, he fired..

(12:02:47) Minion: valadaar rolls 1d100 and gets 39.

Re: A Fast Exit

#316

Now wearing the proper protection for her journey across to the Desdemona, Irina made her way quickly to the Lilacor's shuttle bay.

Upon arrival she once more checked over her suit, making sure that everything worked before making her way to the smaller airlock, the one made for personnel. Once inside she sealed herself off from the rest of the ship and opened the outer door, the weightlessness took her instantly.

Once she was outside she carefully closed the door again and the slowly turned around, using her suits thrusters to get her across to the hole in the Desdemona's rear.

Re: A Fast Exit

#317

Sunny's face was strained; Autumn could see her cheeks going pale, mouth twitching, eyes rolling back into her head.

What the...

A burst of thought washed over her and Quan - images of drop ships overhead, napalm and thermite raining from the skies, of jungle echoing with the cries of the dead. A hospital, its floors awash with blood and halls filled with gunfire. Running nurses - Sunny's kin easily discernible by their head tendrils. Hiding in corners. Biting a soldier's neck with your fangs, tearing out his throat, seizing his rifle. A camera feed of a child, guns pointed at its head. The trigger to an explosive charge in your hand, hesitation. You push the trigger. A descending Overlord dropship goes up in flame; the soldiers are first stunned, then shoot the child. The vision goes blurry with tears, the pain of loss palpable, the rage choking.

Suffering makes you stronger.

Autumn saw Sunny smiling as her captor staggered for a while longer than the hound. With surgical precision, Autumn lined up the recently acquired pistol and turned the assailant's head into a crimson flower on the wall.
Quan fired from cover at the advancing FedCops, taking down one who was too daring - but when he changed magazines, they charged around the corner, intent on seizing their position!
Akin to the shadow of death, the expected drone slipped from a side corridor behind them, lining up to fire; its neglected plasma gun turned into a ball of flame, ripping out half of its hull, while its machine gun walked its path of destruction across the men, leaving weightless trails of frozen blood behind their backs. With one of its arachnid legs, it speared a boarder, discarding him with a vigorous shake; the spouting blood immediately froze into scarlet slivers in an ever-expanding cloud.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyWm3SXBIyM
The attention of the remaining six men was focused on the metal arachnid, their guns blazing, their backs turned to the crew of the Hollen's in the empty hall.
The ancient automaton shook under the combined gunfire like a snake withing in flames, before crumpling to the ground.

***

Utterly preoccupied with the bomb at hand and stunned by the creams they heard over the comm, the boarders did not notice Jerome as his deadly minions scrambled up the hull; they did not think to turn as he aimed the rocket rifle, and laid fire into their midst. Synchronized with the blast of the grenades, the men died, or were cast into space, spinning like cast rag dolls, their screams not strong enough to cross the gulf of space.
Serves you well - how dare you call yourself 'Federate'! Once, the Federation stood for something - now it sends swine as you into reaches of space!

***

Irina scampered through a hole in the hull, and barged in from behind to see Autumn, Quan and Sunny behind metal walls, reloading, while a storm of gunfire flew above their heads. The FedCops were getting desperate and really, really mad.

Re: A Fast Exit

#318

Autumn felt a swell of emotion as the images flooded her mind, view Sunny with a new found mixture of sadness and respect, the understanding leaving her momentarily speechless as she administered the coup de grace to the cold voiced woman, spinning to use the captain as an impromptu body shield as she shot the remaining Fed Com soldiers in the back without hesitation, seeing no reason to give them an opportunity to refocus their attention on her crew.

Opening up a secure channel to Autumn Irina whispered, "I'm on my way to help, I'll try getting around them. Anything I need to know?"

"Six hostiles in a cross fire between us and one of the Dessy's drones, approach from the drones aft side, they;re about to refocus on us and you should have a clear shot up their backsides." She told Irina with a soft growl, emptying the captain magazine in a string of suppression fire

For her opening shots into the surviving hostiles backs:(16:48:45) Minion: Silveressa rolls 1d100 and gets 59.
For her suppression fire against any remaining targets to buy time for Irina to get in position and catch them in a cross fire. (16:48:51) Minion: Silveressa rolls 1d100 and gets 32.

Re: A Fast Exit

#319

Jerome panted painfully, his good lung out of sync with the artificial one which did not take into account emotional stress. The others had no idea how big a bullet they just dodged.

He moved up to the bomb, and bracing himself, pushed the damn thing away from both the Dessy and Liracor with his foot. He thought briefly of stuffing it in the enemy frigate's engines but thought better of it.

That done, he snagged any loose weapons floating in arms reach and moved to reenter the Liracor. He was getting tired of spacewalking..

Re: A Fast Exit

#320

The Federates were storming their position, dodging with desperate speed the hail of bullets Autumn dispensed. With great vengeance and fury they descended upon the embattled trio when Irina stormed the rear ranks, calmly bracing against the ruins of the drone they just had passed, and peppering the embattled men with well-placed shots. Her eyes were sharp, the hand steady, the heart calm and aim flawless.
Two of the men went down without ever knowing what hit them, the escaping atmosphere from their suits glazing the cold metal with a haze of frost.

Then, they were over the cover and upon the crew of the Hollen's Prize.

***

Casually, Jerome snatched at the nearest gun before it could float away. A Melter? Was it Christmas already? He shuddered when he reminisced about the usual impact of Melter weaponry usually had on human subjects, light vehicles, heavy vehicles, and the occasional annoying fortification. From fifty yards, the concentrated beam of plasma tranferred all the rage of a furious sun to a spot of your choosing. Beyond that, you could be waving a stick at the foemen for the same effect. It made you a target, got you arrested on the less lenient worlds, and guzzled power sufficiently to drive preservationists crazy, true. But it looked positively deadly, glowed, and packed a punch beyond compare.

Jerome grinned. The first time out of the military that he had a really nice toy.

***

Quan gasped as a rifle stock impacted his abdomen, vomiting inside his helmet; the second strike to the head robbed him of his consciousness, mercifully so.
The FedCops leaped over the barricade like possessed, firing from mid-air, the recoil spinning them around. By chance more than by skill, one bullet grazed Autumn, drawing blood and air from her suit.
Is this how it ends?
She gazed at Sunny, a question in her eyes - but the Veradani shook her head as her needler sung its unheard song. Up close, the shards were much more eager, their cloud dense, stripping the suits and flesh from surprised men until the magazine clicked empty.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_nEi2SjrOk

The last two were standing, weapons drawn, ready to kill, their faces beyond the face-plates stricken with fear and wrath.