Endgame

MM Note: If I'm not mistaken, you can hit it from E4, but because it's 3 squares away instead of 2 (the optimal range of your Carbine), you'll be docked 1 success on your Weapon Check. You can hit it from there, you'd just be less effective.

"Evidence, that's what we were collecting? Who are we gonna present it to, Kristal Ice if we get bagged?" Decker put his hands on his hips and assessed the situation. "Burning it is as good an option as we might ever get, though. We have the fuel to burn this thing up real good too... and, well, Sigrun, there's no chance we can drag this thing outta here, right? If not... Let's light 'em up!"

The party rushes into the chamber and the O'Kor'uk police officer finally takes note of them. He scowls in their direction. "Wastelanders!" He hisses. "You might as well leave me to the Enchidira. But you don't look like the locals... And that Rampart Shield..." The police officer murmurs, notcing Max's gear. "If you're the type that wants me dead, put me down so I don't have to go out to some fucking jellyfish. Otherwise, a little help would go a LONG way here." The other beasts catch scent of the charging in agents. It seems like the fray was about to get a lot more hectic. Agents, Prepare For Battle! Initiative Check (Agents): Max: (5, 6) Two Successes Valesia: (2, 6) One Successes Soren: (5, 3) One Success Officer: (1) Zero Successes Turn Order: Max, then Valesia/Soren, then the Officer Initiative Check (Foes): Enchidirus Grande: (5, 1, 5) Two successes Enchidirus A: (2, 2) Zero successes Enchidirus B: (5, 2) 1 success Unknown Organism?: (6) 1 success Turn Order: Enchidirus Grande, Enchidirus B/Unknown Organism?, Enchidirus A Foes: Enchidirus Grande [Intel: Weak to Cold! +1 successes towards any Elemental attack directed towards them]Vitality: 8/11Velocity: 3Strength: 1Skill: 2Smarts: 1Spirit: 2/2Proficiencies: Survival 2, Nature 3, Melee Weapons 1Known Spells: Elemental Evocation, Velocity AmplificationEquipment: Sharp Fangs (Standard Melee Kinetic Weapon), Golden Gelatinous Hide (Standard Energy/Kinetic Armor) Drops: Golden Gelatinous Hide Enchidirus A [Intel: Weak to Cold! +1 successes towards any Elemental attack directed towards them]Vitality: 4/5Velocity: 2Strength: 1Skill: 1Smarts: 1 Spirit: 2/2Proficiencies: Survival 2, Nature 2, Melee Weapons 2Known Spells: Elemental EvocationEquipment: Sharp Fangs (Standard Melee Kinetic Weapon), Gelatinous Hide (Standard Energy Armor) Drops: Nanite Elixir Enchidirus B [Intel: Weak to Cold! +1 successes towards any Elemental attack directed towards them]Vitality: 5/5Velocity: 2Strength: 1Skill: 1Smarts: 1Spirit: 2/2Proficiencies: Survival 2, Nature 2, Melee Weapons 2Known Spells: Elemental EvocationEquipment: Sharp Fangs (Standard Melee Kinetic Weapon), Gelatinous Hide (Standard Energy Armor) Drops: Plasma Potion Unknown Organism? [Cowardly - Flees When Vitality Hits 3 or Below]Vitality: 8/10Velocity: 1Strength: 3Skill: 1Smarts: 2Proficiencies: Athletics 1, Acrobatics 1, Stealth 1, Short Range Weapons 1Equipment: Whip Tail (Calibrated Short Range Weapon) Drops: Whip Tail Rusted Coolant Pipe Vitality: 2/5 Velocity: 0 (It's a pipe.) Proficiencies: Getting coolant From Point A to Point B Equipment: Sturdy Alloy (Reinforced (+3) Energy/Elemental Armor) Upon Breaking: ??? The Agents Maximilian Vetre (Alix)44 cycles old Male ElfCharacter Points: 2/12Vitality: 6/6Velocity: 2Strength: 3Skill: 2Smarts: 1Proficiencies: Explosives 2, Occult 1, Short Range Weapons 2Credits: 10Equipment: D-KA Carbine (Standard Kinetic Short Range Weapon), Rampart Kinetic Shield (Standard Kinetic Armor), Energy CellInventory: 2 Hydrocobalt ShardsLocker: Empty Valesia (Waterbrick Down)110 Year Old Female CladrasithCharacter Points: 2/15Vitality: 5/5Velocity: 2Strength: 1Skill: 2Smarts: 1Spirit: 3/3Proficiencies: Insight 1, Medicine 1, Nature 3Known Spells: Elemental Evocation, Healing Light, Mystic Binding, Photonic ManipulationCredits: 70Equipment: Holo-scroll, Chef's Kit (Standard Kinetic Melee Weapon)Inventory: Ætherbrew, Essence of Precaution Locker: Soren Aeolus (The Legonater) 31-year-old male Human Character Points: 3/17 Vitality: 5/5 Velocity: 2 Strength: 1 Skill: 3 Smarts: 2 Spirit: 2 Proficiencies: Nature 1, Insight 1, Piloting 2, Short-Range Weapons 2 Spells: Elemental Evocation, Mystic Binding Equipment: MK-12 personal handgun (short-ranged calibrated energy weapon), Farsight Goggles, Hacking Chip, Plasma Potion, Energy Cell Credits: 10 Allies: [Acts On His Own...but might hear you out.] Officer In Distress??? Cycles Old O'Kor'ukVitality: 4/8Velocity: 2Strength: 2Skill: 3Smarts: 1Proficiencies: Long Range Weapons 2, Athletics 1, Intimidation 1, Survival 2Credits: 20Equipment: Distinguished Corvanis Peacekeeper (Calibrated Energy Long Range Weapon), Riot Gear (Standard Kinetic Armor)Inventory: Farsight Goggles, Steel Blade (Standard Kinetic Melee Weapon), Plasma Potion x2Locker: Empty

Eh, they keep to themselves unless they get cloned or Phazon'ed, you'll be fine.

What's a Progg? (Not accidental. All things in due time. )

Valesia and Max press forward, ducking under a few loose pipes to round the corner as Soren completes his inspection of the scorch marks. There, they see the source of all of the blaster fire and ruckus... An O'Kor'Uk in Savior City Police uniform was cornered, desperately trying to fend off a pack of creatures. Judging by the appearance of a few of them, it must've been the Enchidira that Aileen had spoken of. Fanged, gelatinous creatures, drifting through the air like helium balloons... Before lunging, fangs bared, with surprising speed. The police officer was managing to remain largely unscathed, but was strafing with a noticeable hobble. The muzzle of his blaster was steaming, adding more certainty to just where the sound of gunfire was coming from. He was in danger, but hadn't noticed either of the agents yet. What would the party do?

"That's good to know in case we wanna make fireworks, whether for this thing or jus' later on, y'know?" Exercising a little bit of care, Decker moves to the corpse and tries to see if the serrated edge of his boomerang could sever a claw.

Soren Insight Check: (5, 2, 5, 6) vs DC 3: 3 successes, check met. Running his hands along the wall, Soren can just barely feel a fine grain that ran across the scorched metal surface, spanning horizontally across, running from the outside in. The entire checkered panel of wall, and indeed the rest of the metal surrounding the breach, had the exact same grain, weathered on top of the absolutely bizarre scorch pattern. The scorch patterns themselves suggested something akin to blaster fire, and the shared grain implied that whatever breached the this submarine and sunk it all those years ago... was a single shot directly to the hull, leaving the strange burn marks in its wake.

Walking away from the skiff and the speeder bike, the party makes their way into the derelict submarine. Keeping his wits about him, Soren scans across the sandy horizon, and takes a glance at every nook and cranny on the facade of the land-locked submersible. Soren Insight Check: (1, 1, 6, 4) vs DC 2: 2 successes, check met. But no matter where he looked or scrutinized, Soren could not find any recent attempts at deliberate manmade sabotage. The submarine's every bolt and rivet groaned and shuddered under the desert wind, and that made it unsafe, true... But as far as the agent could tell there were no traps laid. But there were points of interest. Walking through the breach in the submarine's hull, something about the wall was odd: Whatever punched a hole in the submarine did something very odd to the surrounding metal panels. The inner wall of the submarine was scorched in a strange checkerboard pattern, some patches of metal singed black, others burnt into a gleaming silver. Judging by the strangeness of the burn patterns to the proximity of the breach, the two appeared to be related. Walking into the submarine and funneled down a narrow passage, the party eventually finds themselves in a room with empty fuel cells on the wall. The metal floors of the submarine had collapsed and partially sunk into the sand, every step the party was taking kicking up plumes of sand in the confined husk of the submarine. The fuel cells displayed a similar oddity: Instead of being leaky, corroded, partially full, or shattered, they were totally empty. Burnt into the glass casing of the submarine's fuel cells was the similar checkerboard static pattern seen burnt into the wall by the breach. In the sand in the room, the faint outlines of a single set footprints remained. And in the near distance, the sound of a blaster firing and creatures hissing echoed through the derelict's tinny passageways. Whatever was making the noise, it was close. What would the party do?

Decker tightens the straps of his mask, trying to seal out as much new air as possible. Drake carcass. Eurgh! "And the vents probably broadcasted this thing's scent to the entire damn planet. No wonder why everything has been feasting away. Well, I'd rather dispose of it than kill it." Decker thinks for a moment. "Probably too big to tie to the sled and drag off, ain't it. Uh, can we... Well, do we object to the idea of blowing it up in principle, or just blowing it up and getting caught? If we could find some way to make a fuse, give ourselves some time ta scamper outta here, before the big bang?"

Soren walks up to speeder bike, and recognizing the manufacturer from his knowledge of piloting, (5, 5, 4, 6, 3) 4 successes vs DC 1, success knows were to look on the chassis for the manufacturer information. Sure enough, on a small plate underneath the fuselage, was some engraved text identifying this speeder as the property of the Savior City police force. The bike even bore the force's insignia. It was strange, seeing someone from the Force so far removed from the city... The blaster fire from inside the derelict continues, the pace picking up. Something was going on here.

Their business in Vurenia concluded and the mythos of Invictus looming large, the party returns to their skiff (now lighter and driving faster, without the weight of one of the antennas weighing the skiff down!) and drive South towards the Sunken Derelict. It takes about an hour, but the agents soon find their next stop. The green light on the dashboard of the skiff was already pinging rapidly, indicating that this was an acceptable spot to place down the antenna, but taking in the scenery, something about the derelict seemed odd... The massive sunken submarine was now caked in sand and dirt, tipping slightly towards the party. The yawning structure creaked and moaned as if it may tip over and capsize at any moment, but in truth, it had been like that for years - ever since the Gate Collapse blew the oceans sky high. There was clearly some patchwork repairs done, likely done by wastelanders who used to live there, but the most striking feature was the giant hole in the side of the submarine, that pierced it from one side of the hull to the other. Something about it looked odd, but it was hard to tell at the current distance. Above the sounds of metallic decay and desert winds was the sharp noise of blaster fire from within the derelict. Just one, going off over and over, with nobody and nothing firing back... Another point of notice was the speeder bike parked next to the Skiff. Just at a glance, before any major inspection, the bike looked rather kitted out and well maintained. What would the agents do?

"I think northeast isn't a bad idea... Although..." Decker thinks for a moment. "Thermal imaging in a cold tundra means any of us are gonna stand out like a sore thumb against this snow, yeah? Except... Polaris, is there any way you can hide inside M.I.L.E.S to hide ya, or maybe send them out on their own, to check out one of the fields? They shouldn't really HAVE a heat signature, right?" I am aware this is cheating and expect to be struck down but you can't blame a man for trying.

While waiting for Aysu to report her findings, Decker scans the skyline and the horizon, looking for any sign of patrol drones or any other surveillance equipment roaming above them. "Sigrun, these drones, do they getcha by sight or sound, or what? They known to be hostile, or do they just throw the alarm and send in some Kristal goons to rough us up?"

"The Enchidira are a... they used to be sea-faring creatures, actually, I think. Some of the science people we managed to retain tried explaining this to me once and it went right over my head. Jellyfish looking things. Not fun to deal with. I hear they hate the cold, though." "They gotta have something. Right? If someone wasn't calling the shots they would've collapsed by now..." "It sounded like Invictus himself. Whenever we managed to get a holoscreen working once in a blue moon, before the weather knocks out the signal again, sometimes you see a documentary on the war and the Gate Collapse or whatever. Especially around this time of the cycle when we're right around the Day of Desolation. You see the footage, you hear about the stories... One round from his arm cannon and he managed to shoot down two ships, or so they say. Guy's a damn urban legend at this point. Yeah, I'm rambling. Point is, sounded like him, and those Conqueror's Kin oddballs like to play his static. They think it'll bring him back from the dead or whatever." Aileen and Valesia arrive on the scene. "You're free to enter. Cause no trouble. ...And, thank you again for your services." The party finally gets to drive through the gate, and the transponder on the dashboard soon starts pinging madly, indicating that this was the spot to set up. It was a dusty little corner of Vurenia. Some sort of water refill station. An older woman and a young child walked up to the guard and presented some sort of papers before the armed man stepped aside, allowing them entry. They fill their water jugs and start to depart as the party manages to prop up and turn on the first antenna. "...I am... Paragon... was... he..." The signal was getting clearer. One of two antennas was erected! Was the party ready to head South to the derelict, or did they have other business to attend to?

"Well, that's somethin' of a pickle, now ain't it," Decker observes. "I don't know if I'd rather deal with a living Frost Drake, or all of the animals who have gotten bold gorging on it." Decker listens intently to Sigrun and thinks about how they want to approach this. "So the question I am asking myself is, where would've Kristal Ice killed this thing? As soon as it dropped dead I bet they just left the carcass, from what you said. Which of the four fields would you say Kristal would most intently want to defend, 'cause they had the most Credits poured into it? If you were going to post a bunch of guys to kill a Drake, you'd put 'em in front of your most valuable assets, no...?"

"The derelict? Ah. A bit. It sunk before the Gate Collapse, not after, and got revealed when the oceans got blasted away. It used to be home to another small settlement. However, scrappers came and picked the sub dry, and just like that, those people lost their home. We took in a few years and years back, and the rest just wandered off into the wastes... Nowadays, the place is only home to Enchidira. One of the more persistent desert pests. Do you want me to show you back to your group, now? They might still be waiting for you." "This one started well after he died. I guess getting vaporized in the hugest explosion since the Big Bang makes you a martyr or something."

Terra looks awestruck. "I, I don't know what to say... Thank you. Really." "You better listen to the doctor's orders now. She clearly knows what she's doing." Aileen turns to Valesia, taking the Plasma Potion. Her voice betrayed her gratitude even if the mask concealed it. "You... You're in touch with things I'm not, clearly. To be able to perceive all that..." Aileen shakes her head and offers Valesia 15 credits. "It's not much. It doesn't cover everything you did just now. But I'd be unfair if I didn't compensate you at least a bit." "What, you think I can tune this thing for ya? No. You two may not be from this System, but when it comes to Nendara, either the atmosphere is screwing with your equipment - which is possible - or Invictus is - which isn't possible, 'cause the guy got vaporized , what, 16 years ago now." "Good. Stay out of their business. They may look up to Invictus but they're even crazier than he was." "Some whackjob cult that started when a bunch of people who idolized Invictus, despite, y'know, never once meeting him, met up over the Aethernet and got mingling. It's the oddest damn thing. People violently against the Five Year War looked up to him because he relentlessly attacked both sides. They thought he was some sort of... Anarchist icon. He's been dead forever and he still has his weird little following."

"Beat me too." Tanabe laughs. He keeps listening in, and even under the mask his body language suggests befuddlement. He snaps his fingers when he finally places it. "So you're just hired help, yeah...? You don't look like labcoat types. I'm sure your thingy is acting normal, but, well, I was just trying to place where I've heard a noise like that before. You're not one of those Conqueror's Kin weirdos, right...?" "Huh? What do they have me on, who are you, where is there a tree in the medbay?" Medical Knowledge Check: (5, 4, 1, 6) vs DC 1 - 3 successes, passed! Valesia determines that it would take some heavy concentration, but the wounds that Terra had suffered didn't look too much unlike her own. The shape and size of the gash... Terra had been caught by the drill of a HC-288, just like Valesia did. That meant she could transfer what she already knew about healing such wounds. She gives Sustaining Healing a try... Sustaining Healing - (6, 6, 1) - Terra is substantially healed. Valesia's magic pools into the gaps in Terra's hand. She watches wide eyed, wincing in pain a little bit at first, as her skin starts to mend. And then, the holes close, and the woman is able to curl her fingers up into a fist. She clenches her hand, unclenches, clenches again, looking up at the Cladrasith. "They, they told me I wouldn't ever be able to use this hand again..." "Now there's something impressive," Aileen murmurs. "Where did you learn that one?"

"Your assistance is... Much appreciated. Tanabe, show these two back to their skiffs. Valesia, I'll take you to the medbay." Tanabe walks Soren and Max back to the front of the settlement, where the skiffs were still parked, no worse for wear. "See? Not a dent. We took good care of you guys." A green light on the skiff's dashboard was blinking, indicating that the skiff was near where the antenna had to be set up. Now that they had Aileen's blessing, they could drive into town and set up the equipment at their leisure. The sniper in the tower kept their red dot trained on the skiffs all the same as Soren and Max inspect the vehicles. "Hey! Outsiders! One of your machines wouldn't shut up! I had half a mind to take a shot at it..." Indeed, one of the antennas was reacting... "...Invi... eve... ago..." "That's some weird weather equipment, fellas. What's it even... What's it even saying?" Tanabe says, looking at the device, puzzled. --- Meanwhile, Valesia is led by AIleen across another rampart, into a frankly undersized and understocked medbay. The patient in question laid wincing in a scratchy, undersized makeshift bed. Painkillers, disinfectants, and bandages. That's all this place had to its name in terms of medical supplies. Meanwhile, poor Terra had to keep her leg elevated, her left leg badly seemingly badly injured the way it was being kept elevated. The real offender was her hand, caked in blood, dangling limply from her wrist. Her fingers hung loosely from the same hand... It resembled a marionette with one of its strings cut. Terra turns to the sound of footsteps. "Aileen... That you?" Whatever they had her on to mitigate the pain left her foggy. "The HC-288, we got it, but..." "Yes. I know. Rough outing," Aileen says dourly, before turning to Valesia. "What can you do for her, doc?"

Decker eyed the gator tooth as it popped free from the beast's maw, and winced as he saw the head get lopped off wholesale. Sometimes wearing a full-face-covering helmet had its benefits. "What d'you mean by that, precisely?" Decker says. "See some disturbin' in that thing's gut? It's... Awfully weird, seeing it dissected like a frog, after it nearly bit off Ronin and I's arms. Fierce bastard..." "It's what the sled is for!" Decker grins. "All that's left is Guffa Flats, yeah? I'm good to go."

MM Note: Apologies for the delay, Sixers; the site was down when I tried to update last night, and I'm being called to stay to work late tonight. I'll try to sneak in an update late tonight!

Decker caught the boomerang as it doinked off of the beast, more than a bit peeved by his incompetence in that battle. DId he even wound the damn thing? He sighs and then goes over to Ronin, giving him a hearty pat on the back. "Look atcha, getting the better of that damn lizard!" Decker laughs. "We all... We all did great." Minus one, Decker notes. "Hey, now there's an idea. A tooth from that mouth would be a hell of a weapon, I would have to think."

That's fair enough. Is Decker striking still the right play, or is there someone you'd rather he Rally/Defend?

Ronin rallying me wouldn't be the worst idea. It just couldn't kick in this round because of the battle order, right? Regardless, Decker might as well keep striking, no? Decker grits his teeth and repeats.