|
Post by Joe Fischer on Apr 13, 2017 21:41:48 GMT -6
Everyone else sprung into action and Cerberus personnel began dropping, but they were the low-level ones, ones of little importance; the ones that mattered--the captain and his bodyguards--were still standing.
Time to do something about that, Joe thought.
He fired a smoke grenade at the Dragoons' feet, waited a few seconds for the smoke to disperse, then activated his omniblade and charged, hoping to drive it into one of their chests.
|
|
|
Post by Arcus on Apr 14, 2017 10:25:54 GMT -6
As he crept away from his previous engagement, Arcus heard a crackling voice from behind him “Tea- T--, Co---nd -nit. Rep---. . . . . Team ---, report!” The Cerberus operatives were starting to catch on to their missing comrades. Removing all three of the remaining teams before they raised an alarm was now likely impossible without aid. “A-- teams, -igh --ert! Conv---- on the anom--y.”
Arcus adjusted his line of travel away from the team that was closest to discovering the Vengeance. He would have to rely on Thrak to eliminate them now, before they raised an alarm. He aimed for the nearest team of two, pausing for a moment to try and listen for them. The echos from the containers were making it more difficult to pinpoint this time. He frowned with concentration as he turned his head to the left and down.
The Cerberus agent, on full alert and scanning all angles of approach, looked up at Arcus only a split instant after the turian saw him. They locked eyes for a moment before the shocked and wide-eyed engineer began to bring his pistol around to bare. Arcus surged with biotic force as he launched himself downwards as the man’s finger entered the trigger guard.
The engineer stared in shock at the stump that signified where his gun hand had just been. He just had enough time to open his mouth in the beginnings of a sharp intake of breath before a scream when the already bloodied stiletto entered into his ear canal.
As Arcus drove the blade home, he deactivated the omi-blade that had removed the man’s gun hand and shoved his palm against the engineers chest, channeling his biotics through his arm and sending the body flying into the nearby trooper just as his rifle pointed at the turian. The impact sent the rifle skittering across the floor and slammed the humans, living and dead into a nearby crate with a thud.
Arcus was on the trooper before he could regain his footing, slashing his omni-blade across the soldier’s knee and dropping him face forward to the ground before taking the stiletto in his other hand and driving it into the seam between the man’s helmet and neck armor, straight into his brain stem.
Without pause, The turian turned on his heels and ran down the corridor of containers as his biotics cooled down. The engineer had caught him off guard and he’d had to be noisier than was wise. The heightened state of his senses made it difficult to judge exactly how loud that last kill would have sounded to regular ears. He didn’t think it would be enough to carry through all this freight, but he was uncomfortably far from certain of it.
Either way, there was no time to waste. Thrak would likely be taking out the team nearest the vengeance very soon, and there was no way that would be a quiet event. Arcus needed to get to the final Cerberus unit, the one with the captain in tow, before that noise bomb went off. If he was quick enough, Arcus might even be able to work the heavy hammered krogan to his advantage.
A biotic boost propelled Arcus back to the heights of the containers. He slowed down some, trading painfully needed speed for stealth as he headed back in the direction he had last heard his final targets.
|
|
|
Post by Urdnot Thrak on Apr 14, 2017 11:15:33 GMT -6
"If we engage in combat with Cerberus personnel, please inform me if you require any assistance. Otherwise I will remain here and protect the others," the turian said.
Thrak harrumphed. "You just plan watching the others, Doc. No way a krogan's going to be the one calling a medic into the line of fire."
[Insert reply if desired.]
Thrak stood stone still, doing his best to ignore the sound of his hearts booming in his ears. His was a unique way of combat. He entered what other krogan called "bloodrage" more easily than most, but he retained more use of his mental faculties than most of his brethren too. Still, it was all he could do to keep from trembling like a addict low on funds while he waited for his turn at combat.
"Thrak!" Emily called from the cockpit, her voice filled with urgency but ultimately quiet. "Impact sensors are showing two people closing on the Vengeance. I don't think they're ours."
That was all Girlie needed to say. As much as the infiltration team's job was important, they would not be going anywhere, even if it was just an escape, without the shuttle. Not even waiting for her to activate the hatch, he hit the manual controls and threw the hatch up. He was out before the door even began to fall back down.
His hammer was in his hand, as he charged down the small maze of crates that he, Maelstrom, and some of the others had set up surrounding the Vengeance. It was a simple design, so he had a good idea of where he was going. He leaned hard to the side as he took a turn at full speed- the only way to keep from tumbling into the crates. He saw the two militarized racists and immediately flicked his omni-shield on.
They wore helmets, so Thrak could not see their expressions, but the way they began backing up without even firing a shot told him just how shocked they were to find a krogan charging at them while safe in their little nest of pro-humans. That made Thrak smile. For a moment, he considered that he could have tried to take them out silently, but his momentum precluded that possibility at this point.
The Engineer started to break to the side, running back the way he had come, but Thrak's hammer was ready for that. The impact almost seemed to take place in slow motion. First the sound receptor dented in and collapsed into the housing of the rest of the helmet. The man's neck started to bend sharply next, on its way to an angle Thrak knew the human spine could not withstand. That would not be the cause of death, though. That would be the metal shards, which were already forming as the hammer drove further into the solid metal of the helmet, created when the dents grew too deep and material shattered, creating numerous pieces with sharp edges. Just as he expected, the spray of blood misted the air a split second before the familiar sound of a snapping neck.
The Assault Trooper had started shooting at about the same time Thrak's hammer made contact with the Engineer, but the gun was soon silenced as the omni-shield slammed into it, backed by the full momentum of a charging krogan. The impact ripped the weapon from the man's hand, as Thrak's hammer continued its arcing journey, though with a slight alteration of the angle. With the experience only a battlemaster could lay claim to, Thrak let the shaft of the hammer slam into the small of the man's back at the same moment that the omni-shield flattened the rest of him against the metal crates.
The massive krogan took a step back, watching with satisfaction as the man dropped to the floor with a cry. The human's hands caught his weight, keepign his torso off the floor, but his legs and hips were as limp as dead flesh. The bar-shaped dent in the armor at the small of his back illustrated the reason perfectly. The man was weeping in pain and dread in between the desperate gasps for air. It was a quieter sound than he expected. The kind a man made when he realized he had lost something dear.
Unlike some, Thrak was not typically one to leave his prey in a state of abject misery. Without a word, he heaved the hammer again. What was left above the man's shoulders a moment later was not recognizable as any living or artificial thing. As Thrak started charging towards the bridge, he considered that it was more like what people called, "modern art."
He shook his head, as he made his straight-line, shoving crates out of the way, not wanting to bother with the maze. Thrak never did understand what it was people liked about modern art.
|
|
|
Post by Corwin Havens on Apr 16, 2017 1:14:21 GMT -6
Corwin was twenty feet away when the battle began, already having his assault rifle drawn and aimed. Though the numbers clearly favored Cerberus, Corwin had faith in the skill of Lysander's squad. So rather than starting to pick off Cerberus, he let his finger rest on the trigger. The moment he shoots, his position will be compromised. So he waited.... waiting for the right moment.
And Joseph provided that moment.
The smoke grenade, though brief, drew the attention of several Cerberus agents. One in particular had his back to the assassin.
Corwin made him pay for the mistake with one pull of the trigger... right at the back of the assault trooper's helmet.
The edges of a newly formed hole glowed bright red for a moment before cooling, telling Corwin that the projectile hit its target. The trooper fell dead. And the assassin lined up his next target....
|
|
|
Post by Geneenh T'Loris on Apr 16, 2017 22:24:28 GMT -6
Hacking was not as straightforward as many people imagined it. It could be, if she had a more powerful computer and no time constraints, but since she only had her omnitool and was doing the hack while in a firefight, she had to be more clever.
She also did not try to hack into the communications systems directly, for it was one of the most secure systems on the ship after power and life support; instead she planned to make her way into one of the least defended systems and piggyback her way into the root structure of the whole system, thus giving her access to everything.
The system she chose was waste processing, as she had done countless times in the past. It was one of the great secrets of hacking; it was considered such an inconsequential system it was hardly ever defended, leading her to many successful jobs.
But now it wasn’t a matter of her reputation on the line; it was her life and the lives of her co-workers depending on her seizing control as quickly as she could.
And she loved it.
She did not understand people who did their best to stay out of danger; it was a fickle thing, choosing its victims with no reason other than its own whimsical nature. She had certainly learned the hard way the only way to survive a dance with danger was to be ready for it, always practicing, always training for that inevitable day it chose her.
*****
It took a bit longer than her previous hacks against the pro-human group, but that was no surprise. This was one of its most advanced frigates, perhaps on par with the one they made for Shepard, so their defenses would be their very best.
And in defense of the programmers who created its security, their efforts were good; the barriers they put up to protect the ship would have denied a vast majority of those who would attempt to gain access to it electronically.
But her experience was two times greater than their longest lifespan, and so she was one of the few who could defeat it.
She now stood before the root command structure of the ship—in the virtual sense—its defenses cast aside and now ready to do whatever she told it.
But before she could jam the ship’s communications systems, she had to let her teammates know it was she who initiated the jam, because it would not just shut down all of the ship’s attempts to communicate, it would shut down everyone's.
She typed up a message and sent it to them:
Access gained. About to jam comms. Ours will be affected as well. GT
She then opened a channel to the shipyard’s dockmaster.
“Control, this is Okinawa, come in,” she said.
“This is Control, go ahead Okinawa,” came the reply.
“We’re about to do an emergency drill, one which will simulate our comms being jammed and our ship being boarded,” she said, grateful that her race had no distinguishing vocal characteristics which would give away she was not human.
“Okinawa, you just did one a couple of days ago,” the dockmaster said.
Thinking fast, she said, “The captain wasn’t impressed with the results, so we’re doing it again.”
“Okay Okinawa, go ahead and thanks for the heads up,” the dockmaster said. “You do know that the jamming will not shut down hardlined comms, right?”
“Of course,” she said. “Thanks Control, see you in a few hours, Okinawa out.”
“Don’t have too much fun, Control out,” the dockmaster said.
She closed the channel and then told the ship to jam all of its communications systems.
|
|
|
Post by Maelstrom on Apr 17, 2017 0:45:53 GMT -6
[GM Post]
The infiltration team moves with swift precision, taking out the defenders of the Okinawa with the element of surprise. Before Captain Crichton can activate his armor's systems, Lysander shoots him through the heart. The man stumbles, grasping for his gun and attempting to fight back, but with his heart reduced to shreds of muscle, he collapses in a couple seconds, breathing his last breath. Fischer's quick action drops one of the Dragoons in similar fashion, the omni-blade bisecting the man's heart.
Geneenh's hacking attempts pay off, with communications being blocked to the rest of the facility without raising any alarms, giving the infiltration team the chance it needs to secure the ship. Still, the team faces formidable defenses who are now aware of the intrusion, if not from seeing it than by hearing the gunshots from throughout the ship. Outside, the other Cerberus Centurion rushes down the hall, up to that point unnoticed by the assault team.
On the Patroclus, the remaining teams are on guard, having heard the clamor of Thrak's brutal dispatch of one of their teams. Before they can call for help, a message flashes on the displays of Thrak, Arcus, and the individuals on the Vengeance, all communications then filling with deafening static. The turian and krogan have free license to kill.
[Round Four]
Infiltration Team Remaining Enemies: One Dragoon, four Centurions, three Assault Troopers, four Engineers, and seven specialists. Combat Conditions: Each player may declare one action against a Dragoon, take out two Assault Troopers and/or Centurions, or take out three Engineers and/or Specialists. Players will take damage this turn, but it should not take down shields unless their move is exceptionally risky. As previously, Geneenh may make two tech actions this turn, or sacrifice one tech action for one kill (or both tech actions for a full combat turn).
Patroclus Team Remaining Enemies: One administrator armed with a light sidearm, one Dragoon, and one Centurion. Combat Conditions: Each player may kill up to two enemies, but but each must take damage (this should not do more than taking down shields). Their post should end with returning to the Vengeance for takeoff.
|
|
|
Post by Arcus on Apr 17, 2017 3:56:05 GMT -6
Arcus crept towards the edge of the crate he was on. Just ahead, in a small open area, were the last remaining targets. One was a heavily armored centurion, another had some sort of weapons systems mounted on his gauntlets -a dragoon, Arcus thought they were called- and the last one. . . Arcus wryly shook his head. That one is likely going to urinate himself shortly. The small rodent of a man was holding captain Braxton and the pilot, Torres at gunpoint with a pistol as they moved. His face spoke of a man trying to hide his own fear by imposing it on others.
Arcus heard the lumbering steps of the krogan as soon as he exited the Vengeance, listened as the steps became a stampede. It was loud enough that he was not the only one who heard it. "Wh-wh-what is that?" squeaked the rodent, turning his weapon in the direction of the noise.
"Don't know, Si-" the responding centurion was cut off by a loud slamming noise and rifle fire. The three men exchanged nervous glances as the noise gave way to the moans of a man about to die, silenced suddenly with a sickening and heavy thud. Captain Braxton and Torres began quietly stepping away from the group, unnoticed. Arcus dropped from the crates and began approaching them from the side.
"That," said the dragoon, as the sound of the stampede returned, louder and accompanied by the slamming of cargo being flung aside. "That's gotta be a krogan."
"Very astute," called Arcus as he broke into a run, closing the gap between himself and the centurion. Both soldiers turned immediately to engage, but Arcus was already on them. He jumped into the air, throwing the force of his whole body into a kick that landed squarely on the centurion's chest. The blow sent him sprawling to the ground, his gun shooting wildly to the sideas he fell. Arcus activated his omni-blade as he landed, preparing to drive it through the centurion's visor. He pulled away just as the dragoon's energy whip hit the ground with a sizzling snap, separating him from the fallen centurion. Arcus turned in time to block the second whip, which wrapped around his omni-blade. His altered perception watched another blow from the free whip arc down through the air and he side-stepped it. Using the moment as his opponent's body against him as he followed through with the downward motion of his attack, Arcus yanked hard on the entangled whip, pulling the man stumbling forward towards him. Arcus moved forward to meet him, pivoting around behind and looping the trapped whip around the man's neck. A sharp pull separated the head from its shoulders and the body dropped as Arcus deactivated his omni-blade to free himself from the still humming whip.
Bullets ripped into Arcus' biotic shield as he turned back towards the centurion, now back on his feet and firing. Just as Arcus' biotic shielding fell, the thundering stampede broke through a nearby wall of crates. Sending containers in all directions. The centurion turned to look as the giant form of a krogan turned to acquire its target: him. The towering behemoth steamrolled forward with shield up and hammer raised. Behind him, Arcus heard a whimpering shriek.
The centurion, now flanked, had enough sense of mind to break for cover, running towards the nearest corner he could throw himself behind. Biotic energy welled up around Arcus and in a flash he appeared directly between the centurion and his escape. Arcus Shoved his palm against doomed man's chest. "Hit the road, Jack." The push of energy following his words flung the man into the air, flying straight at Thrak's head.
(Posted with player's permission)
|
|
|
Post by Urdnot Thrak on Apr 17, 2017 4:33:44 GMT -6
Thrak was letting himself slip into the role of full krogan warrior. Barriers were not something to go around or hide behind. They were something to be thrown aside with reckless abandon. He knew where the remaining enemies would have to be coming from, and they would certainly be surprised.
His omni-shield still up from the previous kills, he smashed through the last in the maze of crates, sending several of the metallic containers clattering loudly to the floor. He barely even noticed the message from the asari about the comms going down, and the burst of static which followed before abruptly terminating did not distract him in the least. Directly ahead of him, just where he expected to find them, stood five humans: their two cohorts and trio of Cerberus personnel who seemed to be holding them hostage.
He bellowed a savage laugh, one he knew had the habit of drawing the attention of a human crowd. His hammer hefted in his fist, doing everything he could to get their attention on him, even as Madknife was already cutting into the enemy numbers. He was a little disappointed to see that Madknife had already dealt with the Dragoon; Thrak wanted to fight one of those.
The little mouse of a man started shooting into Thrak's omni-shield, and Thrak knew it would not hold out much longer. Just long enough.
All of the sudden, the Centurion came flying straight at his face. His mind thought back to another human game a client had shown him: baseball. With a single hand, Thrak swung his massive, metal bat at the incoming pitch. He imagined that it would have been a home run, had his target not burst apart into a shower of red upon his excessive velocity from the turian's biotic throw meeting the equally rapid and unyielding swing of the krogan's hammer.
Thrak's omni-shield broke just as he skidded to a stop centimeters in front of the small man. The diminutive human shot off several more rounds into Thrak's chest, his eyes growing wide as he realized the krogan was letting him dig his own grave. A moment later, the weapon clattered to the floor. Inside his helmet, Thrak got a small grin and a chuckle.
The krogan reared back and delivered a full-strength krogan headbutt straight to the man's skull. He crumpled to the floor like a dead man. Thrak imagined he probably was. As squishy as humans were, his spine was probably broken. If he was still alive by some miracle, the nuclear explosion that would be ripping through the ship soon would certainly take care of that.
"Thanks," Torrez said, seeming shaken by actually facing danger directly for a change. He quickly headed off for the shuttle, having
"Show off," Thrak said to the turian. "You got to kill the rest of them. Couldn't even leave the best one of these for me?" He shook his head. "I only got four! Two snooping around the shuttle and the two here."
|
|
|
Post by Eric Lysander on Apr 17, 2017 18:44:36 GMT -6
Crichton staggered backwards and reached for his gun. Then fell down and gasped his last. A point-blank shot through the heart; the Cerberus captain was not fast enough to engage his suit's barriers against Eric's quick draw.
Now I'm certain you weren't expectin' that, either, thought the team leader as the immediate area then filled up with smoke and the shadow of one Dragoon collapsed to the ground after being run through the chest by another juggernaut.
The younger N7.
A specialist tried to use the slowly dissipating smoke to hide and move into an advantageous position. He was immediately taken down by a head shot by Eric's Talon. More shots rang out grazing the sled and the partially exposed bomb components. As the senior N7 attempted to locate the shooter a priority message alert from Gennenh blinked up on his HUD. He thumbed on his omni-tool to bring it up:
Access gained. About to jam comms. Ours will be affected as well. GT
The important thing was that the team would only have the remaining ship's personnel to contend with at present with communications disabled.
Well, that's what hand signals are for...
Another shot fired. Eric caught a hint of the muzzle flash from his opponent and quickly zeroed, rapidly firing twice, angling the shots slightly for maximum coverage. Wondering if he hit his target, the ex-marine quickly caught a shot on his right thigh. Lysander managed to slide downwards fast enough to avoid the second volley which cut into the sled...
The hidden gunner, another specialist, served as a distraction to allow an Engineer to move in and neutralize both Eric and the smuggled nuke...
But it was the Engineer that wound up being neutralized with a Talon shot through the trachea, momentarily convinced that his opponent was permanently out of action.
Eric staggered up onto his haunches and moved aside some of the perforated cases on the sled to ascertain how much damage was done to the device...
|
|
|
Post by Maelstrom on Apr 17, 2017 22:31:17 GMT -6
The last shot from the specialist's gun streaked past his shoulder, as Maelstrom noticed the man taking aim and quickly dropped into negativa. Maelstrom had let himself be distracted by Fischer's sudden smokescreen and nearly missed the man taking aim at him. Thankfully, he had noticed before his barriers dropped below fifty percent. He thought that something of a small miracle, as he was unused to the drain on his power of using his biotics to shield himself. Rather than covering his face with his free arm, he extended it towards the specialist, letting a rain of bullets tear through the man's weak barriers almost like tissue paper. His target took a couple staggering steps backwards before falling, a spray of red marking the bulkhead behind himself.
As Maelstrom performed a rolê, bringing himself back to his feet, he sent a kick out towards distant a group of one Centurion, two Assault Troopers, and two specialists, who were trying to regroup into some kind of coherent tactical formation. Even lashing out with his biotics as he did, the impact was not a damaging one, merely a weak area of effect push which knocked them from their feet, hopefully buying the rest of the group more time. There was another reason for his showiness, though. He wanted to make sure that any enemies had their eyes on him rather than Geneenh, so that she could work unhindered.
The flash of a message across his HUD and the sudden burst of static which blinked in and out of existence in his helmet's speakers made him smile, a testament to his success up to that point.
As he kept surveying the scene, he noticed that one of the Engineers had obviously not been drawn by his more flamboyant moves, seeing his displays for exactly what they were. The Cerberus combat technician was aiming directly for Geneenh's head. Maelstrom's gauntlet-encased hand thrust towards the man with an accompanying biotic strike, sending him flying backwards even as the armor's built-in mass accelerator let out a barrage certain to end the man's life. By the distinctive way he crumpled to the floor, Maelstrom was certain he was correct; the man was dead.
Across the bridge, he noticed another Engineer trying to go unseen while opening up a panel. He knew it could be no good to allow these people to get direct access to the physical components of their ship's systems while he and his group was trying to steal it. Maelstrom wondered for only a split second at the man's goals, whether they were to disable the jamming signal so that they could ask for help or whether he was attempting to do something which would severely damage navigation and render the group unable to fly the frigate out of its dock. Given the rails of the galaxy map between them, Maelstrom did not have a unimpeded enough path for the relatively-inaccurate gauntlet to be effective against the man. Instead, he once more drew his Phantom's sword and sent it flying with a biotic push. He was disturbed by the ease with which it slid hilt-deep into the Engineer's skull, almost as if its blade were no more substantial than air. Maelstrom recalled the sword, as the Cerberus Engineer collapsed to the deck.
He looked at the weapon critically for a moment. It was so smooth that it barely retained even a small trickle of blood along its length from its recent killing. Cocking his head to the side in a moment's thought, he said to the sword, "I may keep you."
|
|
|
Post by Arcus on Apr 18, 2017 1:27:26 GMT -6
"Show off," Thrak said. "You got to kill the rest of them. Couldn't even leave the best one of these for me?" He shook his head. "I only got four! Two snooping around the shuttle and the two here."
"Are you kidding? Replied Arcus in a pained voice. "I went out of my way to make sure you had the toughest guy all to yourself." He nodded towards the rodent. "See? he was so tough he even managed to take down your shield! I tell you honestly, Thrak, I'm glad you got here when you did because I was running out people to procrastinate with and I'm not sure what I would have done if I'd had to fight him."
[Insert Response from Thrak.]
Arcus noted the message on his HUD that had appeared in the midst of the fight. "Well, in any case, looks like it's getting about time to go save our friends on the Okinawa." He turned and began to jog towards the Vengeance.
"Oh, and you got three," Arcus called back towards the krogan. "If you throw a man into a meat grinder, does the grinder get the credit or do you? Same thing here."
|
|
|
Post by Geneenh T'Loris on Apr 18, 2017 4:24:52 GMT -6
In the back of her mind, Geneenh considered it a minor miracle that she had not been attacked by the Cerberus personnel; she chalked it up to either the combat effectiveness of her teammates or the combat ineffectiveness of the ship’s owners.
She was mostly chalking it up to the former.
While she had jammed the communications system, she was far from done. She had kept the alarm from being raised throughout the shipyard, and her new teammates were taking care of the personnel on the bridge, but that still left those onboard to deal with.
Now that she had complete control of the ship, she closed and locked all doors onboard the ship. A determined person would force their way through, but that would take time, and every second they spent trying to make it through was another second for her team to solidify their position.
She smiled. She so did love turning other people’s tech against them.
Then there was the matter of the ship’s new crew. When they arrived, they needed to arrive on a ship that was powered up but also that would respond to their commands; however, they needed to get on the ship in the first place, so she gave the command to open the ship’s shuttle bay doors.
|
|
|
Post by Urdnot Thrak on Apr 18, 2017 5:40:31 GMT -6
"Yeah, that one probably could have taken you out in a fair fight. Makes me wonder what devils you made deals with to take out these others," Thrak jabbed.
"Well, in any case, looks like it's getting about time to go save our friends on the Okinawa," the turian said before starting for the black little tin can called the "Vengeance."
"Oh, and you got three," Arcus called back,just a couple steps ahead of him. "If you throw a man into a meat grinder, does the grinder get the credit or do you? Same thing here."
"Except that your weak-ass throw wouldn't even have knocked him unconscious. My hammer would have turned him to jelly without your throw, though," Thrak laughed. "You want to make it a competition, though, let's see who does more damage on the frigate."
[Insert reply]
Thrak laughed, as he climbed into the ship, the hatch left open by Braxton and Torrez. Girlie was already up front with the pilot, fretting over the correct handling of the ship like it we're her home. Thrak guessed it was.
"Let's get me somewhere I can kill people!" Thrak called up to the cockpit.
|
|
|
Post by spartan560 on Apr 18, 2017 9:30:15 GMT -6
Izahm noticed Maelstrom's inspired use of biotics once more and zeroed in on the two downed assault troopers. He unleashed his remaining thermal clip into one dropping his barriers and killing the man with two chest rounds and one up through his neck. Quickly ejecting the spent clip he slams home another and unleashes the full clip into the remaining trooper dropping his barriers with the first five shots then killing him with three rounds to his chest and two to the head. He then sprints forward and lowers his shoulder like a linebacker slamming into the Centurion who had gotten up on one knee. Izahm's move knocks him back to the ground and also sends his Mattock rifle skidding away however while sprinting he took heavy fire dropping his barriers to only twenty percent. Izahm then rolls behind an unused console while also dropping a smoke grenade as he rolls concealing him as he reloads and waits for his barriers to recharge. 'That was close' he thinks swinging his rifle around to look for more targets.
|
|
|
Post by Joe Fischer on Apr 19, 2017 4:26:49 GMT -6
Joe was actually surprised at how quickly he took out the first Dragoon; he chalked it up to finding a weak spot in the man's armor. He had no illusions lightning could strike twice, though. Keeping his omniblade active, he drew his stun rod and slowly advanced on the remaining Dragoon.
He just had to survive the initial leaping attack, then it would be on his terms: up close and personal, which was his strength. If he could get his hands on his opponent, he could keep on death grip on them while he slammed them with knee strikes, elbow strikes and the occasional headbutt. The tactic had served him well, and he saw no reason why it wouldn't continue to do so.
|
|
|
Post by Maelstrom on Apr 23, 2017 21:06:47 GMT -6
[GM Post]
More and more Cerberus agents fall under the assault of the Okinawa team. As his companions sowed chaos, Corwin Havens stick to the shadows, to his cloak of stealth. He picked off two Centurions before one spotted his muzzle flash, peppering him with rounds and causing him to move to another location, as his shields recharged. In his new position, he then took out the third Centurion. The team was having remarkable success. Fischer's assault even had the last Dragoon reeling.
Geneenh's hacking continues providing the team exactly what they need. The doors lock down, preventing any Cerberus personnel from flooding into the sensitive areas to aid their compatriots. The shuttle bay opens, ejecting a few unprepared specialists, though a number more Cerberus personnel remain... along with an unfortunate surprise.
Meanwhile, the Vengeance streaks out into the void, the rest of the cargo in the bay ejecting into the stillness. The all-black shuttle makes the quick journey with no interference, thanks to its impressive stealth tech. As it swoops in to hover in the shuttle bay, the door snaps closed behind it, a manual override having been activated. Emily takes to the turret as the shuttle hatch opened, only to order Torrez to land the ship between the Cerberus shuttle and outer door, keeping it out of the firing arc of the pair of hulking Atlas mechs already facing them.
[Round Five]
Infiltration Team Remaining Enemies: One Dragoon (staggered, just in need of finishing move), one Centurion, one Assault Trooper, one Engineer, and four Specialists. Combat Conditions: Each player may kill any two remaining enemies. Players will continue to take damage this turn, taking down their shields, as the Cerberus personnel are aware of the situation and are all in cover and fighting smart now. Geneenh may, with difficulty, take two tech actions this turn.
Patroclus Team Enemies: Two modified Atlas Mechs (this model is more industrial, swapping the rocket launcher for another hand, but has a heavy machine gun turret mounted over its shoulder), two Engineers, two Specialists in light armor and with a helmet, and one Centurion. Combat Conditions: Posts should begin with the flight from the Patroclus to the Okinawa. Each character may kill three enemy units or declare an action against an Atlas. Characters will take damage this turn, downing at least half of the character's shields (more if the combat actions are reckless).
|
|
|
Post by Urdnot Thrak on Apr 23, 2017 21:33:16 GMT -6
Thrak stood towering over Girlie and Fly-Boy, holding to the overhead rails painfully tightly. Fly-Boy and Girlie exchanged some words about arming the devices on the Patroclus, starting a countdown to when the vessel would begin its final journey. A few moments later, the bay depressurized, the shuttle shooting out of it just ahead of the containers.
The hulking krogan felt almost nothing, as the small ship arced into an open shuttle bay for a frigate, several dead bodies floating. Their corpses showed clear signs of explosive decompression. Girlie jumped up, as Fly-Boy made the ship seem to almost slide, entering the shuttle bay at a ninety degree angle to the way Thrak had expected. He followed her, watching as she hopped on a large turret.
The hatch opened, and Thrak nearly stumbled back in surprise. In addition to a number of men bearing arms, two towering mechs were poised, facing the shuttle. Thankfully, they were lacking the rocket launchers Thrak was used to seeing on such large mechs, but each had a nasty-looking turret mounted over its right shoulder.
Girlie called back to Fly-Boy in a panic, and the shuttle eased down in such a matter that another human shuttle blocked the line-of-sight for the mechs. Looking out the rear window, he noticed the door had closed on them. Like a trap...
Before anyone could say anything else, Thrak went charging into the room, tech-armor up and hammer biotically-charged. If anyone said anything, it was lost on him, as he barreled around the other side of the shuttle. He had a mental picture of the room in his head, from the brief moment the black shuttle had been overlooking it all. Directly in front of him, he saw a person in light armor working a manual override of some kind.
The hammer swung, and the man was sent sailing a dozen yards. Thrak knew the man was dead before he hit the floor.
Thrak spotted another man. An Engineer, if he was remembering correctly. The man was pulling a gun on Thrak, but he charged out at the man. His shields took the entirety of the blast. His hammer swung in an overhand swing, and the man crumpled to the floor.
A barrage of fire suddenly took his shields down to zero, and Thrak realized the mech pilots had moved faster than expected. His tech armor absorbed the shots, and Thak brought up his omni-shield just before it failed. The krogan quickly moved around to some fastened-down storage containers, chastising himself for allowing himself to be overconfident.
He knew Madknife would be making the most of the distraction he had caused, though. With the foot-soldiers out of the way, then they could take down the mechs.
|
|
|
Post by Eric Lysander on Apr 24, 2017 20:33:05 GMT -6
Eric quickly checked over the bomb components closest to where the sled was hit. Thankfully the core primers were intact. But the remote trigger antenna and timer mechanism took damage. Eric did not get a chance to ask Geenenh for assistance with transferring apps from his omni-tool to his Cerberus disguise before the mission; she was already much too occupied with other preparations at the time. But then the N7 recalled seeing at least one other Engineer in the vicinity, sure to have parts on him to repair any tech in the field.
Eric held up his Talon again and surveyed the carnage. The remaining enemy combatants dug into cover trading fire with his team, trying to goad someone into making a mistake or bolder move just as his group was. He ricocheted a couple of rounds off of nearby walls to see who flinched or squirmed out of place. A burst from another weapon a ways off managed to reveal another Engineer huddled nearby, most likely wanting to take up his fallen brethren's task, looking for a window of opportunity. Eric saw his chance to slam that window shut but not before tossing something through first. He unclipped a flash-bang from his back.
"SAY CHEESE!!" Eric yelled as the device reached the midst of its arc. Before the Engineer could react his world became tinny noise and bright white. Eric dashed up, hunched down to avoid fire, firing more Talon rounds into his target. As he reached the dead Engineer he found himself sprayed with more bullets, his kinetic barriers reduced to dangerously low levels. He quickly crawled behind the body and positioned it between himself and the onslaught. Another Cerberus specialist had Lysander in his sights. As he discharged and loaded a new heat sink into his weapon Eric did likewise and also surreptitiously helped himself to the Engineer's sidearm. The specialist peered out from cover and made ready to toss over a fragmentary grenade.
Eric thrust out both his arms beneath the Engineer's shoulders, dual-wielding Talon and Phalanx pistols. The Phalanx took out the grenade in the specialist's hand while the Talon relieved him of the organ that inspired that tactic. Eric then holstered his weapons and went over the Engineer's pouches and pockets for the circuit panels and tech he needed for repairs. Finding what he needed, he tried to get Joseph's attention. Since comms and text bursts were disabled by Geenenh's efforts to delay Cerberus reinforcements, Lysander's intent was to signal to his young counterpart via hand gestures that he would need cover as he repaired the timer and antenna.
|
|
|
Post by Geneenh T'Loris on Apr 24, 2017 22:27:15 GMT -6
Geneenh had tapped into the security feeds for the shuttle bay, so she saw the Vengeance make it safely over to the Okinawa. The krogan quickly exited the shuttle and wasted no time in making his presence known to the Cerberus personnel there.
There were a couple of large mechs in the shuttle bay, so she expected that would take the boarding party a few minutes to deal with them before the new crew could start making their way to their duty stations aboard the frigate.
Let's not keep them waiting, she thought as she accessed the ship's personnel files and began adding them so they would have full access.
She frowned as she navigated her way through the system. Random bits of unfamiliar coding began streaming through the system, forcing her to waste precious seconds avoiding them. The closest analogy she could think was as if she was out for a run on a previously empty road now suddenly being filled with strangers who were getting in her way, forcing her to sidestep them as she continued to run.
She wanted to capture some of the code and examine it, but there was no time for that; besides, she had no idea what its purpose was. For all she knew, it was a virus designed to attack her--perhaps electronically, perhaps biologically.
She managed to finish uploading the new crew as well as giving them full access, then issued a start up command to the ship. If all went well, the new crew would reach duty stations that were ready to be manned; all that would be needed would be to unlock the docking clamps and fly out of the shipyard.
|
|
|
Post by Maelstrom on Apr 24, 2017 22:48:47 GMT -6
Maelstrom kept low, sneaking from one console or opened access hatch to the next, taking glancing hits to his barriers as he moved. His target was the sole remaining Centurion, who had holed up in a gunnery station. It was a perfect foxhole, and he had yet to get a good combination of distance and angle for his plan. Finally, though, he was in position.
He tossed a flashbang into the gunnery station. Before it went off, he jumped towards the man, pulling a combat roll over his right shoulder. The device went off just long enough before he dropped into the lowered station that Maelstrom was unimpaired. The Centurion was crouched in cover, waiting for the effects to subside. Rather than giving him time, Maelstrom extended his open palm, unleashing an unnecessarily long burst of gunfire into the man's torso. He imagined the shock on the man's face would have been satisfying, were the man's helmet off.
"Steven!" another voice, feminine, called from the other side of the station's chair. Maelstrom swiveled just in time to see a Specialist, a young woman, with a heavy pistol aimed directly at Maelstrom's chest.
The pieces fell into place. The woman was the Centurion's lover, or at least his friend, and he had been trying to defend her.
Maelstrom paused in surprise for only a fraction of a second before rolling to take cover behind the station itself. The hesitation was just enough for the woman to unload two rounds into his barriers, dropping them. As he waited, panting, for his barriers to regenerate, he heard the muffled sounds of her movement, as she tried to get an angle on him.
Remembering his new advantage, he pulled his Phantom sword and flipped the grip to a reverse style. Rapidly, he stabbed backwards in her general direction a dozen times in quick succession, staggering the points of impact. Some of the strikes only whistled through open air. Some slid all the way through leather seat. And some resulted in pained yelps, accompanied by accidental discharges of a gun.
The moment his barriers were back up, Maelstrom switched his grip on the sword back to normal and swiveled out of cover. Before the specialist could take another action, he had his sword resting on her collarbone, his free hand resting along its length to add stability. Her eyes were wide in fright.
"Please..." she begged in a quavering voice.
He cocked his head to the side. "My pleas for mercy never worked on you people. Don't see why it should work the other way around."
Only the slightest hint of the realization of her fate showed on her face before Maelstrom slid the sword lightning-fast across her neck. Even though he knew the properties of the sword, he was still surprised that it nearly decapitated her, only a small strip of skin and tendon holding her in one piece.
|
|