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Post by Naetilia Bolanis on May 17, 2017 13:23:33 GMT -6
Between the krogan, Arcus and Purius, one of the Atlas mechs appeared on the verge of defeat. One of its knee joints was badly bent, severely limiting its mobility.
Mindful of the other Atlas, Naetilia remained in cover as she charged her biotic warp power and fired at the damaged joint.
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Post by spartan560 on May 19, 2017 18:12:44 GMT -6
Izahm listened to Lysander then smiled, "Sure thing I've got your back," he then moves to take up position to the right of Lysander scoping in on the doors from which their enemy will eventually emerge. He takes a second to look at the screens around them to see how Geneenh is faring and finding her doing well he refocuses on the door waiting for the enemy to emerge. 'This should be fun,' Izahm thinks as he waits, 'Haven't played spotter since that Salarian STG operative I worked with.'
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Post by Eric Lysander on May 20, 2017 8:42:04 GMT -6
Eric unclipped his Raptor rifle from his back. "Then you know all about Holding the Line..."
He checked and adjusted the weapon's sights before unclipping and priming his lone smoke grenade.
"Hold it good 'n tight, Izzy... and low enough to trip the dogs headin' our way!"
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Post by Arcus on May 22, 2017 8:41:56 GMT -6
The damaged atlus jerked around as its pilot tried to get a bead on his assailants. Sparks flew from the damaged leg, accompanied with a sickly grinding noise with every struggling step the machine tried to make. Seized hydraulics in the torso kept the thing from straightening, forcing the pilot to crane his neck in an attempt to see out of the upwards facing cockpit. It created enough additional blind spots that Arcus was able to keep himself out of its line of fire, darting back and forth while still keeping the damaged atlus between himself and the firing line of the second mech, which seemed to be keeping its distance in fear of another assault from the Hammer of Thrak.
From his left, the turian doctor popped out of cover and fired at the mech’s damaged knee. The pilot jerked the controls in response to the attack, and the moment Arcus had been waiting for presented itself. He made a mental not to thank Naetilia for it later. That was twice now she had provided him with an opening. With a running leap, biotic energy propelled the mad turian into the air. As he arched over the top of the mech, the second Atlus opened fire. Tracer rounds sizzled through the air behind Arcus as the mech’s targeting system attempted to catch up to the speed of his biotics. Arcus, blade in hand, looked down as he began to drop.
And as the crazed and blood covered mercenary with hellion eyes stared straight into the shocked eyes of the pilot he intended to kill, and as the line of tracers drew closer and closer to tearing through his remaining shielding, a song began playing in Arcus' Clarity enhanced brain.
"Don't stop, believin'."
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Post by Arcus on May 23, 2017 10:21:36 GMT -6
Arcus felt two sudden impacts rip into his biotic shielding around his left shoulder, and his shields failed with a sizzle. The impact spun him around slightly as he landed on the cockpit of the Atlus, and he grabbed onto the edge of the viewing window with his free hand, the bulk of the mech protecting him once again from taking any more fire.
The Pilot tried to get his failing mech to respond, staring in fear at the crazed alien in front of him. The turian raised its hand and drove a knife into the glass in front of the man's face. It stuck in only a few inches. He blinked at the blade before grinning and gripping tighter at the controls. "Is that all you got?!" He screamed through his intercom.
As biotic power welled up through Arcus' arm, he sang in a high falsetto, slamming his fist into the embedded knife with a biotic push that drove it through the glass, the face of the pilot, and deep into the seat behind him. "Hang on to that fee-eelin'!" He released his handhold and allowed himself to roll off the mech. "Street light, people, don't stop, believin'." He took cover behind the leg of the now derelict machine as he waited for his biotics to cool down.
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Post by Urdnot Thrak on May 24, 2017 1:07:58 GMT -6
Thrak watched momentarily as Madknife made a crazy bid for the mech's pilot. He knew the turian well enough to know that, insane as the attack might be, it would almost certainly succeed. With that, he turned away from the mech and turned to its counterpart, righting itself and taking aim at the team.
With a bellow likes of which would raise the ancestors from their rest, Thrak activated his omni-sheild and charged straight at the other mech. Its shoulder-mounted weapon tore into the glowing neon fortification. Grinning as he neared, Thrak charged his hammer with biotic potential.
His omni-shield broke earlier than he had expected; he cursed himself for having misjudged the caliber of the mech's weapon. The shields protecting him were quickly shredded to nothing, but he just managed to get his defenses back up with a barrier.
Again, he swung at the damaged leg, but the operator saw the attack coming and bent it opposite to the direction he was swinging his hammer. The effect was a minor dent and the mech being moved a few inches back but nothing more. Before he could make another attack, one of the mech's hands clamped around his form and lifted him higher up, right in front of the turret.
Thrak smiled, swinging his hammer again and shattering the cockpit. His reach was not quite long enough to hit the man, though, and his guns were out-of-reach while being held in such a fashion.
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Post by Maelstrom on May 24, 2017 1:25:31 GMT -6
[GM Post]
The doors to the bridge from the station are slowly pried open by a number of Engineers and Assault Troopers. The doors refuse to open wide, but it opens just enough to allow for one man at a time to pass easily through. Before anyone enters, though, a smoke grenade comes rolling through the opening, spilling a concealing cloud to shroud the entrance.
Meanwhile, gunfire rings out in the corridors of the ship, as the team making their way to engineering encounters stealthy resistance. A shower of sewage and water highlights cloaked enemies, but their wavering forms are still difficult to pick out in the dim, slowly pulsing red lights.
In the shuttle bay, the team's concentrated attack brought down the shields of one Atlas and killed its operator. The other Atlas' shield are down and its cockpit is open to the air, but it holds Thrak in a claw, directly in front of its turret. At the same moment, the doors from the shuttle bay to the rest of the ship open.
[Round Eight]
Bridge Team- The battle with the AI continues. Cerberus personnel try to enter the bridge. Each player may kill up to five, due to the bottleneck, so long as they play things smart. If coordinated, they can prevent any Cerberus personnel from clearing the opening by much (such as getting to cover or entering melee range). Damage to shields should be minimal but present for all players (including Geneenh).
Shuttle Bay Team- Only one Atlas still remains on the side of Cerberus, with shields down and the cockpit open to the air. The other Atlas sits operational, though with shields down and a likewise open-air cockpit. The doors are open to the rest of the ship, and the team may begin into the rest of the vessel this turn if the remaining Atlas is defeated. Any character may make a reasonable shot to kill the operator. No further damage need be taken.
Corridor Team- One Phantom and two Nemesis remain, targeting Maelstrom and Fischer as they crouch behind the kitchen island. Each player may kill up to two of the remaining foes. Their escape will have given them time for their shields to recharge, and no more than minimal wounds should be inflicted taking out the remaining enemies unless the attempt is extremely reckless. If the enemies are dealt with efficiently, this team may move to the Engineering level this turn.
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Post by Eric Lysander on May 29, 2017 10:25:09 GMT -6
There was a grinding, buckling sound coming from in front of Eric and Izahm as the door was slowly forced open. The N7 glanced quickly to Geenenh at her console still engaged in virtual battle with the ship's AI. He looked back to the door and prepared to throw his smoke grenade. As soon as the door was wide enough a smoke grenade was tossed in from the other side. As it exploded and filled the bridge once more with smoke the door was heard opening slightly more before stopping.
Eric disabled his grenade, clipped it to his back and clapped Izahm's shoulder before shouldering his Raptor rifle.
"Game time!" he called out as he sent three rounds into the opening. From the splashes, groans and thuds heard through the smoke it appeared that two tried immediately to get through and instantly regretted that decision. Surely whoever else was behind the door would use the noises made by moving the bodies out of the way to get someone else inside... if they were not inside already...
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Post by Maelstrom on May 29, 2017 20:13:21 GMT -6
Maelstrom stayed low, listening intently for the approach of any additional Cerberus combatants. He knew at least of one Nemesis, but he somehow doubted that was the extent of the forces still trying to block them from their objective. For a moment, he wondered if the AI might have contacted them somehow through the jamming signal and warned them to guard the area or if they were simply responding to an evident threat.
He saw nothing approaching. There was no telltale of a semi-transparent substance coating a fully-transparent form, but that did not necessarily mean anything. Listening closely was doing him precious little good either, as Fischer had ruptured the plumbing, and a person with any skill in true stealth new how to walk almost silently in water.
Turning cautiously, he found a form starting to slink past the other end of the counter partially partitioning the galley from the rest of the room. Silently, he raised his hand. As soon as the Phantom stepped into sight, Maelstrom used a weak pull field to off-balance the stealthy warrior without bringing its sword any closer. The woman stumbled, and Maelstrom unloaded into her with a devestating volley of rounds from his gauntlet. Streams of red ran down the invisible form for a moment before it flickered solid and fell lifeless to the floor.
Catching his breath, Maelstrom found his barriers restored. Being quiet, he looked about for his next opportunity. A refraction of red light in a glass bottle on the counter-top grabbed his attention, evidence that the Nemesis had watched the Phantom drop and was waiting for Maelstrom to make a move. He complied, leaning out from the direction the Phantom had come.
The room coming into view, Maelstrom noticed two red dots near the rear of the ship, both moving slowly, seeking their target. Both dots snapped to him, and he knew he only had a moment, so he launched the fallen Phantom's mono-molecular blade at the left of the two remaining snipers. He heard a grunt and the sound of clattering metal, as he turned away.
Then there was the sound of a gunshot. He was a moment too late dodging, the round hitting him in the same injured area of his shoulder. It did little more to wound him, but the area was already sensitized, and the pain which radiated outward from that point caused him to lose control and growl, "Son of a bitch!" as he regained cover.
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Post by spartan560 on May 29, 2017 22:37:27 GMT -6
Izahm nodded to Lysander and activated his helmets thermal vision. He spots a single trooper who got through and takes him out with a three round spread, two to the chest one to the head. "Lysander you focus on the center I'll keep the flanks clear. Any targets I miss I'll call out and you take em out while I hold the center," he says as another trooper cautiously turns into the room. Izahm fires another three round spread killing that trooper.
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Post by Eric Lysander on May 30, 2017 18:27:24 GMT -6
"I can work with tha- AAGH DAMN!"
Eric suddenly fell backwards, his helmet was grazed by a shot from a bit behind the parted door. Fortunately his kinetic barriers took the brunt of it and he was able to get back up quickly. Indicators showed that levels were still enough to take a few more direct hits but the momentary loss of concentration would be enough to create a window. He fired four more rounds through the door to nail the shooter, calling to Izahm.
"I think someone got through - watch it!"
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Post by Joe Fischer on May 31, 2017 14:45:07 GMT -6
As Joe recovered from the shot, it felt like he was underwater; movement seemed to take place at half speed and sounds came from far away.
With one final shake of his head, everything snapped back to normal speed just in time to see Maelstrom take down another Phantom, but he did not emerge unscathed; a shot struck him in his arm, forcing him to take cover.
He peeked out from behind cover and scanned the area, looking for like sniping points. He found several, but one stuck out as the most likely spot for the shooter.
If he’s smart, he’s moved, he thought as he ducked back and readied the Harrier.
He ducked out again and unleashed several quick bursts on the spot, and heard the thud of a falling body.
Looks like he wasn’t, he thought as he scanned the area and found no further targets.
He looked back at the biotic and scanned the injury with his omnitool: a flesh wound, nothing serious.
He offered Maelstrom his hand.
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Post by Maelstrom on Jun 1, 2017 2:54:47 GMT -6
Maelstrom took Fischer's hand, getting back to his feet but staying low, in case of any other enemies in the area. Combat at least at a lull, and with a conscious teammate watching his back to boot, he quickly applied a small amount of medigel to the two almost overlapping wounds on his shoulder, clenching his teeth for a moment before the soothing compound began its work of sterilizing his wound, stemming the bleeding, and beginning in the process of healing the wound.
"Thanks. Think we're clear to proceed?" Maelstrom asked, keeping his voice barely above a whisper.
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Post by Arcus on Jun 3, 2017 11:35:18 GMT -6
Arcus watched as Thrak made a blitz for the remaining Atlus, with predictable results.
He rolled his eyes as the giant lizard was snatched up in the mech's vice-grip. Once a krogan. . ., he thought to himself.
This presented a problem. Archus was still in a cooldown and too far away to approach the machine sans biotics without also arriving at his destination sans limbs. That meant saving the krogan's ass necessitated some precision marksmanship from Arcus. Thrak knew better than to rely on Arcus' marksmanship.
The krogan smashed the cockpit of the mech, which was holding him just out of range of the pilot, but close enough to use him as a reptilian shield.
Arcus glanced at Naetilia. She wouldn't have a shot from her position. Arcus groaned, redrawing his rifle with both a mechanical and biological hiss. This one's on you, you big lummox. He took aim. It's eighty-five percent a mind game, He willed himself as he centered his sites on the pilot's head, a substantially smaller area than general center mass of a giant mech at close range, which he much preferred as a target given the circumstance. 'You know it's sad but true.' He mouthed the words silently as he squeezed the trigger. Three rounds exploded from the barrel, flying through the air at supersonic speed, straight into the heavy armor of the hapless krogan's hip.
[Adamant protest from Thrak]
Recoil anticipation. High left. Arcus Spat. Screw it, he thought, as he aimed low and to the right of his target. Might as well accept the shortcoming. He squeezed the trigger, and this time was met with the gratifying puff of reddish cloud as the rounds impacted human flesh and bone.
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Post by spartan560 on Jun 3, 2017 16:26:03 GMT -6
"Roger," Izahm replied, concentrating on the door. Sure enough his thermal sensors picked up two figures moving. He centered his sights on the first target and opened fire, his standard three round spread. The trooper dropped dead barely past the door however he had kneeled to fire shortly before Izahm targeted him scoring a few hits but nothing serious. Taking a second to check his shields and finding them well within parameters he swung his gun to fire on the other but he was already ducking for cover firing as he went. The shots were to poorly aimed to deal any damage but a few glanced off his shields. 'Damn' Izahm thinks slipping into a trance like state he called his Sniper Zen mode, 'Gotta take him out quick before he can get to cover.' Izahm then fires off three rounds in rapid succession keeping his gun tight and controlled the whole time shifting his aim with each shot. One impacted the troopers shoulder jerking him away from his intended destination, the second round slammed into his chest jerking him semi-upright, the third shot through the troopers throat and up into his cranium sealed his fate. "I got two but there could be Phantoms that snuck through," he calls out, "I'll keep alert and defend Geneenh if necessary."
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Post by Urdnot Thrak on Jun 3, 2017 22:05:41 GMT -6
The servos whined with strain, as the giant manus attempted to claim down all the way, squashing the giant krogan in its clutches. Between his armor, solid body, and his one hand pushing at the opposable digit, the servos just did not quite have the power. With a yell of effort, he managed to gain an inch more room to move, but he knew he would get no more.
All of the sudden, his shields overloaded again, and he felt a the telltale of bullets skidding off his armor from a grazing hit. Someone had shot his leg. There was no question who.
"Damn it, you blind bird! Shoot the fucking mech pilot, not me!"
A moment later, the pilot was showered in his own bodily fluids. The manus lost its strength, without the direction of its pilot, and he just barely managed to squirm free. He hit the deck hard, a growl building in his throat. The timing was almost too unbelievable for Thrak to dismiss it as coincidence rather than one of the turian's sick jokes. Madknife did have his limits, though. At least, Thrak thought he did.
"You're a piss poor shot, Madknife," the krogan grunted, shoving his hostility a back down and saving it for Cerberus.
Without pause, he started towards the rear doors of the shuttle bay.
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Post by Geneenh T'Loris on Jun 4, 2017 6:51:26 GMT -6
The fight had switched from regular staves to three-section staves, and it looked like the AI was gaining the upper hand. Its strikes were landing more frequently while it dodged Geneenh’s with greater and greater ease.
A smirk had formed on its face and it had slowly blossomed into a full-blown smile as its superiority became more and more apparent.
“Care to surrender?” it asked as it struck Geneenh’s legs with one section while simultaneously hitting her head with another. “I might be able to convince them to kill you quick.”
She lashed out at him, but it was slow and off-target, more a show of defiance than an actual attempt to hurt him.
He kicked her in the chest, sending her sprawling to the floor, then jumped on her and wrapped his hands around her neck.
“I know I’m not actually killing you,” it said. “I’m just defeating the security systems on your omnitool. Once I do that, then I can turn it against you and those poor humans you tricked into helping you. I’m kind of curious what it’s like to do it for real. Maybe I can convince my makers to give me a physical body, to experience what killing is actually like.”
A spear tip suddenly burst through its chest.
It looked back to see Geneenh holding the spear, and she levered it back and forth, ensuring maximum possible damage to her opponent.
Now it was on the floor, struggling feebly to free itself from its situation. It began to flicker along with the dojo and then the screen went blank.
*****
Geneenh gasped as she unplugged from the system. Even though she had not moved, she could feel herself drenched in sweat.
She looked around, taking stock of the situation.
Fischer and Maelstrom were gone, while Lysander and Izahm were crouched behind consoles, trying to keep Cerberus soldiers from re-taking the bridge.
A shot struck her shields, and she got down behind cover.
She grabbed the turret on her back, pulled it off with a profound sense of release and set it on the deck.
Three legs automatically sprouted from its underside and a barrel shot out from it as well.
She then synced her omnitool to it and gave it its targeting parameters: anyone who wasn’t part of the team.
A Cerberus soldier tried to gain entry and the turret came to life, unleashing a torrent of bullets into the intruder, and he crumpled to the deck.
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Post by Eric Lysander on Jun 4, 2017 14:01:25 GMT -6
"I got two but there could be Phantoms that snuck through," Izahm called out taking out another Cerberus trooper, "I'll keep alert and defend Geneenh if necessary."
"Got it!" Eric ricocheted a shot off the deck into the door opening to keep whoever was left on the other side from being brave enough to trespass.
A gasp was heard.
The N7 chanced a quick look - Gennenh had disengaged herself from her console, apparently successful in defeating the AI. Eric returned to the door. The sounds of something more sizable than a gun or rifle being unclipped was heard after the sound of a kinetic barrier deflecting a shot. It was set down upon the deck where it unfurled to life with a quick series of whirrs and clicks and ended with a new shot dispatching the shooter. Gennenh's sentry gun was now in the fight.
Eric looked about the door and the smoke which was starting to fade. The shot from the asari's sentry caused a sudden twist in the smoke counter to its general direction. He pumped two Raptor rounds into its center. A groan let out and the smoke parted downwards as a Phantom's cloak deactivated. As the trooper hit the ground Eric sent a final shot through the top of the Phantom's helmet. "They try..."
He ejected the heat sink from his rifle and quickly slammed in a replacement, cocking it.
"MAN how they try!"
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Post by Maelstrom on Jun 4, 2017 21:17:02 GMT -6
The screens throughout the ship go dead, before coming back to life with normal readouts and controls. At the same time, the lighting returns to normal and the doors begin operating in the typical fashion. Small lines of the unfamiliar code the AI used still stream across some displays at random, but its ability to take physical action appear curtailed for the moment.
Aside from on the bridge, the vessel falls to silence, save for the normal sounds of starship operations. Automated systems even cut off the leaking plumbing lines and kill power to damaged power conduits and servos. Everything is still, without any unknown parties lurking around corners, no weapons held just out of sight.
On the bridge, with power returning to normal, the exterior airlock fully closes, sealing off two Phantoms, an Engineer, a Dragoon, and two Centurions from the rest of the station. The inner airlock doors close as well, trapping them inside. As they pound on the door, all controls come online, the vessel brought under control of the Shadow Broker's team.
[Round Nine]
General Information- Without any resistance, the new crew is able to move swiftly to their stations. One character who was aware should mention the AI to the engineers, so they can disable it at the hard-lines. The rest of the crew can be to their positions on the initial posts (if there are any questions about their nature or character, feel free to contact the GM for guidance). This round begins the space phase of the mission, with the Okinawa trying to destroy the dreadnought while the Patroclus rams one of the science stations (the Patroclus' actions will be activated by a series of flashes from the Okinawa's running lights).
Bridge Team- The vessel's controls are online, all systems at the ready, and the Okinawa is ready to disembark, on Lysander's orders. Cerberus personnel are closed in the airlock, but if not dealt with by the end of the round, they will be able to break back onto the bridge.
Shuttle Bay Team- No current objectives. Characters may accompany crew, make it to their stations, search the ship for loot, or go to the bridge to interact with the space phase of the mission.
Corridor Team- Only objective is to warn one of the engineering personnel of the AI. After that, they may accompany crew, make it to their stations, search the ship for loot, or go to the bridge to interact with the space phase of the mission.
Space- Several flights of fighters zoom around the area, now on high alert, as the jamming signal has the base commanders agitated but without direction or the ability to coordinate. The cruisers are currently holding position near the relay, still pointed towards the arrival point within the field.
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Post by Naetilia Bolanis on Jun 6, 2017 4:27:33 GMT -6
With the shuttle bay secure, Purius switched out of combat mode and ran back to the shuttle, while Naetilia approached Arcus and scanned him.
“I am not detecting any injuries,” she said. “Are you all right?”
(Insert response by Arcus)
She nodded, then went over to Thrak and scanned him.
“I am not detecting any injuries that require medical attention,” she said. “Are you all right?”
(Insert response from Thrak)
She nodded, then returned to the shuttle to find Purius running around the cramped cabin, barking happily.
“The shuttle bay has been secured,” she said to those inside. “We should head out and get to our assigned positions, but before that, has anyone been injured?”
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