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Post by Maelstrom on Feb 13, 2014 0:02:24 GMT -6
Maelstrom rose to his feet, glad to have the small group of Collectors behind them. He imagined some of his companions might have laughed off the attack, but Maelstrom knew it only took one small suit puncture to mean time in the infirmary under such conditions. Everything was serious.
Just as he was about to turn back to the members of Ares and Persephone, his suit picked up more vibrations in the ground, translating them to sound. A lot of them. He turned to look towards the source the suit's emulators indicated.
From back in the direction of the dig site, a horde of humanoid shapes with glowing blue eyes and luminescent veins running throughout their body charged the members of his team. At first glance, he was not certain of their numbers, but there were more than a dozen. And they were moving fast. The ravine limited their ability to flank the group somewhat but not nearly enough to force them into a bottleneck.
I've only got five. Time to use one? he asked himself.
"Hostiles coming from Tartarus," Maelstrom called into his comms, bringing his rifle up and around to the direction of his foes.
Let's see how quick these go down, he answered. He pulled the trigger. The first couple shots missed, due to his aim being just a hair off as far away as they were. He adjusted and continued shooting round after round into the torso and head of the creature. After a significant amount of fire, it finally went down. Damn, I think the Collectors went down easier.
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Post by Shala'Bekk vas Neema on Feb 13, 2014 2:03:45 GMT -6
Seeing the husks charge en masse froze Shala for a second, but she quickly shook it off; her crewmates needed her. She tapped a command into her omnitool and the drone charged the horde, spewing flames at the group. One went down, but the rest continued their mindless charge, seemingly ignorant of the fact that they were on fire.
After her encounter with the Collectors, Tali'Zorah had shared what she had learned, and one piece of information she had passed along was that combat drones would attract the attention of husks--
Husks? another part of her mind piped up. They don't work for the Collectors, they work for the Reapers!
Focus! another voice ordered, a voice which sounded a lot like her mother's, and Shala snapped back to the present.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2014 12:03:17 GMT -6
Iskra watched as Maelstrom emptied his clip into one of the charging aliens. Shala’s drone took down another but the rest seem to still mindlessly charge, now on fire.
The Drell had never seen creatures like this before. Their forms reminded her of humans but the glowing light that weaved in their skin seemed unnatural. The mindless attack formation reminded her of the albinos, attacking what moved no matter the cost to themselves.
With a yell, Iskra’s arm swirled with biotic power, throwing it down the line of husks. Biotic booms were left unheard as the Shockwave rammed its way down the line of enemies. Over half the group flew into the air, scattered by the strike to the planet but once they hit the ground they were already crawling to get back up.
The doctor aimed the M-6 Carnifex on the closest husk and started firing into its head.
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Post by Iregos on Feb 13, 2014 12:25:38 GMT -6
They didn't have a moment to breathe before the next enemy showed itself. Iskra's biotics knocked half of them into the air. Maelstrom emptied a clip into another. The eerie mechanical creatures were pretty far away, so she readied her pistol with both hands and aimed down the scope.
After shooting one of the husks in the head, twice, she switched her pistol to explosive rounds and shot another husk in the torso. The abdomen of the creature exploded, sending chunks of synthetic debris flying. It slowed down and she fired again, taking out its leg. It stumbled and split in half, falling in slow motion to the ground in a gray mass of grey chunks and mysterious bluish fluid. It seemed to be dead. She'd seen Krogan fall in half the time.
She moved toward the front of the group, consciously out of the way for the others to shoot at the husks with her. With one hand she continued to aim at a second husk's midsection, with the other she replaced the thermal clip.
The husks that went into the air had fallen to the ground, and were already getting back up. They were almost in range of her shotgun.
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Post by grandest on Feb 13, 2014 13:00:47 GMT -6
Black blood spilled out of the Collectors arm that was now missing its hand, courtesy of Meldom. The creature continued to thrash about as Cruendi'has wondered at Mr. Bridges' policy on damaged goods. Cruendi'has wrestled the Collector's good hand away from himself and pushed the creature off. Kneeling up, Cruendi'has shot off another net. This time, it caught the Collector in full. It futilely attempted to escape, managing to spatter more black fluid from its arm. Cruendi'has glanced down at himself. "Do you know how difficult it is to get blood off this thing?" He asked Meldom. The Batarian shook his head in annoyance. Cruendi'has opened his comm channel out to the group. "Zeus has Olympus. Mr. Bridges, we also have your secondary target." He looked at the struggling Collector and its mess. "Assuming you won't, uh, need an extra hand."
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Post by Murchadh on Feb 13, 2014 13:50:59 GMT -6
Meanwhile across the battlefield. Murchadh smiled as another shot from the particle cannon sent another collector into oblivion. The reminders of it small group had taken cover in a small ditch and where firing on his mech with there beam weapons. They where barley even draining it shields which were holding strong. A blast from the secondary light laser guns sent multiple blast of light into the head of one of the collectors. With a single swift move Thor moved on it chasse and sent the last of the collectors into oblivion.
Heat vented into steam from the six legged mech as it lumbered forwards towards it objective every step kicking up a cloud of grey dust. It sottish pilot grinned as he scanned for more collector targets. He knew they where out there somewhere. Speacks moved across the mechs inbuilt as the collects began buzzing across the battlefield mostly in his direction.
Every gun in his arsenal began ripping into the collectors that charged towards his position. They seemed to have no fear as some just threw themselves in front of his mech. Did they have any feeling of fear, the scot thought as his mech weapons unloaded into the swarming insects.
Loud bleeping.
A large blip appeared on his radar screen. The thing must have been at least as large as a standard infantry support mech as it moved across the screen and headed in his direction. " Evereyain keep yer heids doon thaur somethin' big comin' mah way." Murchadh yelled into his radio as he tried to clear the collects in front of him. He need space to engage what ever was coming for him.
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Post by Eric Lysander on Feb 13, 2014 22:34:41 GMT -6
Meldom relayed his team's status over the coms. "Zeus has Olympus. Mr. Bridges, we also have your secondary target. Assuming you won't, uh, need an extra hand."
"Way to go, guys!" was Eric's reply. "Heat up your lightning bolts and keep these bugs from callin' in the queen bee. Vaporize that obs post!"
The Alliance-trained merc panned over to the ravine entrance where light and shadow traced and flickered against its walls, Ares and Persephone already encountering opposition. Several humanoid figures were also seen rushing blindly towards them carrying no weapons. Another horror courtesy of the geth: cybernetically reanimated corpses classified as Husks by Alliance Marines. Most likely what remained of Esteban Bridges' original expedition.
Wait a sec - how the hell do Collectors have geth weapons...? thought Eric. Unless they're workin' together... Je-sus, B-Man, what did you find down there?
He looked to the pass downwind from the ravine. Ten orbs arranged in two columns flowed in, splitting up to border the dig site. The last two drones broke off from their respective lines and headed for the mouth of the ravine to support Ares and Persephone.
Well, we've got robot decoys of our own...
"Evereyain keep yer heids doon thaur somethin' big comin' mah way."
Eric's viewpoint quickly swept back to Murdach's position. The mech driver was taking down the foot soldiers accosting him easy enough. Eric attempted to get a fix.
"Copy that - tryin' to locate. Zeus - if you can manage a second shot, we'll need to keep Murdach's Big Bad and its pals occupied so Persephone and Ares can move in. The drones are setting up the perimeter... hang on, I got somethin'..."
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Post by Esteban Bridges on Feb 14, 2014 6:06:03 GMT -6
Necrotized meat and bone in the shape of man tore through the vacuous landscape, their target was apparent. Everything about them was unnatural. The unforgiving vacuum of space should have hollowed them completely, but they still moved. Every inch of them screamed technological corruption, glowing blue veins burned through their gray flesh. They were neither alive nor dead, neither human nor machine.
Esteban raised his pistol, staring down the barrel at the charging evil. He was going to make every shot count. He pulled the trigger, sending a flash of metal tearing through the nothingness of space. The shard penetrated the skull, between its icy cold neon blue eyes. He wasn't sure if it killed the thing, as the area exploded with a shockwave. His target went flying. It was then that his comm system flared to life.
"Zeus has Olympus. Mr. Bridges, we also have your secondary target," the gruff Batarian voice growled from the helmet's speakers. "Assuming you won't, uh, need an extra hand."
"We could use some support here," Esteban calmly replied, raising his pistol again for his next target.
"Evereyain keep yer heids doon thaur somethin' big comin' mah way."
"Copy that - tryin' to locate. Zeus - if you can manage a second shot, we'll need to keep Murdach's Big Bad and its pals occupied so Persephone and Ares can move in. The drones are setting up the perimeter... hang on, I got somethin'..."
Esteban grimaced, not liking the sound of that. "What do you see?" he inquired.
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Post by Game Master on Feb 14, 2014 6:31:00 GMT -6
[Round 3]
The Mech - Summary: 1 Collector is left attackng. Status: Mook. - Summary: 1 salvaged M12 Tiger IFV. It is equipped with one military grade turret, half the power of a standard Mako turret. The blackened hull of the vehicle bears scorch marks and dents.
Ares and Persephone - Summary: 4 Husks charge. Status: Mooks. 3 Husks are on the ground, getting back to their feet. 5 Husks lie dormant. Husks are mindless enemies, charging in a straight line toward its target. In this case, the target is you. Husks are surprisingly resilient, requiring a full round to just take one down. The 4 husks, unless killed or somehow incapacitated, will reach the group at the end of the round.
Zeus - Summary: You have control over the turrets. The Collector is captured.
[GM Note: So far, no movement coming from the Collector Base or the Dig Site. The Observation Post will be sending out a message warning the Collectors on Barce of what is going on, and potentially sending out an S.O.S. The group has one round to stop this.]
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Post by dargene on Feb 14, 2014 7:06:19 GMT -6
"Do you know how difficult it is to get blood off this thing?"
Meldom smiled inside his helmet "costs of mission should cover dry cleaning..best solution to keep collector occupied" while he was talking he is frantically tapping away at the console "Door lock much simpler then this..Collector tech way more advanced, all fail safes are gone, each shot this turret produces will be significantly more powerful.. overheat probable.. makes this problematic, risk of turret malfunctioning.. possibly exploding.. Going to be fun" he says almost enjoying it.
The turrets start to rotate to focus onto the observation post before a red message popped up and a voice could be heard "Error, biometric imprint required" Meldom shook his head "Stupid encryption.." he looked at the collector somehow i don't think he will willingly give his handprint his inner voice says he looks around and finds the hand he sliced off earlier, he runs over and grabs it before running back to the console and placing it on the scanner.
After a few moments the red error turned green and a voice could be heard again "Bio-metric check complete" the turrets started to warm up, the strange veins around it pulsing faster and faster "God knows what they did to the turrets, lets hope it works" he entered a few more keys finalizing the shots aimed at the observation post "That should do it" he says walking backwards away from the console, standing next to the batarian.
(Someone post how they see the turrets and explosions,i don't want to put it all in one post as it makes it to quick)
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Post by Shala'Bekk vas Neema on Feb 14, 2014 8:40:22 GMT -6
Seeing the four remaining husks continue their charge, Shala grabbed at one of several small blocks of metal attached to her belt and then threw it towards them. Upon landing, it sprung up from the ground, held aloft by a tiny jet, and a small nozzle sprung out from one end. It was a sentry turret, similar to the combat drone, the main difference being that it was immobile.
Several flashes sprung from the nozzle, which was, in fact, the barrel of a small but powerful machine gun. The bullets impacted one of the charging husks, tearing great holes in its torso, and it fell to the ground.
The remaining husks continued their rapid advance, continuing to ignore the losses of their comrades. Tali'Zorah had said that of all the forces of the Collectors--no, the Reapers--husks unnerved her the most, because their lack of self-preservation allowed them to continue despite any injury or loss. The only thing that would stop them was death.
So be it, she thought as she pulled out her shotgun and expanded it into its operational configuration.
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Post by Maelstrom on Feb 14, 2014 10:56:51 GMT -6
They're spaced too far apart for one to be effective, Maelstrom decided. Still, he did not like the rate at which he would be burning through thermal clips if he kept dealing with the husks this way.
That is what they are. Husks, Maelstrom thought, as he replaced his rifle on its mount on his back. He knew Shepard's claims better than most. There were dozens of Cerberus files about them, many with low enough levels of classification that he was able to recover them. Though he knew there was more to it than the Council claimed, he thought much of what they contained was Cerberus propaganda. Now, he had to wonder. Just don't drop a giant metal cuttlefish on us...
He flexed his fingers once they were free of the weapon, as he surveyed the field. Two of the charging husks were nearly in a straight line with him. He smiled. Though he usually used his biotics in a more unique way, vacuum limited him somewhat, causing him to fall back on simpler tricks. Rather than anything more flashy, he threw both hands forward, hitting the husk in front with a powerful biotic push. The impact send the creature flying into the one behind it before they both went down to the ground.
The first did not even appear dazed, quickly trying to roll itself over and get up, its only hindrance being a certain lack of coordination, as though it had never been on its back before. The other stayed down, having landed in such a way that one of the wasteland's sharp pieces of rock now jutted from the back of its skull through it's gaping mouth.
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Post by Iregos on Feb 14, 2014 13:59:34 GMT -6
She fired one more shot with her pistol, preparing the shotgun with her other hand. The shot went wide, sheering off a third of the torso from the foremost husk, which barely staggered from the attack, while another was taken down by Shala's turret.
In one desperate, swift motion she lowered and fired her shotgun, blasting through the husk in front that had been injured, spraying particles into space as it slumped into a heap. The shot also ripped the arm of the husk next to it, nearly tearing off the limb, and stray shrapnel struck the torso of the husk behind them, not even staggering it. At the same moment Maelstrom's attack knocked the two remaining husks over; the one tagged by shrapnel stayed on the ground, but the one with a damaged arm kept coming.
A few husks further away were getting back up to continue the ambush. They were in a pitched battle, using precious seconds to defeat these twisted abominations. They needed to get to the objective. They needed to find out what the Collector's wanted here.
She began to glow with biotic potential, and positioned her feet to charge or resist their charge. They were in the way of the objective, and she planned to make that cost them.
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Post by Murchadh on Feb 14, 2014 15:23:09 GMT -6
There was a bright flash as the last collector despaired in blast from Thor particle cannon. The mech swiveled around to face the approaching target as it pivoted on the slop to get a better view. A dust cloud was approaching him at an incredible speed. Judging by the large cloud it was a track vehicle. Did the collectors have any vehicles? Most of there technology looked organic Murchadh thought to himself as he prepared to face the oncoming threat.
It was soon reviled as the cloud faded reviling a M12 Tiger IFV appeared out of the gloom. It blackened hull was a similar design to the alliance Mako only rounder and bulky to carry more troops. It had been bent and dented out of shape in a way that would make the original design weep. The cannon atop it swung round and fired a blast of bright energy at the six legged mech. The jets on his mech legs fired as it jumped into the air to avoid the blasted. Thor drifted to the side, but had to jump again as the turret fired again.
His secondary cannons opened fire as he keep moving to avoid the IFV cannon. He could get a good shot with the particle cannon and even if he could it shields where still up. He was slowly witling it down he just had to keep moving. Whatever was driving the IFV was getting better as it turret came closer and closer with every shot. As his mech jumped again the turret swerved and fired this time where he was going to land. The shot slammed into Thor shields sending the mech backwords in the rocky ground. His shields where down to just twenty five percent if he took another hit like that he wasn't going to make it. Slamming the mechs legs into the ground he brought the particle cannon round and targeted the IFV.
A bright blue shot ruptured from the barrel of his cannon and sped towards it target. It weak shields broke as the shot slammed into the broken vehicle and blew it to pieces. Murchadh smiled as pieces of broken wrecked fell all around him. " Targit destroyed. Tak' 'at ye bludy bugs. " He yelled into the radio as he punched in the code to recharge Thor shields and run a quick scan. Hopefully nothing had been damaged.
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Post by River Havens on Feb 15, 2014 6:14:26 GMT -6
Doing a double check of her ammo supply, River loaded up another round into the chamber of her Mantis, lined up her sights and fired. The shot was muffled thanks to her silencer. The Collector's head whipped back from the impact, bright splatters of putrid blood showering everywhere before his body dropped into a limp pile. River let off another round as another Collector came into view, catching the bug creature in his back. Unfortunately the poor bastard didn't die right away.
For several seconds which felt more like minutes, River watched through her scope as the creature tried to crawl for its weapon. It was paralyzed; the shot had severed it's spine rendering its legs useless.
'Kill cleanly. Minimize suffering.'
Her uncle's words echoed in her mind just as she fired another round straight through the Collector's brain. In her ear piece, she listened to the back and forth conversations going on between her team mates. She didn't want to say it out, but something in her gut was telling her that something was amiss. That nagging feeling that made her uneasy and anxious; as though she were expecting to go horribly south any minute. Call it instinct or negetive thinking; either way she didn't like it.
Just then, the flare of a laser sight flashed at the corner of her eye.
"Eric, aim high on the right! 2 o'clock!"
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Post by Eric Lysander on Feb 15, 2014 13:42:11 GMT -6
"What do you see?" Bridges asked as Eric scrutinized the area in front of Murdach and saw the enemy vehicle approach. The expedition members and the turrets were not the only things repurposed by the Collectors.
"Fighting Vehicle, M12 Tiger. It's gotta bead on Murdach. Zeus, stand by for triangulation..."
Eric kept track of the friendly mech as it did battle with the corrupted tank. The wily Scotsman was holding his own but the enemy grew more adept at predicting his actions, at one point landing a shot that knocked Murdach back into the ground.
"Oh crap- hang in there, man! Zeus!"
Eric cycled through his ammo settings listing in his viewfinder. Nothing he had was powerful enough to affect the fighting vehicle and even if he could toss a grenade his arm would practically need to be a mass accelerator to make the distance, lack of atmosphere notwithstanding. As the mech recovered one lone Collector was seen close by, aiming a formidable looking weapon meaning to hit him while he was down.
Oh, no you don't!
An armor-piercing bolt from Eric's Viper to the Collector's braincase put an end to that ploy. A second later the six-legged mech was able to brace itself and aim its particle cannon at the fighting vehicle. A bright blue burst put a stop to its attack, scattering burning fragments about the battlefield.
"Targit destroyed. Tak' 'at ye bludy bugs." Murdach broadcast triumphantly over the coms.
"Belay that order, Zeus. Jesus, that was almost your kilt, Murdach!" added Eric as he directed his attention to the mouth of the ravine. "'kay, Mr. B. Lining up some cannon fodder."
Eric zoomed in and took down two Husks charging towards his employer. So absorbed in his task that he did not notice a sniper from afar zeroing on his position, its laser sight flickering on his shoulder.
But Eric's young partner did.
"Eric, aim high on the right! 2 o'clock!" cried River from her vantage point.
"Wha-"
Eric directed his aim accordingly and caught hint of the laser sight. The next moment was a blur of action and reaction. Eric instinctively shuffled to his left narrowly avoiding a high velocity particle. The particle was strong enough to disrupt his kinetic barrier, despite its enhanced strength to withstand explosive force. Warning tones went off in his helmet as the barriers charged up to rebuild. A six-second process. An eternity of vulnerability.
Why you little-
Eric spotted the culprit through his sights preparing for another shot and returned the favor. The enemy sniper was not so fortunate. The warning tones stopped, replaced with an escalating beep as his barriers were restored to full. Eric exhaled heavily and resumed providing cover for Ares and Persephone.
"... thanks, kid! I owe you one!"
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Post by Esteban Bridges on Feb 15, 2014 18:26:25 GMT -6
Esteban pulled the trigger over and over again, sending hot and deadly shrapnel at his target. A nearby husk rolled almost helplessly on the dusty surface, the icy neon blue lights highlighting the struggle. Each shot tore another hole into the dead flesh, each gash creating glowing splashes of blue out into the infinity of space. He'd feel bad about taking out the one on its back, but killing enemies when they were helpless was the most strategic thing to do.
Once the thing was at peace, he turned his head up to see the aftermath of the Observation Post. The top of the post was missing, jagged metal still glowing from the powerful impact. Wow... he mouthed to himself. For a moment, Esteban forgot that sound didn't travel in space. He marveled at not hearing the explosion.
"'kay, Mr. B. Lining up some cannon fodder."
And he turned back, jumping in surprise. He took his eyes off the battle for one second. That single second nearly cost him his life. Two husks were close to being on top of him before huge holes appeared through their heads and chest.
".......thanks," the businessman managed to get out, clearly stunned.
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Post by Game Master on Feb 16, 2014 5:49:56 GMT -6
[GM Post: End of first wave of combat]
Remaining enemies - Two husks. Status - Mooks. - Action: Charging. - Can be killed easily (overwhelming force)
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The two husks will be easily dispatched, provided the PCs choose to dispatch them. If not, the husks will reach the PCs and breach their armor. The armor breaches will occur once per round per husk. Once the husks lie dead, the PCs will have a new issue. The battlefield will be dormant. No hint at any charging Collectors at all. They seem to be within their base or the dig site.
The Collectors that were on patrol were all dispatched. The husks (if investigated) will have bit of Blue Suns armor remaining on them.
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The PC will have one round of free action to decide on what to do next.
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Post by Iregos on Feb 16, 2014 11:05:27 GMT -6
They finished off the last husks with the help of Shala's turret, blasting parts into space.
She stopped radiating a blue aura, and now there was silence. She slung her shotgun and took out her pistol, moving at a (cautiously) brisk pace through the husks toward the dig site. She glanced at the bodies, ready to fire at any that showed signs of getting up. She noted the remnants of armor, indicating these had been somehow transformed from humanoid beings into those hollow creatures.
Something from the back of her mind crept forward, a feeling that she'd seen something like this before. A connection of events that was evolving into an observation. She'd heard rumors of Eden Prime, and now she knew they were not rumors. Why would something so significant and alien be covered up? She'd seen the dregs of the worst technologies available in council space, but never anything that did this. The main thought she had was, why?
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Post by Maelstrom on Feb 16, 2014 12:43:56 GMT -6
With the husks gone, Maelstrom made his way to the remains of the Collectors the group first encountered. He wanted to know what kind of equipment the enemy was using, so he would be better prepared when he ran into more. To be safe, he drew his submachine gun, in case one of the creatures was somehow still alive.
(Awaiting GM post on what armaments I'll find. I'd like to loot some stuff, if able.)
An idea occurred to him, as he knelt by the corpses. "Shala'Bekk, Mr. Bridges, do you think you could pull a comms unit from one of these corpses? Something that could let us tap into their communications? I doubt we'd be able to understand anything they're saying, but that doesn't mean we might not be able to confuse or startle them if we need a slight edge later on."
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