Chapter Nine: Prairie Fire!

[Sherwood]

Mario listens to the radio with shock. When Herc mentioned Bong, it could only be that one of the Broo had managed to sneak along with him on the outside of the tank! Swearing to himself, he replies, "I'm shifting over to cover your withdrawl. Keep your passenger safe, and we'll be waiting for your return!"

 

[Psychie]

Toph may not be a tanker, but she knows how to fight inside a Veritech, and the Mjolnir tanks are not all that different. Except in the ways that it is, of course. She replies with a clipped, "Understood, Mack. Muppet is calling the shots. Hercules, use your best judgement on evacuating with your unexpected passenger. Mars, keep his back covered! Everyone, keep focusing fire on one target at a time and wipe them out. Try to identify and eliminate any of the mecha with the advanced tech that the Zeki have before worrying about the 'regular' mecha."

Keeping her own order, she quickly looks across the field for any exposed Zentraedi targets to hit, paying special attention to those with any of the unusual technology of the Zeki on it to focus on first. If she spots any with that strange gear on it, she triggers off a shot with her main gun, using a sabot round to try and nail the bastard and send the pilot straight to hell. If there are not any upgraded mecha, her next choice will be any Officer Pods or Female or Male Powered Armor units first before going after a regular Battle Pod.

 

[Kaerri]

Spoiler: Lt. Eadric Braidwood

Character Sheet
Action Points: 9/9
Bonus Action Points: 0

Six beings are standing motionless on a snowy slope opposite the Zeki Command Ship. Eadric glances in that direction and BOOP zooms in revealing Female Power Armor! The six are facing the battle, snow all over them as if they have been here for hours and hours. They do not raise a finger. They simply appear to watch.

"Well, BOOP said there were Meltrandi about," Eadric noted to himself. It doesn't appear to be a concern at the moment, so the note gets filed to his backbrain. Then the forebrain pings, and he nods and calls over the radio in a light, just-FYI tone, "Sveadotter, I've got six Female Power Armors on the ground," and he gives Ylva an approximate direction and range from his position (I'm not sure of it, without seeing them on a map, but he'd know). "Apparently not hostile at present," he adds, and files the mental note away again.

Up in the sky, looking down, it is like someone took an eraser to a gigantic chalkboard and hurriedly moved it from left to right leaving only dust and whatever it was hiding. Down below, for Captain Sharp and the Wild Cards, a 100 foot wide swath of the cloud is nearly vaporized leaving behind small tendrils of debris and wisps of gauzy smoke that don't seem to know which way to blow...

...along with four red and black Zeki Zentraedi Officer's Pods with their guns trained on the Wild Cards!

"Well done, BOOP!" Eadric grins at the shot's success. His smile fades as three of the revealed pods turn their guns on one of his new allies (and a strange design that ally's mecha is, too! Some kind of tank, maybe, from its movements?), but reappears as the first two miss and the third is turned to slag by a Spartas. "Oh, well done!" he crows, though not over the radio.

His smile fades again as something Eadric has never seen before attacks the Spartas in turn. "What is that?" he asks of no one in particular (forgetting to do so over the radio). He doesn't know, but someone clearly does, as one of the unknown-style mechas scoops up the Spartas and speeds towards the starship. Whatever that strange weapon is, its effect is clearly serious and requiring immediate withdrawal from combat to deal with. "BOOP, if anything fires that at us, get us out of the way," he says urgently.

But it seems vengeance is close at hand, for another unfamiliar Wild Card mecha figuratively explodes with it. "Câlisse*," he breathes in awe. Is such a volley even possible? His eyes tell him it is. The remnants of what once was a Zentraedi Officer's Pod confirm it. He shakes his head, hazel-brown eyes wide. The remaining two Officer Pods must be equally struck, turning as if to flee the battlefield. And good riddance, too.
*câlisse - literally "chalice," another of the oddly religious Québécois swear words. Eadric is using it semi-reverentially, not just as profanity.

Unexpected movement elsewhere -- or rather at the origin of the incredible blast -- catches his attention, and he turns to look at the vengeful mecha. BOOP obligingly zooms in, giving a clear view of . . . Eadric isn't sure what. Power armor of some kind that seems to have been on the outside of the mecha, is now at the its hatch and being pulled inside. Sveadotter had said they were picking up a team. Perhaps this was one of them? He wonders if he should ask, but decides not to clutter the radio. If she thinks he needs to know, she'll tell him. She has impressed him as being a practical sort of person, even on so slight an acquaintance. Instead, he turns his attention back to the two visible (and still, for the moment, active) Officer's Pods, and the red cloud they'd been hiding in. Destroying more of that cloud so his allies can take on what its hiding seems to be his personal imperative at present.

 

[Purr]

"BOOP, if anything fires that at us, get us out of the way," he says urgently.

BOOP acknowledges with a "boop!" =)

 

[Silanon]

There's the urge in her mind to get caught by the impressive action on all sides. By the turmoil, flashiness and danger.Ylva fights it down as well as she can. Astonishment makes you easy prey. Euphoria is a bad advisor. Worry makes you second-guess your every move. None of that can have a place in her mind if she wants to be at her best. And thus, she tries to stay focused, on point, and do what she signed up for.

"Well, BOOP said there were Meltrandi about," Eadric noted to himself. It doesn't appear to be a concern at the moment, so the note gets filed to his backbrain. Then the forebrain pings, and he nods and calls over the radio in a light, just-FYI tone, "Sveadotter, I've got six Female Power Armors on the ground," and he gives Ylva an approximate direction and range from his position (I'm not sure of it, without seeing them on a map, but he'd know). "Apparently not hostile at present," he adds, and files the mental note away again.

"Copy that, thanks. I'll let the squad leader know. Keep an eye on them for us, in case they intervene." With Toph being in charge after what happened to Sharp, Ylva opens the respective channel to forward all that is of importance right now."Kirin, we have bystanders. Female Power Armor, no threat thus far. As soon as that changes, you'll know."

Shifting in the air, she directs her Logan to cover her allies' retreat towards the Broadsword as best as she can - both with the Logan's armor, and the guns at her disposal. And missiles. Where Hercules left a first impression, she does her best to add to it. Eight HEAP-missiles are sent right towards the closest officer pod in the open, trying to crack its hull; and maybe get the point across that there's more to come if the fight continues. "Providing covering fire. Let me know where I'm needed."

 

[Purr]

Silanon Captain Hesperus Tag!

Ylva does indeed add to the impression but not in a way any of you probably could have seen coming.

Ylva sees the eight fire-lights from her brightly-tailed missiles leave Munin and at one of the remaining Officer Pods. Unlike the last, this Zeki fires back. Six short-range missiles of its own flare up and shoot out toward Ylva's salvo. It seems impossible that salvos of these sizes could meet and not impact but that is precisely what happens! The missiles speed past each other without detonating and onto the mecha that fired them!

In tactical action, where a defending opponent seeks not to defend against an attacker but instead meets the attack with one of their own, it is called a simultaneous attack. It often causes damage to both bodies. In the case of six short-range missiles with no time to dodge or launch chaff or flares, the missile barrage coming at Ylva is one that she is certain will badly damage her Super Logan.

Except the oncoming Zeki attack never hits! Suddenly, the air all around Munin lights up with bright orange lights and silvery clouds of shimmering metal. Explosions shake the prototype veritech and rattle both the pilot and the Mechakitten inside (who comically lets out frightened "Ee--ee-EE-ee!" sounds as he is literally shaken despite his magnetically-attached paws)). When Ylva looks up, she sees just in time her own eight missiles plow straight into the Officer's Battlepod, punching straight into its armor and blowing it to smithereens!

Chaff and flares from Ylva's own Super Logan have saved her. But looking down at her thumb-switch that activates those life-saving defenses, she knows without a doubt that not only did she not launch the flares and chaff, but she had no time to do so!

And yet... she lives while her opponent has been blasted into fiery bunches of exploding atoms.

"Heyyy!" Trouble stares at Ylva and meows in astonishment while his boyish voice sounds off in her mind. "Dat wuz incredibles! How did you dids daaat?"

Psychie It is Toph's turn to act. There is one remaining (evidently unaltered) Zeki Officer's Battlepod left before you and he appears to be trying to disappear into the Red Thunder Cloud. What does Toph do?

 

[Silanon]

"That. . . wasn't me. That was Munin alone. Must've been. Couldn't have done a bloody thing." Ylva takes a deep breath, only now realizing that she held hers for those crucial moments when getting hit, perhaps killed, seemed inevitable.

"Thanks , Munin. That was incredible."

 

[Purr]

Silanon

Munin replies.

"The Missile Baffler was your doing. I merely complied with your request."

 

[Psychie]

Muppet calls out, "Good shooting! Now its my turn to do some damage. Silver Bullet on the way." She targets the remaining Glaug Officer Pod with her main gun and pulls the trigger with one of the APFSDS shells, trying to score a solid hit on the enemy unit.

 

[Purr]

Muppet calls out, "Good shooting! Now its my turn to do some damage.

Except unfortunately it's not (OOC: The white and green d20 came up with a 4). Maybe next Round?

Muppet is quick to try to get a bead on the Officer's Battlepod, but in her excitement, she jerks the trigger (something anybody can do, especially during the heat and stress of combat) and that 120mm silver bullet goes flying to parts unknown.

Sherwood It is now Mario's turn to act. How does he make use of it?

 

[Sherwood]

Mario slides his tank over to be in a better position to interpose his own vehicle in between any shots from the Zeki and Hercules' mecha, and as he does so, he lines up a salvo of six mini missiles at the remaining Officer Pod, hoping that he can score a solid hit and take it out. "Fire in the hole!"

 

[Purr]

Spoiler: Battle music - Rick Hunter Metal Theme! Dig this!

"Robotech - Rick Hunter Metal Theme - Matias D' Andrea"

Muppet is quick to try to get a bead on the Officer's Battlepod, but in her excitement, she jerks the trigger (something anybody can do, especially during the heat and stress of combat) and that 120mm silver bullet goes flying to parts unknown.

Psychie

And the mecha-related strangeness continues!

As Muppet's tank round zips past the Officer's Battlepod, Muppet is treated to the sound of her Mjolnir's rapid-fire Blaster Cannon suddenly activating, turning, tracking, and then firing all by itself! Dozens of red laser bolts fly over the ice and snow and stitches a nasty line across the Zeki mecha's hull as bits of armor melt off. To everyone outside of Toph's tank, it is as if she fired both weapons at the same time all by herself - something that should be nearly as physically impossible to attempt as Hercules's Alpha Strike that everyone witnessed.

* * *​

Mario slides his tank over to be in a better position to interpose his own vehicle in between any shots from the Zeki and Hercules' mecha, and as he does so, he lines up a salvo of six mini missiles at the remaining Officer Pod, hoping that he can score a solid hit and take it out. "Fire in the hole!"

Two oddities occur when Mario's turn comes about and only the second of the two is easily-explained. =)

When Mario guides Toothgnasher to get into a stronger defensive position to assist Hercules, Toothgnasher goes from cruising speed to full throttle in an astonishingly-short time! Mario is thrust back into his chair as the Mjolnir shoots forward like a race car and before Mario knows it, he is right where he wanted to be in about half of the time it should have taken!

Then Mario directs Toothgnasher's MRL at the Officer's Pod and fires. However, the MRL stands for Multiple Rocket Launcher (no mini-missiles in here!). All six projectiles fly straight and true at the damaged Officer's Pod who maneuvers in such a way that tells Mario the Zeki pilot clearly sees he's in trouble. Small hatches open on the Officer's Battlepod and out fly bright red shiny flares and cascading clouds of silvery chaff...

...which have absolutely no effect on rocket-fire! Unlike missiles, rockets are not guided munitions. They lack any kind of computerized system to assist with their accuracy. Whether a salvo hits or misses is entirely on the pilot (much like an RPG).

So imagine the Zeki-Zentraedi pilot's surprise when the the six rockets fly clean through the flares and chaff and slam dead-on into the already-scorched hull of the Battlepod... turning it into a towering heap of blazing, exploding metal! The Battlepod falls flat on its back in the snow and erupts into a twisted column of flame - flame that further backs away any bits of the Red Thunder Cloud around it.

About that time, you feel Mack come over your polyphonic nexus exclaiming, "Guys? What in the heck is going on over there? How are you doing that?!"

(OOC: You are welcome to reply using short phrases.)

Kaerri It is Round 2 and Eadric's turn. How does he choose to use it?

 

[Silanon]

"Ylva here. Munin's putting in some extra work to fulfill the protocols. Kind of reacting long before I could act myself."

 

[Purr]

Hearing this, Munin makes the following telepathic statement to Ylva. "My course of action was not possible without you or another Traverser."

 

[Psychie]

Toph acknowledges that with, "Yeah, Freki is doing the same thing for me. Not that I'm going to complain if it cleans up the mess of these Zeki-Zentraedi faster. Just be aware that your ammo stores might be depleted faster than you had planned on, and keep up the fight."

 

[Purr]

Psychie About that time, Freki mentally communicates with Muppet. "Without you or another Traverser, my actions cannot be."

 

[Silanon]

Hearing this, Munin makes the following telepathic statement to Ylva. "My course of action was not possible without you or another Traverser."

"I'll have questions on that once we're all out of here in one piece. Until then, keep at it - worked like a charm, just now." A mystery unsolved - how the heck does this traversing work, in detail? Is it the connection that catches thoughts long before her brain processes them? Something else entirely? Who knows. It'll have to wait while there's still the threat of death looming over everyone.

 

[Captain Hesperus]

About that time, you feel Mack come over your polyphonic nexus exclaiming, "Guys? What in the heck is going on over there? How are you doing that?!"

Hercules feels Mack over the nexus and responds, Delivering the hurt, ma'am. I'm revising my prior request to fall back. Beema wants me to go find Scary Jerry and I think now's the best time to do it. I'm going to initiate a gridsearch based on Adamantium's exfil route, perhaps he's bunkered down in a hole somewhere.
So saying, he looked over at Beema, "We gonna find Jerry. You be good or Bong gonna be super angry at me."
He pulled up the Mjolnir's IFF system and set it to sweep for friendly transponders that weren't his squads.
"Hold on, Jerry, cavalry's on the way."

 

[Kaerri]

Spoiler: Lt. Eadric Braidwood

Character Sheet
Action Points: 9/9
Bonus Action Points: 0

"Copy that, thanks. I'll let the squad leader know. Keep an eye on them for us, in case they intervene."

"Yes ma'am," Eadric acknowledges briefly. He gives the Meltrandi another glance, then watches some of his allies (Ylva and Mario) change position, probably to cover the others from air and land. The Logan fires, again more heavily than Eadric would have expected. Surely he isn't that out of touch with current mecha capabilities? Although given that some of their units are completely new to him, maybe he is. Or maybe they're part of a prototype team. Either way, there seems to have been some serious modifications done! Not to downplay the skill of the pilots, he reminded himself as one of the unknown mecha (probably a tank) moves with unusual speed and precision before taking out the last visible Officer's Pod. "These guys are something else," he comments admiringly.

With no visible targets remaining, Eadric decides to see if he can help them find some more. He fixes his eyes (and the targeting reticule) on another swath of red cloud, the nearest to the tank that had just destroyed the last Officer's Pod (Mario). "Fire," he requests firmly of BOOP.

 

[Purr]

Captain Hesperus Kaerri Psychie Sherwood Silanon Tag!

Spoiler: Instrumental Tunes

"Mass Effect - Rescuing the Quarian (Missing Track)"

(Part 1 of 2) (Your GM playing a little "catch-up.")

Eadric...

"Well, BOOP said there were Meltrandi about," Eadric noted to himself. It doesn't appear to be a concern at the moment, so the note gets filed to his backbrain. Then the forebrain pings, and he nods and calls over the radio in a light, just-FYI tone, "Sveadotter, I've got six Female Power Armors on the ground," and he gives Ylva an approximate direction and range from his position (I'm not sure of it, without seeing them on a map, but he'd know). "Apparently not hostile at present," he adds, and files the mental note away again.

Just as Lt. Braidwood is giving that last information out, he could swear one of the Female Power Armor units moves. She seems to turn, look up in his direction and simply watch him and BOOP. And she doesn't take her eyes off of him as best as Eadric can tell.

* * *​

Ylva...

"I'll have questions on that once we're all out of here in one piece. Until then, keep at it - worked like a charm, just now."

Eerily, yet somehow sounding quite loyal, Munin replies. "Acknowledged. Missile Baffler operation continues."

* * *​

Hercules, Toph, and everyone over the polyphonic nexus.

Hercules feels Mack over the nexus and responds, Delivering the hurt, ma'am. I'm revising my prior request to fall back. Beema wants me to go find Scary Jerry and I think now's the best time to do it. I'm going to initiate a gridsearch based on Adamantium's exfil route, perhaps he's bunkered down in a hole somewhere.

Hercules immediately feels unmasked feminine emotions erupting from Mack's mind. "BEEMA?! Christ in a MAC II, how in the-- Forget it. Herc? I'm talking with the bridge to help locate Scary Jerry's position."

To Toph, Mack's feelings are like that of a hot barrel rapidly cooling in the Antarctic snow. "Muppet? We've got Adamantium nearly onboard here. That enemy Wargoth fire is really odd - they've got to have 20 Beastmasters in their crimson cloud to be firing Wargoths the way they are. The Broadsword is going to close up her hangar bays until you find Jerry. Hitomi just flew out of here with Sharp to the Medbay. It was close but I think he'll be okay after some time down there."

* * *​

So saying, he looked over at Beema, "We gonna find Jerry. You be good or Bong gonna be super angry at me."

From inside Herc's spare CVR-3 armor, Beema waves one furry paw and smiles hugely at Herc in an effort to stomp his concern into the ice. "No, no... Bong no be mad at Hurk-yoo-leez! You no worry, no worry."

Then the young Beastie has the presence of mind to snicker and add this little gem to Hercules's already stressful atmosphere.

"No Bong. Bong be fine. Chief Faydra be de one hunting afta you if Beema die."

* * *​

He pulled up the Mjolnir's IFF system and set it to sweep for friendly transponders that weren't his squads.
"Hold on, Jerry, cavalry's on the way."

This decision comes in awfully handy... in my next post. =)

 

[Purr]

(Part 2 of 2)

Spoiler: MOAR Instrumental Tunes! Moaaar!

"Mass Effect - Virmire Battle (Missing Track)"

Lt. Eadric Braidwood... Kaerri

With no visible targets remaining, Eadric decides to see if he can help them find some more. He fixes his eyes (and the targeting reticule) on another swath of red cloud, the nearest to the tank that had just destroyed the last Officer's Pod (Mario). "Fire," he requests firmly of BOOP.

With precision only known to computers and the cores that act as their souls, BOOP's Hawking Device creates a high-tech digital path for BOOP's cannon to follow - all trailing but nanoseconds behind Eadric's unblinking gaze. From Eadric's position high above, a great red beam from BOOP's undercarriage lances out for a second time carving out a 50-meter-wide section of the Red Thunder Cloud closest to the Wild Cards and thus, the Broadsword and the bloodied and battered Adamantium.

A moment later, the Zeki appear to have had enough of the Canadian and his super-scientific Veritech with the forward-swept wings and Eadric immediately becomes aware of a blinking screen displaying half a dozen missile-like objects trailing up from the red thunder cloud and at him - objects with mottled green skin, eager gnashing teeth, flailing legs that seem to run through the air, and hellish red eyes - alien beasts lifted up by rocket packs and coming straight at him! When BOOP turns, the speeding monsters turn to intercept!

Without needing to be told, BOOP veers off and takes evasive action. And then the chase is on!

One glance at BOOP's cockpit reminds Eadric that BOOP is not a combat vehicle.

How does Eadric handle this new danger?

* * *​

The Wild Cards... Captain Hesperus Psychie Sherwood Silanon

He pulled up the Mjolnir's IFF system and set it to sweep for friendly transponders that weren't his squads.
"Hold on, Jerry, cavalry's on the way."

One moment, all of you are looking at the smoking ruins of four Officer Battle pods and a huge oncoming red cloud some 1,000 meters wide - the next moment a huge red blast once again pours down from above, slicing a swath like Mega-damage fire through early-morning frost and utterly disintegrating a 50-meter-wide path of Red Thunder Cloud before you!

This instantly reveals three important previously-shrouded mysteries:

1. More red and black-clad Zeki Zentraedi mecha who were clearly using the cloud as cover! Four more Officer Battle Pods with seemingly standard armament backed up by three Nousjadeul-Ger Male Powered Armor units with highly-unusual cannons on their shoulders! Replacing their formidable particle cannons are giant tubes being stuffed with wriggling Wargoths - effectively making each Male Power Armor unit a mini-Beastmaster! All three have evidently just fired said cannons into the air and now their four-legged ammo is loading itself into their cannons!

2. At the new edge of the cloud furthest from the Wild Cards, two more Male Power Armor units (with the same cannons) are hauling what looks like a limp someone in a backpack-laden Broadsword UEEF CVR-3 armor painted white and black! One Zeki holds his arms, the other his legs. They are swiftly trotting through what looks like a strange almost oval-shaped mecha-sized door mostly concealed by the Red Thunder Cloud. Only now are you aware of this since the cloud has been again cut away. They are inside the ship. The door has not yet closed. So quickly are they hustling that they will be gone in seconds!

Hercules's IFF transponder pings on that CVR-3 suit! It's Adamantium's without a doubt!

Spoiler: OOC to all

OOC to Cap'n: With a flick of the switch and a free action, Herc can electronically share this data with his fellow Wild Cards via his Mjolnir. You can do this now; just say so either in an in-game post or reply to this message in Fat Gandalf's.

3. And perhaps the strangest thing of all! As this new slice of Red Thunder Cloud is vaporized, you see a lone human figure not 60 meters away in the snow! He is wearing all-black military gear and carrying what appears be a damaged Undertaker rifle complete with scope, its barrel melted off and still smoldering in the icy landscape. The figure is desperately trying to run through knee-high snow to get to you (ever run through high snow? It's a pain!). Waving one hand at you, the figure taps one side of his head. A moment later, you hear an incoming message over the main Broadsword radio band that you and the Garfish starship are sharing. It's Scary Jerry! And he is madly shouting over the radio like a man possessed!

"--the backpack! Shoot it! The backpack on my armor! Hit it before it's gone, dammit!!"

Then it dawns on you. That's one hell of a shot. Time for a bit of Shop Talk.

Spoiler: The Shot!

Called Shots normally come in at a 12 or higher on a d20 roll with a minimum of -3 to Strike on the die (or 15 or higher with no negatives if you like to see it that way). The two Male Power Armor units are rapidly moving with the aid of their jetpacks. They are within seconds of entering some strange door that once through are gone inside.

1. We're talking about a Called Shot with a target number of 25 to hit with a -3 to Strike (or 28 total with no negatives if you prefer that math). Novices need not apply, experts will be lucky to get close. But 9th level Wild Cards? With Players who know their stuff? YOU have a chance.

2. However, it's a single try for each of you except Eadric (who is a little busy to make the attempt)! ONE die roll with whatever weapon your mecha has and, it being a backpack, it's not going to defend itself (so don't worry about it Parrying, Dodging, etc.). Also, it's a single hit - damage doesn't matter - just hit it with something Mega-damage.

3. For our newer Players, some tips. Don't even think about missiles or rockets. They're too inaccurate (and chances are, the Male Power Armors could use chaff/flares to decoy against Munin's missiles). Your best bet? Any projectile or energy weapon you've got. Your Blaster Cannons, your EU-11s, your Mjolnir's 120mm main gun, the Super Prototype Logan's tri-cannon, whatever you want that's direct in nature.

I highly recommend you guys talk this out in Fat Gandalf's as a team before any of you fire a shot. One Action for each of you is all you get so if you spend it doing something besides shooting, then your chance is gone. With Mack and Cera busy, your NPC counterparts cannot aid you here. The Broadsword, First Flight, and Adamantium are also too busy and by the time you contact them, this moment is gone.

It's the four Wild Card PCs or nothing!

As always, the decisions are yours to make. Hope to see you guys putting your heads together (Kaerri included) in Fat Gandalf's!

Honor and fun,
Dann =)

 

[Kaerri]

A moment later, the Zeki appear to have had enough of the Canadian and his super-scientific Veritech with the forward-swept wings and Eadric immediately becomes aware of a blinking screen displaying half a dozen missile-like objects trailing up from the red thunder cloud and at him - objects with mottled green skin, eager gnashing teeth, flailing legs that seem to run through the air, and hellish red eyes - alien beasts lifted up by rocket packs and coming straight at him! When BOOP turns, the speeding monsters turn to intercept!

Without needing to be told, BOOP veers off and takes evasive action. And then the chase is on!

One glance at BOOP's cockpit reminds Eadric that BOOP is not a combat vehicle.

How does Eadric handle this new danger?

All thoughts of the watching Female Power Armor leaves Eadric's mind at the sight of the six alien beast-missiles that now have him in their sights. He may not know precisely what they're capable of, but he's got a pretty good guess they're capable of something really bad, just from the speedy evac his new allies had given the last guy to get attacked by them. "Tabernac,*" he growls as BOOP evades. Clinging to his seat, he glances wildly around at the cockpit, reminded not only that BOOP isn't designed for combat but also not designed for manual controls. "Increase speed!" he snaps, his eyes returning to the incoming, living, rocket-powered projectiles. "Stay ahead of them until we can destroy them! Or one of the others," he adds slightly less sharply, and switches to radio.

"Sveadotter, I've got a half-dozen beast-rockets on me. I can stay ahead of 'em for now, I think, but advice on getting rid of the things 'd be welcome!"

Speaking to BOOP again, he asks, "Can we turn your heat thing on them or are they moving too fast?"

Tabernac - basically, "Fuck!"

 

[Purr]

Captain Hesperus Tag!

Spoiler: MUSIC!

(I just love this track - it's one of those easy to keep on Loop, don't you think?)
"Mass Effect Soundtrack - Ilos Battle (Missing Track)" by Jack Wall

With Beema silently watching with great anticipation, Hercules loads his MPAT into his Mjolnir's main gun. Targeting as best he can through the din of the battle with laser blasts, missiles, Wargoths, and more shaking the very air around the Wild Cards, he looses...

...and misses. The round sails past and short of the door exploding mightily, but only destroying snow and ice this time.

Spoiler: Blue dice.

The blue d20 you chose came up a 6. Even with the 2 and 6 that came up on the 2d6 (keeping the latter, of course), this shot proves to be just that tough for the moment. As they say in sports, "Good try!"

Silanon The moment arrives for Ylva's time to act. With Trouble's four paws adhered to the cockpit and his little yellow eyes glowing with excitement, how does Ylva use her opportunity?

 

[Silanon]

"Sveadotter, I've got a half-dozen beast-rockets on me. I can stay ahead of 'em for now, I think, but advice on getting rid of the things 'd be welcome!"

"Keep them at a distance, they're loaded with explosives. I'll see if we can offer any support." Channels are quickly switched to share the news. "Broadsword, Sveadotter here. Our ally has trouble with hounds - any advice? Can the Broo take care of them?"

And in the meantime, the Super Logan turns mid-air, lining up the shot at Jerry's backpack. Just the tri-cannon, this is a task of precision.

Spoiler

I'll use one of the action points, too. Just to make Jerry happy, y'know?

 

[Purr]

Silanon Captain Hesperus Psychie Sherwood

Spoiler: Exciting Japanese electronic music!

Lyrics: "Tokyo. Tokyo. T-E-C-H-N-O-P-O-L-I-S" =)

(Part 1 of 2)

Ylva and Trouble...

Ylva swaps channels to talk to the bridge, but right after she puts in her request, instead of finding a cool and collected team, she finds a number of youthful voices coming over the bridge channel... in chaos!

"--don't know which to do first!"

"The friendly Valkyrie pilot needs help, but I don't have the authorization to order the Broo around!"

"Ahhh! If only Captain Sharp was here, but he's out of the fight! Now what?! How do we fight without orders?"

"By the time we get help, that pilot is gonna be blown up! Piper! You were Acting Captain!"

Hearing this, Piper lets out a surprised sound that sounds like a snarl combined with a shriek. "HEY! Whaddya gotta bring that up for? I'm back down to Flight Lieutenant where I belong! With all that's happened since, there's no way I'm back to Acting Captain! Someone else around here's gotta be higher up than me!"

"Well, if not you... then... who?!"

"Dunno! Gimme a sec'! Bridge to Wild Card! Return to your channel and continue to keep those Zeki off our guys! Find and grab Scary Jerry and we're outta here! We'll take care of your pilot! And... uh... we'll find out who's in charge!"

* * *​

Kaerri
Eadric and BOOP and...

About this time, Eadric hears an excited heavy male voice query from inside BOOP's cockpit. In fact, it's coming from the seat right behind him! It sounds confused but amused. "Heyaaa... Bucko?" This is followed by some nervous-sounding chuckling. "Those warty green missiles chasing us... you know they have legs, right? An' red glowin' eyes? An'... big long teeth?!"

Eadric has just enough time for a short answer when... Eadric receives radio traffic that BOOP immediately allows him to hear. A fiery female voice comes over BOOP's crisp internal speakers. "-- to friendly aircraft! If even one of those things gets on you, he'll slow you so the rest can catch you! Alter your heading immediately to 210 degrees--

BOOP hears this and does not waste a single second. Suddenly, Eadric's world is pulled to its right side in a swift and body-shaking high-G turn.

"--and dive at full throttle--"

Eadric is suddenly thrust back in his ever-comfortable seat as BOOP kicks in its glowing afterburners... and points its nose almost straight at the giant shining red and silver vessel and the white burning sea of snow below him. The world is flashing by as if Eadric were a bullet in the sky. The fiery voice continues.

"--pass in front of our vessel about 150 meters out! Miss Hitomi and the Broo will clear your tail... and whatever happens - don't slow down or these are your last moments! You copy all that, Friendly?"

With every passing second, the distance between Eadric and the magnificent giant space vessel shrinks and shrinks. It feels as if a Veritech Hover Tank is putting its big toe on all of Eadric's body as he is helplessly pinned to the seat. From the back seat, Eadric hears that familiar friend's voice. With all of the high-G maneuvering and blazing speed, it sounds like he's squeaking more than saying, "Moooommyyy!!"

Then the turn is finished and Eadric is left with the heart-grabbing view of BOOP flying in a 45-degree angle dive that will definitely 100% certainly kill everyone onboard BOOP if the forward-winged Valkyrie somehow fails to pull up!

Eadric can't do much else but speak at the moment, but with effort, he can still accomplish that!

(OOC: Does he feel like praying?)

* * *​

Back to Ylva and Trouble...

Now hanging upside-down from the roof of Munin, Trouble the Mewwoo frees one magnetic paw and points at the quickly moving pair of Zeki-Zentraedi Male Power armors and their "Micronian" backpack-laden CVR-3 body armor. As armorless Scary Jerry continues to plead, scream, pray, and cheer while also pointing at it, Ylva reaches deep inside her vibrant mind and calls upon her inner focus (Action Point) to make the shot and shoot that backpack with Munin's tri-cannon!

(Part 2 of 2, coming up!)