Coalition Wars - IC Thread

[Silanon]

Carefully scanning the surrounding, Amy Winters sticks closer to the ground as soon as the smoke shows on the horizon. "That's... a lot of smoke. Sir, do we know how many vehicles we're expecting?"

 

[Psychie]

As you fly closer, both Amy and Stacey manage to spot some details in the flaming wreckage up ahead. It is a group of four Coalition APC's and the remains of two Spider Skull Walkers, the same troop complement of the remaining company that you were supposed to link up with. There is signs of a heavy firefight that has been raging in the area, with blasted trees and rock circling the Assembly Point. Bodies are scattered all over, most of them non-human, all of which have been blasted to bits.

Zooming in on one of the non-human bodies, you can see that the remains are insectoid, and roughly human sized. It is quickly clear to you that you are looking at several hundred of dead Xiticix.

It is possible that there may be survivors in the area, assuming that they were able to hide well enough to avoid the bugs.

 

[Silanon]

A moment to let the scene sink in, reduce her thoughts to the essentials - then Amy's mic creaks once more, followed by words. "Four APC's and two walkers, ahead. Doubt they'll move anywhere anytime soon. Lots of dead... bugs, I suppose. Many of us, too. Can't spot anything still alive, but who knows. Certainly gave them hell, that's for sure." Just in case, her eyes check the various readouts of the weapon systems. Better make sure she can open fire in a heartbeat if necessary. "Orders, Sir?"

 

[Purr]

"Show me, Winters," is Ridge's first order. He needs to see what she is seeing. As this is done, Ridge goes quiet as his mind takes in the details. Whatever had happened here, Steel Rain had evidently missed it. But not by much.

Pretty, pretty bug parts! All over the damn place! But alongside human corpses too. His trigger finger twitches at the sight. Something dark inside his brain is hoping to find some bugs still alive. Then his lighter side reminds him that the living he should be looking for are humans, not bugs.

"Secure the area and search for survivors," he snarls. "Any live bugs you find, kill 'em."

With his clenched fist on his cannon and his electronic eyes devouring the battlefield for information, Ridge radios Summer. "Steel Rain to Gloria. Ma'am, the bugs have hit the Assembly Point and in force. Two of our Spider Skull Walkers have been taken out. We are searching for survivors. The area is not secure. Recommend you approach with caution. Do you have orders for us?"

 

[Rykon]

Joshua cycles optics, scanning the area carefully as they move forward. Once Amy and Stacey had sighted the signs of battle he landed beside them, only glancing at the carnage before turning his eyes to the surroundings. Xiticix were brutal, savage. Ambush predator behavior was not beyond them. Or at least, that's what he told himself while keeping weapons raised on alert for surprises.

Once Ridge gave the order for a search and secure he nodded. He stuck with a buddy and stepped slowly, lest they miss a trail from any survivors.

[I'll roll perception just in case that helps, but if other skills are needed just let me know]

 

[Psychie]

With his clenched fist on his cannon and his electronic eyes devouring the battlefield for information, Ridge radios Summer. "Steel Rain to Gloria. Ma'am, the bugs have hit the Assembly Point and in force. Two of our Spider Skull Walkers have been taken out. We are searching for survivors. The area is not secure. Recommend you approach with caution. Do you have orders for us?"

There is a stunned silence on the radio for a long moment, then the reply from the Gloria is, "Copy your last, Steel Rain. We are dropping our approach speed and taking full measures to look for targets. Do a quick search of the area and look for any survivors, but use extreme caution. If there is signs of a large body of bugs, get out of there at speed and do not risk yourselves."

As you continue to approach, the watchful eyes of the team catch flickers of movement here and there, and you can see that it is fifteen to twenty Xiticix warriors. At the moment, they do not seem to have spotted you. Do you close in and engage?

 

[Purr]

There is a stunned silence on the radio for a long moment, then the reply from the Gloria is, "Copy your last, Steel Rain. We are dropping our approach speed and taking full measures to look for targets. Do a quick search of the area and look for any survivors, but use extreme caution. If there is signs of a large body of bugs, get out of there at speed and do not risk yourselves."

"Yes, ma'am!" LT Ridge proceeds to perform as ordered.

As you continue to approach, the watchful eyes of the team catch flickers of movement here and there, and you can see that it is fifteen to twenty Xiticix warriors. At the moment, they do not seem to have spotted you. Do you close in and engage?

Seeing the Xiticix numbers and their being unware of Steel Rain's presence, Ridge does not give the order to engage.

"Bugs! Hide your asses now, goddammit!"

Trusting in his training and experience, Ridge uses the terrain for best cover, or lacking that, best concealment. Ridge turns off anything on his Wild Weasel that might give them away while looking about to make sure everyone in the squadron got his message and were following suit. This was not the time for daydreamers or fools as one wrong move could give them all away to an enemy that clearly outnumbers them.

Ridge's voice carries a dangerous tone over the radio to Summer. "Steel Rain to Gloria. Red alert. We have eyes on a Bug force of 15-20 so far. We have gone quiet, engines off, recommend same-same from the APC. No survivors found yet. Will know more in a minute."

With Big Momma in hand, he scopes in, trying to gather reliable intel. What is the distance between Steel Rain and them? Do they have cover? What kind of bugs? What are they doing? In his hypercarbon bones, Ridge feels that any minute Gloria would make her presence known by the sound of her engine alone. While he becomes one with his surroundings, he is hoping the rest of his squadron has followed his example.

"King," Ridge says low over the radio to the other Special Forces soldier in the squadron, "move up with me. We gonna learn what we can learn. Everybody else, keep your heads down and stay quiet." Very cautiously, Ridge moves up if he needs to and, staying out of sight, removes his SAMAS helmet and lets the electronics of his head-mounted cybernetic motion detector tell him what it can tell him - hopefully exact enemy numbers, position, movement, and range.

 

[Sherwood]

Stacey cuts her jets mid-flight and drops to the ground, weapon held up at the ready. Trying to be as silent as possible in the powered suit, she shifts her position to be behind as much concealment as possible. "Hatch down and frozen behind the tree line. Sir, I have eyes on multiple bugs, scattered about the assembly point. It looks like they are hunting for survivors." With all of the dead soldiers in front of her, she is struggling to keep her cool. A part of her is on the verge of throwing up, the second is chomping at the bit in a desire to kill all of the bugs in front of her to get some revenge for the lives lost. Dear God, don't let me hurl while wearing this helmet. I have got to keep it together.

OOC I'm going to try another Perception roll

 

[Psychie]

With careful study of the area, Stacey can see that there is indeed twenty of the Xiticix swarming about the combat area, some on the ground, others flitting about in the air in short hops.



The Xiticix Warriors all have four arms and two legs, usually wielding a nasty hooked sword, a TW Rifle, and a spear. As far as how tough the are, compared to the SAMAS suits you are in, they are very weak, numbering their MDC on the body in the 30 to 60 MDC range, with a few that are a little tougher. Their most deadly attack is to swarm a target with overwhelming numbers, but don't underestimate even one of the nasty bugs.

With Ridge and King creeping forward, you are starting to get a better look at the carnage. This assembly point was hit by probably a thousand of the bugs, far too many for the handful of soldiers here to be able to hold them off, but they did manage to put a real dent in the numbers of insects on hand. Most of the surviving bugs have flown off, but there are the few warriors still looking for anything that dares to move.

 

[Purr]

"Stay hidden," is Ridge's only reply to Hatch.

Ridge quietly and expediently informs Summer over the radio. He leaves no details out.

"Orders, ma'am?"

 

[Psychie]

"Stay hidden," is Ridge's only reply to Hatch.

Ridge quietly and expediently informs Summer over the radio. He leaves no details out.

"Orders, ma'am?"

King stays frozen in place, keeping any chance of his SAMAS armor of being heard or spotted to an absolute minimum. "Copy that, sir. I'm a rock."

As Ridge relays the information, the Lieutenant replies, "If you can take them out quickly, terminate them. But don't let one escape. That will alert the rest of their hive, and we could have hundreds or even thousands of angry bugs swarming on our asses."

 

[Psychie]

If you are all ready, go ahead and post your initiative rolls. Purr , I already rolled for you and you have a total of 18.

With you firing from surprise, you will all get a free attack on the bugs before we start counting down the actions.

Initiative Order:
21 - Hatch
18 - Ridge
15 - King
9 - Stone
7 - Winters
7 - Graves

 

[Sherwood]

Posting an Initiative roll for Hatch

Total of 21

Spoiler

On Foot / In SAMAS Powered Armor
Number of Attacks: 5 / 6
Strike: +3 / +8
Parry: +3 / +6
Dodge: +3 / +6 ground, +9 airborne
Roll: +2 / +6
Initiative: +0 / +2
Perception: +2
Disarm: +2 / +4

SAMAS Main Body MDC: 230
Missiles: Range 1 mile
mini-plasmas 1d6x10 MD 8 / 8
mini plasmas 2d4x10 MD 4 / 4
mini-HEAP 1d4x10 MD 12 / 12

Particle Beam Cannon: 1d6x10
2,000 ft range
Payload: 40 / 40

 

[Rykon]

Rolling initiative...

7

 

[Silanon]

Initiative for Amy Winters: 7 - ouch.

 

[Psychie]

Ok, we just need to wait for Purr to give the order to start shooting and we'll start with Sherwood up first.

Initiative Order:
21 - Hatch
18 - Ridge
17 - Warriors 1-5
15 - King
12 - Warriors 6-10
9 - Stone
8 - Warriors 11-15
7 - Winters
7 - Graves
5 - Warriors 16-20

 

[Sherwood]

Stacey looks around at the groups of swarming Xiticix and does some quick mental calculations. Over the squad radio band, she says, "LT? I think I can bracket that first group of bugs with a salvo of my boosted warhead plasmas, possibly taking them all out at once. Just say the word and I'll light them up."

Purr

Spoiler

On Foot / In SAMAS Powered Armor
Number of Attacks: 5 / 6
Strike: +3 / +8
Parry: +3 / +6
Dodge: +3 / +6 ground, +9 airborne
Roll: +2 / +6
Initiative: +0 / +2
Perception: +2
Disarm: +2 / +4

SAMAS Main Body MDC: 230
Missiles: Range 1 mile
mini-plasmas 1d6x10 MD 8 / 8
mini plasmas 2d4x10 MD 4 / 4
mini-HEAP 1d4x10 MD 12 / 12

Particle Beam Cannon: 1d6x10
2,000 ft range
Payload: 40 / 40

 

[Purr]

Strategy.

It was the stuff of life and death between combatants since before humanity had walked the Earth. Any creature that could consistently outsmart or outwit another creature had one hell of an edge, and thus, greater chances of creating their next generation.

Until the Coming of the Rifts, humanity had long enjoyed its spot as the apex predator on Earth. But now, in Earth's post-apocalyptic era, humanity was having to earn that top spot back all over again. But if anyone could make it happen, it was the Coalition States.

Ridge transmits over his radio. "Steel Rain to Gloria. We are ambushing the enemy. May we do The Emperor proud!"

Ridge mutters under his breath as the vivid and tortured memories of the bugs who had put him down flooded back inside of him. His very soul writhes in remembered agony. Ridge had indeed died that day. His masters in the Coalition Dtates had brought him back. Reincarnated him. And right now was the first time he had seen the bugs in person since that fateful day.

And today? Payback was going to be a bitch!

Ridge eagerly marks the 4 enemy teams on his squadron's HUDs. He cannot hide the bloodthirsty hissing in his voice. There is no fear there. Only the desire to see flying, burning bug parts and the screams of his enemies as they enter the Gates of Hell.

Ridge comes over the squad comm. You can hear the beast inside of him. Railing. "Listen up and listen good! Steel Rain, we gonna ambush my sweet darlings with focus and precision.

"I want each of you to put a 4-missile salvo on each of these teams in the numerical order I've placed in your HUDs. We burn them down one team at a time starting with Team 1 (Warriors 1-5).

"Hatch! You get the honors of taking the first shot (at Warriors 1-5) using those special missiles of yours! Yes! When you're ready, avenge our fallen comrades-in-arms and light their sorry asses up!"

Quietly, Ridge brings Big Momma to his shoulder and readies his own missile salvo against Team 1 or Team 2 depending on how Hatch's perform.

It was time for Steel Rain to get it on!

 

[Sherwood]

Stacey watches as the bugs swarm about, waiting for the perfect moment to pop up to strike. She knows that there is only one chance to make a good first strike, she doesn't want this opportunity to take some revenge to go wrong. Once she sees the group in a tight cluster, she jumps up to expose the twin missile launchers and lets fly with the four doctored plasma mini missiles.

Spoiler

On Foot / In SAMAS Powered Armor
Number of Attacks: 5 / 6
Strike: +3 / +8
Parry: +3 / +6
Dodge: +3 / +6 ground, +9 airborne
Roll: +2 / +6
Initiative: +0 / +2
Perception: +2
Disarm: +2 / +4

SAMAS Main Body MDC: 230
Missiles: Range 1 mile
mini-plasmas 1d6x10 MD 8 / 8
mini plasmas 2d4x10 MD 4 / 0
mini-HEAP 1d4x10 MD 12 / 12

Particle Beam Cannon: 1d6x10
2,000 ft range
Payload: 40 / 40

 

[Psychie]

Hatch times her missiles just right, and as they explode in the air, they scatter flaming death across the five Warriors, burning them all very badly but they are not dead.

Purr is up

Surprise Round
Initiative Order:
21 - Hatch [1]
18 - Ridge <====
17 - Warriors 1-5 all critically injured
15 - King
12 - Warriors 6-10
9 - Stone
8 - Warriors 11-15
7 - Winters
7 - Graves
5 - Warriors 16-20

 

[Purr]

Combat is sometimes an undefinable thing. It does strange things to normal people and stranger things to strange people. But strange or not, combat is the one situation that people can get a high like no other.

At the sight of Hatch's missiles setting fire to the bugs, LT Ridge happily loses his shit and becomes one screamin' demon. He lets out this cry that sounds like his best impression of one of these bugs screaming its death-cry (or if he sees one that is screaming, he screams along with it) - as if something in Ridge is sharing its pain yet he is so very glad to see it go!

"Fryyy, you ugly roach-kissin' mothafuckaaas!!"

Using his skills and internal computer targeting, the crazed cyborg follows the plan of the ambush he ordered and looses a half-dozen fragmentary rounds at the team Hatch had set afire. As the vessels of his rage and vengeance fly toward the crackling Xiticix, the flood of excitement brought on by this combat-born dream-come-true, Ridge suddenly breaks into joyous song:

"Tutti frutti! Oh rooty!
"Tutti frutti! Oh rooty!

"Got a gal named Sue! She know just what to do! Got a gaaal name Sue! Is this what to do! She rocks to the east! She rocks to the west! She's the girl that I love best! Waaaaaoh!"

Spoiler: Tutti Frutti

"Little Richard - Tutti Frutti (1956)"

 

[Psychie]

Ridge's grenade salvo goes off in the middle of the buzzing insects, shattering their already scorched exoskeletons.

King leaps up with his Smiling Jack and launches four of his wing missiles at Warriors 6-10, but the missiles go flying wild and fail to hit.

Vaneheart is up with Stone

Surprise Round
Initiative Order:
21 - Hatch [1]
18 - Ridge [1]
15 - King [1]
12 - Warriors 6-10
9 - Stone <====
8 - Warriors 11-15
7 - Winters
7 - Graves
5 - Warriors 16-20

 

[Vaneheart]

Sergeant Stone
CSMC (attached to CS Army)
Warlords - Steel Rain
Day 1

Stone was still a bit stunned from the sight of the carnage the bugs had left in their wake. With some effort, he focused his anger and mentally pushed his feelings aside. His thoughts moved on to the objective, on combat, and a chance for a small measure of revenge. He moved up and fired a volley of six plasma missiles from the SJ-6 mini-missile launchers on the wings of his "Smiling Jack" SAMAS at his assigned target group.

 

[Psychie]

Despite the careful aim, the erratic maneuvering of the bugs is enough to keep Stone's missiles from hitting their targets.

Silanon is up with Winters

Surprise Round
Initiative Order:
21 - Hatch [1]
18 - Ridge [1]
15 - King [1]
12 - Warriors 6-10
9 - Stone [1]
8 - Warriors 11-15
7 - Winters <====
7 - Graves
5 - Warriors 16-20

 

[Silanon]

Stone's and King's missed shots are a warning - it's not as simple as the others made it look like. Thus, Amy Winters takes an additional moment to take aim, holds her breath, and then sends off another volley of six missiles right at the very same group of shuffling bugs.

Ammo is plasma rounds, so 1d6x10 - that'd be for four missiles, so possible 1,5x20=30 md?