"I am being bring ship down at these coordinates." Aziza transmits, sending map with a highlighted area to M'Kira.  "Please to being keep all other unhostile life forms away from being crushed or burnt."

Majestically, the Crow glides with an eerie silence across the battlefield to an area temporarily devoid of life.  In truth it's thrusters are roaring as loudly as ever but after the thunder of it's weapons fire nobody's ears are picking up something as soft as an array of six powerful turbines that gently lower the venerable starship to the ground.  Aziza sends several robots to guard the hatch, then opens an access airlock.

Seeing the crow starting to move into position, Conrad moves himself closer to help give Aziza support fire.  Though still be a little ways away, Conrad keeps pushing forward at a slow rate.  Still dodging fire and finding places to hide for a moment, Conrad keeps a look out for any important targets or anything that will cause an explosion.

OOC:
Aiming at something that will cause an explosion
Conrad rolled 15 using 1d20+5. To hit with Plasma Cannon.
Conrad rolled 36 using 10d6. Plasma Cannon damage.

  a the Q'sa begin to run, their officers resort to their own brand of command and control. Much to their chagrin, someone else is paying attention to them. One officer is picked up and thrown backwards by the impact of victors round. The troops nearest him respond in uncharacteristic panic, throw down anything they are carrying and flee, heedless of danger.
    A second shock to their morale comes a second later. M'kira lines up the fleeing Mech in her sights, a low growl sounds from her fire-control system indicating a positive lock with her guns. Her Plasma cannon fires almost without her urging, a slender finger giving the control a gentle tap unleashing bottled death on her target. the Mecha's boosters explode adding fuel to the fire that engulfs it.
   Another vehicle explodes under focussed plasma as Conrad targets one of the rovers. it's diesel fuel detonating in a satisfying boom as a squad of Q'sa flee in blind panic. The rumors of their resolve seeming to not hold up when they are not in a position of numerical superiority.
   The lone Q'sa manages to free himself from Balkiir's clumsy attempt to pin him, just in time to be knocked senseless by a concussion rod to the face. his ruggedly handsome looks, by Q'sa standards. are ruined as the dermal plates crack deform and begin to leak bluish blood from their seems. his breathing is ragged but he seems to be surviving his abuse at the hands of  Elspeth providing at least one unconscious prisoner for interrogation.

     Tiny is down about 50ft from the Crow, she is too heavy for anyone but Conrad and M'kira ..or a cargo bot to move on their own.
OOC: the Q'sa are in total route, you can chase, snipe, or let them go. at this point the battle is over.
This message was last edited by a game moderator at 22:54, Thu 29 July 2010.

HE lined up one last shot, and pulled the trigger. The hasty shot flying towards the enemy. As the weapons chamber cycled empty, he stood up from his position and began walking slowly down towards the others. His cold eyes surveyed the battlefield and the carnage that had ensued. He ejected the spent mag from the weapon and fitted a new one in and chambered a round before setting the safety on and slinging it over his shoulder.

He gave a grim nod towards Elsbeth and Balkiir. Their prisoner could be a useful font of information. He moved towards the settling ship. It would be nice to be back with his original team and he wondered what had happened since they were separated. He stood waiting for the others to gather and for the post battle debrief.

[Private to GM: 18:15, Today: Victor Grym rolled 1 using 1d6. Action Point.
18:15, Today: Victor Grym rolled 12 using 1d20+10. Attack.]

  " Blakiir, Kuvul, Ip Syris na Jeffery."<blue> Balkiir introduced himself to the Elspeth as he moved to truss the prisoner up. <blue> Used the in the Corps, 395th Shock assault off of the Alamo"
       "Great ship she went down fighting in the last Naj incursion. took cruiser with her when she burned though. Died Right... He rambled as he worked.
   he paused wiped some of the blood off his hands and tore open a supplement bar, his stomach now gnawing at his spine after a fight. he looked at the blue smudges on his hand and made a face. then went back to eating. His stomach letting him know it wasn't in the mood for him being prissy.
    "Ain't seen moves like that out of a Tae, he commented ass he pointed to a trail of bodies leading back along the explorers tracks." Usually they're more worried about getting out a live than dishing out the whoop ass....funny thing you usually get yerself killed if you worry about living ...damn universe has a sick sense of humor."
    Get it done, get it over, Get back home to the Man." Balkiir chuckled "Well thats what The moms say, wouldn't know about the Man part.
   Balkiir dug into his cargo pockets digging out another ration bar,offering it to Elspeth. then as if noticing he was babbling and his hands were covered in blood both his and the Q'sa he shot her a sheepish grin.

M'kira looks satisfied knowing that the worse the defeat they suffered the more likely they wouldn't want to try fighting at a later time. "I think that's wraps this one up folks. Good luck with Salvage Conrad I will take care of tiny. Oh she's a mess it's going to be a interesting job for you and Aziza to patch her up. Did we get any prisoners for interrogation? My name is M'kira T'shal it's a pleasure to meet you folks. Hope those medics are ready I am coming aboard with wounded Aziza."

She carefully picks up Tiny once the fire was out then does her best to board the Crow. Flying if she had to once she's in the cargo bay she gently sets tiny down. "Can you pop the cockpit open tiny? We need to get to your pilot for medical attention. If not we might need to use plasma cutters to get it open."

With that she slips out of her Powered battle armor with a concerned look on her face. If the communications over the com were any indicator the pilot was in bad shape even before tiny got mangled and her fule tanks exploded.

  "I think I can."<blue> Tiny replied over her speaker.<blue>" My power systems are about done for.

   "I didn't do a very good job of protecting him" Tiny felt something she never had , she had no words to describe it. Popping the cockpit hatch she groaned as blood dripped out onto the deck and Garrow fell out nearly cut in half by the blast from the anti tank rockets.

Oh god, somebody do something Tiny moaned as she saw the medics from the colony moving to help her friend.

She had seen her fair share of carnage on the battle field however she felt those that kept their souls never got used to it. Grimacing with a sad look her eyes flick to tiny after seeing the horror of the wreckage that was the remains of his body. With that kind of damage he was probably already dead although with advanced technology if they could prevent true brain death who knew what was possible.

She moves aside to let the medics do what they could. Speaking softly to Tiny she shakes her head slightly. "I understand how you feel Tiny. This isn't my first battle and all I can tell you is that no one is perfect. You can be the most skilled pilot, tactician, crack shot possible and it still doesn't guarantee survival. I can tell you care deeply for your pilot and because of that I know you did your best to protect him. That's all anyone can ask of themselves. The Medics are here and they will do their best to save him. We will fix you up as well Tiny."

For what it was worth and as long as the metal wasn't to hot to touch she touches Tiny's shoulder comfortingly. IF it was to hot to touch she refrains from the gesture out of Necessity.

Conrad smiles as the enemy runs off in defeat.  Not wanting to cause them to turn around and attack some more, Conrad puts his weapons down and turns on the safety switch in order not to accidentally shoot someone.  When the action settles down and everyone can safely board the Crow, Conrad makes his way to the ship while keeping a watch for any Q'sa that might get ballsy enough to try a counter attack.

"Does someone want to drop me some tools and I will begin salvaging anything I can find.  Also, I would recommend sending me out another ship to pick up all the pieces I may find."

With that, another thought crosses his mind. "Oh, Aziza, do you have any parts you want me to look for?"

Elsbeth removed her concussion rod from the faceplate of the Q'sa prisoner with a jerk.  The rod collapsed back into its closed form with a practiced flick of the wrist.  Once her concussion rod was stowed back in its thigh sheathe, Elsbeth pushed the limp body of the Q'sa up over the lip of the foxhole and unceremoniously ripped off the helmet and chest plate of the reptilian form.  When she popped her own visor, the vents in her armour opened and began to cycle and exchange the air in the suit - the airflow made a barely audible hiss.  Elsbeth placed one foot on the prisoner while Balkiir worked on tying the knots and introduced himself.  "I am Lance Corporal Elsbeth Sinclair-Smythe, Mr. Balkiir Kovul Ip Syris na Jeffery." Elsbeth responded in kind.  She held out her left index finger to help him finish the final bow with a flourish and then extended her gauntleted right hand to him as part of her introduction.  "359th Recon - I am part of the Mobile Armored Recon and Surveillance squad there." she intoned, and then glanced over at Tiny and what was left of her pilot.  She added with a frown forming, "That recon mech, Tiny is her designation, I believe, and I appear to be all that is left of the 359th."  Her lips pressed thin, she noted flatly, "Her driver is...er... was Sergeant Garrow.  Staff Sergeant John Garrow."

Then, Elsbeth tilted her head and regarded the large, blue Valkir man with a slightly bemused look on her face.  Once Balkiir had stood to his full height, she noted that he probably slightly taller than she was, since her in her powered armor and him in only his combat armor were level - eye to eye.  And that was a rare occurrence for her: to find anyone taller than her; she knew plenty of them they existed, they were just rare to meet for her, for some reason.  It was only after dwelling on that fact for a number of moments that she realized that Balkiir was still talking to her.  She nodded slowly, taking her time to answer.  "I remember hearing about the Alamo - it sacrificed itself by doing a kamizaze, taking out the bridge of the Naj flagship near Ceti Prime, wasn't it?  Standard reading in tactics and mil history classes."

"And thank you for your timely arrival." she added off-hand, switching gears, "There were obviously much more enemy here than I could handle.  Without the aid and firepower of you and your companions, that trail of bodies would have ended with mine."

She smiled slightly when he mentioned her moves, but pretty much only shrugged off the compliment.  "My 'moves'?" Elsbeth mused, "Yours were better."  She pointed to the piles of bodies on and near the explorer riddled with machinegun fire.  "I was only trying to do my job.  I have found, as it appears you have as well, that if one worries too much about surviving, one never gets the job done."  She remained silent on the nature of the Universe.  Elsbeth's fluctuating relationship with the Fickle Lady of Fortune, Ifni, was too personal to mention right now; Garrow's body was proof enough of that.

Elsbeth held up a hand as a polite refusal of Balkiir's offer of food; she had had enough of compressed protein bars for the time being.  She had lost some significant weight over the past week or so; but nothing that a couple of solid, non-vacuum packed, non-compressed, meals could not resolve.  Still, she ignored her stomach for the moment, only conceding to pull her canteen from her belt and drink some water.  She held the canteen out Balkiir, but warned him, "It's, ah, recycled.  It should be safe though."  She added matter-of-factly, "What can I say?  My suit filters haven't been cleaned for a bit."

Elsbeth looked thoughtful for a moment, "Speaking of jobs, that reminds me.... Who is in charge here, Mr. Balkiir Kovul Ip Syris na Jeffery?  I should likely debrief."  She stowed her canteen, dusted off the leg plates of her armour, and then hefted the prisoner over her shoulder, carrying the inert body like a sack of potatoes.  She waited for Balkiir to join her and the started towards the Crow.  As she slowly made her way (for there was not longer any need to rush to the ship), Elsbeth acknowledged Victor's hail with a short salute.

  "Call me balkiir, or "hey you" anytime someone calls out for Mister, I keep expecting my grand father to show up."
   "In charge, of this lot..,That would be T'risa...Marshal K'mahda." Grabbing several sheafs of paper and a case from the corner of the fighting hole,  Balkiir stepped out of the Gunpit pausing as he spotted Victor, his face tighening for a moment then relaxing, " Hey Grymm thought you were bug poo, when they drug ya Down we thought you ahd bought the farm.

  Tiny fcouldnt feel the womans hand on her shell, but the guesture seemed to help. for once someone besides garrow treated her like more than a weapon.  " garrow took care of me, he kept them from scrapping me when the project failed. He...He trusted me.
    She watched as the two colonists zipped Garrow into a cryo-bag and hit the tab to freeze him for transport. It felt as is something had shorted out, a jolt of confusing code, and feedback in every part of her core. the feedback was more than just code, the failure alerts set up loops within loops in her mind, what had once been nothing but secondary data was now something that caused her agony. as one subroutine then another was caught up int the cascade of failures caused by having her shell shot out from around her.
   " take care of him, and ... when he wakes up tell him I'm sorry I couldn't do better.

"I will do that if I can and if I can't I will see to it that someone does. I will let T'risa know about that she's a marshal. I think it would be good if you worked with us Tiny. We could use your help and with any luck we can fix you up good as new."

She was a little surprised at the strong emotional responses tiny was showing. However A.I.'s were very powerful and sophisticated beings. Sentience was the qualification for life not flesh and blood. "Let's see about getting you fixed up Tiny. <blue> "Conrad I am going to need your help. I think we have someone very special joining out team. Her name is tiny and she's a extraordinary AI in the body of that mecha we Evac'ed from that battle.  I know you want to salvage things from the battle so would you like me to send you a detailed scan of Tiny and her damage?  Or would you prefer to take a personal look so you can make a shopping list so we can get her back into fighting form?"

Depending on his answer she clears things with Aziza if at all possible then sends the needed equipment to Conrad. She was fairly certain Aziza would be for salvaging ever last bit of material from the battle field. Some of it could be used to repair the crow and some would help finance the needed repairs. Others of course would go towards repairs for tiny and building new useful things. At least that's what she thought Conrad had in mind.

"Aziza I'm sending some needed salvage equipment to Conrad. I Figure we can use some of it to help get the crow fixed up and some of it for tiny amongst other things."

M'kira scans the battle field assessing the number of survivors, prisoners and any other pertinent Intel. Lastly if at all possible she gets into contact with T'risa knowing she would want to know what's going on. "T'risa if your getting this we got three military survivors from the battle and it looks like one Q'sa prisoner. Tiny's pilot  has been put into cryo by the medics. I recommend the Battle mech and the A.I. Tiny be recruited into our team. I will discuss Tiny in more detail once we have privacy. Im not sure what the rest of the survivors want but they might be interested in joining us as well. Guess we will find out soon enough."

Conrad took a moment to think over the options.  Not wanting to waste time out here in the open but not wanting to sacrifice a big improvement to the team.  Conrad figures it was best to see what was truly needed before making a choice.

"M'Kira, Can you check to make sure all of Tiny's base components are still in decent running shape.  Also, if you really need to, you can always see if you can turn Tiny offline for a while just in case the damage is extent.  The problem we are going to run into is that we lack parts at the moment and need to get back to the outpost where we have more resources.  Also, have Aziza send some of her robots down and begin doing minor repairs on Tiny."  Hesitating for a moment, hoping his choice he is making is the proper one.  "I would like to be able to get as much material as possible before the Q'sa come back, but if you don't feel comfortable handling Tiny then I can return to the ship in a moments notice.  But really all you need to check for is that Tiny hasn't received any damage in the area where her AI is stored.  If there is damage, then either Aziza or myself will need to see what repairs we can do on the fly."

Yet again, Conrad feels torn over to return to the ship or start searching for useful parts.  Then Conrad gets an idea and calls the Crow to speak with Aziza.

"Hello Aziza, We have an important AI on board the ship now.  Could you send your robots to run a diagnostic on Tiny to see what damage has been done.  If Tiny's AI is still in good shape and the mecha Tiny is stored in has been damaged, then the best thing we can do is power down Tiny in order to preserve the AI without any more damage being done.  I would like to be able to salvage some parts out here in the battle field before returning the outpost.  If that works for you, then drop me some tools and send me out a transport ship to pick up parts.  Either way, taking care of Tiny is most important."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:44, Sun 01 Aug 2010.

T'risa sense of approval and happiness at a job well done pulsed through everyone save the new arrivals.

"Well done team. Meet us back at the base. We'll be there soon enough ourselves."

"I will do what I can Conrad. Don't forget I am not a engineer like you." Her tone was warm and amused as she speaks. Granted she had to know some things in order to check up on her own equipment. So she does what she can and then transmits the information to Conrad.

Since Aziza was on the same Com channel she knew the Cesti had already gotten the request. "If you could please Aziza. Conrad's Requesting your robot's assistance in the salvage operation." Having done what she could it was now between Aziza and Conrad to accomplish the mission.

Hearing T'risa's voice brought a lovely smile to M'kira her face lighting up. "You got it T'risa. I look forward to seeing you again."

"Hmmm... A Marshal?" Elsbeth wondered quietly aloud.  She was a little surprised, expecting there to be more Marine personnel assigned - but Colonial Authority, was Authority.  And a Marshal had just as much jurisdiction, presumably in this case.  So, Elsbeth shrugged a little, making the inert prisoner's head loll from side to side, and continued on towards the ship.  "Thank you for the information, Balkiir.  She had to stop herself from adding more of his name when addressing him.  "And thank you again for coming to my aid back there.   I suspect that I owe you a beer or some such." she said after the pause.

Elsbeth presumed for the chatter on the main comm line that Marshal K'mahda was not actually present, though honestly she wasn't sure.  Once she made her way to the Crow, Elsbeth stopped at the ramp for the cargo hold and waited.  Elsbeth made sure that she did not block (too much) ramp traffic, which there seemed to be plenty of.

She saw M'kira, but waited until the large blue woman was done with her other duties - she did seem to be in charge, of sorts.  She wasn't sure that M'kira wasn't the Marshal.  There was no insignia displayed, but that was not always a sure sign either way.  In any case, in order to be safe, Elsbeth snapped to attention and then asked M'kira, since she seemed to be the Duty Officer, "Permission to come aboard, Ma'am."

M'kira was pleasantly surprised and only to happy to see that Grym had survived. Laughing and smiling she claps him on the arm if he was close enough. If not she simply laughs and greets him. "Hey Grym it's good to see you made it. Did your com break? You should have let us know you were alive."

She turns to regard Elsbeth with a warm smile her honey hued eyes both alert and friendly. "Welcome aboard Marine permissions granted. We will get you settled in and debriefed soon. Going to rendezvous with T'risa K'mahda she's the Marshal leading the mission. If you stay long there's a good chance she will deputize you. So what brings you to this hunk of rock in space anyway?"

Before they go she looks down at Tiny speaking softly. "Tiny we will get you fixed up. I will be back to check on you ok."

If Elsbeth had a moment M'kira shows her the crew quarters talking to her as they go or in place if she wanted to stay put. "I can show you the crew quarters where you will bunk while you stay aboard the crow. Aziza is a cesti and she's the captain and owner of this ship. We have a salvage operation going on which will probably slow us down a little. The ship took some damage as did Tiny and we could use the parts and materials to assist in repairs. You can help with that if you want."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:45, Thu 05 Aug 2010.

  "Thank you. Tiny tired to sound less like a whiner and more like a warhound. "" Some paint and a few patches and I'll be fine....has anyone seen my rifle...or my arm....it was my best one....owwww crap that hurts..... she winced as something blew out in her system" Great, I alway wondered what pain felt like... it sucks!

Elsbeth stood at attention with the unconscious Q'sa held casually over her shoulder as she waited.  And then she nodded curtly to M'kira, when the Valkir woman welcomed her aboard.  "Thank you, Ma'am.", she stated rather formally and ritualistically - noting mentally that this woman was not that Marshal, ostensibly.  Elsbeth shrugged her right shoulder and the inert Q'sa riding on it, popped off and she rather unceremoniously laid him down on the cargo ramp; she seemed to be handling him more like a sack of potatoes than another sophont.  "Ma'am, it is a Marine tradition to never enter a new ship without a gift.  I am afraid that I all I brought was this...  She gestured to the prisoner.  "It squirmed a bit, but Mr. Kov...er... Balkiir," she caught herself and shot the large blue man a contrite glance, "was very helpful in helping me pin it down and beat it senseless."

"I was forced to use my concussion rod to keep up with him." she added with a rather deadpan delivery.  The Q'sa body armor does show a couple of suspiciously cylindrical indentations, which would perfectly fit a servo-driven impact from a high-quality, harnessed singularity tipped implement.

In response to M'kira's question about her presence on the planet, Elsbeth cocked her head to one side and gave the Valkir woman a rather puzzled look.  "I'm sorry, Ma'am, I cannot answer that question.  I mean, I don't rightly know.  Tiny and I were just given our immediate marching orders and short-term objectives." she noted.  "Presumably, the information that you are looking for is way above my pay grade." Elsbeth added rather matter-of-factly.  It was as though the situation (her being pretty much completely in the dark) was absolutely and completely normal - Business as Usual.

When the large blue woman asked her about accommodations, Elsbeth shrugged and she started to follow her.  But when M'kira mentioned salvage work, Elsbeth stopped, looked at her and nodded.  "Sounds like heavy lifting, the perfect grunt work to me, Ma'am." she said flatly.  "Right up my alley.  Just point me in the direction where my muscles and servos can do the most good.  I'm sure seeing the crew's quarters can wait."

"Your welcome." A faint smile of amusement appears at Tiny's bravado with a touch of sympathy as well. Who would have thought they would provide a A.I. with a sense capable of registering pain.

M'kira nods as well in recognition of Elsbeth's thank you. Though being a Marine she left it at that. She grins looking down at the prisoner speaking softly. "OH that will do as a mighty fine present. Once we get the Intel out of the Q'sa I am sure it will be more then sufficient."

Her eyes flick back to Elsbeth smiling and making a slight throw away gesture. "Typical for command to do that. Yes I will leave that to the marshal if she cares to look into it. What's more important is getting the current mission done."

M'kira had started to lead the way then stop  when Elsbeth volunteers to help with the salvage operation. Not surprising with the Marines can do attitude. "All right then let's put those muscles and servo's to good use." Using the com she contacts Conrad. "I am sending a Marine to give you a hand with the salvage operation Conrad. Let Sgt. Elsbeth know what you need."

She takes a moment to Point Elsbeth in the right direction since Conrad couldn't be that far away. Whatever cargo loader vehicle they had she could take. "Take the Cargoloader. It should prove useful out there." Hopefully he would have Aziza's automated robots lending a hand. Then she returns to tend to tiny as best she can till a more skilled tech takes over.

"All right Tiny lets see what I can do for you will we wait for more skilled help to arrive."

[Private to Prometheus: OOC: YOu can make the repair roll for me Prometheous. My skill is only 6 but I figure I can at least stop more stuff from burning out.]

Listening to M'kira over the com, Conrad starts to get himself out of his mecha and rearrange himself.

"I'm not to far away from the Crow, a few hundred yards.  I'm just scouting the wreckage to see what I can grab.  Dont forget to send me tools.  And a torch of some sort.  I'll see what I can grab in the next couple of hours.  I feel we may have to just get what we need to fix the Crow and Tiny and come back later and find any other goodies, but with some bots and a good marine, I should have some goodies pretty quickly."

With that, Conrad gets out and starts looking around his immediate area for any weapons from infantry and starts stacking them near his mecha while waiting for assistance to show up.  While looking around, Conrad pulls out his multitool and starts to take whatever else apart he can while waiting, though he couldnt do much without a nice set of tools and a torch.

   " Processing instructions the Cargo loader turned and began to march down the ramp." Please to direct efforts of machine, Most excellent of the Cunning Furesh has instructed all robotic servants to assist Humans who Kill without fear, or reasonable sense of self preservation.

    a squad of robots rolls, walks scuttles and whirs down the ramp, seeking out hidden explosives, viral land mines and parasites seeded by the enemy to infect everyone with some horrible disease.

      A work assistant rolls up to Conrad and beeps, Handing him a fusion cutter as he works at removing a chain gun from one of the Mecha. standing by with a dozen hands each one holding a tool for his use as he needs it.

  " Oh yeah this was in the bug hole with the gunner" Balkiir hands over a fist full of maps and data cards." I have to grab a bite, my tanks on empty, H replied as he dug into a supply canister by the door coming out with a stack of sandwiches and bottles of something blue and fizzy.

     "Hey marine, top off with real food before we get back out there. Those ration bars are fine to keep ya going but roast beef sure hit the spot after a week of eating them.
      "And I'll bet a weeks pay your gut is gnawing on your spine right about now." Balkiir added as he stripped out of his armor and bloodstained shirt glancing at the wound in his shoulder." Damn, that was my last clean shirt.

once everyone has finished here they can return to the Furesh Scout: Crow thread. and head over to pick up T'risa and the rest after they finish their fight.

Work on salvage  and Intelligence gathering goes smoothly. The heat and dust make the work Physically demanding even with the Help of the robots, and Elspeth's Enhanced strength.
   In the end the medics identify and recover 15 missing colonists. and six members of a Previous CASAR team that had went missing shortly after arrival. their final stand accounted for at least 50 dead Q'sa and seems to have lasted more than two days from notes found int the explorer.
   The survey team roster, and files on the missing team indicate that two colonists and at least 1 member of the CASAR team are still unaccounted for as is the ship that the CASAR team flew in on.

As Elspeth, Tiny and Grym are debriefed more mysteries arise out of their individual reports...But that is a different tale.

In later Reports on the "L-297 Incident" the engagement will be referred to as the First Battle of Rocky Flats.