Have it your way Snow says calmly as he reaches for his pistol.

PM
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:26, Sat 12 Mar 2005.

The two bald men on either side of the pillars engage the two AI programs in melee combat.  They are using martial arts techniques and appear to be quite skilled.

Snow pulls draws his pistol.

It appears that the three bald men approaching are not about to talk or engage in small talk.  They mean busines.

::pulls out his glocks and waits for the action to come to him::

What ever happened to talking first, we really need to give these programs the supervillian routine....

::smiles a bit at that comment::

Demian snaps out of his brief reverie when he sees the men charging them.

“And I thought the AI programs were going to let us bypass the defenses…so much for that idea,” Demian says as he draws two glocks out from their shoulder harnesses, his long black coat flying open. He takes aim, center mass, on the center bald man.

“Meth, step behind me if you want some cover.”

If you have not yet posted your actions for the upcoming rounds, please do so soon.  The mean, bad bald guys aren't going to wait for your indecision, and this may...hint, hint...be a critical decision affecting your character's life.

Since we are moving into action here, also keep in mind that 1 round=1 second in GURPS.  Therefore, keep things like your movement speed and other actions in mind as 1 second intervals.  I like to do 3 seconds (i.e. 3 rounds) at a time in any action sequence.

The 3 bald men will reach the group in 3 seconds.  The two (one on either side of the group) on the side of the pillars will reach the AI's in 1 second.  Screed is about 30 feet ahead of the group (about halfway to the dais) and is approaching stealthily from behind the pillars.  The three bald men are about to pass him in 1 second.

To refer to the bald men, you can refer to them as B1 through B5, going from left to right (B1 with the female AI, B2-B4 approaching you, and B5 on the right side of the pillars with the male AI).

PS

PM

PU

Jade levels her M-16 at the center bald man and fires.

Methuselah gets behind Demian.  "I worry that this may be a test, some phrase we're supposed to utter to reflect that we adequately understood the riddle."  He watches the approaching men, "We may die if we only fight."  That said, he takes a defensive stance and watches carefully as the bald men advance.

::points his guns at the b3 and waits for a moment::

If the programs are fighting, it's a good indication that we are meant to fight...

::resists activing his enhanced dex and str right now, trying to test the program out, and begins firing his glocks::

PM

Screed has to duck behind the pillar and wait as the bald men approach.

Your attention is momentarily distracted by the martial arts skills of the AI's versus the bald men.

The three bald men in the center continue forward toward Demian, Jade, Methuselah, Snow, Fault, and Daredevil.

Round 1
Demian holds two glocks up and aims at the center man.

Daredevil also pulls out his two glocks and aims at the center man.

Jade pulls up her M-16 and aims for one second.

Snow pulls out his pistol and aims for one second.

Methuselah takes a step back and is ready for defense.

Fault takes a step back with Methuselah.

Round 2
Demian, Daredevil, Snow and Jade all fire at the center bald man.

The bald man, having seen you aim, suddenly begins moving in a blur.  Demian and Daredevil miss with both guns.  Jade also misses with her automatic weapon except for two rounds that land with a thwack in his left upper arm and shoulder.

The other two bald men on his side also turn into a blur of movement as they rush you, reaching you in less than a second instead of the two you expected.

Faster than you can respond, they are attacking Demian, Daredevil and Jade.  Snow is crouching to jump over them, but they are still moving faster than normal time...

[Obviously, they are currently in bullet time.]

Round 2 continued
All within this same second, the bald man (B2) is suddenly in front of Demian.  He whips out with faster than lightning hands, slapping away one of his glocks.  While the pistol is still flying through the air, the man grabs Demian, twisting his arm and stepping behind him.  Demian now is in one-armed hold from behind with a gun in his other hand and the man standing behind him.

Daredevil feels the center bald man (B3) kneel and slap at Daredevil's hand.  Daredevil by instinct moves it away, but another hand from B3 moves faster than Daredevil can respond, grabbing one of the glocks from Daredevil and holding it himself.  His movements are so fast that when he is through partially disarming Daredevil that a droplet of blood from the man's fresh wound has still not touched the ground.

B4 instantly appears before Jade.  He grabs the M-16 with little effort, hits Jade in the chest with the weapon (2 HT dmg) and then maneuvers behind her before she even falls back from the blow.  Catching her from behind, he drops her weapon and skillfully puts her in a sleeper hold before the weapon even hits the ground.

Snow, Meth, and Fault cannot even respond it all happens so quickly.

PM

PM
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:11, Thu 24 Mar 2005.

Jade moves into bullet time, using all of her energy and training to dislodge herself from the sleeper hold.

PM

 Fault steps away from Methuselah and heads toward the nearest bald man.

“Doh!” Demian thinks to himself. Somehow, training never really prepares you for the real thing.

Closing his eyes for an instant, Demian feels the differences in the world of electrical impulses and code. He moves to match the speed of these bald men – first, attempting to wrench his arm away from the man behind him.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:09, Sat 26 Mar 2005.

Methuselah, from his vantage point behind Demian, continues his defensive stance.  Something bothers him about the battle, and he tries to piece together what he's seen so far.  "Yes, they're fast, but how long can they keep this up?" he ponders aloud to himself.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:29, Mon 28 Mar 2005.

PM:

I need to remind everyone of the 48 hour rule.  It becomes most important when battle begins because the battle cannot progress without knowing what everyone will be doing, although I recognize that weekends can sometimes be difficult.

Snow tilts his head as the men unnaturally accelerate. He raises his pistol, waiting and aiming until he gets a clear shot.

PM
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:12, Mon 28 Mar 2005.

For technical purposes, you can consider that the bald men are moving at Focus Skill, Level 6, although you don't know the extent of their capabilities.