The computers show that the the Sentinels are approximately 3 kilometers behind you.  They are catching up to you at a speed of 1/2 kilometer every 30 seconds, with the Hyperion going at top speed.

If the Hyperion makes a turn, it will need to reduce its speed by half, the entire maneuver and re-acceleration taking about 30 seconds, so the Sentinels will catch up to you at a rate of 1 kilometer every 30 seconds if you make a turn.

In the back, Cala is your expert in the Sentinels, and she will guide Jade, who is your gunnery expert.  Jade will try to shoot down any Sentinels that come within 1/2 kilometer of the ship.  Whether she can get the whole cluster or not in the 30 seconds before they get to the ship is another matter.  Because of the interference of the broken Sentinel, Jade may only shoot Sentinels directly behind, below, above, or to the right of the ship, not to the left (or in front).

Codec is monitoring the radar while Shadow is helping with navigation.

"I'm getting close to an intersection," Silicon warns.  "Which way?"

You can see the underground system branching off so that the ship can go straight, left, or down.

Staring at the glowing screen and the myriad of knashing crushing burning Sentinels on the radar he replies, "Take a left and then a sharp right about 2 km down near a node. Hopefully we can lose the calamari. Jade and Cala we're gonna need some gunnery support STAT. Can you give us that?"

OOC:  On this part, everyone can help Codec along.

Screed opens his eyes, "Man you people are loud.  How can anyone get any sleep."  His tone is light and accented by the smile on his face.  "So what's the plan?  How do they track us?  How do we lose them?" I should have disabled that Micro program, now that I think about it.

Codec's whole face glows from the read outs of multiple screens.

"I say you memorize that little code of Micro's or we're gonna get killed the next time we run into a clincher with the squiddies. I'd assume they track with motion detectors or thermal imaging. How we lose them? Well ever tried to outrun cops in the Matrix? It can be quite easy; just get 'em to run into stuff. Maybe our gunners can box 'em in and take 'em down with firepower. If we happen upon a straight tunnel we could box them in with gun fire and maybe get 'em to hit the walls. Shooting a few up and causing collisions between them would help too, and conserve ammo."

Screed says, "Okay, your plan is to make a couple of turns and hopefully lose them.  When they get close enough to fire at then turning is going to make them even closer just like stopping to turn and fire at the cop chasing you.  If you miss, he can get much closer, especially if he doesn't duck just like the squids won't.  Okay, have at it."

"Hey not my job, I don't have access to the guns."

Screed calls back with a smile on his face, "Hey, it's more your job than mine.  All I get to do at the moment is hold onto my straps.  You get to at least direct the ship. Wait, are you navigating or piloting?  Cala and Jade get to do the shooting."

"Better hold on to more than that.  Maybe a lot more."  Shadow looks over at Silicon, Whenever you're ready, I believe we are." Shadow gives a nod towards Codec.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:04, Mon 17 July 2006.

Codec snaps into his bucket seat. "I'll be your navigator for today. Lets just get this show on the road."

Silicon prepares to make the sharp left.  He does so, and Shadow helps him navigate so that the Sentinels only catch up 1/2 km on that turn.

The Sentinels are 2 1/2 km behind you.

Silicon then makes the quick right.  Shadow helps him, so that the Sentinels only catch up 1/2 km.

The Sentinels are 2 km behind you.

"Where to now?" Silicon asks.  "In 30 seconds we'll be approaching the next intersection.  We can go up, down, straight or left."

Looking at the flashing nav screen Codec replies, "We got 2 choices, the safe and long or the dangerous and short. Going left will be safe, but long and could give us some shooting practice. It could also let the squids catch up with us. Down will be quicker to where we want to go, but will be more hazardous. What's the decision?"

Screed suggests, "Make the mistakes now while there is a chance to recover.  They are nowhere near close enough to fire at at the moment anyway.  Short and dangerous if there really is a chance to lose them.  Doesn't look like it's working yet.  But, whatever."

OOC:  Down and dangerous will rely more upon Shadow's piloting skills than Codec's navigation skills.

"Let's hit the gas and get the hell out of here as fast as possible..." he replies quietly.

"Just don't mess up the engines and make me go back there again, okay?"

You choose to go down, the quicker of the routes, although it will require skillful piloting by Shadow.

Thirty seconds pass, and then the intersection looms.

The Sentinels are catching up.  Jade and Cala can see them out the rear of the ship in the distance.

The Sentinels are now 1 1/2 km behind you.

Shadow takes you down...and skillfully maneuvers the large ship...but the opening is very narrow and you hear a scraping sound...

Suddenly the ship lurches.

"We've lost two of our left balancers," Silicon says, referring to those round disc-like hovering engines.  He curses under his breath.  "Taking a left will now be a touch more difficult."

However, Shadow's skillful piloting means that the Sentinels did not catch up any on that turn.

The Sentinels are still 1 1/2 km behind you.

Codec tells you that the next intersection is a right, a left, or up.  You will reach it in one minute.

"Is it possible to start recharging the EMP, just in case we need it?" Darius asks, hesitantly. He didn't want to seem like a coward or like he doubted the Nav and Pilot skills, but he didn't want to die either.

"Sorry folks, little closer than I thought."

Screed half smiled, some worry showing through his humor, "Hey, I asked you to not mess withthe engines.  That includes the balancers I think.  Don't make me go back there and turn them back on."

Codec grimaces as the balancers scrape against age old concrete and steel.

[#1 rule to pilot ships: if it's not broken, don't break it]

"Alright here's what's goin on. A left will save us some time, but will be slightly more difficult since we've lost some balance pads. A right will give us some room to shoot down some squids, but there's a chance they'll catch up if we don't shoot 'em down right the first time. Let me check what happens if we go up."

OOC: Where do we go if we go up?
This message was last edited by the player at 01:26, Mon 24 July 2006.

OOC:  Keep in mind that left turns expose the ship's left side to the Sentinels and give Jade no ability to shoot at them.  Right turns are the best for shooting.

Going up just takes you a different direction in this three dimensional maze.  You are not close enough to the surface for it to take you there.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:02, Mon 24 July 2006.

Screed pipes in, "How far away are we, Codec?  If we are still too far away to shoot, keep turning to lose them unless we are only trying to gain time.  If we can't gain time the turn the easiest.  I don't know, I can't see what's going on."  He does his best to remain active even though all he can sense is the jerking and jolting of the ship.

Codec tightens his seat belt and lets his head fall slack so he can read the screen properly at this new angle.

"Well going up just goes up I guess. Not that getting closer to our enemies will help much.

Codec reads the screen to see how far away the ship is from the turns.

OOC:  Zion is in the general direction of down, but the underground is like a labyrinth.

You are 30 seconds away from the next intersection.

The Sentinels are 1 km behind you.

You will be able to shoot at them at about the same time you hit the intersection.

Turning to Codec and Shadow, Silicon says, "Well, which way do you want to go?  I got to know in the next few seconds."

10 seconds from the next intersection.

"I'm all for a right turn, gives us a chance to show those squids we mean business and won't go down without a fight."

"Works for me."

"Yeah, let's go right.  I need the target practice," you hear Jade say through the open intercom from the back of the ship.

Screed checks and tightens his straps once more and hold on.

Codec looks about and screws down a wingnut with his hand.

"Well, everybody ready?"

The Hyperion swings to the right just as the Sentinels are within firing range.

And ...Shadow skillfully navigates without bumping the ship.

Jade begins firing and...takes down a handful of Sentinels, but there are still a hundred more.  They fall back, not gaining any ground that round.

The Sentinels are 1/2 km behind you.

"Next turnoff's coming up real quick," Silicon says.  "Right, left, or down?"

Screed comments, "Woo hoo!  We survived!"  He claps his hands.

Codec scans through the glowing screen and replies.

"Here's our options: Right is the worst to navigate, but gives us some good shooting room, Left will let the Sentinels catch up due to ease and lack of shooting, and Down might just be really hard to manuever around in giving us no room for shooting. Whats the choice?

Screed says, "Shoot baby!"

"I'm pretty sure I can handle a right turn."  Shadow pauses "I'm positive."

Codec spins about in his chair...back...forth...back...forth.

[well thats disorienting...whoa, vertigo]


"Well shooting sounds good to me. If we can take down some squids and get some distance between them and us that would be good."

 Cala quietly assists Jade, trusting the humans' judgment to get them out of the situation.

You start to make the right turn.  Shadow's making a good, solid turn, and the Sentinels come within shooting range.

Cala is successfully helping Jade by pointing out the weak spots, but Jade is not doing so well in her aim.

Consequently, you make the turn without a problem, and Jade takes down 13 Sentinels, but some of the closest ones catch up to the ship.

Cala counts the Sentinels with computer-like swiftness and reports back.

There are 73 Sentinels left in this wave.  They are right on top of the ship.

"Immediate turn!" Silicon says, looking ahead.  "Right or left?  We've got to know now!"

30 Sentinels attach to the ship.  They are near the guns and on the right side due to the right handed turn.

They begin their destructive work...

5 Seconds to the turn.  The Sentinels are right on top of you.

"Blast!"  Screed pops the safety belt and runs for an EMP rifle.  He tries to enter focus speed but realizes his is not in the matrix.  "Double blast!"  He holds on for the turn and the gun as best as he can.

[dammit...]
Codec jerks around in his seat. He can't read the monitor.

[the damn thing is so freakin blurry]

He calls out in a panicky voice to the rest of the crew, "I don't know!!! I can't read the screen!!!"

OOC: Is there time for a reroll? Do I still have my EM rifle on me?

Screed calls back, "Right!  Right, of course!  I can't shoot them all by myself!"  He counts the number of right turns wondering if they are going in a circle.  Whoever thought of putting guns on only one side of the ship ought to be shot.

OOC:  The cannons are in the rear center top of the Hyperion.  Normally, they can do a full 360 degree sweep, but because of the Sentinel corpse blocking the gun's movement, it can only reach the left side of the ship.  Cala and Jade chose not to move the corpse.

However, with 4 people, the Sentinel corpse could be easily and quickly moved.  With 3, not quite as fast.  With 2, give it a minute or two.  Jade cannot easily unstrap herself from the gun, but could do that to help.  (Rolls are based on Strength score.)

The risk is, of course, that the Sentinels will break through the hull first.  Whether it is best to fight them off now with EMP rifles as they break through the hull or to free up the gun is your decision.

EM rifles are within easy reach as you exit the cockpit.

Screed with his awesome scrawny self will use the strenght of the rifle.  "It's up to you at the moment guys, but if it takes a minute or two and we are only seconds between turns, I don't see how that is going to help."

Dracos moves towards the Sentinel corpse with an EMP rifle. It was better than nothing but it was all they had...

"Let's move this piece of scrap metal."

PM

Screed holds on for the turn and then attempts to cover whoever is following Dracos.

He is very weak.

"Hold on everyone!"  Shadow's voice yells over the intercom "Gonna thread some needles here so grab somethin' and pray!"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:39, Tue 01 Aug 2006.

Codec quickly unbuckles his chair and flys across the room to grab an EM rifle. Then he rushes back to his chair and buckles himself in as quickly as possible.

Everyone braces themselves first, and Shadow pulls a hard right...

His skill in piloting is unsurpassed.  Even Silicon smiles in surprise.

But one of the pipes hits a left side balancer, throwing everyone from their seats.

The others are running to the back of the ship...

The right turn gave Jade room to fire, and she fires away.  She takes out 10 more Sentinels.  The right turn also forced many of the Sentinels to crash into each other and the wall.  This buys you a little time and...7 Sentinels are destroyed.  These Sentinels were on the ship but swept off by the overhead pipes and the close call with Shadow's piloting.

There are 56 Sentinels left.  23 are attached to the ship.

The Hyperion is going through a narrow pipe area.  This gives everyone some time to move to the back of the ship.

Meanwhile, you hear the Sentinels trying to break through the hull.

"C'mon, I'm no Titan! Someone come help me move this so they can shoot 360 degrees!" he calls back as he begins to pull on the sentinel corpse.

The scrawny Screed does the best he can to help.  "We need more people!"

Jade unstraps herself so she can help move the Sentinel corpse.  "Stupid squid," she mutters.

Codec stares and the shaky screen and replies, "We got some choices to make. The passageway is about 1 minute long. Which means we've got sentinels probably coming through the hull in that time. At the end of the tunnel we can go diagonally up which will be hard with our balancer pad count, but narrow to give us scraping and shooting room. We can also take the easy way, which goes diagonally down. Personally I say that we start pulling some 360's to try and shake off some sentinels. Then take the hard route. Any comments or objections?
This message was last edited by the player at 13:52, Mon 07 Aug 2006.

Screed asks between grunts, "We can do that?  Yeah, after we get this one off."

Shadow grips the controls tightly and looks to Codec "Yeah, some 360's would be real fun.  Shake some squiddies off our ass."

Dracos, Screed, Cala and Jade heft the Sentinel corpse out of the gunnery area.  The air is still whipping by where it had originally broken through.

Jade starts strapping herself back in...

Cala grabs her EM rifle and shoots at a Sentinel trying to sneak through one of the holes in your already battle worn ship.  The Sentinel squeaks, flashes, and flies powerless from the ship.

Codec gets an EM rifle and straps back into the chair.

OOC: I'm not sure what you mean about pulling some 360's.  The momentum of the ship would throw you all against a wall, assuming the balancers held out and the ship didn't hit a wall in the process.  I think you are referring to moving the sentinel allows Jade's gun to rotate 360 degrees, not the whole ship.

You hear clanking as more Sentinels attach themselves to the ship, and you hear the hum of their lasers working against the hull.

You have about 10 seconds before the fork in the path:  diagonally up or diagonally down?

There are 55 Sentinels left.  28 are attached to the ship.

Jade will finish strapping in just about the time you hit the fork in the road.

Screed grabs his weapon and quickly just tries to find a way to hold on.  As for direction, "Whichever direction gives a better chance to shoot these things.  Down I guess, maybe some will hit the overhang."

Jade says, "Codec, you pick a direction.  I'm going to shoot as many as possible."  She starts shooting them off the ship as much as possible.

Codec thinks for a bit, "I say we go up. If we're good enough at piloting this thing we may be able to scrape of the attached sentinels and shoot down the rest."

OOC: I was thinking about having a pilot make the ship barrel roll around in a full circle to use some momentum to get rid of the squiddies. That obviously won't work with our space and balancer pad limits.

"I say go down, closer to home, farther from the surface," he calls out, "Maybe we can get some back up if we get farther down."

3 seconds left.

Silicon says, "Give me a direction, guys!  Or I take the highest vote."

"I'm for down, gets us closer to home."

As the ship heads downward, everyone goes berserk.  You begin firing your EMP rifles, finding Hammer and a few remaining crewmembers helping you.  Jade is ruthlessly firing down at any Sentinels attached to the ship.  She make some incredible shots, and Sentinels drop like flies.

Two Sentinels hit the sides of the tunnel.  You know it would have been more had you chosen to go up, but Shadow can easily navigate downward.

8 Sentinels attach to the ship, along with 3 still remaining.  Of those 3, 1 of them drops to the floor directly in front of Screed, Dracos, and Cala.  It has penetrated the hull and stands in front of you.

Another of them is to the front of the ship, just out of reach of Jade's guns.  One of its tentacles slams through the front window, knocking back Silicon.  It is now about to drop into the front of the ship in front of Shadow and Codec.

Silicon has been knocked unconscious by the blow.  Shadow is alone in piloting the ship now.

29 Sentinels left.  10 attached to the ship.  1 inside of the ship.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:09, Thu 31 Aug 2006.

Screed calls out, "I've got this one, you two go up front and protect out pilot!"  He pulls the gun up and fires at the machine.

Codec hears a thud of metal as the Sentinel slams down into the ship, "Guys! What the hell was that!"
The screen of his navigator buzzes and jerks as static rips through the LCD display. Codec slaps it a bit.
[C'mon let's see the route!]
The screen snaps back to normal and Codec checks the paths.
"Shadow! We can go easy right, sharp left, or narrow amd hard down! We got to speed this chunk of scrap up!"

Codec's eyes widen as he sees the Sentinel on the glass in front of him. He whips out his EM Rifle and get's ready to shoot.

OOC: Can I make a hit on the Sentinel without frying the ship?
This message was last edited by the player at 02:32, Thu 31 Aug 2006.

Screed calls out, "Go in the direction that wipes out these buggers!"

Shadow struggles at the controls as the sentinels rock the ship.  Next to him Codec yells directions, but Shadow doesn't hear him, all his attention is on the squid about to bust through the glass in front of him.

The glass shards fly everywhere and Shadow covers his eyes, a moment later he sees the tentacle that streches to where Silicon once stood.  The words of Codec finally reach him, "Everybody hold on!"

[Taking the hard route down -- hope it works]

Probably, but there is a risk...luck of the dice.

OOC: I'll take the chance. Do I roll?
As the Sentinel rips through the shattered glass Codec fires his EM rifle at it. The stale air from the tunnels rips through his hair as the smell of ozone enters his mind when the rifle discharges.

After firing and hearing Shadow warn everyone, he does his best to hold on with both hands, letting the strap hold the gun on his body.

Jade continues to fire nonstop at any Sentinels she can reach with the gun, focusing first on those closest to or on the ship.

Dracos moves forewards, holding onto railings as he does so. His goal was to help cover the cockpit.

Screed takes out one of the Sentinels.

Codec fires at the Sentinel on the bridge...and knocks it flying disabled from the ship.  Unfortunately, his shot also sends sparks throughout the front of the ship.  Shadow starts to lose control of the ship and it begins dipping to the right.

Dracos moves toward the cockpit.

Shadow begins taking you down into the narrow and difficult passage.

Jade continues to fire...

The ship begins going down. Shadow is keeping relatively good control over it until...

...uh oh, it is sliding out of control...

Jade takes out 8 Sentinels.

19 Sentinels left.  3 attached to the ship.  0 inside of the ship.

...the right side of the Hyperion slams against the side of the narrow passage, sending out sparks and blue flashes from the balancers.  The gun run by Jade slams against the top as the Hyperion begins bouncing.

...12 Sentinels are destroyed trying to make the narrow passage and missing or being crushed by the ship.

7 Sentinels left.  0 attached to the ship.  0 inside of the ship.

But has Shadow's risk paid off?

Jade's gun is destroyed, there are 7 sentinels left, and Shadow has a seriously negative modifier in continuing to control the ship.

You pull up out of the narrow passageway into a wider one.

Screed calls out as he tries to keep his balance, "What the he..  Okay, we're hurting.  Cala, keep firing.  Jade grab an EMP.  Everyone take a spot and lets take the buggers out by hand.  Just try and keep us even in flight."

[damn, my bad]

Codec rushes back to his seat and straps himself back in. He scans the map and it is plagued by a dead black screen after a sadly short couple 100 pixels.

We can go straight with this dead bird, left into some hot piping, or right into a dead end....What's the decision? I can't see too far ahead so I can't tell you what is straight ahead of us...it's unmapped..."

Screed asks, "What do you mean, it's unmapped?  Will it pick back up later cause I'd really like to keep going straight.  If not, let's not go towards the dead end."  He wonders at them coming so close to lose now.  "Can we just stop and take these things out by hand?  There's only seven, right?  Maybe if we stop sudden enough, they'll just run into the back of the ship."  He grins at the thought.

PM

Screed calls out to Codec, "What kind of hot piping?  Is it the kind that would blow up if we shot at it?"

"By unmapped I mean our previous data got jostled a bit and it isn't getting retrieved. Let me see if I can snag some info on the piping..."

Codec searches through his map for info on the piping.

"Not really sure I wanna try and turn this bird anymore." Shadow pauses as he regrips the controls, "And as for the stopping thing, we might have a problem there....."

Jade is dismounting and running back with an EMP rifle in hand.  "Just point em out, and I'll blow them away," she says.  "We've almost got them all."  She looks around for any Sentinels within range of her rifle.

OOC: So are you going straight or turning?

Screed calls out, "Logic dictates turning would be better for shaking them, but if you think the bird can't handle it, then it's your choice.  You know what she can take."  Screed prepares to hold on.

"Things are startin to fall off this bird, I don't know if she can take much more."

[OOC: Barring anyone else's comments we will be going straight.]

PM

Screed calls out, "Well, if we're not turning to get rid of these things, and don't want to turn at all, why don't we just stop and try to take them out?  The next intersection may require a turn."

"Something about sitting still I don't like, makes it too easy for 'em."

Screed chuckles, "As opposed to slamming into a wall because we don't want to turn and having to walk home if we survive the crash and the battle afterwards.  You're the one who said you didn't want to turn.  Do it now with the best chance of taking out the sentinels or don't do it at all.  Just sayin'."  He shurgs as he braces himself for impact either way.

I think Shadow's going straight, but please confirm the exact maneuvers.

"Gonna try and go easy on the ship and go straight,  so get your guns ready!!"

Codec reroutes the power source in his EM rifle and grins as the power grid on it lights up with an energetic *ptiiiiinnnnngggg*. "Well let's get this over with. FULL STEAM AHEAD!!!!"

The Hyperion, now broken down and on its last leg, plunges forward.  The remaining 7 Sentinels are able to attach to the ship with a loud clunk.

You begin scattering to take them down with your EMP rifles.  Shadow and Codec remain on the bridge.  Locke is helping Silicon regain consciousness.

Jade finds a squid and takes it down with her EMP rifle.

Screed finds one but it jumps to the side and he misses.  Now, it targets in on him.

Cala finds a squid and shoots it down.

To your side, X and Hammer are taking down a squid that got a little too close to your Matrix jack in seats.

There are 4 Sentinels left.  All have attached to the ship.  You do not know if they are inside or not.

Screed tries to not get shot.

Dracos, on the otherhand, tries to shoot the squidies that aren't his shipmate.

Sorry, I forgot to include Dracos in the last list.  My bad.

The static on Codec's screen breaks...
[oh great...]

"Guys! We got a dead in 2 Km!"

Shadow's face grows pale.  "A dead end?  Are you sure?  Start looking for a place to set this piece of junk down and ready the EMP pulse."

Shadow stares out at the darkness "I sure hope this thing stops."

"I'm positive, drop the ship as best you can. Do we want to fight the squids or EMP them?"

OOC: If an EMP is launched will my character get fried?

Jade says, "I say we land this bird and take them out with our EMPs."

1 kilometer to dead end.
Shadow begins trying to apply the brakes.

Screed jumps to the side and expertly avoids a flying tentacle headed his way.

Jade fires at the Sentinel by Screed and hits it but does not destroy it.

Dracos fires at the Sentinel by Screed and takes it down.

3 sentinels left
500 meters to dead end.

The ship is not stopping fast enough.  Shadow turns it, applying all the balancers that work to help slow down the ship...

Another Sentinel breaks through near Hammer and X.  Jade is nearby and she runs to stop it.

The sudden movement of the ship decelerating throws you around...

Jade falls for 1 point of damage.  Dracos maintains balance.  Codec maintains balance.  Screed lands against a computer for 1 point of damage.  Cala falls against some hot piping and suffers 2 points of damage.

Jade fires at the Sentinel and takes it down.

The last one is on the front of the ship and is about to break through to the cokpit where Codec, Locke, and Shadow are.
200 meters. 1 Sentinel left

You can see the dead end, the gnarled pipes and no turn offs.  It appears that the Hyperion will slam into it.

And the last Sentinel is just feet away from the cockpit controls, Shadow, and the slumped over Silicon.

100 meters.

Codec yells back at the others, Codec lifts up his EM Rifle and tries to make the best shot he can. "We got a hard line on the left of the dead end! Don't hit it!"

OOC: Codec performs an All Out Attack at +4 skill bonus.

Screed grabs onto something sturdy and holds on for dear life and deadpans, "This is going to really suck."  At the last instant, he closes his eyes.

Anyone else doing anything?

nope, I'm good.

16:49, Today: Screed rolled 11 using 3d6. contain bowels, skill 17.

Jade holds on for dear life.  "Make it a good landing, Shadow."

Dracos braces for impact...

Seeing the sentinel in front of the ship, Shadow points the ship at the squid, hoping to crush it upon impact.

"Guess I should have turned, huh?" Shadow grunts to Codec as he strains against the controls.