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.