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."