Dark humor brought a smile to Rhijans' face, unseen by everyone else because of the mask and their focus on the threat behind them.  "Hey, I prefer to do my dirty work up-close-and-personal, so I can make sure I'm not shooting any bystanders that didn't ask for it."  Had he known this was going to turn into a shooting match, he would have requisitioned something more appropriate before they left, but the heavy blaster pistol was an old friend and would probably have been his first resort, anyway.

He muttered something under his breath...impossible to know if it was a prayer or a curse...as blaster bolts sailed past him, adding clouds of scorched road-bed to the mass of dust, debris, and insects that they were sailing through.  He fought down the urge to try and dodge the clouds...more likely that he'd crash the speeder than anything being kicked up would be any greater danger than what was already swirling around them.  The grim smile inspired by Shard's question settled onto his features as a stark grimace.

Reldan pulls the swoop into a tight turn, dropping the speed as he does so, and accelerating back towards the swoop whose pilot is shooting at him.  Just for an instant he has a clear shot, and he takes the opportunity to fire a pair of twin laser blasts at the enemy vehicle.

OOC: I hope I did this right.

Reldan Jalt rolled 27 using 6 dice and +2 pips with the WEG Classic system with rolls of 5,5,6,1,{Wild}4,4. Swoop swerve.
Reldan Jalt rolled 20 using 4 dice and +1 pips with the WEG Classic system with rolls of {Wild}6(+2),4,2,5. Blasting away.

"If you'd prefer," Shiss countered, glancing at Shard, ducking his head a bit as a bright bolt spattered against the rear of the transport. "I could throw myself at them."

Good enough to say so... but Shisskurr was actually contemplating just that, in an off-handed way. He loathed long-ranged battles, but was not unfamiliar with them. Though he felt his energy would be better used in a knock-down, drag-out brawl, he wasn't about to leave his comrades hanging - crappy accuracy or not.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:48, Mon 04 Oct 2010.

Satisfied that he doesn't have to hit the riders, just keep them dodging random shots, Jihon continues to pop off shots at the riders behind him. So far, it seems the best tactic considering his experience on a swoop. He tries to keep the swoop facing forward and continuing in a straight line, only making adjustments if he absolutely must.

Jihon Mogg rolled 11 using 2 dice with the WEG Classic system with rolls of 6,{Wild}5. Shooting.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:19, Mon 04 Oct 2010.

Mark fired a shot from his heavy blaster. He shouted to Shard over the noise of the wind buffering against the window. "Rifles cost credits. I hope this job pays enough for me to get one later. But this is all I have for now. I'm not a walking armory."




Mark Jacobs rolled 26 using 6 dice with the WEG Classic system with rolls of 6,3,{Wild}4,4,4,5. Atk w/Blaster.
Mark Jacobs rolled 13 using 5 dice with the WEG Classic system with rolls of 1,3,2,2,{Wild}5. Damage w/Hvy Blaster

Giving up fiddling with the explosive as things turn a bit chaotic outside - blowing up fellow rebels is not on her agenda - Neary pulls out a small blaster from somewhere and takes a shot in the general direction of the would-be ambushers, aiming more to keep them busy and encouraging them to go home or something than to kill with carefully aimed shots.


15 to hit, 14 potential damage.

While Rhijans Thanus concentrates on keeping the transport moving, Shard uses the weapon she has borrowed from him to fire off a seemingly random shot in the rough direction of the pursuers.  The bolt goes far wide of the target, but it does make the rider duck his head reflexively.

The momentary distraction allows Reldan Jalt to line up on that swoop and use his vehicles built-in weaponry.  Twin energy bolts strike the attacking swoop, which immediately slows down as blue sparks dance across the controls and the rider struggles to control it.

Inside the transport, Shisskurr fires at one of the attackers.  He manages to hit, but the angle is wrong, and the blaster bolt is deflected away, leaving nothing but a scorch mark on the vehicle.

Nobody could be more surprised than Jihon Mogg (with the possible exception of his target) when the besalisk actually manages to score a hit with his borrowed gun.  The blaster bolt ricochets off the swoop's motor, and something burns, causing the swoop to slow suddenly.

Mark Jacobs takes the opportunity to squeeze off a shot at the remaining undamaged swoop.  he succeeds in hitting it, and the vehicle starts to veer erratically, as the rider frantically starts adjusting controls.

Neary also fires at the same target, and its loss of control becomes critical as her blaster takes out a stabiliser vane.  The rider is forced to slow down to a crawl, leaving only two swoops in the chase, both of them damaged and barely able to keep up with the transport.

But at least they seem to have stopped shooting at the transport for the moment.

"But you had to - HA! Nice one, Thanus! - had to get the big gun, didn't you, Jacobs?  Couldn't bear to get the more reasonable, longer-ranged pistol, right?"  Shard laughs - with amusement, not mockery - as she lines up on one of their pursuers, taking careful aim.  Her eyes narrow and she slowly lets out a long breath.

"Well don't feel badly...everyone else did the same."

Her focus narrows down to a single point as she tracks the pursuing swoops.

Not shooting right now...no need to kill anyone...but if they start firing, let's see what this blunderbluss can do.

Rhijans noticed the lack of incoming fire, as well as the momentary lull of outgoing blaster bolts from their own craft.  "We still have our pair on our tail?" he asked, without slowing the speeder at all.  He still didn't dare take his eyes off the road, as he had no idea if someone was about to start shooting again and if they did, he wanted to make sure he was focused on holding his course.

Reldan brings the Swoop back around, not caring about the opposition for the moment.  They seem to have lost a little speed anyway, and will probably start to drop back now.

Instead he wants to concentrate on catching up with the transport, just in case there are any surprises up ahead.  He hunches down, and opens up the throttle.

Reldan Jalt rolled 33 using 7 dice and +2 pips with the WEG Classic system with rolls of 1,6,4,5,5,{Wild}4,6. Swoop piloting.

"I hit one," Jihon cries, waving the holdout pistol in the air. "How does one imagine that?"

Since the pursuers were dropping back, he also leans forward slightly and accelerates, trying to squeeze every last bit of speed from the craft.

Mark closed the window as the other swoops backed off. "Yeah, they backed off." He holstered his blaster.

<blue>"Well let's see if we can make it to the city out any more incidents."

The last of the swoops drop back, giving up the pursuit now that they realise their target is well defended.

Reldan Jalt and Jihon Mogg take up positions alongside the transport, doubtless feeling confident in their ability to fend off any further attacks which might come.

Inside the vehicle, it's just a matter of closing the windows and purging the atmosphere, and the crew and passengers can start taking off their masks.

The trio of vehicle continue along the road to Ker Aldas, which descends into a broad valley before starting to climb again towards the next range of low mountains.  The dense forest continues to each side of the road, and the air is still thick with seeds, pollen, spores and flying creatures.

As they crest the pass over the second range, several large gas filled bladders appear, drifting along on the wind just a short distance overhead.  Long tendrils trail below them, brushing the treetops.

"Oh, now what is this new strangeness?" Rhijans mused aloud.  He grabbed his commlink.

"You two may want to drop in low behind me, catch my slipstream," he commented.  He was pretty sure he could keep the transport below the treetop level, and hopefully any wind blowing around from his passing would blow the dangling tendrils clear so the swoops didn't wind up tangled (or strangled) by the...whatever those were.

Craning his neck to make out what the giant bladders might be, Jihon nods and decides to get behind the transport. If things turned bad in some way, he could be in trouble trying to pilot the swoop creatively.

Jihon Mogg rolled 8 using 4 dice and +1 pips with the WEG Classic system with rolls of 3,1,1,{Wild}2. piloting.

Mark stood next to Rhijans as he piloted the craft. "What do you make of those things? Maybe some sort of air jelly instead of jellyfish."


Mark Jacobs rolled 1 (5 excluding the wild die) using 3 dice with the WEG Classic system with rolls of 3,1,{Wild}1. Knowledge(General)

Whoot on that knowledge check!

Rhijans shrugged.  "Never seen anything like it.  Not real eager to find out whether or not they eat transport speeders or swoops, though.  I figure if we stay below the tendrils, we should be okay...doesn't look to be anything on them that passes for eyes, hopefully they don't see a big tasty morsel they want to reach for."  He paused, turning a calculating eye on them.

"But keep the blasters ready, just in case."

Shard ambles up to the front, fingers itching for her flask, and sets the blaster down beside its owner.  "Only got one shot off, so we don't need to worry much about the power cell..."  Leaning forward, she stares out the window at the gasbags.  They bring back immediate, unpleasant memories.  "Floaters," she mutters.

Clapping a hand on Rhijans' shoulder, she nods along with his thoughts.  "Yeah, keep your distance - lateral if you can.  They look like...something I met on a hellworld, a long, long time ago.  Probably not the same thing, but they're predators - the tentacles give it away.  Float along, silent and invisible - not too many animals think to look up."  She narrows her eyes, struggling to see.  "Don't know if blasters would do any good on them, at least the ones we have.  Unless the gas is explosive.  And if they're like the other floaters I met...no."

"Anyone got a set of macrobinocs?  I'd like to take a closer look without going closer..."

Mark reach for his belt and opened a small compartment. "Here." He pulled out a pair of macrobinoculars.

"Great, great, thanks." Taking the macrobinoculars, Shard squints through them, dialing up the magnification to study the first the gasbag of the nearest creature, then the tentacles, then area connecting the two sections.  "Let's see what we can see," she murmurs.

"It's probably nothing, but the cursed floaters I met beforehad some nasty tricks up their non-existent sleeves."  Her free hand clenches for a moment.  "Like, shooting back."

Rhijans grimaced.  Lateral distance? he mused silently.  Keeping a close eye on the road, and gauging the closing distance to the newly-identified floaters, he replied, "The swoops would be fine getting off the laid-out road here...but I'm not real crazy about testing the repulsors on this thing over unknown terrain.  Not to mention my less-than-stellar driving skills..."

He shook his head, and reminded himself again that he really should learn more about repulsor operation.

The great gas bags drift along on the wind.  The tendrils drag across the treetops, slowing the drift slightly.  The things show no sign that they have any control over their movement.  Nor do they have any obvious sensory apparatus.

"Lucky," Shard mutters.  "They should be fine to fly under.  I don't see any signs of predatory activity, or...other things I was worried about." She chuckles, handing the macrobinoculars back to Jacobs.  "Some of them even have moss growing on them." 

It's a relief.  Got shot at, but that's all.  Nobody choked on the spores, the gasbags aren't serious.  "Only thing we have to worry about is those guys waiting for us with friends when we come back."  Slipping back into pessimism comes all-too easily for Shard.

Mark returned the macrobinoculars to his pouch. "Well let's keep a sharp eye out."

He patted Rhijan's shoulder. "Steady as she goes."

---

One they make it pass the gasbags, Mark will check to see if Rhijan needs a rest from driving. If he doesn't, Mark will take a nap.

With no apparent threat, Rhijans settled for adjusting the hover height of the repulsors so the vehicle was a scant quarter-meter off the roadway.  He did his best to ignore the lump rising in his throat as he kept reminding himself that it only looked like they were actually dragging on the ground.  He'd have actually preferred to fly lower, just for his own sense of security, but given a choice between potentially snagging on one of the gasbags, or potentially plowing into the roadbed, he preferred to take his chances with the gasbags.

He eased off the throttle just a bit, trying to use slower speed to replace some of the peace of mind he was losing over the ride height, and held his course steady.