For most people, the transports of the Living Fleet are a death sentence.  The ramshackle buckets are little more than scrap metal welded to engines, constantly leaking air into the entropic void that surrounds them.  Their sole purpose is to die for the Last Refuge, ablative armor populated by losers and desperadoes.

They're not exactly wrong, but anyone who called one of Allison Al-Sayegh's crew a loser would be in for a very painful explanation about how, in her many, many eyes, they were actually heroes.  Then they'd get a very painful explanation about how her eyes were the only ones that mattered.

Life aboard the Trapdoor and the rest of Spiderweb's privateer fleet- the Golden Hind and the Paddy Wagon- is rough-and-tumble and hard.  But it's satisfying.  She pays well, they're entertained well on their off-hours, and anyone who wants a cushier job in the rest of the fleet often gets a glowing recommendation.  Everybody truly deserves it; there are no lollygaggers on her crew.  Though nobody in her lean, hungry crew could be truly called content, there's a certain satisfaction in their employment.  As a whole they feel like their hardscrabble life has a purpose, and that's more than most have.

It also helps ameliorate what the captain of the Paddy Wagon calls the 'troubles'- the times when Spiderweb gets a 'fukkin' bug up her ass about somethin' again'.  Spiderweb's avarice and aggression are legendary, and they almost always mean an even tougher time ahead.  On the bright side, they're also pretty lucrative.

"Alright, ya scraps,"  Captain Murphy addresses Arkady and fifteen others of the Paddy Wagon's crew, "The Troubles are startin' again, so ya know what that means.  We've got a new target and Spiderweb wants to collect.  I won't bother yar tiny skulls with the specifics this time, but we've gone and lucked out.  The Golden Hind's spotted a Bataan-class frigate off of some asteroids in a nearby sector.  Normally we'd just crush it up, real good yah, but this time we've decided we want it whole and complete.  I don't know if ya've all been paying attention but the Fleet's just captured a whole flagship, and I guess they want to complete the set!  So here's what we're doing.  The Golden Hind will be doin the busy work as usual, zapping it up good and disabling it.  Trapdoor will be runnin' jammin' and countermeasures.  We need to get on board, disable the comms, disable the weapons, and then bring it back home."

Captain Murphy scans the crowd of scrappers,

"Of course this is dangerous as all sin, it is.  So that's the usual.  But here's another tidbit.  Spiderweb's offerin' a bounty."

This gets the scrappers muttering.  A bounty?  That almost never happens.  Spiderweb apportions out cash and goods and services according to rank.  Everyone does their job, no heroic stuff.  That's what keeps them alive.

"Yeah, I know.  A bounty.  When we disable the frigate, there'll probably be a bunch of Neverborn fighters hooked up.  Now we're not talkin' the ciggies, we're talkin' the real deal.  We'll need people to go in, hotwire them, and maybe take them out for a spin while we hook up the Paddy Wagon onto the frigate for tugboat time.  That way if we're ambushed we can blast our way out.  So ya get to be pilots for a day and get paid good for it!"

More muttering.  Most people don't like that idea at all.  Pilots already have a low life expectancy, but piloting a Neverborn fighter?

"Anyway, that's the unusual.  Remember, everythin's hostile in frigate, so that's the usual.  Squad leaders, make sure everyone's loaded with rocksalt shotguns.  Watch yar fire, watch each other's backs.  Remember that if ya have to die, do it like a madman.  Questions?"

Arkady snaps his fingers sounding off a metallic clang.

"So we board a hostile ship, not really knowing what awaits us there, fuck their shit up, steal their fighters, fuck more shit up, and come back for a drink huh?"

He looks around the crew quickly to see if anyone wishes to add anything and continues:

"So the big guys are gonna watch our backs while we engies do wire pulling and then we have a little test-drive with fighters we've never had the chance to inspect in person crewed by dudes of which most haven't even driven one of our jets. Blyat. Sounds pretty awesome to be honest."

Arkady looks around again looking for reactions from the crew and crosses his arms on his chest in desperate attempt to hide his nervous tic.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:46, Fri 27 Jan 2017.

The rest of the crew looks back and forth and mutter.  One of them- his squadmate Cycles Blyte- raises his own voice.  "This'll be just the Buchenwald!  What, are we just cannon fodder now, like in the bad old days?"

"Relax, Mr. Cycles.  It's just a frigate,"  Their captain shakes his head, "It'll be crewed by ghosts but it's nothin we haven't dealt with before!  Pour the salt on the floor to cordon off cleared areas, advance, if it looks bad retreat behind the salt wall.  The hell's wrong with you!"

He points at Arkady,

"Better than that!  Spiderweb's not gonna be jackin off inside the Trapdoor like usual.  She's goin to be joinin the boarding party with the rest of us, Mr. Arkady.  That means you run across somethin that would fry you?  Call the big boss!  That's her job!  Also..."

He kicks open a crate by his feet,

"She's supplied us all with good luck charms, just for the occasion.  Ours to keep, up front.  One of these buys you a full fuckin week with a midrange Neomah courtesan on Last Refuge!  So shut your blabberhole!  She's takin a personal interest in this one, and that means none of us are goin wantin!"

Arkady glances in Cycles's direction as he rants but Captain Murphy's words seem to clear his doubts and a confident grin sets on his face.

"Spiderweb's joining us? Ha! This's going to be a cake walk, I tell you! She's taken care of our sorry asses for a long time and she's the last person to set us off as cannon fodder and if she has personal interest on that dead-shit tin can, there oughta be some grade-A tech inside, and I sure as hell want a piece of that cake!"

Arkady points his thumb in the direction of the open crate and continues with a friendly smug on his face:

"And if you don't want to come Cycles I call dibs on your share too! Ha! I'll put it to good use, I swear! Booze and Bitches! Hahahaha!"
This message was last edited by the player at 23:47, Fri 27 Jan 2017.

"Man, fuck you, you Russkie bastard,"  Cycles shoots back at him, "Don't you take my share, I'll be on there just like the rest of you!  Just I won't like it!"

"Man, everyone's so wound up,"  A random crewmember drawls. "Chill the hell out."

"Man fuck you," Cycles shoots back at him.

"ALL OF YOU SHUT UP,"  Captain Murphy's voice rings out.  He's got a hell of a pair of vocal cords- probably the only reason he's the captain of the Paddy Wagon.  "Buncha pansies!  Now listen, you should head over to the quartermaster while you still can and get all that extra shit I know you boys and girls love to tote around.  Quartermaster's got some new knives, silencers, the whole works.  And, apparently, he's not even gonna mark it up that much this time!"

Some of the crew start to pile out of the room, rushing from the meeting room to queue up at the quartermaster's to get the normal shit:  lug-mounted bayonets, salt grenades, lucky wrenches, bandages, unguents, elixirs, alchemic fire sticks, mini-vodka bottles...

Only a few stay behind, notably the Captain, who looks pretty pleased with himself.  "And you, Mr. Arkady- no more crossin wires that shouldn't be crossed because you've decided you like the way they taste or whatever it is you Russian bastards do.  And, more importantly, I've decided it's high time you joined high society.  You're goin to be leadin a crew this time around."

Arkady's smug expression fades the as captain lectures him and is replaced with genuine surprise when leading a crew is mentioned.

"Underst... Wait... Really? I-I mean yes captain! I will not disappoint you!

Arkady's slouching pose straightens like someone had shoved an iron bar up his ass. He performs a quick salute, almost hitting his metal hand on his forehead and a bit calmer, though still a bit dazed, he continues:

"What are your orders, Captain?"
This message was last edited by the player at 23:49, Fri 27 Jan 2017.

"I'm sure you will disappoint me, you Russkie bastard, that's why I'm givin you the rope to hang yourself with.  And stop salutin'!  Makes my head ache thinkin about you smackin your forehead with those big metal fingers."

He pauses and pushes the crate over to Arkady.

"Peaceful disbursement of these, for starters.  After that- you're a fair bit more competent than most with the boardin tactics and you're a good engie, so your job will be headin for the engine rooms and shuttin them down."

Bad news for him.  Usually 'hall sanitation' is the best job, cleaning out a section of a ship's hall and making sure it's ghost-free, then inching through the place bit by bit.  Usually there isn't much, and when there is, you can duck back behind the salt you'd just laid.  The most dangerous job is working on the bridge; the second most dangerous job is the engine room.  The former usually has the most enemy presence, and the latter has slightly less enemy presence AND the possibility of a reactor going nova.

The actual boarding of actual Abyssal ships is rare, and so the danger here is even worse.

"Which also means you're functionally Spiderweb's right hand on this one.  Congrats.  Had to choose someone from the boarders so you're it."

Arkady's expression delivers the perfect example of how a person looks when he thinks "Aww shit I fucking knew it" as he lowers his arm. one could think he said something in Russian under his breath. Probably something not nice.

He raises his head afterwards and gives the captain a grinning smile.

"Oh you can keep the rope cap. If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die drunk as fuck and raving mad like the crazy Russian bastard I am. That's what I was told to do, That's how it would go, And I'm not plannin' on pussying out like a bitch."

He looks at the contents of the crate and shifts quickly on the contents of the crate, until his eyes set on a certain charm. Letting off a small grin, he picks it up and looks at it, holding it in between his fingers. A small red star.

((Spend 1 chivalrous joss "Walk with a merchant's eye"))

He carefully places the charm in one of his utility pockets and after making sure it's tightly shut he shouts out

"ALL RIGHT SCAVS! Come get your lucky charms in an ORDERLY AND POLITE FASHION! No pushing, cutting the line or assing around or I'm gonna give you a high five, IN THE FACE BLYAT!" clapping his hads together to gain the crews attention and to emphasize that they would not enjoy a "high five in the face".

He puts his leg on the edge of the crate in a bold fashion and looks at the captain again with a smug grin.

"Oppa blyat cap, I really wanna see you face when I ace this shit. I won't fucking let you, or Spiderweb , to be disappointed, I tell you."

"Drunk as fuck and ravin' mad?  Isn't that your normal Russian's state?"  The Captain shakes his head as Arkady rifles through the crate, picking through the charms.  "A goddamn soviet star, where the hell did the Miss find that?  And knowin you, the God(dess) of Prostitution herself craves that fukkin thing."

The scavengers are torn in half- some of them desperately want to grab their share from the quartermaster, some desperately want the charms.  This split is pretty much based on how far they are from the Quartermaster's front office.  Several surge right towards him.

"You fukkin have fun, boyo," The captain slaps Arkady's shoulder, "I'll be watchin from here with some good ol whiskey in one hand and a cigar in the other.  You fuck up too good and we blow the ship, so don't fuck up, hey?"

Either Arkady has a reputation or they're worried about the captain.  They form a pretty orderly line- by scav standards- and wait for him impatiently to start doling them out.  Third in line is a well-known scavenger, a seasoned boarder named Jonesy.  Jonesy gives Arkady a broad grin- missing a tooth after a fight last week with that pigfucker Darlongi- and a wink. "Hey Ark,"  She calls out to him sing-song, "Throw me a good one, eh?"

"Fuck you, Jonesy Q, you wait in line like the rest of us!" The first in the line spits back at her.

Mechanically, this is a special Bad Fortune Talisman.  It cancels out 2 points of Malicious joss.  As a special bonus, this particular one also allows you to reroll any Lake roll in lieu of canceling out MalJoss.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:05, Tue 31 Jan 2017.

Arkady grins at the captain and waves his hand in a relaxed manner then he notices Jonesy hollering at him.

"Yo Jonesy! Just a second!"

He quickly dishes out two charms for the first two in line and waves them to scurry off.

"I really tried to shuffle through the crate but I couldn't find a tooth for you but you get the second best thing, you get to take a pick! Be quick about it though, Cap'n wouldn't like me playing favorites."

He opens his hands for a generous gesture with a wide grin and picks up a small flask from one of his pockets subtly, takes a quick look around and takes a sip of something that smells like strong alcohol but doesn't smell like it is meant to be drunk and offers to Jonesy.

"Did the cap'n assign you a task for this gig? I get lead a crew, which is cool. The fact that I get the engine room... Well shit... at least it's not the bridge. I could use a decent shooter to check my back since I'm a shitty shot myself."

Arkady takes a quick look at the line for the Quartermasters office, pulls down his hood and scratches his head quickly with a slightly concerned look.

"...And if those greedy fuckers in that line hog all the best tools and calibration equipment I'm gonna be really fuckin' pissed."

Jonesy hurries over to his side after taking her charm- she's not the best at picking things out, not like Arky.  The captain leaves them be, thank the Gods, so as soon as she's got one she sidles over next to Arky with a conspiratorial nod, watching the line go by.

"Nah, I didn't.  Fact is, I think you stole my spot.  If'n ya didn't, then I'm up with Spiderweb herself."  She looks over at the other queue, "Tell you the truth, I'd not like to be in your shoes right now, but I'd like to be on the bridge less.  You hear about what happened at the Buchenwald?  Everywhere those damn Exalts go, little ones die around them, know what I mean?"

She looks at her charm.  "I could get your back if they let me switch, of course.  Just like I could stand in line for you over there and get you- HEY YOU, ONLY ONE, LITTLE BITCH- what you need up front.  Course, that's only if you want it."

The guy who tried to pocket two tries to scurry away.

Arkady notices the guy and shuffles his pockets for something to throw at him. The weapon of choice appears to be a medium size bolt which he throws pretty much as hard as he can.

"DIDN'T HEAR ME THE FIRST TIME CYKA?!? WANT ANOTHER OF THESE TOO?!?

He angrily shakes his fist and flicks a finger to the guy and after a few more inappropriate words in russia he crouches down to a slav-squat and leans towards Jonesy and while still handing out the charms for the people in line he says in a calm quieter manner:

"Yeah I've heard about Buchenwald, And I'm kinda sorry if I stole your job but I didn't apply for it. Spiderweb and the captain decided it for me and I ain't gonna let them down. I really wanna wipe that fucking grin off captains face. But yeah... If I get a chance to pick my crew or have any word at all 'bout it, I'll put your name on the list."

He takes another sip off his canteen and slides it back to his pocket and continues with a bit more confident look on his face:

"I don't really know much about those Exalts but I do know that having even one with us really pumps-up our chances of survival like... Tenfold or something. I mean. With them someone always comes back to tell the tale, right? We still gotta watch our own backs and Spiderweb's too though. She's fucking badass but no-ones invincible."

The man takes the bolt to the forehead, drawing a loud muffled swear in a language Arkady doesn't recognize and a scurrying away.

"Eh, I ain't pissed at ya, Arky.  The Cap'n isn't either.  He must like you,"  She smirks at him, "Makin' kissy-faces at ya at night in his room, maybe.  Didn't know you were into that sort of thing, eh?" She laughs at him again, "Yeah, look, it improves our overall chances, but I don't want to be anywhere near her when the time comes.  We're just... armor or somethin' to exalts.  All ablative and shit.  So yeah, overall we improve a bit, but not everyone."

She spits on the bulkhead and watches with satisfaction as the spit sticks like glue.  Looks like she's been getting into dip again.

"I'll ask ya again though.  You want me to get in line for ya at the quartermaster?  Won't even ask too much from ya."

Arkady looks at the two lines shifting people. People come from the quartermasters to the his line and vice versa.

"Yeah. That'd be awesome. Otherwise I'd have to settle with the leftovers, and that stuff is in horrendous condition, I tell you. I'm stuck here until all of these are handed out."

He taps the edge of the crate and continues handing it's contents to the crew in line.

"Just ask the Quatermaster to reserve some better quality mechanical tools and calibration equipment and some other nick-nacks. Tell him that if he hands me mis-alligned calibration tools or some shit the reactor's sure to go boom. Oh! And I need some of those mini vodka bottles. They're 'Mission critical'. I owe you Jonesy."

Arkady winks with a self-assured smile on his face.

"Yah you do.  You owe me a lot more than you think, thank you very much," She winks back, "Alright, calibrators, tools, vodka, I'm gonna get ya some extra WD-40, and maybe some new gloves.  On the house."

She tosses her charm up in the air, "I'm feelin' lucky tonight, aren't you?"

She saunters off.  Huh, good ol'Jonesy.  Body like a ruler and face as plain as day.  Still bever afraid to lay it on thick when she thinks she can get something out of it- but at least she's not malicious about it like some other people on the ship.

Passing out the charms takes a while, especially when he has to whip out the steel baton on one enterprising bastard who thinks he's got what it takes to grab a shitton of them and then run.  One of his mates, Dragunov the Dragon, ends up having to help him put the boots to the scavenger while Arky goes back to handing out the charms properly.

Eventually Jonesy comes back with the things he's requested- plus a brand 'new' refurbished M1911, chrome, with a bunch of engravings in some Christian style mixed with a few of the more pagan ones.  She hands it to him with great ceremony.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:09, Sat 04 Feb 2017.

"Thanks for the stuff Jone.." He stops mid-sentece as he sees the pistol Jonesy is offering- "Holy sweet mother of jesus blyat- I mean, What a beauty!!! Hell! Where the hell did you get this?? I don't even wanna ask how!"

He gently picks up the pistol and exited like a little kid on christmas morning he removes the magazine, racks the slide a couple of times to see if everything's working smoothly, tries the safety a couple of times and finally aims down the sights a couple of times before re-inserting the magazine. Regardless of his metal arms he performs all of this with surprising dexterity.

"This must cost like an arm and a leg! Not that i'd have any arms to spare! Ha! Seriouly whaddidya do? Blackmail the quartermaster or something? This beautifull piece looks like it shoots bullets smelted from the Vatican cross or some shit! Thank you Jonesy! I don't have any idea on how I can repay you! Thank you!"

"Remember Reese?"

Yeah, Reese- a scrap collector, pretty as a picture and nuttier than a squirrel in peanut butter.  He was renowned for being able to find high-quality metal and operated his own forge (and still) in his cabin... which he built himself, welded to the outside of the Trapdoor.  He took an angry blood-ape to the face during a routine scrap-up with some rivals over a broken Mercury transport a few months back.

"Turns out he was tryin his hand at armory.  He'd been replacin that for at least three years.  Did all the engravin himself.  He left the gun to me, but I've been lettin the quartermaster borrow it.  Thing's extra lucky."

"Bloody fuckin 'ell... he must have needed some convincing to give this up.

He glances the weapon once more before before tucking it into a pocket on his belt that was apparently meant for a tool of sorts, a rivet gun probably, and secures the pocket with a worn strap. With a cunning smile on his face he looks Jonesy in the eyes.

"It must be extra lucky for you to I guess. What would you have me do? Nothin's free, especially on this barge. Wanna discuss the details by a quick drink before we all die in a rector nova?"

He opens his fist in front of his face and with a "poof" he lets a short laugh.

"Well, Reese is dead, and the Quartermaster knows it's already mine, so if he was gonna try to steal it I was gonna cut his throat one day during dinner."</b>  Jonesy gives him her gap-toothed smile, "It's real simple.  You haven't figured it out yet, have you, boyo?  You are being tapped to command.  That's how the captain got his place, I was one of the first there.  Betcha didn't know that."

She stretches her hands over her head.

"Everyone knows Spiderweb's got another transport in the makin'.  So she'll need someone to command.  And that thing will be a rusty piece of shit first trip out.  So they'll need a captain who knows what he's doin.  Guess what THAT means.  So this here's a test."

She leans over to him, face only a few centimeters away.  "Yeah, let's go get a drink and talk about what I want."

The bar is, predictably, the center of the ship- literally.  In this particular hunk of junk they actually moved the reactor a bit aft, supposedly to "minimize explosive output" but in reality because the Captain wanted a bar only a little jog away from anywhere.

The Ship's Bartender is, in all actuality, #3 on the ship.  The Captain commands, the Second in Command is backup and basically sleep-shift captain, and the Bartender can best be described as the morale officer.

Thad "Plato" Spanikopitapolous probably only gets three hours of sleep a night and gets by on drinks made of pure powdered caffeine, coffee grounds, and pure grit.  His bar, the Cave, is less a bar than it is a vodka and whiskey dispensary.  He sighs as Jonesy leads Arkady practically in by the hand.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:47, Tue 07 Feb 2017.

"Privet Plato!" Arkady hollers. "Two glasses of vodka! I'll pay. You know I pay. I always pay! Ha! At least at some point." he taps the counter twice and the focuses his attention towards Jonesy.

"So.. Spiderweb's got a new ship comin' and you have interest in that. The cap is testing me if I'd be a good captain for that bucket, and you wanna piece of that cake, da?"

He gives slints his eyes a bit and continues.

"You want on that ship. Maybe you even want that ship? You don't seem comfortable near Spiderweb so you want some void and rusty steel between you and 'er?"

"I may want the ship but Spiderweb ain't stupid.  If she thinks you may be better and she gives it to you then she's right.  I ain't comfortable around the big boss, but that ain't why I want off.  You think there's any chance here for me, grubbin around with the Captain, makin sure he keeps eyein my ass and knowin I'll never get anywhere?  New ship, new life, you know the rules same as I do.  New chances.  I want taken on, given the chance to take a higher position.  You know as well as I do that Spiderweb keeps a tight hierarchy on most her ships.  Can't compete with the guys ahead of me."

Plato pushes two glasses of cloudy vodka in cloudier glass 'cups' made of broken and sanded-down bottles.  He scowls at Arkady, "Yeah, you pay tonight, before you leave, got it?  If'n you're getting a ship, that means you'll never have to come here to pay."

Arkady waves his hand at the bartender an an assuring fashion and pick's up the glass, rises it, and takes a good sip. He doesn't down the entire thing at once. He wants to enjoy it.

"Cheers." he wipes his mouth at the edge of his hood and crosses his hands at the edge of the counter. "I kinda know what you mean. I wasn't planning on stayin' on this bucket for the rest of my days either, but Spiderweb was kind enough to take this invalid drag of a gopnik on board, so I'll pay her in kind I guess."

He reaches down his pockets for a small cigarette box, and not the good "real" kind. More like something meant to imitate a cigarette in absence of the actual stuff. He lights it with a gas-lighter, Inhales, and whilst leaning back a bit he blows out a cloud of smoke. after the smoke has dispersed a bit he looks at Jonesy under his hood, revealing a friendly smile.

"The captain is putting me to the test, It means I can also fail. Tell you what. If I pass and get the new tug, I'll pick you second in charge. If I fuck up, I get on your ship. I know I can fix things pretty well... But I've set my eyes on something new. I want to create something. I don't know what that is yet but it's gonna be awesome, I tell you. I can't do it here because the cap'n keeps me busy fixing shit like... all the time because" raising his voice a bit, looking behind him towards the entrance "SOME PEOPLE'S HANDS GROW OUT OF THEIR ASSES AND KEEP FUCKING SHIT UP!"

He turns back around and takes another sip, leaning against the counter.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:20, Fri 10 Feb 2017.

Enjoy it? Ugh, the damn stuff tastes terrible.  It hits his mouth like a freight train full of dead hobo steeped in toilet wine.  Vodka shouldn't even HAVE a taste.  Must be the engine oil and a bit of fire essence.

"What, you mean like Carl last week?  Decided to stuff his johnson in the oil port?  That's why we had the knock in the cylinder, you know," She tells him.  She's probably joking.  Probably.  On one hand, Carl would do that sort of shit.  On the other hand, she's never liked Carl.

"Fine, deal.  If I become Captain Jonesy, you become my First Mate.  We have a deal?"  She gives him her gap-toothed grin and extends a hand for him to shake.

Arkady bursts into laughter and coughs a bit afterwards then takes last sip and sticks the cigarette on his lips letting it loosely hang off the corner of his mouth. He gives a grin to Jonesy and shakes her hand.

"Cheeky bastard! Make it a deal. Vice versa if I fail at failing! Ha!"

He afterwards finishes his cigarette and drops the stump in his glass.

"Do you have any fucking idea when'r we steppin' off? I fucking don't... The cap'n didn't care to elaborate me with such minor details."

"It's a goddamn deal, mate,"  She grins at him as she cheerfully pumps his good hand with a vice-like grip. "Righto!"

"Probably five minutes, knowing the Spiderweb." Plato tells the two, 'cleaning' a glass with a rag so oily it probably just swiped an engine.  "Ship's tuning up to jump.  Can't you feel it in your bones?"

He's right; the engines are revving up. It's a subtle thing but an engine man, a mechanic, well, they can feel it deep.  Soon the ship will make the bowel-clenching jump towards the enemy frigate.

"Last chance to get somethin you need," Jones looks Arky in the eye, "Cuz after that, all hell breaks loose."

"Well now that you mention it, my stubs for arms are aching like fuck. Probably was too drunk to notice it beforehand... Shit."

Arkady returns Jonesy's gaze and replies:

"I think I oughta meet the crew I'm gonna be leading in five and try to convince them that they all ain't gonna die." He lets off a slightly nervous laughter "Cyyyyka blyaaaat... I'f I somehow make it outta alive, I'm gonna drink myself to death... just to avoid the massive repairs and maintenance those ghastly motherfuckers are gonna dish out. They should stop breaking our shit."

He quickly checks what he's wearing and notices some straps out of place. He tightens his toll belt and drop-leg pouches and tucks the excell straps so they're out of the way.

"A gear check could be in place too... I also gotta check all my tools are where I want them to be. I don't have time to start shuffling through all my pouches on that fucking tub. Go pro, or go home! Ha!"

He finishes his statement by straightening his back and taking a serious expression, looking "as professional" as he can, which almost immediately breaks into a wide grin as his poker face fails... miserably.

"Bah, you know everyone here anyway.  They know you.  There's nothin you can say that'll amke them feel better.  Just do your job, eh?  They'll do theirs.  Then you get paid, get your ship.  Shit, you should know better.  Don't overthink this."

She slaps his back, "You go out there and get ready, okay?  And sober up a bit, shit, just a little bit.  No fallin over the salt lines."

The engines spin up and the gut-wrenching jump twists them inside out.  Almost immediately they feel the thunder of their ship's lone gun firing, feel the shudder as their ship maneuvers.

"Shit, the zone's hot!" Plato barks at them, "Get to your stations!  Who knows what we're up against!"

"RED ALERT.  RED ALERT. WE ARE UNDER FIRE,"  The Captain announces over the intercoms, "THE PADDY WAGON IS GETTING BRACKETED!  THERE ARE TWO FRIGATES OUT THERE!  GET TO YOUR STATIONS AND PREP THE BOARDING CREWS."

"Fuckin shit!" Jonesy snarls, "Come on, follow me!" She rushes down the hallways, heading for the little boat that'll take them onto the frigate once disabled, "Spiderweb better get off her ass and zap those things!"

Arkady leans against the counter as the jump and the gun firing shake the ship, and manages to maintain his balance. He's had rocky rides before.

As they're rushing in the hallways Arkady shouts over the rumbling "TWO FUCKING FRIGATES?" continued by a concert of elaborate swearing words.

"Well fuck, no use crying. We have to improvise. our tubs don't have the firepower to  take 'em both out without losses..." Arkady goes silent for a moment of thought.

After a short moment of silence he opens his mouth "Spiderweb wanted to capture only one. Right?" A wide grin sets on his face as he reflects on his own genius... or insanity, and he bursts in to laughter while trying to keep up with Jonesy.

"TWO FUCKING FRIGATES," Jonesy curses along with him, "She better pop that second one quick, huh!"  They rush to their station, a glorified airlock that attaches to a frigging garbage pusher with additional air tanks and no atmosphere.  It's the bare minimum required to move a bunch of people in environmental suits, and they're no fun.  As lifevessels they'd keep ten people active for maybe half an hour.

After all, nobody really expects to survive if the ship goes down.

"OK, suits on!"  One of the men barks out as if he's in charge, "This is gonna be a hot insertion like the kind I gave your mom last night!  All your moms!  It was a hell of a night!"

"AH SHUT THE FUCK UP!"  Someone yells at him.

"Oh you mean quick and dissappointing? HaHaha!" Arkady spouts as he pulls on the enviro-suit.
It seems to go well but he takes a small moment release a small piece of fabric that got stuck in his arm joints, and quickly checks if he tore it.
"Fuck, I hate these overall shitbags..."

He looks around the bunch of misfits he's going to be holed up with and shouts:
"Engine crew! Did everyone pack all the shit you need? Now there's two frig's and we're expecting a pounding, especially if we succeed so I really fucking hope you have nice sea legs blyat! Ha! And no dying you fucks! There are whore's that expect company, and booze to be drank after this haul!"

He then looks back at Jonesy "And don't you die either. I need a first mate on my ship." and grins.

The others aren't as quick as Arkady is, probably because Arky is fucking awesome and the rest of them aren't.  Even Jonesy is halfway into her suit when the first round hits the Paddy Wagon.  The round tears a hole maybe three feet from his head, a perfect circular punch in the metal that exposes atmosphere to raw void.

There's not even enough time for explosive decompression before the second round hits, a brutal double-tap from the Abyssal frigates.  Jonesy is just about to reply with something sardonic to Arky before this second round passes through her, reducing her to just her upper torso.  She doesn't even have enough time to look surprised.  She and a dozen others are pulled through the hole in a microsecond.

The only reason Arky doesn't follow them is because his suit is totally on, but not unmoored from the wall- every suit has a cable that keeps it attached to the wall, to keep it from becoming flying debris in just this sort of situation.

But the air rushes out of his lungs.  He has only a few seconds to get the helmet fastened properly before all the atmosphere leaves and he's stuck sucking vacuum.  The Paddy Wagon's sirens are no doubt sounding, but he can only hear the whirlwind force of escaping air.

Arkady quickly and instinctively latches the helmet on and pressurizes his suit. His millisecond panic fades away as his instinct for survival kicks in. He knows he has to close the airlock and de-pressurize it completely to prevent the air from escaping.

He can't detach from the wall as he'd immediately be pulled into the vacuum so he in a haste but focused looks for a release switch or explosive bolts for an emergency take off. Getting back on the Paddy Wagon is not an option. With the Frigates pounding it it's only a matter of time before that rusty piece of shit goes nova unless he somehow miraculously manages to disable even one of them.

Another hole is made in the wall behind him as he manages to start pressurization.  Blessed air fills his lungs, but it's not as strong as it should be.  He can feel the hiss of air escaping his suit- a small piece of shrapnel has opened a thin gouge on his left arm.  Thankfully every suit comes with plenty of Strategic Self-Sealing Tape (otherwise known as duct tape).

But the Paddy Wagon is getting shot to pieces faster than anyone could predict.  This is wrong; he's been under fire before and even the rustbucket transports he's in can take more than a few hits before their tin foil armor caves like this.  It's almost more like getting shot by a cruiser instead, something he's fortunately never had to deal with.

One of the bulkheads rips open.  Another body flies past, mouth open, eyes bugging out and screaming as he reaches futilely for Arkady and then flies off to his death in the void.  The shuttle's door has a sign blinking *ENTER ENTER ENTER* in angry red.  He needs to detach, open the door, and get in.  That's no easy feat.  It means either detaching a wall, making a jump for it and wrenching it open, or waiting until the Paddy Wagon has lost all of its air- and likely exploded.

Neither give him particularly good options, but the tug is his only chance for survival now.  As it stands the tug is unpressurized, but at least it has enough air tanks for 20 people, 6+ hours each.

Arkady takes a deep breath, spreads his legs apart as he's hanging by the cable and aims his legs so he'd land his legs on something moderately safe and not be sucked into the vacuum of space. If he's sucked out uncontrollably, it would be impossible to control his momentum and he'd never be seen again. Thinking this through he feels a bit more confident. He wouldn't die just now.

"Fucking Jonesy. We had a deal... See you on the other side."

((8, 8, 7, 3, 1, 1 & 1.
31 to climb towards the door
28 + craft 10 = 38 to open the door))

He detaches the cable and attempts to land on the other wall by suction, climb on that side towards the door and wrench the fuck out of the door hydraulics in hope of a mechanical failure.

It takes sheer grit and determination to prepare for the detachment.  The vacuum's still howling and he's only got a small chance of detaching and then somehow sticking to the wall.  But he manages it through pure hysterical strength.  Wrenching open the escape pod isn't so easy; he's just not that strong to fight against metal and rushing air.  But he knows the right way to open the damn things, considering he'd helped install them.

Once open the venting atmosphere actually helps him, pushing him into the airless tugboat.  It's a simple matter to close the lock again and then detach from the Paddy Wagon.

Now he just had to A) get the fuck away from the Paddy Wagon and B) not get shot while doing it.

((10, 9, 8, 8, 5, 3 & 3
28 + learning 10 = 38 to figure out how to operate the tugboat
23 + awareness 10 = 33 to see what he's going up against))

Arkady Has no previous experience at piloting anything and he didn't really think he'd ever have to. He was apparently wrong.
He takes a breath and re-assesses his objectives, speaking out loud to himself.

"Tak tak tak... Okay Ar-kah-deeh. Start the engine and accelerate away from the Paddy Wagon, That tug is fubar, and attempt to establish comms to the rest of the fleet... Now... Let's see how to run this piece of shit..."

He rushes to what he thinks is the piloting interface and tries to figure out how to get this thing moving and away from the scrap heap that used to be closest thing to a home he had. He looks around one last time as he prepares for take off and tries to spot the thing that caused this fucking mess.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:49, Thu 02 Mar 2017.

The piloting interface is not unlike some forklifts he's seen people use before.  How hard can it be?  It's just a joystick, a button for "go forward", and a button for "stop".  A child can learn it, right?

It's pretty easy to fly what's basically a forklift with oxygen tanks and no armor.  It's not easy to deal with the battlefield.  The Paddy Wagon is mortally stricken; a glance through a rearview mirror confirms it as he sees it wracked by internal explosions.  The two Abyssal frigates look very wrong, a bit chunkier than they should be, with two turrets instead of one.  The bores of the turrets are also a lot bigger than they should be.  Hmm, judging by the shape of the barrel and the sliding aperture, they're recoil-less... Arkady quickly realizes he's dealing with two Abyssal frigates equipped with railguns.  Usually they just used some sort of explosive powder, like in WWII.

This isn't just a doubling of their firepower, it's a decupling of power.  They're taking hits like there's ten enemies out there.  The only reason the Golden Hind and the Trapdoor are even still intact are because the Paddy Wagon is still somehow still firing back and the enemy frigates want it dead, dead, dead.  Somebody's earning a lot of pay they'll never receive.

The Paddy Wagon explodes behind him, rocking his tub with the silent shockwave.  The guns of the frigates swivel towards the Trapdoor.  A golden comet of light shoots out the front tube of the transport, moving quick but too slow to be a simple projectile.  The Trapdoor and the Golden Hind then quickly retreat.

Arkady's lucky.  The frigates are firing upon the silver comet heading for them, focusing on that instead of him.  Either that or they can't see him as he's surrounded by pieces of his former home.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:38, Wed 22 Mar 2017.

((10, 8, 8, 5, 4, 4 & 4
34 to Remain undetected
28 + awareness 10 = 38 to locate an opening for boarding))

Arkady watches as the "comet" lauches away from The Trapdoor and talks to himself again, but this time he's whispering: "Is that a boarding tug? Who the fuck would be so fucking stupid to attempt to board?" then he remembers the late cap'n Murphy's briefing "Holy fucking shit it's Spiderweb, isn't it? Suka bliet that woman is clearly insane... Weeeell shit. So am I."

A quick assessment makes it clear that he can't retreat. Those railguns are (in theory) deadly accurate and he'd be swiss cheese before he'd get even close to the retreating fleet and attempting to board and disable one of those frigates alone is almost impossible.

Almost. Those are his best odds, and being slightly drunk makes it seem actually doable...
His plan is:
1. Get in a frigate. Sneeki breeki.
2. Get to the reactor and make it go nova... Or highjack the targeting systems... or something.
3... Well he has no fucking idea how to get out... Oh yeah, they should have some fighters in the hangar... Improvise.
4. Profit?

He starts moving towards the frigates in the cover of debris, looking for a suitable opening to board. Like the crazy russian bastard he is.

((Detection:
7, 5, 4, 4, 3, 1 & 1
*Detect Tug 24 + Awareness 10 + AB 10 = 44 - Penalty 10 = 34, you lucky sonofabitch))

Yep, it's a tug alright, and it'd almost have to be Spiderweb judging by the anima burning around it.  It picks and weaves like a spider picking its way through a web, knowing just where to put its feet to avoid getting caught.   It's also highly visible.  The enemy frigates are too busy focusing on her to bother with Arkady.

Well, there's an opening.  She gets close and then WHAM, her tug collides with the enemy Frigate like a dagger.  A hole gapes in the side of the frigate.  That's his in- well, it would be if the other Frigate didn't stop firing.  It opens fire on its stricken comrade.

As he gets closer he sees his option.  An access panel just above the engine housing of the frigate that's mindlessly shooting up its own ally.  He can attach there and cut his way into the bulkhead and maybe, just maybe, survive.

Arkady inches to the access panel and attaches his tug to the side of the ship as carefully as possible. Once he's in place, he quickly switches his oxygen tank in case of him not being able to return to the tug (which he thinks is very likely) and wipes sweat off his brow... only to realize he can't... He's still wearing the environment suit. Blyat.

He inspects the panel carefully and looks for seams. To his knowledge, Seams are usually bad. The seams are the weakest point in any construct, and that's why seams are usually placed on top of reinforced beams on the chassis. If there is any wiring or other important shit in the bulkhead, He'd place them on those beams, and he doesn't want anyone to know just yet that shit's gonna go down like the Soviet economy.

((9, 8, 4, 4, 2, 1 & 1.
Craft:24 + 10 = 34 to cut the access panel))

He pick's a handy blowtorch off his belt proceeds to cut the access panel.

There's a seam, alright; it's how he noticed the sucker in the first place.  Maybe one man out of a hundred could've done it, at best.  He just has that great of an eye.

Cutting through the access panel, on the other hand, is tough.  Shit, what is this stuff made out of?  He's dealt with soulsteel before- who hasn't- but whatever this alloy is, it's strong as shit.  The blowtorch isn't having much of an effect.  Granted, it's not the strongest one he's ever had his hands on...

He can see the other ship getting riddled to pieces.  From the wreckage he can see a silver glow building in intensity.  Looks like Spiderweb's still alive in there.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:38, Wed 22 Mar 2017.

"Fuck fuck fuck... Think Arkadeeh think... umm..."

Seeing the other ship being pummeled to smithereens with Spiderweb inside makes him nervous. Not being able to cut the hatch with his shitty torch makes him even more nervous.
He know's he has to get in fast.

"I need a bigger torch. Blyat. That suka isn't gonna be sneaky."

He makes his way back to the tug and starts beefing up his hand torch in an attempt to make it burn hotter. Some piping, Welding, Duct tape, a spare oxygen tank and some jet fuel mixed with small amount of alcohol should do the trick... maybe. It's still a bit better idea than making a rocket hammer out of the tugs engine.

((10, 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 1.

Craft: 20 + 10 = 30 for a super-torch))

There's plenty of pipes, and thanks to the deaths of pretty much everyone else, plenty of pure fucking oxygen- quite literally for just this sort of situation.  He hooks up his shitty torch and makes it a +1 Not-As-Shitty Torch.  It takes a lot of duct tape but he's got plenty.

((Give it another roll.  Now you have a +5 Equipment Bonus.  It's not going to be as stealthy but again it's better than ramming.  Difficulty is 40.  Crit success means extra sneaky.  You might want to float some dice if possible.  If you fail, you're gonna need to take more drastic measures.))

((10, 8, 3, 3, 3, 3 & 1
Craft: 43 + 10 + 5 = 58 to Cut the access panel: critical success!))

Arkady goes back to the panel with his "+1 not-as-shitty torch" and lights it.
He adjusts the oxygen-fuel mixture until it produces a tiny bright white flame and starts cutting the panel again, carefully inching it by the borders of the panel. It seems to work better than expected. He cuts a hole just big enough for him to fit through, bends away the cut panel and slips in.

"Ha! Piece of cake. That's what you get when you build you ships with Chinese child labor... hmm... those kids had low short life expectancy, so that might actually be true... Pizdec, that was grim. Now where the fuck am I?"

He looks around and tries to determine his whereabouts. Some technical drawings for these frigates would have been nice...

((Take a MalJoss for making me laugh a bit too loudly in a library.))

Cutting a hole into the side leads him into an exterior bulkhead.  Now, that's weird- it's full of something like gravel, of all fucking things.  He has to scoop it out to reach the interior bulkhead. It's a bit of work in zero-G, but the shuddering of the ship as it fires those huge shells helps shake the stuff loose.  Ablative armor, maybe?

But there's only one reason to have two bulkheads like this, and that means it's not solid-state like the cruisers are.  It also means that this thing likely has atmo.  He has to be careful here.  Breaching a ship and making it vent atmo... well, he's already done that once already today.  Because of this he has to really work at cutting open the thick outer armor, but not bend it too much.  Once the gravel's out of the way, he's able to seal himself back in with a bit of muscle and then finish the cutting to minimize the explosive decompression.

Once in he finds himself in a large room- a maze of pipes, engines, steam boilers, and other things.  It's like being in an old Earth warship.  Hell, it'd feel almost like home if he didn't know any better.  He can see a ghost-crew hard at work, stoking the engines by throwing pieces of their own corpus into the furnaces to power the ship.

A furnace. A fucking weird furnace, but still a furnace. Deprive it of its fuel and a power shortage should occur, disabling the guns...

Arkady pulls out his 1911, racks the slide, and prepares for an ass kicking. He has to deal with those ghosts sooner or later, but tries to stay out of sight for now to get a better picture of his surroundings.

((Stealth:10, 7, 4, 1, 1, 1 & 1.
41 to staying out of sight.))

When alone, avoid conflict. If you can't, ambush.

None of the ghosts have a chance of catching him, not when they're too busy in their own private hells, fueling this horrible monstrosity with the last vestiges of their souls.  As he looks around he's struck by how... big... this place is.  He's been in a Bataan before, and quite a few transports.  Usually space comes at a premium.  The undead tend towards more compact designs- why do they need space?  The Living need oxygen, and a more compact design helps maintain a stronger hull.  This is positively opulent.

That also means it's easy to sneak around in.  There's enough piping, cables, railing-less catwalks for Arkady to slip around the place like a ghost.  It's a good thing he doesn't open fire immediately.  He sees a group of ghosts in black uniforms marching through the room on patrol.  They're armed with huge drum-fed shotguns.  At least they're not Gunzosha; he sees no evidence of specialized armor.

"Keep your eyes and ears open!" The head ghost is huge, a former wrestler if Arkady's any judge.  "The Lunar's probably not dead yet!  We need more power to the guns or else she might get out!"
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:37, Wed 22 Mar 2017.

Arkady waits a while and observes. He looks around the area he's in and looks for junction boxes or other means of cutting power to the guns. there has to be a way to convey power away from the furnace... If he can't cut the power, the only ways left are bad and worse... Denying the furnace of it's fuel, or a meltdown...

((10, 6, 5, 3, 3, 3 & 1.
Awareness: 33 + 10 = 43 to look for a way to cut off the power))

From what he can see there are numerous cables snaking out from the- are those motherfuckers using STEAM?!  No, not steam, something else, but something similar.  Fuck.  Well, there's a few days to deal with that.  Some are louder than others, of course.

*There's a few pipes leading from the furnace to the main turbines.  That's the surest way of reducing power to the ship but he'd almost certainly be spotted, and it'd be loud and destructive.

*Alternatively there's a master fusebox just by the main turbine; he can mess with that, but there are two ghosts guarding it.

*Another option is to follow the secondary tubing to smaller turbines that seem to provide extra power to needed sections of the ship.  He could mess with the pipes to these smaller turbines.  Messing with the steam valves there aren't as loud but won't be as effective.

*The fuse boxes there aren't guarded, so that's a safer ploy.  The downside is that they're in more exposed areas.  He'd have to be pretty sneaky.  Even then, as soon as they get word that the power's off, a ghost would surely come to investigate.

*The furnace is literally getting fueled by ghostflesh.  The poor boiler-mates stand by the furnace with long knives, cutting strips of corpus from their ghostly bodies and throwing them into all-consuming flame.

Sneaking isn't really Arkady's strong suite. He finds distraction to be a better option. He decides to attempt to sabotage the piping leading to the main turbines, and hopes to make his escape in the ensuing chaos... And hoping that spiderweb will be able to make her escape as well. The thing he has the least is time. A delayed combustion would be the best option...

((Go ahead and make a Craft roll to mess with the furnace.  That's pretty easy to do- shooting the right place with your gun will do it even, so Difficulty 20- but if you have the sets, then floating some dice or trying to sneak out of it wouldn't be a bad idea.))

((9, 8, 7, 4, 3, 1 & 1. God damn it...
craft: 21+10=31 sabotage the Furnace))

He sees his opportunities, but he starts to boil with vengeance, and picks the most violent one. His chances of survival seem slim, but at least he does his job.

"Here's for Jonesy and the rest you undead fucks! FUCK YOU ALL!!!"

Arkady aims his pistol at points of the furnace he believes will cause the most damage and pulls the trigger.

Shit's about to hit the fan big time. This time he won't be able to squirm away from it. He'll has to do it the old fashioned way. Survival instinct and improvisation.

The ghosts look up just as Arkady opens fire on the furnace.  Maybe that pistol is blessed- the first shot hits a pipe and penetrates, ricochets out, and then hits a ghost in the arm.  The ghosts immediately scatter, which is a good thing for Arkady.

Well, that is, the 'civilian' ghosts.  The guards raise their shotguns and charge at him!

((These are fairly advanced mooks, Rank 4 minions with special weapons that allow them to shoot a zone away at a penalty.  They automatically go last.  Go ahead and roll Init.  The minions will go last, but they can Cover Ground and shoot at you.

You are currently one zone away, In Catwalks; they're in the middle zone, Furnace.))

((8, 8, 6, 5, 4, 1 & 1
External: Subtle force
initiative: 16+10=26
Shaping wave: 28+10=38
Cover ground: 21+15=36))

Arkady blasts a couple of more holes on nearby steam pipes in an attempt to create a smoke screen and then starts hauling ass on the catwalk towards anything that would resemble an exit.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:26, Sun 02 Apr 2017.

((Ghost Guard Cover Ground:
7, 6, 6, 5, 3, 3 & 2
*CG 26 + 5 = 31, not enough))

Arkady opens fire on the pipes, blasting a solid wall of necro-steam out that strips the flesh from a ghost's corpus in an instant.  It also provides a handy-dandy smokescreen, keeping them from effectively targeting him with their guns!  They can't scramble up to get him, so he retreats towards the bowels of the ship.  He manages to find an access corridor he can duck through, but it's only a matter of time before the Ghost Brigade manages to get around his steam-barrier.

Problem:  by his reckoning, he's heading towards the bridge.  Things are only going to get worse.  He turns a blind corner and finds himself right in front of a group of ghosts who look like they're outfitted for damage control.  Unlike the poor civilian-ghosts in the furnace, they raise their wrenches and tools menacingly.  Fortunately, these should be easier pickings.

((Repair Crew are Rank 6 minions, without any of the special training of the more advanced guys he left behind.  Eventually they'll get around his steam so he has to fight his way through the repair crew.  Even so, he'll be heading directly towards the Bridge so things will get worse.))

((6, 6, 4, 4, 3, 1 & 1
Initiative 13+10=23
CG 21+15=36
Wave/craft 24+10=34
Float 6-6))

Arkady throws a line of salt behind him to block the corridor he came from and runs towards the repair crew with his left arm covering his head while aiming his 1911 at the ghosts in front of him.

"IDI NAHUI SUKA BLYAT!!! OUT OF MY FUCKING WAY!"
This message was last edited by the player at 22:22, Tue 11 Apr 2017.

((Alright- attacks are made with a separate roll; I'm going to slam down a barrier so we can walk you through combat and learn!  Sorry, no running this time, Arkady.

So it's your Initiative; minions go last, so you get to attack before them.  Usually you roll 3 times per combat, an Init roll, an Attack roll, and one or more Defense rolls.  You just did your init- you technically have the 4s still because you can't attack on your init.

You can, however, use the 4s to make a Shaping Wave or for other uses.  Arkady probably has some salt with him from the ill-fated Paddy Wagon; I suggest using a Shaping Wave to lay some salt behind you.  Ghosts usually can't cross salt, so that'll keep you from being easily caught by the ghost-cops in the furnace.

After you decide what to do with your 4s, go ahead and roll your Lake again to attack the repair crew.))

The repair crew aren't just mindless ghosts rushing towards certain death or their job.  It looks like they've actually been trained.  No sooner does he notice them and wave his gun at them menacingly when a bulkhead closes behind them.  Of course- any good repair crew responding to an unknown or catastrophic situation will enter and then seal the compartment shut in case of failure.  That leaves Arkady trapped with them and the ghosts no doubt closing in behind him!
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:36, Sat 08 Apr 2017.

((Edited the change to the last post to keep things coherent.

9, 5, 5, 4, 3, 2 & 1.

Strike: 25+15=40))

He's trapped for now and a fight can't be avoided. He fires his pistol towards the repair crew.

((Repair Crew defense:
10, 10, 8, 5, 4 & 3
*Defense vs Strike 20 - Basic Incompetency 5 = 15 vs 40
*This is a difference of 25, which is 2 Ripples.  These are low-rank minions; a Minion can suffer only as many Ripples as the number of dice they roll.  This means they can take another 2 hits like that.

Repair Crew offense:
10, 9, 9, 5, 4 & 3
*Attack 29 - General Incompetency 5 = 24
*Arkady needs to roll his Defense against this result.  He needs a result of 25 or higher to avoid any repercussions from their attack.))

His first shot is a good one.  Man, this gun was well made!  The shot blows through skull of one ghost, then passes through the chest of another, taller ghost behind him.  That leaves only four left.  They quickly surround Arkady, swinging their pipes and wrenches and chains at him.  But as competent as the seem to be at repairing, they're not really fighters.  They depend more on sheer fervor than technique or strength.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:45, Thu 13 Apr 2017.

((Defence roll: 10, 10, 6, 6, 6, 5 & 1.
Dodge: 36 + footwork 15 = 51 beats 24

Initiative: 10, 7, 5, 3, 3, 3 & 2
Subtle force w/ Unarmed, ranged
Initiative 33 + 10 = 47

Attack: 10, 9, 8, 7, 3, 3 & 1.
Strike 23 + 15= 38 ))

Arkady notices how open the blows of the repair crew are and avoids them with ease in an almost flowing motion, and immediately retaliates with a controlled punch to the center mass.

((Defense:
10, 8, 6, 5, 5 & 5
*Defense vs Strike 35 - General Incompetency 5 = 30 vs 38, a Ripple.
*They've suffered 3 ripples out of 6.

Attack:
9, 8, 7, 4, 2 & 1
*Strike Arkady 19 - General Incompetency 5 = 14))

He drives his fist through another ghost's torso. They're down to half their number and starting to really reconsider their course of action- but then again, Arkady is just another mortal!  Surely it can't be THAT hard!

Turns out it just might.  Wrenches and crowbars aren't that useful when swung by weak-armed ghosts with ectoplasmic muscles.

The largest of them, a hulking ghost with shoulders so wide he practically doesn't have a neck, lifts up his giant wrench. "What's wrong with all of you!  Kill him for the masters!"

((Defence: 8, 7, 4, 3, 3, 3 & 2.
33 + footwork 15 = 48 vs 14

Initiative: 10, 6, 5, 4, 4, 3 & 2.
init 16 + 10 = 26
Wave 24 + craft 10 = 34

Attack: 9, 7, 7, 5, 3, 3 & 1.
Strike 27 + 15 = 42
Disrupt block 23 + craft 10 = 33))

Arkady quickly ducks to avoid the blow from the massive ghosts massive wrench and throws another line of salt in between the remains of the repair crew to divide them in a single subtle motion. He decides to go for the big ghost. When the blow is past him he hits the the wrench near the handle to throw it off balance, as tools are usually shittily balanced, and in an uppercut like motion he punches his pistol under the chin of the massive ghost...

"Shut the fuck up and eat your lead like a good boy." ...And pulls the trigger.

((Defense:
7, 6, 5, 5, 2 & 1
*Defense vs Strike 25 - General Incompetence 5 = 20 vs 42, 2 Ripples- that's 5; I'm gonna make the Shaping Wave do the rest))

The ghost gratifyingly brings down his wrench on nothing but thin air.  Arkady slams him off balance, driving the barrel of his gun into the ghost's chin.  The huge ghost looks down at Arkady and lets out a quiet '... Oh' before his head is blown right off.

The last line of salt thrown traps the last remaining ghost against a corner.  He can't move past it.  He drops his hammer and raises his hands in the air.

Arkady looks at the mess he has made and glances towards the surrendering ghost. He raises his pistol and puts a round in its head without remorse.

"That's for Dragunov, Suka... hmm... I could've asked him for directions... Bliet. oh well."

He takes a look at his pistol and it's delicate engravings. This sure as hell is a great gun, extraordinary even. The old geezer who made it must have been a fucking wizard or something.
((Spend 1 MalJoss Walk with a merchant's eye.))

No time to fall in thought for too long. He needs to keep going.
Arkady looks at the closed bulkhead and tries to figure out a way to remove or avoid the fresh obstacle.

((9, 8, 5, 4, 3, 1 & 1.
Awareness: 21+10=31))

Maybe a thaumaturgist; there's definitely some occultish sorta stuff to it, and in this brave new world that shit has actual meaning to it.  A closer examination shows this is supposed to be extra-effective against ghosts, which might explain a bit.  How much of it is real and how much is flat-out 'god I hope so' is academic.

The bulkhead is closed but there's a fairly complex-looking access panel next to it.  He can always try to hack the damn thing open.

There's more loud noises behind him and the crashing of metal on metal.  Powerful (and smart) enough ghosts can always find mechanical methods of disturbing the salt lines.  Ones without special armor can always dematerialize and move through the walls.

At least the guns have stopped.

((This weapon is Auspicious!  It has a unique property- all attacks are considered AoE vs ghost-minions.  That means they deal an extra Ripple of damage!

Hacking is Wu Wei 40 or Crafting 50.  A Critical Failure means he's locked in and has to find an alternative way out- this means back to the furnace room and then another side corridor.  Regular failure gives him one more chance before the bigger ghosts catch up.))

((8, 6, 5, 4, 2, 2 & 1 + flow 6-6
36 + 10 = 46 To hack the panel - Wu Wei))

He exchanges a fresh magazine in his pistol, tucks it back to it's "holster" and inspects the
access panel.

"Oi blin. I hate hacking..."

It's not like he can't hack. He just doesn't like it. Mechanics give a better "feel" to working with machinery as you can actually feel and hear what you're doing. It's more intuitive. He messes around in the directories for a while, swapping a few code lines here and there, and attempts to release the lockdown.

"Opa. That should do the trick."

Beep boop beep.  The bulkhead opens up, leaving a dark quiet hall ahead of him.  The lights flicker.  This is pretty standard ghost activity; he doesn't have much time before the next team finds him. Based on the schematics he can tell that he's headed straight towards the bridge, which of course means getting closer to whatever's commanding this fucking thing.

Arkady rushes onward in the dark hall. He feels the adrenaline rushing in his veins and cold sweat on his skin. He takes a deep breath, forces himself to calm down and keeps going towards the bridge.

He's going to live through this. He must. He's a survivor.

He gets halfway down the hall when the lights flicker again.  A bulb hisses and shatters behind him.  Not good.  He's not got much salt, either.  Normally he'd be working with another ten, twenty guys, each with a few pounds of salt- bit by bit exorcising the hallways.  But here...

The next bulkhead opens.  A flicker of light and he sees a black outline in front of him.  It coalesces, revealing a brawny middle-aged woman with jet black eyes and a ragged cut through her throat.

When she speaks it half comes from her mouth, half from that gaping wound.

"I don't know how you survived this long,"  She says as she stares at him, "But maybe it'd be best for everyone if you let me kill you peacefully.  Surrender now or I'll have to take you to the Captain."

Arkady takes a look at the entity in front of him. She isn't a ghost like the ones he just faced. She seems like an opponent to take seriously... And his lack of salt makes her non avoidable.

"you know... I really would like to surrender like that ghost back there, but I don't like the idea of ending up like him... You know... Ectoplasmic brains on the wall and shit. "

He removes the helmet of his enviro-suit and leaves it hanging on his tool belt, takes his small canteen from one of his pouches and enjoys a long swig of some alcohol not meant for drinking.

"Also... I have a small problem... We Russians are very bad at surrendering, so I'm either going to die drunk as fuck like a crazy Russian bastard I am, or you get to suck my massive Russian cock after I've beaten the shit out of you. You even have a shortcut for an excellent deep throat. How about that for surrendering SUKA?!?"

He flicks a finger and readies his pistol in an overconfident fashion.

The ghost crosses her arms, "Hrm.  You know what?  Go ahead," She gestures at him, "Get good and pissed.  Not my problem.  Drink it all up because once we're done with you, you won't be able to enjoy it again."

She leans against the wall, "No, really.  Enjoy it.  Last bit of respect for the condemned man, here.  Unlike the lack of respect you just gave me."

He finishes his canteen and throws it on the floor, maybe a bit disappointed as it wasn't as full as he remembered.

He takes a look at the woman in front of him and he feels anger for her indifference.

"respect? For you? Like your masters showed respect for my mother and what remains of her in Latvia? Like you showed respect to my father and what remains of him in china?? LIKE YOU SHOWED RESPECT TO TO MY FRIENDS AND THE CREW THAT TOOK ME IN THAT FLOATS IN SPACE IN SMITHEREENS?!? FUCK. YOU."

His metal fists screech and grind from the sheer pressure applied to them. He is furious and unable to contain  it.

"Your masters and your kin ruined my life, Twice... And you expect me to respect you? No. I fucking LOATHE each and every one of you... And I will survive to avenge every single one of the lives you've taken from me. TEN FUCKING FOLD, so you better fucking bring it or scurry the fuck away into that coffin you crawled out of."

"Please.  Might as well be mad at the bullet hitting your ship,"  The ghost sneers back at him, not intimidated in the least.  "We're all slaves.  Doesn't mean I was going to be happy bashing your face in.  Maybe that's going to change."

She cracks her knuckles.

"Hope you enjoyed that last drink, because it's time I drag your corpus back to the flaying table."

((Lady Bear is a Lesser Legend, meaning she usually goes last in Initiative.  You're technically one too, so you're both going to tally up your init.
10, 8, 8, 8, 3, 1 & 1
*Floats 8-8-8
*Initiative 21 + Speed 10 = 31))

Arkady punches his knuckles together, sounding a loud metallic clang in the dark hallway,  and takes a stance.

"from Russia with love..."

((7, 7, 6, 5, 4, 2 & 1.
Init: 27 + speed 10 = 37, goes first.

Attack: 10, 9, 8, 6, 5, 4 & 2.
Strike: 19+15=34))

Arkady whips out his pistol in anger and fires at the ghastly woman, boiling with rage. The muzzle flash lightening his eyes blurred by vengeance.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:37, Mon 08 May 2017.

((Two things:
#1:  You can always delay your action to whenever you want.
#2:  You don't need a set to attack.  You can always use a single die for whatever the action is that you declared for your roll- so if your roll is Attack, you can use the 1x9 to attack with 19.  Likewise if you roll Initiative and roll no sets, you can always have a result for Initiative.))

((edited last post. Excuse my noobishness :D))

((Lady Bear Defense:
10, 9, 8, 4, 4, 2 & 2
*Flood 8:  Block +5, Toughness +5
*Defense vs Attack 24 + Block 15 = 39, blocks

Lady Bear Attack:
9, 8, 8, 7, 6, 4 & 4
*Flow 8-8 from River into attack roll
*Flowed Strike 48 + Strike 5 = 53
*Disrupt Strike with Might 24 + Might 10 = 34

Now, Disrupt attacks and defenses are made with Skills.  If this one lands, you'll suffer a -5 penalty to all your Strike attacks- unless you can reverse it with a set on your Initiative.

You'll only get one roll to defend against both of those, so be careful!))

The woman raises her fists and charges as Arkady opens fire.  Ectoplasm coalesces around her left fist and she bats the bullet away, sending it spanging down the hallway behind her.  Then she gets in close, delivering a pair of brutally powerful open-palm attacks to his arms.

((Defence: 7, 7, 7, 5, 4 & 3.
defence vs attack 37 + footwork 15 = 52 - takes ripple
defence against disrupt strike 15 + craft 10 = 25 takes disrupt

Initiative: 7, 6, 5, 3, 3 & 1.
Init: 17 + 10 = 27
Float 3-3))

Arkady attempts to dodge the incoming attack but the fury of the attack is overwhelming him, even if he tries to take the hit in the stronger part of his arms.
He feels as one of the bearings operating his arms jams with a screeching sound.
He tries to regain his balance and looks at his arm in surprise.

"Oh fuck..."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:17, Sun 11 June 2017.

((Lady Bear Init R2:
9, 8, 8, 7, 7, 4 & 3
*Float 8-8-7
*Init 19 + Speed 10 = 29

Lady Bear Attack R2:
9, 8, 7, 5, 5, 5 & 5
*Attack with Strike 45 + Strike 5 = 50
*Disrupt Footwork with Flowed 38 + Might 10 = 48))

The Lady Bear drops into a squat as Arkady reels backwards, then leans back to deliver a massively powerful heel-kick to Arkady's kneecap.  "You should have come quietly!  You have chosen the way of pain!"

((Defence R2: 9, 9, 9, 7, 6, 6 & 2.
Vs. Strike 26 + footwork 15 = 41 - takes ripple
Vs. Disrupt 39 + awareness 10 = 49 - blocked

Attack R2: 10, 10, 9, 4, 3, 2 & 1
Attack Strike flowed 33 + 15 - 5 = 43
Disrupt Strike 20 + Learning 15 = 35))

Alerted by his opponent shouting, Arkady notices the kick aimed against his knee and manages to turn it so that the knee bends in the direction it's supposed to. It still hurts, but nothing seems to have broken.

He responds with a boint blank shot from his pistol, aimed at his opponents arm, as he notices his opponent relying heavily on close quarters combat with an objective to debilitate, not to eliminate.

"AT LEAST I GOT TO CHOOSE, SUKA!"

((Zaryman defense R2:  10, 10, 6, 6, 5, 5 & 3
*Flood 7 for bonus to block/toughness
*Defense vs Attack 26 + Block 10 + EKF 5 = 41 vs 43, a Ripple.  She can suffer up to 7 before losing.
*Defense vs Disrupt 25 + Hardiness 5 = 30, takes Disrupt

Init R3:  10, 6, 5, 5, 3, 1 & 1
*Float 5-5-1
*Init 16 + Speed 0))

Again that ectoplasmic aura surrounds her arms, again she tries to bat away the bullet- but it doesn't work this time.  It punches a hole in her bicep, drawing a grimace from her.

"You scum,"  She snarls as she takes a step back, holding a wound that oozes a black and green ichor, "You'll pay for that!"

((initiative: 10, 10, 10, 9, 6, 3 & 2.
Init 19+10=29 goes first
Recover from disrupt strike 30 + craft 10 = 40, recovers.

Attack: 10, 9, 5, 5, 3, 3 & 2
Attack with strike 25+15=40
Float 3-3))

Arkady smirks a bit as his opponent draws back. That gave him a small opening to examine the damage in his arm. A small defect. He'll take care of it properly after he gets out of this tin can. He grabs his arm by the wrist and bags his elbow against a wall, re-aligning the bearings.

"this is how we fix Russian cybernetics..."

He advances and fires another shot from  his pistol

"...fucking nuke proof."

((Zaryman defense R3:
7, 7, 7, 6, 6, 5 & 3
*Flood 1 for Block/Toughness +5
*Defense vs Strike 37 + Block 10 + EKF 5 = 52, Blocks

Zaryman attack R3:
10, 10, 10, 9, 4, 2 & 1
*Attack 30 + Strike 5 - Disrupt 5 = 30))

If Arkady were a normal man, he'd call what's about to happen impossible.  The ghost reaches out with her hand, plucking the bullet out of the air and tossing it over her shoulder.

"And now I break you,"  She announces as she strides towards him, trying to grab him by the gun arm and yank his arm out of its socket.

((Defence R3: 9, 9, 5, 3, 3, 1 & 1.

Defend against strike: flowed 43 + footwork 15 =58

Initiative R4: 10, 7, 7, 6, 4, 4 & 1
Init: 27+10=37
Float 4-4))

Arkady doesn't let himself be baffled by the impossible feat he just witnessed. lightly, subtly, and effortlessly he manoeuvres past his opponents grasp in a controlled motion, halting in a relaxed looking stance, and steadying his pistol against his arm...

"you can't break what you can't touch. Ha. Nice catch. Can you catch the next one?"

((Init R4:
10, 10, 9, 8, 5, 3 & 3
*Float 3-3-0
*Init 19 + 10 = 29))

As Arkady settles his pistol on his arm he finds himself... steadier. Smoother.  The joints of his cybernetic arms, never the smoothest, now move like they've been machined by gods of steel and butter.  The hallway brightens, once almost pitch-black now as bright as a sunny day in a world that's long been dead.

"What the- NO."  She hisses, taking a step back.  She points at him, at his third and fourth arms of golden light.

His forehead starts sparking like flint scraped against steel.  The heat is almost painful, but blyat, you always expect a bit of pain when you're putting the final grind and polish on a knife.  His gun has lit up too- all those religious symbols pulsing softly with golden light.

"yes..." She whispers, looking at him.  Horror and hope war across her craggy face and wounds, her ghost-corpus body rippling with emotion.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:27, Tue 20 June 2017.

((Attack R4: 10, 6, 6, 3, 2, 1 & 1
Attack: Strike: 26+15=41
Secondary attack/The Force of lightness, 3 chi: 21+15=36))

Arkady feels the heat, but the pain is forgotten and replaced with clarity.
He feels overwhelmed by endless curiosity and at the same time he feels as if he could see how everything works. The cogwheels of the world turning before his eyes.

He has no idea what has happened, but he feels better, stronger, wiser...

"What is... How... why?"

He is puzzled by the look on his opponents face, but doesn't hesitate despite his curiosity.
He feels the ground resonate as he pulls the trigger of his divine armament, and at that precise moment launches forward for a palm strike. Both aimed at his opponents chest. Both the palm and bullet to connect at the same time.

((Defense:
8, 7, 6, 5, 3, 2 & 1
*Flood 0:  Block/Toughness +5
*Defense vs Strike 1  18 + Block 10 + EKF 5 = 33 vs 41, a Ripple
*Defense vs Strike 2  17 + Block 10 + EKF 5 = 32 vs 36, a Ripple:  3/7

Attack:
8, 7, 4, 4, 4, 3 & 2
*Strike 34 + Strike 5 - Disrupt 5 = 34))

She takes the shot.  She takes the pal mstrike.  She staggers back, delivering him a half-hearted jab to the stomach with her left leg.  But she's slowly falling apart, especially underneath Arkady's aura; the sheets of essence leaving him are slowly stripping her corpus from her bones.

((Defence: 10, 10, 7, 5, 5, 3 & 1
*Defence vs strike: 25+FW15=40 vs 34

Init R5: 9, 8, 8, 8, 2, 1 & 1
*Clarity in openness, - 3 chi, +10 awareness.
*Erasing the concept of emptiness 5chi: 38+20=58 - Zaryman
*CG: 21+15=36
*Init: 19+10=29))

Arkady makes an efficient sidestep to avoid his opponents desperate kick, and follows with an immediate one-handed cartwheel to gain some distance. He lands in a stable stance with his left palm opened in front of him and his pistol pointed downwards in a subtle manner.

He gains his focus and analyses his opponent for weak spots, as if he was finding a broken gear in a machine. A point of critical failure to be exploited.

"Let's end this. I have more important things to do than this fucking side show."

((Technically Erasing the Concept doesn't really work against Lesser Legends- so instead, if this hits, she's fookin' dead!

Init R5:
8, 8, 8, 6, 5, 3 & 2
*Float 8 for 3-3-0
*Init 28 + 10 = 38

Attack R5:
10, 10, 6, 4, 2, 1 & 1
*Strike Arkady 21 + Strike 5 - Disrupt 5 = 21
*Disrupt Arkady Strike 20 + Might 10 = 30))

The woman is duly intimidated.  She's shivering when she puts on all the speed she can into her next attack- a charging bullrush, head down, attempting to tackle and punch out his ribs.
 But this pitiful bullrush is nothing compared to the ones he dealt with earlier, when he was just a mortal.

Nothing.

((Defence: 9, 8, 6, 4, 2, 2 & 2.
Defence vs strike 19 + Footwork 15 = 34, beats 21
Defence vs Disrupt 32 + Awareness 10 = 42

Attack: 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 1 & 1

Attack w/ strike: Flowed 34 + 15 = 49
The Force of lightness 2 chi - Strike 21 + 15 = 36))

Arkady takes another controlled sidestep at precisely the right moment, like clockwork, but this time he doesn't stop there.

He's filled with hate for his opponent, but not the boiling kind.
This hate is cold, calculated, effective and murderous.

He knows exactly what to do to exploit this opening.

Taking advantage of his opponents momentum and his steady stance he's driving his arm forwards, aiming for head area, to cause a dead-stop impact. the resulting revolution due to inertia will make opponent lose contact with ground and in airborne state her inertia is easy to re-direct to the desired direction to cause maximum damage.

In other words: He's going to grab that Suka by her spoiled face and drive her fucking head through the steel floor like a rivet.

((Defense:  8, 8, 7, 7, 7, 6 & 4
*Flood 0:  Block/Toughness +5
*Defense vs Strike 1  37 + Block 10 + EKF 5 = 52 vs 49
*Defense vs Strike 2  28 + Block 10 + EKF 5 = 43 vs 36, a Ripple:  4/7

Arkady has init.))

Give her some credit:  she knows how to move, and how to redirect one of his strikes for her head.  The blow avoids destroying her temple, but it doesn't protect her from getting driven into the ground.  She squirms under her grasp, leaking ectoplasm and ghostly flesh over the floor.

"Release... me..." She hisses at him, half-desperate, half-pleading.

((Init: 10, 10, 7, 4, 3, 3 & 3
Subtle force w/ unarmed - ranged
FoB: 7 + 10 + 10 = 27 / 1 chi
Init: 20 + 15 + 10= 35
Clarity in openness: +10 might -3 chi
Wave - might: 33 + 10 + 10 = 53 / Pinning Zaryman to the floor.))

Arkady's Aura starts to glow as he summons all of his strength to keep the ghastly lady pinned to the floor. He looks at the bleeding creature with despise in his eyes and tightens his grip around her face, and nimbly replaces the magazine on his pistol with his other hand and racks the slide against his belt.

"You call it release, I'll call it completely spreading your fugly mug across the floor, suka."

((Init:
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 3 & 3
*Float 3
*Init 19 + 10 = 29

She's effectively pinned.  Gain a +5 Laughs bonus as well as a +5 Fears bonus to your attacks))

"As if... as if you could," She strains against him but fails, giving him all the time he needs to reload Jonesy's gun and take the initiative.

((Attack: 8, 8, 7, 7, 7, 7 & 7
Float 8-8
Strike Zaryman: 57 + 15 + 10 + 5 + 5 = 92 - better dodged))

Arkady tightens his grip, and puts the muzzle of his trusty pistol against his opponents temple. His eyes barely visible under the hood he looks the lady with despise.

"just fuckin' watch me."

And without flinching he pulls the trigger.

((Defense:
10, 10, 9, 6, 4, 3 & 3
*Flood 3 for Block/Toughness +5
*Block 43 + Block 10 + EKF 5 - Better Dodged 5 = 53 vs 92, that's enough, especially since you've got a SPSHUL gun))

The shot spatters the ghost's corpus all over the flooring.  The ghost body still flails and moves, attempting to randomly grab Arkady and choke him out, but it's all just directionless malice and nothing else, soon fading away to nothingness.  Which leaves him an open path.

Arkady stands up and wipes the ghastly lady's remains off his hands, and his pistol, and lets out a small sigh of relief. Part of his vengeance was done, but there's more to come. He picks up pace and starts running through the corridor now opened in front of him. He doesn't think it would be easier now on out. The ghastly lady's master is still out there and he still has no plan on how to escape after overloading the reactor...

Better not think about it now. Focus on the Present. I'll just wing the rest.

Now that he's no longer in a fight, the path through the ship is laid out in front of him, clear as day.  Like he'd just gotten a map downloaded into his brain, or he could see through the walls.  The hallway splits into several directions- gunnery, armory, flaying table... no living areas, because why would ghosts waste time creating places to sleep or relax?

But the bridge, now, the bridge isn't hard to find anymore.  There are a few doors in place, but they'd be trivial for him to break through.

He can feel the pulsing nastiness of a ghost in the bridge, probably trying to feed some energy in the ship towards shelling Spiderweb's position.

"Bridge" Arkady said silently to himself as if the word slipped off his lips.
Seizing all the ships functions to turn it effectively into a space hulk.

Let's stick to the original plan: I'm gonna commandeer this motherfucker.
He snickers to his own insane idea.

He picks up pace to reach his target destination whilst keeping wary of enemy contact. They know he's here. They just underestimated him, but he won't underestimate his opponents.

The commander of the ship is till aboard...
This message was last edited by the player at 22:48, Wed 16 May 2018.

Arkady jogs down the hallway, only to find a small gang of ghosts heading his way- more serfs, by the look of it.  They take one look at him barreling down the hallway, see the glow coming from his body, and suddenly decide they have much better things to do- like dropping their pipes and wrenches and getting the fuck out of the way.

He barrels through until he finds the single doorway that leads into the bridge.  The hatch has been sealed shut from the inside.

Arkady approaches the door cautiously. He lets the ghosts scurry away. The cleaning squads will eradicate them once he has commandeered the ship anyways so he doesn't bother spending bullets on them. He walks towards the door, convinced that whoever or whatever is behind that door knows he's coming, so why play around.

He knocks the door very loudly with his fist and tops it with a good shout:

"KNOCK KNOCK!!! WE NEED CLEANUP ON ISLE FIVE! SOME OPEN-MINDED LADY SPILLED HER THOUGHTS ALL OVER THE FLOORS, AND THE CLEANUP CREW RAN AWAY!"

"Away with you!"  The ghost on the other side shouts, "I do not have time for your jokes!"

The voice is... distinctly Russian, feminine, though garbled, as if shouted through torn rubber.

Arkady then hears the hatch make a *CRINKLE* sound as it seems to expand in place, tightening the seal.  In all likelihood it's stuck in place now.

((10, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1 & 1.
Staying alert for anything unusual: 31 + Awareness 10 + 10 = 51
Survival instinct: 22 + wu wei 10 + 10 = 42))

"But It'll only take a mome..."
*Crinkle*
"Aww blyat..."

His current tools probably wont be enough to crack this door. He needs to borrow some of this ship. like explosives. There should be some in the Armory, or at least enough ammunition to craft an IED.

He makes his way towards the armory, It doesn't take a genious to figure out that it's probably heavily guarded by those security type ghosts so he peeks all the corners and keeps his eyes and ears open for enemies or means to bypass them.

It's as safe as it's going to be.  Whatever the ghost just did, she just basically jammed the door.  Opening it is gonna be... problematic for most now.

The armory, on the other hand, is more or less abandoned.  Either the ghosts have abandoned their posts or he's already dealt with the worst of them.  Sadly, the damn thing looks pathetic.  This isn't a boarding ship, equipped with deadly soldier-ghosts; it's more of a prison ship, and the armory has a few rudimentary explosives, blunt instruments, a fucking rusted sword, and some old firearms.

((blowing the door open: 10, 10, 10, 7, 5, 3 & 2
Clarity in openness +10 craft / 3chi
Channel 1 chi for +5 craft

Blowing open the door: 30 + craft 25 + 10 = 65 / would take IT))

Arkady grabs the explosives, couple of firearms and the rusted sword. He has no idea what to use it for, but it he'll figure it out on the fly.

He then jogs back to the bridge door and starts setting up his explosives.
He meticulously inspects the door to locate the locking bars and the expansion mechanism. He tries to remember the exact sound of the door as it expanded shut, and the layout of previous doors and hatches he had encountered on the ship to get a clearer picture of what he's dealing with.

He then breaks the rusty sword apart, mixest the residue rust powder in the explosives and places the bits of the blade inside the explosive, and duct tapes the satchels tight to create  shaped charges, and places them according to his idea of the door layout.

Now he just needed some spare wiring from a busted lamp and a couple of primers from his handguns bullets to make some detonators, which he carefully puts in place.

He then takes cover, and with a smirk on his face he connects the wires to the power source of his left arm...

Thermite is a hell of a drug.

The shaped charges can only do so much when they're just duct tape.  The thermite takes out the door, yes, and showers the hallway with little bits of molten iron and sharpnel.

The inside of the bridge isn't much better.  He's blown a hole in the bulkheads that looks suspiciously like a hand giving someone the finger.  Air begins to rush into the bridge, implying that Arkady has blown several small holes in a bulkhead someone in the bridge!

He can't see if there's a ghost in the room afterwards, but knowing his luck...

Arkady knows the sound of a leaking bulkhead, even with his ears still ringing. He immediately detaches the space suit's helmet from his belt and latches is on. Once he turned the valve on the supplemental oxygen he draws a deep breath and spends a few seconds admiring his handiwork.

holds on to whatever he can and 'test's the water' by shouting towards the bridge as well as he can with the atmosphere howling.

"HAH HAH! IT WAS NOT A JOKE! IT WAS MORE OF A PRANK! HAH HAH HAA! YOU STILL THERE??? I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I'M COMMANDEERING THIS GHOST SHIP!!! I'M DEAD SERIOUS!!!"

If anyone hears him, they're not answering.  The howl of wind and the void beyond calls, but that's it.  If an Abyssal is in there, they've either held on admirably or gotten sucked out; if it's a ghost... well, a ghost isn't really affected by gravity or air.

That didn't go as planned. He expected some banter in return, but instead he was replied with only howling wind. It made him feel uneasy.

Takes his pistol out and ties a lanyard on it with some spare wire, attaching the other end on his belt, checks the chamber for brass and starts creeping towards the bridge.

Once he gets to the entrance, he peeks into the bridge. He needs to make sure the threat is no longer present so he can try to relay a signal to spiderweb.

He peeks in just in time to see a pistol held right at head level, right where he'd peek in!  A ghost, once a beautiful young woman with no visible injuries, has pressed herself against the wall near the entrance to ambush him as he entered.  She looks vaguely familiar... from somewhere on old Earth, judging by the fragment of Malfeas throbbing in her chest.

"Die, cyka."  She hisses.

((She has ambushed you, roll init!))

((Init R1: 10, 10, 10, 10, 8, 5 & 1
Blue flame dragon w/ unarmed/ranged
Init: 40 + 20 + 10 = 70
Would take IT, Coz I'm an idiot))

Arkady has a split second to react, spitting out a surprised "Blyat." that conveys disappointment in his own sloppiness. He drops down on his back and pulls his pistol towards the ghastly woman.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:47, Sat 23 June 2018.

((Init:
9, 8, 8, 7, 7, 3 & 2
*Focus on Breath 27 + Breath Skill 5 + AB 10 = 42
*Float 8-8
*Init 19 + Speed 5 + AB 10 = 34
*Her gun is a Saber/Ranged.

Interesting Times:  Her initial shot, if hit, may cause a Disrupt/Disorient.


You have init))

The woman tracks his downward movement, though perhaps not as fluidly as an Exalt might.  Arkady at least can still get in the first blow!

((Attack R1: 10, 8, 5, 4, 2, 1 & 1
Strike: 18+5+10=33
Float 1-1))

Arkady's dodge does not make shooting easy. He flukes out a desperate shot in his opponents direction, more as a distraction and forcing his opponent to react than an actual kill shot.

((Defense R1:
9, 7, 4, 4, 3, 1 & 1
*Defense 24 + Dodge 5 + AB 10 = 39, dodges

Attack R1:
10, 7, 6, 6, 4, 2 & 2
*Attack 17 + Strike 10 + AB 10 = 37, better Blocked than Dodged, Dodge -5
*Disrupt Strike with Flowed 28 + Finesse 5 + AB 10 = 43
*Disrupt Dodge 26 + Finesse 5 + AB 10 = 41
*Disrupt Speed 22 + Finesse 5 + AB 10 = 37))

The Imperator just ducks under the attack with a sneer on her face.  She all but unloads her magazine on Arkady, targeting him at specific points and spreading out a cloud of bullets that never seems to end.  After the first 9, the rest of the shots appear to be made of glowing ectoplasm.

((Defence R1: 8, 8, 6, 6, 5, 3 & 2
Dodge VS. Strike: 15 + FW10 + AB10 - 5 = 30 vs 37 - Ripple
Vs. D.strike: 28 + WW10 + 10 = 48 vs 43 block
VS. D.dodge: 26 + WW10 + 10 = 46 vs 41 block
Vs. D.speed: Flowed 21 + WW10 + 10 = 41 vs 37 block))

Arkady rolls towards the corridor,away from his assailant, with pure instinct. His opponent however is nothing like the other ghosts he defeated on this vessel. The Hail of bullets seemed impossible to Dodge without getting hit, and it was. He feels something ripping him, but he's too jacked to even recognise where. All he knows that he isn't dead or incapacitated.

Getting a flesh wound wouldn't be anything too serious... Normally. If he's bleeding It means his environment suit is compromised.

((Disrupted Footwork - Recovery 37.

Init R2:
10, 6, 6, 5, 4, 2 & 1
*Float 6-6
*Init 15 + Speed 5 + AB 10 = 30
*Her gun is Saber+Ranged
*She's in Bridge zone, Arkadyis in Hall zone))

The shot skims his leg, drawing blood and letting out a loud *HISS* as air starts to escape.  But the suit designs are self-sealing, to a limited degree, and his blood certainly helps with the sealing process.  But his leg's gone momentarily numb from the quick exposure and bullet trauma.

((Init R2: 9, 7, 7, 4, 4, 2 & 1
Subtle force w/ unarmed/ranged
Init: 19+10+10=39 /first
Float 7-7
Recovery: 24+10+ medicine 5= 39/ recovery
FoB: 12+10= 22/ 1chi

Attack R2: 9, 9, 8, 8, 5, 4 & 2
Strike: 29+15+10=54
force of lightness -3chi
Secondary strike: 28+15+10=53))

Arkady strikes his thigh with his elbow to introduce a slight shock to his nerves, in an attempt to feel his leg and gain his stability. He raises his pistol towards the doorway and takes a steady stance.

"So that's how you want to play, CYKA?!  I gave you a chance to surrender! Get fucked!"

After his words of warning he lights up the doorway with his enchanted pistol.

((Defense vs Arkady:
10, 8, 7, 6, 4, 1 & 1
*Defense vs Primary Strike with Flowed 36 + Block 5 + AB 10 = 51 vs 54, a Ripple
*Defense vs Secondary Strike 21 + Block 5 + AB 10 = 36 vs 53, a Ripple + Roll

Damage:
*19 + Superficial Damage 15 - Toughness 5 - IKF 15 - Chi Aura 18 = 0, no damage

Attack vs Arkady:
9, 8, 8, 6, 5, 4 & 2
*Attack 28 + Strike 10 + AB 10 = 48, Better Blocked
*Weird effects if this hits))

The ghost tries to catch the bullets.  This doesn't turn out too well for her, but she hardens her corpus and the bullets drop to the floor afterwards.

"A Russian."  Her voice sounds strangled but her accent is unmistakably Russian as well, "What part of Russia are you from?  Shouldn't you know that surrender is never an option?"

As if to prove a point she fires off another spray of shots, filling the hallway with ricocheting rounds.

((Defence R2: 10, 10, 9, 6, 5, 5 & 1
Def vs. Strike: 25 + block 5 + 10 = 40/ ripple

Init R3: 10, 9, 8, 8, 2, 1 & 1
subtle force W/ unarmed ranged
Init: 28+10+10=48
FoB 21+10+10= 41 / 2chi))

Arkady tries to block the Hail of Bullets, with little success. Blocking is not his strong suit. It doesn't break his spirit though. He tries to regain his stance and shoots off with a confident tone:

"You don't seem to know shit CYKA. survival matters, and you already fucked up."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:14, Sat 28 July 2018.

((Init R3:
10, 9, 9, 8, 7, 4 & 2
*Float 9-9
*Init 18 + Speed 5 + AB 10 = 33
*Saber+Ranged, still
*Arkady still in Hall, she's still in Bridge))

"You think I wasn't willing?" She sneers back at him, "This is a reward!  You can't imagine the things we have been given.  The power we have!"

((Attack R3: 9, 8, 8, 7, 6, 2 & 1
Strike 28 + 10 + 15 = 53))

Arkady fires off a couple of rounds in the direction of the bridge, into nearby walls and the door frame to get at least some shrapnel in.

"So a traitor then?!? to both our country and the living?! You should know what traitors get in Russia, blyat. If you need to know where I'm from, it's St. Petersburg... A place that doesn't exist because of your cowardice."

((Defense:
10, 9, 9, 9, 8, 7 & 6
*Defense vs Strike 39 + Block 5 + AB 10 = 54 vs 53, blocks

Attack:
8, 4, 4, 3, 1, 1 & 1
*Flood 9 on attack:  Inflicts Disrupt if hits
*Attack Arkady 31 + Strike 10 + AB 10 = 51; better Dodged than Blocked, Block -5
*Disrupt Arkady Dodge 24 + Inspire 10 + AB 10 = 44))

"You don't really know, do you?" She catches one of the bullets with her ghostly fingers, tossing it behind her with a faint sizzle.  She raises her gun up to point at Arkady, aiming right at his neck.  "Russia is a paradise now.  We've been working for it for years.
 Now the world belongs to us."

That's when he recognizes her.  He'd seen her on television before, during the 2014 annexation of Crimea.  Natalia Poklonskaya stands before him.

((Defence R3: 10, 9, 9, 7, 6, 4 & 4
vs. Strike: 29 + 10 + fw15= 54/ dodged
Clarity in openness +10 confidence / 3chi
vs. Disrupt 24 + 10 + confidence 15 = 49/ avoided

Init R4: 10, 10, 8, 8, 8, 4 & 2
Subtle force w/ unarmed/ranged
Init: 14 + 10 + 10 = 34
CG to bridge: 20 + 10 + 15 = 45
Wave craft: 38 + 10 + 10 = 58 to close the hull breaches.))

Arkady Dodges the shot in a motion that seemingly takes minimal effort, yet astounding amount of precision, moving his head just enough for the bullet to miss his neck.

He locks his eyes on the familiar figure with his eyes showing clear contempt. "I remember you. You sure are pretty. Perfect face to hide everything that was fucked up, even in our country, and no you try to play ME like a puppet. Well fuck you, I'm not a puppet, And I'd rather choose to live in hell as a free man than in paradise as a slave. You aren't Russian, You're just a corpse with a pretty face, who probably got the position by crying for mercy and sucking enough cock, Cyka."

He then makes an attempt at the bridge. He takes advantage of the pull of the escvaping atmosphere to slide in through the door and grabs a maintenance panel by its handle, pulling it off in a single motion. he punches his fist in the cables and attempts to trigger the bridge emergency blast shielding. He even throws the panel at the breach and shoots it a couple of times to break it into pieces, fitting the breach holes.

This was not the work of an ordinary man. This was not luck. This was the work of a man touched by the unconquerable sun, who would not yield to adversity.

"Your move cum-bucket."

((Take a ChivJoss AND a MalJoss for a great post, and also for rolling init first again.

Init R4:
10, 10, 10, 5, 4, 1 & 1
*Float 1-1
*Analyze Style Qualities 30 + Tactics 5 + AB 10 = 45
*Init 15 + Speed  5 + AB 10 = 30

Arkady wins init))

The ghost doesn't get a chance to react.  Arkady blows past her, riding the suction of what's left of the air to slam his arm into the maintenance panel.  Not only does the door seal, but blast shields slide down over the bridge window, sealing it from the outside.  Arkady is now a little bit safer.

"And now you're trapped in here with me."  The ghost sneers at him, "When I rip your ghost from your body I'll be throwing what's left of your soul to the hungry ghosts so they can eat and fuck you to death."

((Attack R4 w/ 1 chiv joss & 1 mal joss:
10, 10, 9, 8, 7, 7, 7 & 2

Disrupt dodge w/ awareness: 20 + 10 + 10 = 40
Flowed strike: 57+10+15 = 82 / better dodged))

"That would be really intimidating if you were..."

Arkady Stops mid sentence, focusing entirely on the movement of his opponent. Any slight twitch, any smallest movement will not escape his eyes. He ducks down for a sweeping kick, but feigns it and his blessed 1911 gleams as it points at the ghost lady, aimed dead straight at her pretty mug.

"Well... Intimidating."

His aura glows with essence as it's channeled to his divine armament and is released in a silver sheen flash and the near deafening sound of as a .45 caliber pistol is fired at point blank range.

((Ghost Defense:
6, 6, 5, 4, 4 & 2
*Defense vs Strike 26 + Dodge 5 + AB 10 = 41 vs 82, 3 ripples + roll

RR on Ghost:
*17 + Damage 10 + Bonus Damage 5 = 32 - Toughness 5 - IKF 15 = 12, a Trivial wound

Ghost Attack:
8, 8, 8, 7, 6 & 4
*Floods 1 for Disrupt if attack hits
*Attacks back with 38 + Strike 10 + AB 10 = 58, inflicts a Disrupt if it hits, has other effects if it hits, Better Dodged))

The ghost hardens its corpus as the bullets zip towards her- and to some degree she's successful.  But the auspicious bullet still penetrates some of her defenses, causing her to stagger back as corpus-blood oozes from her ghostly flesh.

She howls with rage, her hair standing up in a horrible mane as she lines up another shot with his torso- then twitches towards his shoulder and squeezes the trigger.

((Defence R4: 10, 7, 7, 6, 4, 2 & 1
Dodge Strike: 27 + 10 + FW15 = 52 vs 58, A ripple))

A bullet scrapes Arkady but he doesn't lose his focus. It was a good trade. The  ghost puppy's enraged expression made him feel good, despite the pain. He's not an easy piece to chomp. This bastard bites back, and even if he'd eventually bite the dust, he'd do it with drunken bravado and a fixation to resist. No respect for traitors, and no mercy for those who took everything away from him.

He bites his teeth and taunts once again.

"Taking it like a champ! Guess this isn't your first time dripping oozes? Just wipe it off and get ready for a new rodeo, Cyka!"

((Arkady takes a Disrupted Strike, Recovery 58 and a single Petal.

Ghost Init R5:
10, 9, 6, 5, 5, 4 & 2
*Float 5-5
*Init 19 + Speed 5 + AB 10 = 34))

Arkady feels his body go wrong for a few moments.  His actions feel dulled, his bones a little bit more brittle.  She grins at him like a shark.

But she doesn't have any witty reply...

((Init R5: 10, 10, 8, 6, 6, 5 & 2
Float: 6-6
Init: 20 + 10 + 10 = 40 - Goes first
FoB: 18 + 10 + 10 = 38 - 2 chi

Attack R5: 8, 7, 5, 5, 4, 3 & 3
clarity in openness +10 craft - 3chi
Disrupt Strike w/ craft: 23 + 20 + 10 = 53
Metal resonance touch - second Disrupt strike w/ craft: 25 + 10 + 10 = 45
Strike: 18 + 10 + 10 - 5 = 33 - better dodged))

Arkady gathers his focus and dashes for his opponent. His body felt sluggish but he tried his best to ignore it. He pulls the gun on her and fires it in close quarters, but his primary objective was something else.
That gun is dangerous, whether it be from the weapon it self or the ghost wielding it.
He grabs the cocking handle of the SMG and pushes it back a bit, and gives the gun a good smack sideways at the base of the barrel with his metal arm.

Objective: Feeding malfunction by bolt misalignment and distorted chamber axis.

That should turn the pipe down a bit.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:19, Tue 07 Aug 2018.

((Defense vs Attack:
10, 9, 8, 7, 3, 2 & 1
*Defense vs Strike 19 + Dodge 10 + AB 10 - Disrupted Dodge 5 = 34 vs 33, dodges
*Takes both Strike disrupts

Attack R5:
9, 8, 5, 3, 2, 2 & 1
*Flowed Strike 35 + Strike 15 + AB 10 - Disrupt 10 = 50, Better Blocked
*Disrupt Dodge 22 + Inspire 10 + AB 10 = 42))

The ghost is caught off guard by his earlier attack- suddenly realizing that she can't do much against anything but his bullet.  She jukes out of the way of that, but he gets a good hold of her weapon and twists it, causing it to jam.

But it's a supernatural weapon, and she's a powerful ghost with a beating heart of stolen power.  It still fires grey-green ripping bullets in a quick spray that threaten to rip through him.  But it's not as powerful as it once was, and she knows it, and there's shit all she can do about it.  She snarls at him, beautiful features turning to a rictus of ghostly rage.

((Defence R5: 7, 5, 5, 5, 4, 3 & 3
vs. strike: 35 + 10 + block 10 = 55 vs 50 - blocked
Clarity in openness +10 confidence - 1 chi, 1 solar chi
vs disrupt: 23 + 10 + 15 = 48 vs 42 - "you won't play me"

Init R6: 9, 8, 8, 7, 6, 4 & 4
Analyze style fears w/ learning (twilight): 28 + 10 + 15 = 53
Init: 24 + 10 + 10 = 44
Fob: 19 + 10 + 10 = 39 - 2 chi))

Arkady instinctively pours essence in his metal arm and shoves it in front of the muzzle. As the bullets ricochet and shatter he locks his eyes on his opponent's, and doesn't flinch a bit and gives the woman an expression between pity and despite as his aura begins to glow. He stays in his stance with his open palm towards the ghost and steadies his stance examining her for any signs of weakness.

"Calm the fuck down... I'm gonna take you on a date with Mr. Sandman with a slap behind the ear blyat."

She sure is mad. Better keep pushing her buttons until she fucks up.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:02, Tue 07 Aug 2018.

((Init R6:
9, 7, 7, 7, 6, 4 & 3
*Float 7-7
*Init 19 + Speed 5 + AB 10 = 34

Style Fears:  Hidden, unorthodox methods; being outnumbered and surrounded))

She scowls as she watches her attacks flow around him like water around a rock.

"You'll be on your knees sucking Death's cock," She rasps.  Looks like she's gotten her voice back.

((Attack R6 7, 6, 5, 3, 2, 2 & 1
Strike: flowed 36 + 10 + 15 - 5 = 56 - Better dodged
Disrupt speed w/ Learning: 22 + 15 + 10 = 47))

"If that day comes, I'll bite as hard as I can! Ha!"

He takes a relaxed pose and continues

"You think you know how the world works? You think that anyone will buy your pretty lies and a pretty face? Well I won't. I know I alone can't change the world and I sure as hell can't save It alone, but what I do, what I create, Invent, maintain... It all makes it a lot easier for others to save it... I will help humanity save itself. You think you know how everything goes? didn't see this one coming did you? The very people you betrayed biting on your ass ,blyat! I know only one thing for sure... I know nothing! HA! And I have one thing you don't have It's-"

-He cut's his monologue short and suddenly pushes his pistol forward, but takes and odd turn and instead in a flowing motion he ducks down a bit and spins towards his opponents right side, closing some distance, and goes for a cheeky pistol whip aimed directly behind her right ear.

"- It's that I have the ability to choose, And you don't. I can choose to bite death in the dick, You can only swallow."

((Defense vs Attack:
10, 10, 7, 5, 4, 1 & 1
*Defense vs Strike 21 + Dodge 5 + AB 10 = 36 vs 56 - 2 Ripples + Roll
*Defense vs Disrupt 20 + Tactics 5 + AB 10 = 35, takes Disrupt

RR on Russian Stooge:
*19 + Damage 10 + Bonus Damage 5 = 34 - Toughness 5 - IKF 15 = 14, a Minor wound.  This is pretty much over; she has a Minor wound, a Trivial wound, and a -10 to Strike.))

The ghost is no match for Arkady.  She listens to his speech, gnashing her teeth, a ghostly moth drawn to the flame of his exaltation.  The pistol whip catches her right behind the ear, sending her sprawling across the deck.  Her corpus quivers, flaking off bits of ectoplasm all over the floor.

"Your- people are doomed-"  She rasps, "Even if- you think you're going- there's no point.  No point!  Yama comes for you..."

((awareness: 29+10+10=49))

"Shut the fuck up and look at me." he points fingers at his eyes.
"I'm the captain now, blyat."

He stares down on the once beautiful woman, now reduced to an oozing corpse and checks the chamber of his pistol, wiping some ooze and ectoplasm off it's handle.

"You might be right, but I'm not gonna make it easy for him. I'm a huge pain in the ass to get rid of, blyat, and I'm gonna take any chance I get to take a shit in his cereals... "

Arkady confidently takes aim at her once pretty mug "...I'm gonna start by commandeering this tub. Idi nahui, cyka."

Once the trigger is pulled, he falls down on his ass and exhales in a long exhausted sigh."Holy shit that was rough... I need a drink." he thought.
This shit is now over yet. Oh shit. He has to contact the remains of the fleet so that Spiderweb wouldn't tear this ship apart whilst he was in it.

He starts scanning the bridge for communications equipment that could be usable, in repairable condition, or shit to build some with.

"I really should have thought this through. what kind of an idiot bombs a ship he's in. fuck me..."

The woman tries to gasp out a "WAIT" before her corpus is splattered all over the bridge.  It oozes away, the chunk of Malfeas throbbing on the floor.  It's making a sizzling sound, like a piece of meat dropped on a hot griddle.

Apparently the Dead aren't big on communications equipment- or else he's splashed it.  They do seem pretty in-tune with their masters.  But there's more than enough equipment here that he could splash together a short-range radio or two.  Longer range... that might be a problem.  Hell, it's entirely possible that he's stuck in this twisted hulk, floating alone and unnoticed in space.

It certainly seems quiet, after all.

((establishing comms: 8, 8, 8, 6, 6, 3 & 1
38+10+10=58))

Arkady stares at the sizzling shard for a moment and felt a bit better about wearing his environment suit. He didn't really know how hazardous the shard was, but he didn't intend to take unnecessary risks.

He takes a self made lead lined container off his tool belt, the kind that was meant for nuclear fuel, and places the shard in it using a pair of pliers. That shit is creepy, but he can't help his curiosity.

Then he gets to work, inspecting and scrounging for usable parts to make as good of a radio as possible. He tries to pay extra attention to the transmission. He just needed to contact the closest friendly vessel. That should be enough... He hoped.

Radios are simple shit.  Hell, any kid could make one with a crystal, wire, prayers, and too much time on their hands.  He's able to cobble together a pretty damn good short-range one- if short-range is defined as 'within a light year'.

Of course, radio's not going to go faster than light, but...

He flicks it on and gets a signal almost instantly.

"*--*/*/-*/-*/-* Spiderw-*/-*/-*eb here does any-*/-*/-*one read *--*/*/-*/-*/-*"

Arkady almost jumps up in relief. Almost. He grabs the radio and states in a loud, clear voice:

"I read you Spiderweb!! This is Arkady Dragomirov of the paddy wagon! I have captured the enemy frigate! I repeat! I have captured the enemy frigate!!! I wanna get the fuck out of here!!! I'm..."

He pauses for a moment as he realises the gravity of what he was about to say, the continues:

"I'm the only survivor..."

"Mother-**-fu--/-*"  His boss swears over the intercom, ""*--*/*/-*/vity we*--*/*ll, you *--**--* start up*--*/*/-*/ines, going to tow /*/-///*-..."

There's a blast of static and her voice comes in loud and clear, boosted by her focused essence.

"I AM COMING FOR YOU."

The static starts to build up again.

"*--*going to *-../-/-* alone."

Arkady is just one member of the crew of a shitty ship in a salvage fleet, that Spiderweb commands. An acceptable casualty, yet she still would come for him. This is exatly why her crew is so loyal to her. The thought made him fgeel a bit better, but didn't Improve his situation much. at least not until she arrives.

"Spiderweb! This is Dragomirov! I'm losing you! FUCK!"

He slams the radio in a fit of rage, and immediately regrets it. He puts his hands around his contraption and checks for if it still works. He exhales and continues.

"I can't read you! Too much static! I'll try to start up the engines but there is a few problems!!"

He checks the radio if it's still sending.

"I blew up one of the reactors, and totally demolished the bridge! I'll improvise! I'm stuck on the bridge, but I'll manage!"

He starts to look around the bridge for the controls while keeping his ear on the radio. Abyssal tech is not his strong suite, but he tries to manage.

"Did she just say gravity well? I really fucking hope she didn't say gravity well."


He knew the basic concept of gravity wells. Bodies with large mass attract smaller bodies. The ship he's in is part of that equation, and to control the equation he'd need the engines. To be pull a ship of this size into a gravity well, the countering force would have to be reallly big, like a planet or a star... a black hole. The former two are out of the equation, and the latter would make the rest of his life very uncomfortable... and a lot shorter.

"Yep. She said gravity well. o, yebat'."

The radio is still transmitting- thank the Sun- but he's lucky in that regard.  Plus, Glorious Soviet Engineering is made to take a bang or two before it explodes.

There's plenty of controls around there for him to play with- most of it pretty easy and intuitive in his Exalted state- but with the power down and engines cut, it's not like he can do much to the ship.  He can feel the ship groan as it starts to move, but from his own internal sense of balance he can tell it's going the wrong direction.

"/*/-///*-..."/*/-///*-..."/*/-///*-..."/*/-///*-..."/*/-///*-..."/*/-///*-...""

The radio transmits more static, then a high-pitched whine.

"§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§ /*/-///*-..."- hawking rads inte-/*/-///*-.../*/-///*-...§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§§ jury-rig §§§§ power source?"

((9, 8, 7, 7, 6, 6 & 1
Open the door: 27 + craft 10 + 10 = 47
float 6-6))

"I'll try to jury rig some shit togethe- I-I mean, Im on it!"

He probably won't be able to do anything from the bridge like the ghost he just splattered across the floor. The ghost was probably doing exactly what he is about to do. Shit. He's still open for any sudden inspiration. His gut is usually right about crazy ideas.
The shard. A FUCKING SHARD OF MALFEAS!

He shouts towards the radio: "I GOT AN IDEA!!! HOLY SHIT YOU'RE GONNA LOVE THIS ONE! AHAHAAA!"

Back to the engine room it is. Goes back to the bridge door he just shut and starts fiddling with the control panel. He really wasn't keen on blowing it up again, not that he'd have the materials for it. Better just re-route some power to the mag-locks and hydraulics.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:05, Mon 20 Aug 2018.

The radio call doesn't go through.  At least Arkady doesn't think it does.

There's no ghosts anymore- well, there PROBABLY are, but they've made themselves very scarce.  The engine room is a loud, clanging pile of steam and misfiring parts, all useless from his earlier sabotage.  But at least now he doesn't have to worry about ghosts coming after him.

((10, 10, 9, 8, 8, 2 & 1
Clarity in openness +10 craft
Jury rig power source: 28 + craft 20 + 10 = 58))

He looks at his own handiwork wondering why is he so good at fucking shit up

He calms his mind and looks around him, envisioning his design in front of him. Creating from what he has.

It comes to him. The way he'd solve this problem. He'd create something others would think as insane or not think at all. He gets to work, scrounging materials from the ruined furnaces and reassembling them into something better. He attempts to make the furnaces draw power not from the ghosts that were feeding it, but from the shard of Malfeas it self.

After he had created his new reactor, he opens a heavy hatch on its side, takes the shard from his pocket and inserts it in the machine like a last piece of the puzzle.

It's the moment of truth. His aura start to glow intuitively as he grabs a heavy lever and whilst pooling essence he pulls it to start his machine.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:40, Mon 20 Aug 2018.

((Neverborn resist:
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 6, 5, 3, 3 & 1
*Draw In Ship 26 + Might 25 + 10 = 61 vs 63 (58 + Outside Help 5), fails!))

An essence engine, powered by a shard of Malfeas' hate and rage and yearning to be one with itself, versus the combined might of what can only be a black hole.... he pulls the lever.

The engines seize for a heartstopping second.  Then the shard whines, groans... snarls.  The engines build in power.  He can feel the entire ship start to shake as it burns away from the gravity well, but it's not quite enough.  Not- quite-

But then there's a sudden jerk as the ship lurches forward again, getting just enough force to slip out of the well.  He hears a screech of metal as part of the ship flies off, but it's not enough to destroy him.

And then there's nothing as he coasts forward. The air feels cleaner, more serene.

"AHAHAHA!!! Holy fuckin' shit it works! IT WORKS!!!"

With a manic laughter he rushes back to the bridge.
He picks up the radio off the floor with a fluid sweep and places it on the control panel as he's doing a system check, And pushes the throttle lever to see it's at full speed ahead.
He even diverts power away from the weapon systems to makes sure any remaining crew on board wouldn't try any stupid shit with the rail guns.

He tries again with the radio:

"Check in! Check in! Spiderweb, this is Dragomirov! We have power! WE HAVE POWER! AHAHAHA! Lets get the fuck out of here! Davai davai, blyat!!!"

"I can see that, you beautiful bastard!" Her voice is clear, clean of static or radiation, "Fuck, you brilliant bitch, I've got some video of this you'll need to see later!  What the fuck did you do, throw a half ton of dark matter in there?  I've got some cables attached and I'm pulling, but you're doing most of the work!"

There's a pause,

"Hey, now that you're not getting sucked into a baby Neverborn, you've gotta watch your ass.
 These ships are crawling with ghosts and I had to kill a pair of Imperators.  You keeping them back with salt?"

It suddenly occurs to him- she may not know what he's become.

"I got a crazy idea for the jury rigging! I just dismantled the abyssal reactor and redesigned it to draw power from the shard of Malfeas I pulled off th captain I smeared across the bridge floor! Must 'ave been one of those Imperators you mentioned. Damn tough cyka she was!"

He doesn't sound manic anymore, but way more excited than a person in his situation should be...

"Oh yeah! The Captain sent her first mate after me first, but she's a puddle in the hallway, and I really needed to get to the bridge, so I had to blow up the blast door with an IED and kick the Imperator Captain shitless! A cleanup crew would be cool too, since the ghosts on this ship don't seem to wanna fight me, and I have better things to do than kick them out by myself. I'm outta salt too blyat."

...and he realizes that's the kind of shit a normal human could never pulls off. He pulls out his pistol and mirrors himself on the polished slide. Something was in his image that was not there before. He pull off his hood and sees a still glowing golden sign on his forehead, resembling a setting sun.

"...Oooooh holy shit. Oh shit oh shit oh shit!! And if you thought that shit is unbelievable, I've got something to tell that you that you'll never believe unless you see it!!! IT'S GONNA BLOW YOUR MIND I TELL YOU!!!"

"Yeah, those Imperators are right bitches,"  Spiderweb answers him, "And you better bet I'll believe what you have to say!  Sit tight, we're going to get to the rendezvous- the other ships have left but they're under orders to send a scout to peek back and see if they can't retrieve me in a few hours.  Hot DAMN am I glad you're around!"

It takes a while for them to get into position.  Eventually they must have made it, for Spiderweb calls for him to come to a stop. "I'm positioning us nose to nose, we have to speak personally.  Your bridge looks all banged up, any place I can enter?"

"Oh shit, yeah. when I blew the bridge door open, I blew up the entire bridge. hold on a sec..."

He checks the control board for any plausible entry points and tries to remember any encounters he had.

"The cargo bay should be ok. I'll disengage the airlock so you can enter. if that doesn't work out, I'll just make a new door to the bridge."

"Yeah, don't do that.  We don't need any more new holes in these things.  Mine's barely being held together as-is,"  She remarks, "Honestly I'm literally sitting in a bubble of oxygen right now.  Hold on..." She pauses, "Wow, that's not a big cargo bay, is it?  These things aren't meant to carry much... I'm going to have to jump for it.  Meet me at the entrance and we'll get our shit sorted out."

"I'll meet you there."
Arkady locks the controls, unlocks the cargo bay doors, and makes his way towards the cargo bay doors. He brass checks his pistol just in case. There probably is some ghosts still on board his ship.

If there are, none of them give him any shit whatsoever.  The place feels abandoned.  Hell, it's possible they all decided to jump ship into the void, into the Neverborn, rather than be captured.

Somehow he doubts it, but you never know.

He makes it to the cargo section, which by now must be hard vacuum.  He either has to brace himself when he lets Spiderweb in or close the doors and start up the air again... if she's even on the other side.

He decides to do the latter. He closes the door behind him and slowly vents the atmosphere before he opens the cargo bay door.

Venting atmo is a lot easier when you're in full control of the ship.  He eventually opens up the cargo bay, where he finds-

Wow.  OK.  Yeah.  Spiderweb's ship is FUCKED.  The Abyssal frigate has been practically battered to pieces.  It's covered with holes, shredded in locations- and it's being held almost entirely together by silvery wire, wrapped around it over and over.

A piece of metal falls off.  Spiderweb- because it has to be her- jumps from the hulk, shooting jets of pressurized air from a bottle as she tries to navigate to the tiny cargo bay.  She gives him a wave, silver shining from several cuts in her space suit, and then once she's inside she slaps his folder twice.

Arkady gives her a thumbs up and closes the cargo bay door. He waits until its sealed and then pressurizes the cargo bay.

He removes the helmet of his suit and gives Spiderweb a relieved smirk, his caste sign still giving a slight afterglow.

"Are you alright boss? Your ship looks like shit. Them railguns are fucking dangerous, blyat."

"And what I did to them!"  She says as soon as she can, slapping him on the shoulder twice.  Her multiple purple eyes blink, "So look at Mr. Sunshine here!  A Twilight, you are, me boyo!  I'm a proud captain today, all things considered."

Sadly, her famous hat is gone, leaving a tangled mass of red hair.

"So these things are a right fuckup.  But I've been in this sort of fuckup before.  And now that we've got each other we won't have to take the long way back to the fleet.  You injured anywhere?"
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 22:47, Fri 24 Aug 2018.

"Please don't call me mister sunshine in front of the others. makes me sound like some pansy ass up-deck fuckbucket. I'm allright. just a couple of scratches here and there. I've had worse for a bottle of stiff, blyat."

He dusts his shoulders and glances at Spiderweb

"we gonna need to get ya a new hat once this shit show's done. and a stiff drink. what's next boss? Kick all the previous crew out, or did ya have something else in mind? you wanna keep that bucket you strung up?"

He's got a confident but respectful tone. She is his commander after all, and being worthy of the sun's blessing doesn't guarantee her respect.

"So, settled, your callsign is Mr. Sunshine,"  Spiderweb grins at him, "Eh, I've got a dozen of those- not the first time the Neverborn have tried to kill me and only got my hat!  Sometimes I prime a grenade there as it goes off just to give them some indigestion."

She winks at him with half of her eyes.

"The thing I fucked up ain't gonna be worth much.  I don't think it'll even survive a jump.  Idea here will be to jump.  We're gonna be keeping the crew."  She remarks, looking around, "They can't fuck with us any, we don't have any mortals that'll get hurt, and I bet Core will love having someone to interrogate.  Any surrender to you?  That happens sometimes.  We give 'em a quiet, good end in return, some of the death gods on the Last Refuge claim it opens their souls up for a chance at reincarnation.  How bad's the engine fucked?  Think you can splice it up to FTL?"

"Oh for fuck's sake..."
Arkady waves his hanf in a dismissive manner. As she mentions surrendering ghosts Arkady puts his hands behind his head with over dramatic regret.

"Oh yeah. shit. one of 'em surrendered but I kinda didn't trust him so I kinda shot him in the face. First mate too... And the cap... didn't leave much for interrogation to be honest."

He looks around a bit and ponders about the jump situation.
"I don't want to brag, but the engine I built is probably better than the original one, but it still might have some complication if we wanna jump. I think I could be able to give it a boost tho. You're gonna direct the jump from the bridge and I'll do the grease monkey shit and spit some gas in the air intake if ya know whadday mean.
He winks at her with only one eye.

"how bow dah?"

"I won't blame you for that.  Not like either of them are gonna be useful.  It's the lowly grunts that'll give us a bit of info, the higher ups would rather get torn apart." She shrugs. "Hmmm... does that mean you're gonna give the engine a good dickin?  I like your style, First Mate Mr. Sunshine.  Unless you wanna be captain, I won't take that from you.  You've earned it." She looks around, "I hope your bridge is actually intact.  The one I just trashed don't have much of one anymore."

"_{Nu pizdec...}" Arkady sighs as Spiderweb calls him Mr. Sunshine... Again. He knows that she knows he doesn't enjoy his new nickname, though it could be fun to confuse his possible future crew with it.

'First mate' does have a nice ring to it.

"Yeaaaah. It's still *somewhat* intact."
He streches a bit and tries to dismiss his slight mishap.
"I mean... It has a lot of holes in it. I patched most of 'em, and the bridge is still in somewhat working condition. And by 'In somewhat working condition' I mean It's not absolutely fucked like the other ship's"

He looks at the door leading to the corridor and towards the bridge.

"We should get a move on. I want the fuck out of here as soon as possible, blyat. I'm thirsty."

"First rule about this biz, First Mate,"  Spiderweb says seriously to him as they start to move, "Roll with the punches.  If you're captain of a ship that's different, but a first mate who's not gonna roll with them won't earn the respect he needs.  I promise you I won't call you Mr. Sunshine in front of no one else, agreed?  But you, now, in exchange, can call me Allie in front of no one else.  Fair enough?" She pats his back as they move on.

"I'm a pretty good hand at fixing shit up but I'm betting you're a grade above me.  I'm more... holistic about things." She says, "I'll be able to run the controls just by brute forcing it with Essence, but that's not gonna last long.  I'll also have to set up an IFF.  Whatever radio you were working with worked but it was kinda shit, right?  Last thing I want is to get blown to shit by my own ships."

"Oh that radio? It is a masterfully crafted piece of shit, buuuut a piece of shit none the less... I guess It really doesn't cut for an emergency beacon."

He thinks a while wholst they walk.

"I could try to make a better one. Maybe even repurpose some old tech now that we aren't immediately dying. Shit."

He's got a bit of a nervous tap. He keeps clicking the lid of his lighter whilst he thinks.

"I'm sure we can think of something."  She follows along.

They reach the bridge.  Things are still in a lot of pieces but not too bad. Spiderweb grins, "Holy fuck boy, you just pasted the ghost everywhere!  Alright, we've got more than enough if we scavenge from the weapons system... we don't need it to really transmit voice, just a beacon in Morse, you know?  The Dead don't ask for help..."

She starts looking around, digging out the wires.

"You know, you Exalted pretty similar to how I did."

He too begins browsing. Repurposing the targetin radar should do for a morse radio beacon. Just remove encryption and reconfigure the radar's scanning pattern.

"How did it happen to you Allie?"

That, there- that's an easy thing to find, and find it he does, with rapidity.  Most of the stuff here is pretty basic analog.  It's amazing how little of these ships are actually digital.  ((Don't worry about a craft roll unless you really wanna grab for Interesting Times))

"Oh.  Well.  There was a raid, our transport was left behind, most of us were dead.  I'd been on the thing for most of my teenage years by this point and knew it inside and out, right?  So the dead just let it go and continued to follow the living fleet, but that let me work on it.  They'd only really blown the air out and vacced most of the people."  She says as she yanks out clusters of wires, "FTL Engines were fuckin hosed but I was able to get impulse going just enough to ram one of their comm frigs they left behind.  Then I boarded it.  Like you.  Difference was I had a flame thrower, fuckin whoooooosh."  She smirks, "Ghosts don't like fire much.  Not as good as salt, but eh.  They didn't have much on the ship.  So I roasted them, hacked their console, and made a real roundabout jump pattern to get to where I thought the fleet might be based on their guesses.  Then I survived long enough to put out a call saying, hey, don't roast me.  Thaaaaat's when I exalted.  And then spent three weeks in fucking Sanctuary, hey."
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:48, Tue 04 Sept 2018.

((no need for It))

Arkady is legitimately impressed and keeps nodding as the story goes on.

"Holy shit. That's pretty badass... tho the circumstances were kinda shitty. I guess shitty circumstances are a requirement for exaltation. The part I liked the least were three weeks In sanctuary... I guess they don't have a bar... I might actually die."

He tinkers around with the beacon and and turns it on. He even checks with his impromptu radio that it's broadcasting at a broad spectrum.

"The beacon's done. How are you holding? I'm ready to give the engines a boost... I was thinking about feeding it some essence... I guess... That shard of malfeas should go bat shit from contact with solar essence... kinda makes sense to me."

"You actually may not be that bad,"  She says as she passes him a coil of wire,"Here, hook this up for a bit more juice... and yeah, the main problem was that I spent so long as a mortal first on that ship.  I think they've changed their fucking rules now after I almost blasted my way out.  But don't let my badassness detract from yours.  Big difference between us.  I didn't have an Imperator or a bunch of war ghosts running around.  They would've smoked me pretty early on."

She sucks on her teeth.

"Sounds good.  Yeah, Malfeas and Solar essence mixes better than it probably used to.  Should get us in close.  And hey, man, you gotta patent that shit when you can.  If it means every time we kill an Imperator we get a faster ship?  That shit's gold."

"Well... When you put it that way..."
A faint smile creeps on Arkady's concentrated face.

When Allie mentions the engine, Arkady strokes his chin.
"That Idea Isn't half bad. That engine is still a prototype. Probably pretty unstable too. I might need to do some more research and development..." He exhales in a whisle "That's gonna need a lotta dough blyat. But that's not a problem for now Allie."

Once he thinks he's finished he stands up and looks around to see if everything is somewhat in order.

"How it looking on your end? Once we get back to fleet, we gonna have some drinks. You're buying."

"Every engine is fucking unstable!  Think about it, we're causing explosions to drive metal, the smallest thing that goes wrong and we make a fucking bomb.  I'd rather have a fast unstable engine than a slow one, know what I mean?"  She snickers, "Alright, Captain Sunshine, we're ready to burn.  We make it back alive and I'll grab you whatever booze you want, goddamn gratis, got it?  Go stoke those engines and we'll deliver this fucker to Fleet command and give the ghosties a big black fucking eye."

"Harasho! Time to get this tug kickin'!!!"

He rushed to the engine room and looks at his masterpiece. He didn't really know how to control essence, as he'd done it intuitively before. He opens a hatch on the engine and grabs some heavy duty cables from within.

As he wraps the cables around arms, he empties his mind. He feels the engine and the fury that fuels it. It feels intimidating but he wouldn't be discouraged.

He feels power surge from within him as his arms start to glow faintly. He's ready.

"ALRIGHT! PUSH IT TO THE LIMIT!!! SHOW ME WHATCHA GOT BLYAT!!!"

The glow of his arms intensifies, glowing bright like hot metal on the brink of melting and his aura flares into a cascade of light in all colors of the spectrum. He shouts in the midst.

"HIT IT ALLIE!!! LET GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!!!"

Spiderweb shouts something gleeful in Arabic as Arkady runs the engine.  It snarls and he could swear it's swearing at him but it coughs twice and then roars.  There's a huge explosion inside the engine chamber and then the ship kicks forward.

Within half an hour they're at the evac point.  He has a harder time stopping the engines than he does starting it, but they do it.  The remaining ships of Allie's fleet, the Trapdoor and the Golden Hind, appear and set out shuttles with tow cables.  After that it's a short hop, skip, and a jump to the Last Refuge.

Hundreds died aboard the Paddy Wagon, Arkady was the only survivor.  The Trapdoor also suffered with dozens wounded and most of the weapon systems disabled.  Full records are transmitted to Core and Battles.  Arkady is transferred to Sanctuary, where he spends a week before they cut things short and shunt him over to deal with his first real mission:  ONYX SPIRE...

DESTINY:  8 (5 Standard bonus; +2 Alcoholism; +1 Exodite)
ENTANGLEMENT:  6 (5 Standard bonus; +1 Exodite; Spend on stuff like Spiderweb, potentially buy yourself a new Capital Ship with Superior/Minion, anything else you feel you've left hanging)