<i> You have two high speed interceptors moving your way..they are carrying anti shipping missiles. Looks like they know the crow is in the area...Aziza better fire up the point defense Rhic warned as he motioned For Leo to make his move. He brought up hi grenade launcher and fired aiming for the fox hole to give Leo some cover as he moved.

Elsbeth got the mental signal that she had been waiting for.  She gave Poppy a thumbs up and slapped the trigger of her barrier shield on her belt.  The coherent field powered up around her - the tell-tale hum letting her know it was active.  Elsbeth popped up from her position behind her boulder and she threw the primed flashbang grenade in her right hand towards the nearest foxhole.  She pushed off of the ground hard, heels digging in deep as she broke towards the enemy towers.  And in the same smooth motion, Elsbeth stepped up the boulder; the servo-assisted myomar fibers of her armor pulling taut and augmenting the movement in a burst of amplified musculature - a well-practiced synergy of woman and machine.  In concert with a blue flare from her boots, Elsbeth and her armor - together weighing well over a quarter of a ton - were launched high into the air - the movement was a blur.  Elsbeth actually pirouetted and rolled once airborne, rotating in a graceful arc as she tumbled inexorably towards her target foxhole and the enemies that it contained within.

On the upwards rise of her arc, the assault rifle still in her left hand, Elsbeth pulled the trigger trying to lay down a bed of suppression fire at the foxhole next to the one that she had targeted with her grenade.  Unfortunately, the rotation of her body made the burst less effective than she would have liked.

Irrespective, she had little time to dwell on that fact - far from it, her mind had moved on, and when she reached the apex of her arc of travel, Elsbeth's right hand went to the thigh holster for her concussion rod.  The harness for the pocket singularity snapped open as she prepared to make her landing.  A smile crossed her lips, as her body tucked and turned, continuing to rotate just so.  She moved in such a way that Elsbeth presented an impossibly difficult target to track, and therefore, shoot.  At least, that was the theory.  In practice, Elsbeth could only hope that she had timed it right and would be making a grand entrance into the foxhole that her grenade had (also hopefully) cleared a path for.  All of this, of course, assumed that the nothing (for example, a large artillery shell or a huge angry Q'sa) intercepted her along the way...

Leo primed the grenade after staring at it for a moment.  Then he let it go in a low arc toward the nearest set of foxholes... he was going to go take out the emplacement.  He smiled as the grenade stopped just shy of the hole... after all he didn't need to fill a hole with smoke he needed cover until the hole.

He gave it two seconds and then made his break for it.

(20 on the to hit)

   The first sound was the double thump of Rhics grenade launcher. a blast  blast tore into the first foxhole filling the air with a wash of whistling steel ball bearing and piano wire. the second blast was softer filling the air with purple smoke the Q'sa in the fix hole had little time to duck under cover and were sprayed with shrapnel knocking one Q'sa down and making the machine gunner flinch costing him valuable seconds. his burst was wild as he laid down on the trigger bolts of plasma ripping into the ground at Leos feet turning sand into glass and spattering molten glass across his boots and armor.
   The second gun crew was startled by the sudden explosions any soldier knew what a grenade looked ans sounded like the second gun crew got an up close experience with one two seconds after Rhic's rounds detonated. the blast dealing destruction as Elspeth leapt skyward the Q'sa eye was incredibly sensitive to movement but they couldn't fire without locking on with there smaller central eyes. and that required them to be able to concentrate n their target.
   Bullets screamed past Elspeth as she vaulted her tumbling twisting body  a hard target even without the effects of the photon screen. a bullet glanced off her calf, flattened against her chest plate, and cut a grove in the fabric on the left side of her body.
  Because Q'sa drones were not predator, and their wide compound eyes did not require a mobile head or particularly mobile secondary eyes they could not raise their head or move it quickly enough to track a fast moving target especially one moving in a high vertical hop. the rounds were wide and to scattered to be of any real threat.
  as Elspeth made her move Leo burst fro cover, his speed and agility more than anyone would expected he covered the open terrain in a graceful dash his blade hissing and shrieking as it charged up to discharge. the Q'sa behinfd the plasma repeater looking rather shocked to have someone half his size darreling at him with utter disregard for the weapon he fired.

Elsbeth relaxed her legs and lower body, ignoring the incoming small arms fire.  She trusted in her armor and shields for protection and her own mass to ensure that there were no unexpected mid-arc course corrections.  Even as her long legs extended to their fullest as they got ready to coil and absorb the impact of landing, Elsbeth's grip on her extended concussion rod tightened.

She could hardly contain her excitement at finally engaging the enemy.  Her thoughts and eagerness, to both T'risa and Balkiir, were quite transparent.  As she descended from the sky, Elsbeth picked a target and adjusted her body positioning a fraction, twisting slightly, to compensate and adjust her trajectory.  She came down with a heavy, satisfying 'Thud', though perhaps not as heavy as one might have expected, given the amount of weight involved or her velocity.  Elsbeth's intention was more to concentrate her momentum into single spot lead by her leading foot.  She nodded grimly as she came down in the foxhole; fully intending to use the plasma repeater gunner as her live landing cushion.

This position, of course, put her in excellent position to reach out and touch the unfortunate Q'sa next to her target.  So, Elsbeth tried to do just that, her armoured arm whipped around and she reached out to touch the nearby Q'sa with the business end of her concussion rod.  But only after that end of the rod had been swung around in a blurring, whirling arc to attempt to achieve supersonic speeds.  And while that goal was unobtainable, it didn't mean that should would not try; the rod's hum had already started to fill the air as she descend from when it was first snapped open.  But, the pitch was considerably higher as Elsbeth brought it to bare on her target.  While, the presence of the Marshal and the precognitive overlay was a bit disconcerting for Elsbeth, she found it really helped to anticipate where she needed the concussion rod to be at any given time.  All Elsbeth had to was to make sure that she put her weapon in the right place at the right time.

Ultimately, her hope was to clear the foxhole of the opposition as soon as possible - that would leave her the most options open.  Elsbeth would then perhaps move on to the next one or should the opportunity present itself, use the enemies own heavy weapons against themselves...
This message was last edited by the player at 06:06, Thu 28 Oct 2010.

  Rhic Jogged forward letting his Grenade launcher fall to his side hanging on the sling as he grabbed his battle rifle. he shifted his aim from the first foxhole to the second, Leo was in the midst of the first group keeping the second gun crew's head down was top on his list of "to do" His finger touched the trigger and squeezed off two rounds, aiming at the machine gunner in the second foxhole
This message was last edited by the player at 15:50, Mon 25 Oct 2010.

Leo's blade flashed around him again and he smiled beneath his mask, "Rhic, find something more useful to shoot at I'll clear these holes, maybe you should just go inside unless you want me to make a door..."

20 to hit 12 damage

  Poppy waited till Elspeth landed as the Big woman made her approach Poppy squeezed the trigger on her rifle siting at the head of the q'sa Elspeth was not targeting. Her breathing and twitch circuits disabled making her aim rock steady as she squeezed the trigger sending a high velocity kiss toward the Q;s grunt she had selected as her target.

   Elspeth landed with a meaty crunch under her boots the Q'sa collapsing under the impact of one marine, plus battle kit, plus armor, plus about thirty five kilometers per hour of momentum. the concussion rod hammered home screaming as the powerful accelerator amplified the powerful stroke of Elspeth's arm to a bone crushing impact. the Q'sa was hit hard enough to carry him backward into the sandbag wall and into the floor of the gun pit.
   Leo was in the pi in a flash slicing and dicing with lethal fury. the psi blade leaving bloody rips in the Q'sa's armor and flesh. the q'sa staggered the wound hissing as if hot iron had been riven into the wound howling and screeching in pain as it recoiled fro the charged weapon.
   Elspeth saw blood hit her armor as the q;sa on her flank took a high powered hunting round to the head. that Drone dead before hit hit the ground. another Q'sa in the second pit hurtled backward the grenade fro Rhics launcher hitting him square on punching a hole in his armor with little resistance.

Elsbeth's momentum from her sweeping blow on the Q'sa next to her carried her down into the foxhole for a moment.  When her head and torso next popped out of the foxhole, Elsbeth had co-opted the plasma repeater that had been formerly manned by the now defunct Q'sa squad.  She pretty much figured that they would not be needing it - and that she could put it to good use.  Her concussion rod had been dropped from her hands and her assault rifle dangled from its tactical sling close to her body as Elsbeth held the grips on the plasma repeater tight, checking the magazine status bar briefly.

As she came up, Elsbeth cast about looking for the big lead Q'sa.  It would not do to lose him in the shuffle.  But, unfortunately, all of the action and chaos on the battlefield had lead to just that circumstance.  She pursed her lips for only a moment, thinking forcefully to the others of her group, I've lost track of the Big Ugly Q'sa.  Watch out...

But, Elsbeth could not dwell on that fact.  She merely continued to try and whittle down the numbers of the enemy that should see.  So, that meant, laying down some suppressive fire.  And while the use of such a heavy weapon was not necessarily her forte, Elsbeth figured that she could, at the very least, make their enemies flinch and give the others of her team the chance to move forward more quickly.  She targeted the foxhole to her right, which up until now had been untouched...  That needs to change, Elsbeth thought to herself.  She motioned to Poppy to be ready to move and held down the trigger of the repeater to try and fill the air above the foxhole (and if possible the foxhole itself) with a hail of plasma bolts.

  Poppy slung the rifle over her shoulder and jumped to the top of a low rise she had been using for cover. when Elspeth opened up with the heavy plasma gun she burst into movement. her feet digging into he rocky soil and sending up gravel as she surged toward the second foxhole.
   Her sped was impressive without any other mechanical aid than her won muscles. she tore across the ground drawing her machine pistols and bearing down on the Q'sa like a guide missile. Her braids fluttering in the breeze and a wild grin on her face as she made for the position.

Since Rhic hadn't asked him to open a door, he assumed that Rhic was taking care of something else and not ready to move on.  As Leo himself was not entirely in a 'standing in a frost covered field' position, he occupied himself with the life of himself and comrades, and the death of those that were unyielding in their opposition.

His blade could easily tear through a great deal of plating... as readily as if they were so much of the gause his people were fond of wrapping their men in.  It would take a significant amount of very hardened metals to stop him appreciably.

Rhic took the opportunity to prep the explosives charge he was carrying and tossed it against the front of the bunker. it wouldn't level the place but it would blow a hole big enough to get inside and take out the gun crew without having to deal with a sleet of fire from the machine gun nests.
    " Make for the bunker when the charge Blows Rhic shouted to Leo.Outside was not exactly the best place for a close up fighter to be standing.

OOC: charge set to go off at beginning of next round.

"Ok, sorry for my tardiness. We just had a situation back where we are, but it looks as though the tide has turned. We're going to win this....unless something bad happens. Balkiir will be fine. I see your placing the entry charges already. Leo, you're a bit close go to ground. there will be more than enough for you to do soon. Elsbeth, how are you and Poppy getting on?"

   Elspeth's barrage connects with one Q'a sending him to the ground, the rest of the gun crew take cover. Firing from cover the Q'sa try to return fire laying down a wild spray of plasma across the fighting position. even with her photon shield active the stream of plasma fro her weapon gives the Q'sa a good idea of where to fire. a stray bolt clips her armor, glancing off harmlessly a second bolt hits her solidly as she strafes the enemy position.
    Rhic's throw is good, the satchel charge lands against the wall of the bunker the Q'sa inside open fire in return a bot hitting Rhic in the side as he ducks for cover another sizzling past Leo's head a he moves to keep the charging Q'sa from the second pit busy.
   The first Q'sa to arrive at Leo's potions swings wildly with a long bladed combat knife the second seems to be having trouble even holding his properly. the third manages to catch the edge of Leo's robe ripping the fabric and drawing a bloody welt with the tip of the blade but doing no real harm. the fourth Q'sa over the sandbags tackles Rhic driving the tip of the blade into his side.
    a burst of fire from the Bunker catches poppy as she charges, the round hitting her solidly enough to put a normal human down from shock. The hit barely slows the Cyberoid as she leap into the pit with the remain exterior defenders machine pistols in both hands.

OOC:
Poppy 20pts damage
Elspeth:12
Rhic: 7
Leo: He ruined your outfit.
all damage before DR

Elspeth yo can not see the Q'sa warrior but you are certain he is not outside the bunker.

Elsbeth spun as she was pelted by the plasma bolts from the bunker.  Her eyes narrowed as ducked back into the foxhole chiding herself for losing track of the enemy.  Know that Poppy was well on her way to clearing the foxhole to the right and would soon be ready to advance, Elsbeth turned on her heel and made ready to jump.  I'm going in, she growled.  Glancing down, Elsbeth quickly grabbed her concussion rod from the floor of the foxhole and hooked it to her belt.  The servos in her armor coiled and compressed, readying themselves for a violent release.  The plasma repeater was tightly gripped in her hands, as she glanced down at the ammunition counter - it still glowed yellow; so, she was confident that it hand more than enough for what she wanted to do.

Elsbeth made ready and then immediately launched herself into the air towards the bunker - the servos uncoiling as she pushed off with all of her might and at the same time activating her jump jets for an extra boost.  Her goal was to land immediately in front of the bunker and its firing slots.  She figured that both the element of surprise as well as the difficulty that she had noted that the Q'sa had tracking her when airborne should allow her to get the barrel of the repeater into the slot and to cut loose with a barrage before they even knew what hit them.

Timing was essential, but so was speed.  And, ultimately, Elsbeth didn't have a better plan.  If nothing else, having the plasma repeater fire into the enclosed space of the bunker would require its inhabitants to move to cover or otherwise take some sort of self-preserving defensive action (assuming they wanted to survive) - giving her some time to act again (and to let Poppy close as well).  At least, that was the theory...
This message was last edited by the player at 08:44, Tue 02 Nov 2010.

Leo flexed his muscles and nanites increasing the visage of the armor as his uniform was greatly comprimised.  As much as he hated to admit it, he was still a man of Omaedian sophistication... he would not brook someone ruining his outfit.  It had been done, this one was getting no chance at surrender.

26 to hit, 16 damage, ignore 6 DR

  The up close and personal death dance with Leo became a bloody e. his blades cutting into Q'sa with little resistance. the infantrymen were out matched both in weapons and in skill. screeching furiously as they slashed and stabbed ineffectively at the small figure dancing among them.
   The effect of Elspeth jamming the muzzle of the repeater into the firing slot and holding down the trigger was brutal to say the least inside the small fighting space there were few places to hide. the grunts had little chance as she poured fire into their position.

   Poppy followed close on her heels a round from a grunts weapon pinning her as she dashed but not stopping her. slamming into the wall on the opposite side of the doorway she pulled the igniter on the satchel charge and tossed it into the control bunker.
   Someone got Elspeth's range as they moved from the second foxhole to try and keep them out of the bunker. a Q'sa grunt fired at her fro the side his rifle spitting plasma tracers at her at a furious rate.

   Rhic's satchel charge blew out the front of hi bunker the blast powerful enough to knock a man sized whole in the wall and turn the inside of the bunker into hell itself with flying debris and shrapnel. for a very long second their was no sign of life in the first bunker until a spray of heavy rifle fire tore through the air

OOC:
Elspeth you cant see or hear anything moving in the bunker after you open fire...and no sign of the larger Q'sa you spotted earlier.

Elspeth 23 pts damage before armor/DR
Leo:.....they don see that interested in killing you...or the die roller likes you.

Elsbeth felt the heat and energy from the incoming plasma barrage hit her barrier screen square on.  The feedback loop bled some of the power passed the shield to allow the armor's wearer a status update.  A yellow warning blinked insistently on her HUD, the barrier shield's integrity was dangerously low.  Another hit would likely dissipate it.  But Elsbeth had no time to worry about that - the shield was a tool to get the job done.  And the big Q'sa was worrisome, as was the incoming barrage.  But they would be dealt with post-haste.  Ultimately, those things were entirely secondary to the mission objective.  And, thankfully, Poppy had that covered.  So, now it now behooved both of them to seek cover.  And Elsbeth figured - what better way to do that, then to engage the enemy that was firing upon them.

And while, Elsbeth knew that she had her explosive charge left - which allowed the possibility of a third tower to be destroyed.  She figured that might have to wait until the large Q'sa was found and eliminated.  Eliminated from the gene pool with prejudice - very extreme prejudice, if possible.  Elsbeth glanced around hoping to catch a glimpse of the big SOB.  Barring that, Elsbeth hoped not to be surprised by anything untoward.

Still, Elsbeth figured that she and Poppy needed to secure the area first and stop getting hit - so, that task became the current priority.  She focused on the Q'sa firing at them.  The plasma repeater's main grip in her right hand, Elsbeth signalled Poppy with a 'thumbs up' with her left hand to acknowledge Poppy's excellent delivery of package.  And then motioned to show that she was engaging the Q'sa shooting at them.  Elsbeth wound up her leg muscles again and felt the comfortable tightness and feedback of the amplification coupled with the myomar fibers and catapulted herself forward, building speed with every augmented step, until she lowered her shoulder and let her momentum carry her around as she rolled into a tuck and then burst upwards in a single motion, - tumbling to launch herself into the air towards the attacking Q'sa.  Death from above seemed quite effective against these bipedal reptilian-insectoid hybrids and she saw little reason to vary that tactic for the moment.

While, the remaining enemy might be wising up to the tactic, Elsbeth trusted her mobility to help mitigate any of her assailant's ability to track and aim against her.  It was only when she had been stationary at the bunker's fire hole that they had been able to draw a bead on her.  And Elsbeth longed to figure out how truly disciplined her opponent would be with an angry, armored marine and her newly acquired plasma repeater barreling down on them.  At least, the experiment begged to be repeated.  For reproducibility purposes, of course.

  " damn'it.... Poppy hissed as she looked in the direction of incoming fir..." I just got these the light armor hadn't stopped all of the round that hit her in the chest and it had torn up her new bodies.... cosmetic attachments slightly. if you knewwww.....how much I hate.... getting shot my...... butt shot up.....

  she spun away from the door drawing her machine pistols and sending a stream of lead to either side of Elspeth as she made her move. the two Q'sa to either side of the marines target her intended victims. she punctuated her words with short bursts of fire twisting turning and rolling to make herself a more difficult target. for a second she smiled as the marine ohhhh thats gonna hurt.

  Going in....<blue> Rhic warned as he stepped into the Bunker through his new door stepping quickly to the side.<blue> Watch your backs they probably have reinforcements in the area. clear the foxholes.Rhic warned as he fired a full burst from his assault shotgun into any area that looked like it might hide something that might move.

Leo moved with haste and grace as he assured that these trenches were cleared out, or at least in process, "I'm okay here, doing a final sweep here and then I'll follow you in..."

  Elspeth lands with a brutal thud, the Q'sa she was aiming for breaking her fall and several of his own ribs in the process. a burt to the face with the plasma repeater seemed to take the fight out of him almost immediately.
   Poppy engaged the two Q'sa flanking Elspeth hitting them both with concentrated fire from her machine pistols. the Heavy pistol rounds lacked range but within fifty feet they were as lethal as assault rifle rounds. A human firing the heavy weapons in full auto would be in severe pain or even suffering from wrist damage after a long burst fro the 12mm pistols.

       Elspeth was already fully committed to her attack and landing when the larger Q'sa made his appearance, now larger and bulkier than before. he wore a set of techno-organic boosted armor and carried both a heavy energy rifle and a wicked looking curved blade as he launched himself at Elspeth.

OOC Elspeth you get one hand to hand attack on the Q'sa as he closes

I also need a strength check Dc 14 if you fail you are pushed back 10ft( and need to make ref check DC12 to stay on your feet.)

---

as Rhic made his way into the bunker his weapons fire tore up the consoles and two unarmored q'sa who tried to get out of the way. the third Q'sa did not try to evade and was definitely not unarmored. His clubbing right hand sent Rhic flying back and slammed him into a wall
   The heavily armored Q'sa swiped at Leo with the blade he carried in his off hand three feet of steel and ceramic that glinted and shone in the dut and filtered light of the bunker. The glancing blow from the blade drawing a line across Leo as it sliced through the air and knocked a sizable chunk out of the pillar next to him.


Elspeth: Bullrushed
Leo: 7 pts damage before DR
Rhic: laying on his face from a crit and a 1 on a fort save..
Poppy: dealing out full auto death and giggling madly.
Big Bug 1: On Elspeth Undamaged
Big Bug 2 On Leo undamaged.
Q'sa grunts: bloody and busy with Poppy.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:03, Mon 22 Nov 2010.

Leo actually paused a moment when he had been hit.  It was more like a slap to the face than a bonecrushing swing...  He smiled and pressed the blade that flickered on his right knuckles to the worst of the damage to his combat suit so the tatters wouldn't get in the way.  "Rhic, bet on him if you like, I'm getting this one.  You go ahead.  Scream like a child if you need me."

That said more of the metalic sliding sound and his blue skin was hidden once more from view.  He smiled and due to the armor enhancements and the soft red glow that was now flowing through much of his skin it stood out enough to notice.

His voice collected a synthesized reverberation as he turned his earpieces to blast his music outside his own head and shouted, "Let's dance!" as he lunged at the armored qsa unleashing the unique fury of his sharpened mind.

Elsbeth could not really hear Leoulin's remark.  But, her experience was far different than his, likely.  She did not have his grace, talent, or training - combat to her was not an Art to be cultivated or admired.  She had fought for the entertainment of others not so long ago, but never had developed the grace or showmanship to make it into a dance.  For Elsbeth, combat had always been a reckless, brutal, and violent affair.  One that she had survived many times, but only through unyielding perseverance, dogged determination, a touch of courage, and no small amount of sheer luck.  So, she had learned to trust in herself and in the Bright (and Fickle) Lady of Fate.

As she came down, Elsbeth could sense that the Q'sa would be underfoot at the proper time.  She only needed to adjust her foot position, just so... And as the Marshal's future sense helped to chart the way.  The various strands of time converged for a shining moment during the actual impact.  Elsbeth 'saw' the conclusion of her actions a split second before it actually happened.  The strands snapping together almost audibly to her as they came together.

And then the strands diverged again in a sort of randomized tapestry: shimmering and beautiful for another brief moment suspended in time.  But, they quickly reformed a pattern which placed her and a large Q'sa in the same space at the same time.  Elsbeth knew that she could not react in time to avoid her opponent.  And something deep down inside of her didn't want that anyway.  So, forewarned, she twisted her body slightly, adjusted leg and arm position, and dug her heels into brace for a contest of strength.  The big Q'sa was imposing, but Elsbeth had supreme confidence in her training and her abilities.  She inhaled deeply, closing the gates of the body's inner strength - part adrenaline, part inner Ki.  She felt that strength gathering, welling up in her, ready to explode forth upon impact.

Elsbeth braced herself for that impact, positioning her arms and hands on the plasma repeater and keeping her upper body low for leverage and her limbs loose for immediate action.  She twisted again ever so slightly, moving in time with a perceived shift in positioning of the Q'sa within her double vision granted by the Marshal.  She saw her opponent try to compensate at the last moment, feinting to the left.  But ploy was readily apparent in the myriad streams of probability arrayed before her and Elsbeth was confident that she had the right of way - that the convergence of the streams would again give her the advantage over her immediate opponent.

Elsbeth cracked a slightly feral grin, one with a little too much tooth to be called genial.  As her charging Q'sa foe came into contact with her, she sprung into action.  Her body violently uncoiling, Elsbeth moved with her armored opponent and then dug her foot deeper into the (now) prone body of her previous Q'sa target.  Elsbeth mentally intoned as her instructors had taught, A reed bending in the wind.  She felt the dead Q'sa's chest plate buckle under the strain.  As she spun around, Elsbeth brought her other foot into position, to tangle with her opponent's.  All the while, the butt of her plasma repeater was swung around, high overhead in an attempt to help push the heavily armored Q'sa down into the dirt.  Elsbeth's counter was to try and send her heavily armored opponent sprawling to the ground, using his momentum against himself - if the Bright Lady of Fortune smiled upon her.  And then, her smile widened a touch, the reed snaps back...