"Thinking the explorer is the best bet for us too." 

Porter nods at the suggestions.  "I get the feeling we might find out some useful information if we could stake out this farm, and monitor their communications.  Whoever told the Manbellas that we killed their son is likely to get a call from them as soon as we leave...or appear to leave, at least.

"I don't have that sort of gear though, so unless one of you does, it is probably a waste of time to remain here.  Let's head back to town and rent that explorer and be on our way." 

Porter hops on the hovercycle and waves for Desi to join him as he fires up the motors.

In reply to Sgt. Porter Min (msg # 49):

Desiraye hops on the back of the hover cycle and waits for the others to mount up or hear any other plans.

S'Krllk looks sideways at Min, "gear is gear, what you don't have, you make. I think it's the time factor that keeps us from following that plan."

There is only one road from Quazzt to the Sanatorium. It is reasonably well maintained, but once into the mountains, you find that the road is less traveled and there appear to be more natural hazards.

However, you make it through the rest of the day without incident and decide to rest when it is getting late and the road could get too treacherous in the dark.  Besides, your lights would be very obvious, even from a great distance.

There are many places to make camp along the side of the road.

Porter will look around to see if there's a good camping spot where rockfalls look unlikely.

10:24, Today: Sgt. Porter Min rolled 99 using 1d100. Survival Check 50% chance.
Not good...

Desiraye dismounts from the back of the hover cycle and begins to stretch her legs and arms that have become a little stiff riding the back of the bike.  Walking over to where the explorer is parked (probably very close to each other off the road), she gets some of her gear  from the rear and breaks out some food and water.  "I don't know about anyone else but, I think the drivers should get some rest since it's been a long day.  Me and the others will take the first watch.  Come the morning, we start out again for the sanitorium.  I wish we had some shoulder fired weapons so, we're going to have to go with what we have, if we even need them.  Make sure that weapons, ammo, grenades and defenses are always ready!  If anything goes bad, me and the Sarge will try to draw their attention away from you guys since you got the explorer and the majority of our gear.  Orvo and Hammer will handle the shooting part.  Kri'Lik and S'Krllk got defensive and driving?

Sound good or something else or better?"

"That works for me, but I think I'll give the transportation a once over before I rest. For the equipment to fail at this point would be rare, but very stressful."
Putting action to his words, S'Krllk will check the rented vehicles for possible malfunctions.

Porter nods at Desi's plan, yawns, does a few stretches and some light exercise, then curls up to get some sleep.  It took him a while to get comfortable.  During the Sathar War, this sort of thing was usual for him.  Police work was making him soft, apparently.

Hammer agrees to take second watch, his robotic body seeming not to mind the extra stress or lack of sleep, if he even slept at all. "We have seen a lot of action in the past week.  I fear we are being targeted and that none of this is at all random.  I wonder how much of it has to do with that sphere we found."  The Mechanon is pensive as he stands nearby staring at the road.

The next morning, everything seems to be in working order.  You had no disturbances and all the equipment seems to be working fine.

You set out in the explorer and hovercycle once more...

It is as you work your way along the winding, narrow mountain trails that it happens.  Your vehicles round a corner, and you see an explorer blocking the trail ahead.  You slam on the breaks to avoid a collision.

Then you see two KLC in the explorer, two on one side of the trail, and two on the other.  They have been very quiet, have turned everything off, tried to somewhat camouflage the explorer, and now they are ambushing you!

The moment your explorer rounds the corner, a gunner on the side of the road fires a rocket launcher at the explorer.  The rocket launcher fires a visible and large rocket, and you barely evade it as your explorer skids and spins to avoid a collision.  The rocket explodes just behind you, taking out a tree.

They fire up the explorer as the others begin to raise their guns to fire...

The rocket launcher gunner is reloading...

You are barely 10 feet away from the explorer and the two armed KLC within, and about 20 from the gunners on either side of the road.

For clarity:

The road is about only 10-15 feet across and, though paved, it only slightly better than a dirt road.  It winds up through the mountains, meaning there are many sharp turns and you cannot travel too fast.  The left side of the road has trees and a steep hill going down into more forest.  The right side is the opposite--trees and a steep hill going up into the mountains.

You came around one of those sharp turns to the "roadblock" ambush set up by the KLC, forcing you to turn sharply and hit your brakes to avoid a collision.

There are six KLC total.  Two are in the explorer blocking your path.  One holds a pistol of some sort and his window is down.

There are two on the left (down slope) who are raising weapons in your direction.  To your right (slightly up the slope) are two more KLC commandos.  One of them holds a rocket launcher, which he is now trying to reload.

Your explorer is only about 10 feet from their explorer.  The KLC commandos are about 10-15 feet into the trees on either side of their explorer (roughly 20-25 feet from you), taking cover with the hillside, rocks, and trees as they attack.

You can, of course, try to reverse course and run, or attack.  Trying to ram their explorer might be difficult, as it would jam up both explorers in the middle of the road and make you a sitting duck.

On the back of the hover cycle, holding onto Min, Desiraye reaches down and activates the mechanism for her albedo screen and telling him, "We'll take the two with the rocket launcher then, we'll help with the others."

Desi then reaches down and activates her spring holster to access the LE-1500 laser pistol secured there to her hand and then the sights on the center of mass of the KLC guy trying to reload the rocket launcher.  If she is close enough to jump off and attack or if Porter stops the cycle, that is her intent to try to take out the rocket launcher trooper with [2] rounds set at [5] SEU each shot.

I will try to adust (if needed) actions after Porter posts.

IM: +6
CURRENT STA: 62/62
Beam Weapons: 6 [DEX:30 + 60 = 90%]
LE-1500 DAM: 1d10+2/SEU / SEU 1-10/shot = 5d10+10 per shot (x2)

From inside the explorer, Hammer can't hear what Desi is saying, but he sees they're in clear trouble.  He jumps out of the explorer, his laser pistol coming to his hand, and he rolls and fires at the soldier with the rocket launcher.

5 SEU setting--2 shots.  He will be moving toward the cover of the trees on the same side as the rocket launcher gunner as he fires.

Porter switches on his albedo screen and yells to Desi, "Hold on tight!"  He throttles up the hovercycle and attempts to ram the rocket launcher gunner with the bike.

21:22, Today: Sgt. Porter Min rolled 20 using 1d100. Reaction Speed Check (70%).
21:22, Today: Sgt. Porter Min rolled 25 using 1d100. roll to hit with hovercycle.

OOC: Assuming I'll need a RS check to avoid hitting a tree as we close in on the gunners, passed.  Trying to ram someone with a hovercycle I'm guessing is a standard attack?  By basic chance is 35%, 45% if (long odds on this one) it counts as a melee attack.  :D  Not sure what penalties I'd have.

Only three posts in three weeks that I've been traveling? Is everyone still around?

A gun battle breaks out...

ROUND 1
Desi and Porter are activating their albedo screens while those in the explorer are frozen in fear.  But Hammer jumps out, firing at the man with the rocket launcher...

Desi tries to fire at the same man from the moving hover cycle...

Meanwhile, Porter speeds up to ram those in the trees.

Porter hits the man with the rocket launcher, injuring him and sending him flying into a nearby tree.  He groans and slinks to the ground, injured but still moving as he pulls a pistol from a holster.

Desi adjusts her aim, shooting at one of those near them as she jumps from the hovercycle, hitting and severely injuring one of those with a rifle (loses turn) with one of her two shots.

Hammer also fires, hitting and killing the man that Desi had just injured.

They begin to fight back...

The man in the explorer fires his pistol twice, but misses.  His shots send splintery cracks into the side window of your explorer, which is now side by side with theirs after slamming on the breaks to avoid a collision.

The one next to him is exiting the vehicle on the far side while taking cover and pulling out a rifle of some sort.

The two on the far side fire at the explorer, but those within the explorer have solid cover and the shots go wide.

You check yourselves to see that everyone is miraculously unharmed as you prepare for yet another round of battle with the 5 remaining combatants.

Porter somehow manages to stay on the hovercycle and not tip it over as he slams into the attacker.  He smiles at the feat as Desi hops off and fires off her shots.

Seeing the man he hit hurt and still willing to put up a fight, Porter remains on the bike, draws his automatic pistol, and fires a controlled burst at the attacker he rammed.

OOC: Burst fire on a single target, base chance to hit 85%, -10% if short range not point blank, damage 5d10, IM 7

21:22, Today: Sgt. Porter Min rolled 18 using 1d100. burst fire at former rocker launcher guy.
21:22, Today: Sgt. Porter Min rolled 20 using 5d10. damage.

Desiraye steps away form Porter and the cycle and watches as the others have a chance to react and her instincts kick in.  Seeing the biggest threat is the person with the rifle, she shifts the sights of her modified laser pistol to that person, and pulls the trigger twice.  "Don't let that explorer get away," she yells out as she tries to close the distance on the enemies explorer as well.

Emptying the last [10] SEU worth of energy of her clip at the man exiting the explorer with the rifle and try to close the distance between her and their explorer.

x2 shots at [5] SEU/each
IM: +6
CURRENT STA: 62/62
Beam Weapons: 6 [DEX:30 + 60 = 90%]
LE-1500 DAM: 1d10+2/SEU / SEU 1-10/shot = 5d10+10 per shot (x2)

OOC: Still ALL IN here Heath...

Hammer takes cover behind the explorer and fires directly into the window of the explorer where the man is firing from.

Orvo jumps from the explorer after the other players, his laser pistol handy.  He trains his sights on the two attackers on the side of the road, firing 2 shots at SEU 3 at them while he takes cover behind the explorer.

If you have screens or suits that absorb some damage, they have not been taken into account below.  Please indicate in your next post if anything, and how much has been absorbed.

ROUND 2
The second round of battle breaks out, with most of you behind cover.

Lasers and bullets fly, but only two shots find their marks, and the man with the rifle misses.  Desi is hit by a projectile (10 damage), and Orvo is hit by a laser (16 damage).

Desi fires (critical hit), and she hits one of the commandoes in the head, killing him instantly.

Porter's hit from his automatic pistol finishes off the injured man hit with the hovercycle.

Orvo hits with both laser shots (34 damage), badly wounding a third man.

Hammer also hits twice, injuring yet another of the commandoes.  (38 damage.)

Kri'lik hits once, but it is a flesh wound.  (4 damage.)

The other shots miss.

There are 4 commandoes left: 1 in the explorer (driver), 1 holding a rifle using the explorer as cover (uninjured), and 2 in the trees just behind the explorer (both wounded 38 points).

Hammer fires at one of the wounded soldiers on the side of the road, using the explorer as much as possible for cover.

Desiraye shrugs off the hit as much as possible thanks to the ballistic protection of the suit she's wearing and moves to the cover of one of the explorers as she reloads her pistol.

[RELOADING LASER PISTOL THIS ROUND.  NO SHOTS FIRED!]
x2 shots at [5] SEU/each
IM: +6
CURRENT STA: 57/62
Military Skein Suit: 45/50
Beam Weapons: 6 [DEX:30 + 60 = 90%]
LE-1500 DAM: 1d10+2/SEU / SEU 1-10/shot = 5d10+10 per shot (x2)

The shimmering effect of his albedo screen serving its function reminds Orvo to be done with this quickly. He continues firing at the two on the downslope of the road (if I understand the layout correctly). As he does so, he tries to unnerve the group by calling out. "Remember, we only need the driver alive. Kill the rest of them."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:07, Fri 27 Mar 2015.

For newcomers and those who may have forgotten:  when it comes to battles, please give me any critical stats I need to know, such as your "to hit" number, damage, and Stamina.  Although I typically roll for the players, if you really want to roll, that's fine--you will just have to live more strictly by the numbers without my fudging them in your favor from time to time.

If you do roll, put the results in a private line to me in your post.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:18, Fri 27 Mar 2015.