BB considers her options and doesn't trust the desks to provide that much cover. Best to try and get as far away from the explosion as possible.

With a running leap she hurdles over the partition into aisle #3.

OOC: At first I thought it was being rolled down the aisle so she was just going to kick it but if it is still airborne she isn't going to try and bicycle kick it so she made an Athletics/Strength check so that's what she's going to do:


16:49, Today: BB Nova rolled 8 using 2d6+1.  kick the can.

Ledo goes for a run but doesn't quite make it far enough...

OOC: Oops

16:52, Today: Ledo Typhin rolled 7 using 2d6+02.  RUUUNN!!!

In reply to BB Nova (msg # 124):

BB is jumping the wall and Ledo is running just not very fast. Right?

BB comes over the top of the wall.  She and the guy on aisle 3...Mr. Laser Burn...are blinking at each other.

Ledo whacks his thigh on the corner of the desk, which slows him dwn just a little bit.

And then the grenade...

Starts to fizzle.  It's not an explosive grenade.  It's a smoke bomb.

The room quickly fills up with a noxious, thick, inky smoke...



Ha ha.  Made you run!

Its basically a type of mustard gas.  It both blinds and causes you to choke.

An Athletics/End test will let you hold your breath.  If you fail it, you aren't holding your breath any longer.  You can hold your breath for as many rounds as you have END.

You have to deal with both the obscured vision and the choking.

If you are effected by both, all your rolls are at a Bane. Roll three dice and discard the highest.

If you are just effected by one of the conditions (you can hold your breath but don't have goggles that provide IR or some such) you are at a -1 to your rolls.

If you can pass both, you can move as usual.

And yes, the smoke is filling up the room this fast.

Laser Wound seems as surprised as BB when the air suddenly fills with a putrid, cloying smoke.

Ledo has just enough time to see the entrance to the conference room where the snipers are located before the smoke overtakes him.  They've blown out one of the windows.  So the smoke should clear...

Eventually.

He knows these smoke grenades.  They can put out a lot of smoke very quickly.

Questions?

BB tried to act fast, rushing Mr. Laser Burn with her knife while blinking back the tears from  the smoke she tried to bury her knife into him but she blinked at just the wrong time and he dodged to the side and she slid right on by.

"Fuuuuu..."

BB was now fully exposed to Mr. Laser Burn.

Ledo was still cursing about clipping a desk when he inhaled some smoke. He began coughing and his eyes were watering. Still he pushed to turn left to support BB, catching sight of her failed knife attack against one of the guards. Even with watery eyes and coughing he was able to find a moment of peace to line up his shot and fire with his laser.

OOC: So failed to hold breath but still hit a 9 for 11 damage
11:34, Today: Ledo Typhin rolled 11 using 3d6+3, dropping the highest dice only.  damage.

11:34, Today: Ledo Typhin rolled 9 using 3d6+4, dropping the highest dice only.  shooting mr. laser burn.

11:34, Today: Ledo Typhin rolled 7 using 2d6+1.  holding breath.

In reply to Ledo Typhin (msg # 128):

Yeah.  BB shouldn't feel too bad.  Laser Burns doesn't have a mask.

As you rush past Laser Burns, he turns and aims his pistol almost directly at your temples BB...

and then he coughs.

The shot rushes past the back of your head as the gun jerks backwards.  The two of you turn to face each other...

He rolled a 3

Meanwhile, Ledo manages a solid hit against Grenade Boy.

And Grenade Boy manages a decent hit back.

Grenade Boy does have a mask.  9 pts damage.

BB swings wildly with her knife but fails to connect.

OOC: It seems my luck has run out...
12:52, Today: BB Nova rolled 4 using 2d6+1.  dagger attack.

Ledo draws a bead on Grenade boy, focusing through the haze and smoke to drop his target.

OOC: That should be an 8 due to aiming. He takes 4 damage to his END
+1 Aim, +1 Short Range, +1 PHUD, +1 DEX, +1 Skill
12:54, Today: Ledo Typhin rolled 7 using 3d6+4, dropping the highest dice only.  laser shots.
12:56, Today: Ledo Typhin rolled 13 using 3d6+3.  damage.

In reply to BB Nova (msg # 130):

It may have run out.  Sorry

BB sees Laser Burns swing the pistol.

9 damage on BB

Grenade Boy staggers from the blow and drops.  Assuming he isn't playing possum Ledo, you can yank off his mask.

BB grimaces and continues to try and stab at the wily guard but unlike all that she has faced before he continues to evade her blade.

Ledo contemplates grabbing the mask but not knowing what BB is up to he runs to the other side just in time to see her fail to stab the guard. Ledo finds himself with a clear shot however and lines up and fires his deadly pistol into the back of the guard.

OOC:
16:39, Today: Ledo Typhin rolled 12 using 3d6+4, dropping the highest dice only.  shooty shooty.
16:40, Today: Ledo Typhin rolled 8 using 3d6+3, dropping the highest dice only.  damage.

In reply to Ledo Typhin (msg # 134):

Laser Burn goes down.

But now shots are coming out of the open conference room doorway.  Looks like one of the snipers has noticed their six is wide open.

The shots rake across the desks around the two of you, but you are both able to get down fast enough to avoid them.

The smoke is making it difficult to get a bead on the gunners location.  But from what you saw before, there are at least three snipers in the room.  Though it appears only one is firing at you.

Questions?

BB looks at the smoke grenade and then the open door where the sniper is shooting through and puts two-and-two together. Wrapping her hand for protection she grabs the grenade and tosses it through the doorway where the snipers are located. They don't technically have to stop the snipers for good, if they can just disable them for a few minutes then the ground team with all the civilians can cross the danger zone and get to cover.

OOC:
15:12, Today: BB Nova rolled 9 using 2d6+1.  athletics - throwing.

Ledo watches BB make the toss and then understanding her plan goes back to the dead guards, patting them down to see if they happen to have another grenade. He'll also strip the one guard of his mask to limit his own exposure as his breath was starting to run low...

In reply to Ledo Typhin (msg # 137):

The grenade bounces into the room.  You can hear someone say

"Shit!"

then the sound of the rifle fire stops.

Ledo, Mask Guard has another greande.  But this one is the boom boom type.  Not the smoke type.

Ledo gave a shrug and passed the explosive grenade over to BB.

"Time to clear out the nest."

He gave her a supporting nod and then ran for cover.

BB nodded and pulled the pin, tossing the grenade through the doorway. It was a beautiful toss landing square in the middle of the other room before she too dove to the side for cover. Things were about to get loud...


12:25, Today: BB Nova rolled 12 using 2d6+1.  grenade #2.

You lob the grenade BB.

It sails through the door, bouncing off the forehead of the sniper who was firing at you.  He says

"Ow!"

Rubs his forehead, glances down, and then says

"...oh fuck me..."

Then there's a

BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM

After a moment, when the two of you can sort of hear something besides a ringing sound, you stop hearing any noise from the snipers nest.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:50, Thu 15 Oct 2020.

Ledo hops on the comms to the rest of the team.Z

"Snipers have been neutralized! Go go go!

He gestures at BB to follow him out and the pair raced back to the surface to cross over to the starport as well.

Moving along...

Parket doesn't wait.  He moves the convoy through.  City Security is too busy dealing with OLF mop up.  There's also a large number of citizens who have come down off the roof tops, pushing down the road behind you.

There's some flack getting past the check in.  But Rig and Fritz seem to have done something.  Or maybe the situation is just too chaotic for Security to really deal with.

One way or the other, Tiamat is waiting...

I will let you handle any through scene about the new extended crew getting on board, etc.

Then we'll talk about Tia taking off.

Silver was standing by the boarding ramp smoking her customary pre-flight joint.Rig had complained about the smoke so she had stepped outside to get blazed. Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head when she saw Tepha running in with what seemed to be half an art gala’s worth of upper crust socialites and bodyguards. She looked down at her joint and then back up.

”What the fuck? We running a charter company now?”

The fear in Tepha’s eyes caught her though and she stomped out her blunt.

”Alright, alright. Uhhh. Everyone follow me. I guess we’re taking you on. Get your butt into a seat or a bed or something and get ready for take off.”

As soon as Tepha got close she grabbed Tepha’s arm to snap her out of the panicked state she was in.

”Tepha! Hey Red! Where the fuck is Ledo? Who the fuck are all these people? Where the fuck are we taking these people? We can’t fit that many!”

Tepha calms down once her feet hit the ramp of the Tia. Something about being on home territory did a lot to bolster her attitude.

”Everything is fucked out there. Everyone’s going to die if they don’t get the pumps working. We...we agreed to at least take the people we were with into orbit. We can figure it out after that but at least they aren’t drowning right? Silver, we fucked up. Bad. The OLF are going to kill....”

Silver clamped her hand over Tepha’s mouth to stop her from furthering any sort of confession.

”Shut the fuck up! Snap out of it! It’ll be fine. Rig’s already figured out an antivirus and is releasing it through the city’s system. None of this is your fault. None of this is our fault, got it? Now go inside and play the happy hostess for all your rich friends. Where is Ledo? We need to get out of here!”

”He and this security guard went to take out some snipers that were pinning us down. I think he’s right behind us!”</brown>

”Alright, see, nothing to panic. Now we’ve got a ship full of strangers and remember what happened last time? Start getting them buckled down in case it’s a bumpy ride.”

Silver took the time to grip Tepha firmly by the shoulders and stare her straight in the eye.

”This was going down long before we got here. Now get your shit together and we can save some people and maybe make a few credits in the process.”

Tepha gave a nod, wiping the tears away from her eyes that she hadn’t even noticed had started watering up.

<purple>”You’re right. You’re right. Rule number one: keep your shit together. Yeah. We fought pirates and assassins and terrorists before. Yes. Happy hostess.”

She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and then followed Silver up the ramp. The crowd of people hadn’t waited at all for her little freak out and were already up the ramp slowly spreading out without any direction or purpose. It was her job as ship’s steward to get everyone where they needed to be.

”Alright everyone listen up. We have a lot of people here and not nearly enough space so listen up! If you’ll me to the galley we will start strapping people into chairs. After that we move onto bunks and if necessary anyone left is going to have to prep for cryopods. When we lift off everyone needs to be safe and secure just in case there are any other surprises waiting for us. Everyone...stay calm. We’re almost out of danger and it would be a real shame for anyone to get hurt because they panicked so close to the end. Alright this group here follow me...”

Nero meanders through the crowd waiting for the red-haired lady from the party to give them all assigned seats. He maneuver close to Ansley and subtly grabs her hand to get her attention. Leaning in close he whispers to her:

”You know, I think I know where an empty room is. If we have to get stuck in one spot or are about to die or something I’d like to spend that time with you.”

Never let a good disaster go to waste. If Nero could take a step back from the situation he might hardly even recognize himself but he was completely caught up in a whirlwind and everything felt like a daydream. First he was suddenly hanging out with Pansy Paws all day, then his view count shot into the stratosphere then he’s sharing drinks with this super awesome celebrity chick and then there’s a firefight and the whole city is collapsing and they’re racing through the city shooting at civilians and terrorists like its a video game. Nothing about his life felt real anymore and that gave him a certain clarity, a complete divorce of his logic from reality.. He should be terrified. He should be pissing his pants scared that he was about to be crushed by a bajillion gallons of sea water in a terrorist attack and yet all he could think about was how awesome it would be if he could sleep with Ansley. If he could convince her to join him. With her looks and celebrity status they could become professional streams easily and then the rest of his life would be set. He would make tons of money doing something he loves with this awesome girl at his side...who cares if the whole city was about to collapse when his every dream was so close to becoming reality he could taste it.

Part of him knew that making a move right now was a terrible idea and yet he was so close he figured he had to take the shot. If he waited any longer then who knows what would happen. Maybe they wouldn’t escape. Or maybe they would and Ansley’s managers would shuffle her off to the next planet and he would never see her again. Part of him knew it was stupid to pin all of his future dreams on this girl he just met, that he knew for less than a day and yet a larger part of him felt it was his destiny, that he was exactly where he was supposed to be and she was the key to unlocking the door to a life he had only dreamed about.

Plus BB wasn’t around to cock block him so he had to take advantage of that.

BB’s feet smacked the pavement as she charged through the firing zone. She had to stop a couple of times to help Ledo along as those shots he had taken were finally taking their toll but she would be damned if she left a fellow soldier behind, especially the captain of the ship that was going to save her ass and her job.

”Come on old man. I knew navy boys were soft but god damn do you think you could have hit the gym some time in the last twenty years.”

Her words were harsh but the tone was light and playful. Just some gentle ribbing to keep his mind off of the gut shot he was holding and the gasping in his lungs.

”Fuck...you...”

She glanced back and then stopped and jumped backwards, catching Ledo just as he was stumbling again.

”Oh not with that attitude you can’t. Your navy boys need more stamina to ride a marine like me.”

She flashed him a friendly smile as she helped him to his feet and slung his arm over her shoulder. She was getting near her limits and taking on the weight of another person wasn’t helping but that was why boot camp among the marines was so brutal. She had been trained to be able to move her combat armor when its power had been shot out. Moving a half-conscious body was a walk in the park compared to the training she had gone through. HAD gone through was a key operative word and she made a note to refocus on her strength training. She had gotten a bit soft babysitting Nero and she was hating herself for it. Maybe it was time to leave the cushy aristocracy jobs behind and pick up something that would keep her on her edge. She can get fat and lazy when she hit 50. Until then she was a trained killing machine and should act like it.

With BB’s help the pair of them crossed over and Ledo gasped out directions to their ship. The ramp was raised but as they approached it lowered again for him.

”MEDIC! GOT WOUNDED!”

<b>”No...medic...”

BB let out a sigh and hauled the captain up the ramp. He was barely conscious at that point but was still able to point her towards the bridge. There she met the rest of the crew and nodded accordingly. Their engineer looked like he knew his stuff and the woman with the scar could definitely handle a rifle. The red head...looked pretty? Whatever, it wasn’t her place to judge.

”Sorry about your captain, he took a couple hits up there. He should be fine just a bit out of breath. I recommend getting him a stair master to beef up those quads.”

She was still using stupid humor to try and take the edge off. The truth was she had hit that euphoric state when she thought she was already dead so her actions didn’t really matter at that part. Until the ocean was finally beneath them she figured they were completely fucked

This message was deleted by the player at 23:35, Sun 18 Oct 2020.