Engineer Rig.  We have developments.

As Tepha is busy trying to find straps for the galley chairs and getting some wounded guy into the med bay for treatment, Fritz gives you the latest crisis Rig

I just checked.  The clamps on the landing gear have been set to manual lock.

That means that the deck locks on the landing gear can't be opened by computer or signal.  They either have to be cut off or released with the dock master key.

We got a message.  A lady named Jenna Howziter with City Security is hailing us.  She says she wants to know if she needs to talk to us or Ledo.  They apparently have Ledo in custody...

Speaking of

---

The two of you got as far as the main hall of the star port before someone finally stuck a gun in your face Ledo and BB.

Actually a few guns.

The two of you have a squad of city security pointing rifles at you.

One of them holds up a hand and walks forward.  He taps his ear piece and says,

"You are...Ledo Typhin?  Are you captain of the Tiamat?  Are you the officer in charge?  We need to speak to the officer for the Tiamat"

BB’s feet pounded the stairs as the pair descended from the firefight. 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.

Ledo was slumped against BB's arms when they reached the bottom, and the cop squad looking for them.

"Yeah...I'm...Ledo...the captain...what do you...need?"

BB looked at the guards and their weapons suspiciously.

"In case it matters we just got done blowing up a sniper's nest full of terrorists. You're welcome, by the way."

Rig passed the com over to Tepha. Of everyone left she had the most delicate touch. Silver's "fuck you" attitude towards authority probably wouldn't be very much help and Rig was too busy trying to coordinate the release of the antivirus to deal with it.

"This is the Tiamat's Flight. Excuse me you said you have our captain in custody? Why?"

The guy gives a signal and the guns lower.  He holsters his.  "We gotta lot of people running around and no one knows who is who."

He points at your wounds.  "C'mon.  We got medics this way.  Our CO will come down and give you the what's up while you're being treated."

Sorry by the way about the overlapping threads.  Should have given you a heads up.

---

There's a brief pause Tepha and then a woman's voice comes on.

"This is Jenna Howziter.  I'm acting CO for Port Security.

"Your people got FUBAR'd by some snipers.  They're being treated and should be okay.  We just need you to give us a description of what they look like.  We need to make sure they are who they say they are.  I'll go down and talk to your Captain in a moment about what's going on.

"Do you have other injured?  I can send a med team if you need one."

The medibay is treating the wounded rich old guy.  He lost so much blood it's pretty much just keeping him alive.  Parket's men suffered injuries of various degrees.

Thankfully the Pawny Paws are alright other than scared.  Wait.  Isn't one missing?  And where's the guy who was filming everything?

Anyway, a med team could alleviate some of the current ongoing crisis Tepha.

---

Usually you get slapped Nero.  But Ansley just nodded, shaking a little, and let you lead her to what you guess is an empty bed room.  The room smells like reefer, but it seems whoever owns this place isn't home.

Ansley pushes against you.  "Can you just hold me for a second?  I'm still kinda scared."  She glances up at you. "You aren't recording this, right?"

---

They set up a field clinic in one corner of a departure lounge.  That's where they take you BB and Ledo

You are both tossed onto med cots and nurses cut away damaged parts of your armor or clothing to get at the wounds.

A doctor comes up, looking at the body scans.  He points at you Ledo.  "This one needs five units Fixenall.  Let's get that right lung reinflated. Can't do anything about him being ugly."

The Doc leans over you BB  "You got some shrapnel in your liver and pancreas.  I'm going to numb you with a localized spine tap and send a bot in to extract.  You'll be on Fixenall after that.  So no fistfights for a while.  After we're done I'll need you to get your ass out of my bed and walk if off."  He nods at a nurse. "Let's  numb her vocal cords before she starts saying anything bitchy."

Despite the bedside manner, he and his team seem to know what they're doing.

As the nurses finish cleaning up your wound and starting the flesh patch job Ledo, you look over and see a woman standing by your bed.  She's got shoulders like a Marine and tats running up oneside of her neck.  Ex military.

"I'm acting CO Jenna Howziter.  You guys are the ones who took out the snipers right?  Thanks.

"It's kinda suck on my part, especially with you and your partner there getting sewn up.  But I got a lot of people about to die.  So let's get to it.

"I don't know how much of the sitch you sussed out.  But OLF infected the city systems with some kind of virus and set off some charges on the city dome.  We're being flooded.

"Our pumping station that could clear out the water...or at least slow the rate...is off line.  OLF cut off remote access to it.  Because of the security on the pumps OLF can't just blow the pumps up.  But they've isolated us from them.  We can't get in to start 'em manually.

"The gravy on this sundae is that their virus knocked out not only most of the port systems but also most of the ships that were linked into port mainframe.  There's only one boat that can fly at the moment.  And I'm talkin' to the guy who's the captain right now."

She looks you in the eye Ledo

"I think it's kinda interesting that your boat's the only one that got off scott free from the virus.  Normally, I'd wanna have a little discussion about that. But needs must when the devil drives.  I've got other priorities.

"I want to save as many civilians as I can.  That's my job.  And I need some help.

"Your boat can lift off and blow open a hole in the elevator doors.  I already know it's got that kind of firepower.  So I'll let you out.

"But instead of you flying off I need to ask you to do something else.

"Your ship has fuel scoops. So it should be able to handle the pressure outside the dome.  I want to ask you to go up the shaft, blow a hole in the side of it, go out into the ocean and around the side of the city.  The pumps have an airlock built outside them.  I want you to dock your ship at that airlock and discharge a security team.  You can head out after you drop them off.  And we're done with each other.

"You willing to work with me?"

Sorry for the long post.  Lot to cover.

BB gets 3 HP back from the surgery.  Ledo gets 4.  They both get 8 points back from the Fixenall.  Fixenall is basically temporary hit points.  They will last for five days game time (assuming Ledo and BB don't get shot up again before then).  Two of the temp HP are lost each day.

Questions?

Nero finally put down the phone, making sure she saw it as well.

"Yeah. I mean no. No phone, let's just hold one another."

He could always tell his fans they did something else later on.

OOC: I don't know if I hinted at it or not but in my mind I definitely had them crashing Silver's room as well.

Ledo just nodded at the cop.

"No mystery about it. I've got two of the best computer whizzes on the planet on my crew. Can't get attacked if you don't leave an opening."

Ledo lets out a cough as the docs do their work.

"Sure. We can drop off your commandos on our way to orbit. Tell my companion here the details while I...I'll just pass out for a little bit."

OOC: Feel free to jump ahead.

In reply to Ledo Typhin (msg # 8):

We will get to it then.

I'm not sure where I got the idea of Nero crashing Silver's room.  But it is funny waiting to happen isn't it?

The med team arrives outside about ten minutes later Tepha.  It's two nurses pushing a medikart.  But they make quick work out of patching everyone up.

About twenty minutes after, another security detail shows up, pushing two wheelchairs with Ledo and that Tai Kwon Do lady.

The head of the security team takes out a datacube.  "Your captain agreed to drop us off at the outer hatch to the pumping station.  Here's the details. He should be waking up in a couple of minutes."

The datacube contains some schematics and a map of the outer portion of the city dome.  The idea is pretty easy:

>Tia lifts off, heading up the elevator shaft.

>Between one hundred fifty and two hundred yards up, Tia blasts through the shaft wall and enters the ocean outside.

>Then you guys skirt widdershins around the city dome to the pumping station port.  It's on the opposite side of the city.  You dock, unload the security detail, and then you can vamoose.

Simple, right?

Ledo and BB are given drugs to wake them up.  Pain is minimal thanks to the Fixenall.  Remember their temp HP.

If there's anything you want to do before lift off, go ahead.  Otherwise, I will move us along when I post Thursday.  Thanks.

It takes only about ten minutes for the med team to treat and evac.  Ledo and BB you feel stiff.  But you can move.

The station unlocks the landing gear.  Fritz finishes the reboot of Tia's mainframe.  It uploads the data cube info.

The station wants you to head up the elevator shaft on your own.  The lift mechanism is still down because of the virus.  There won't be a ton of maneuvering room, but you should be able to handle it.

As you head into the shaft, Mainframe displays two options for 'cutting' out of the shaft.  You can fly above the point of impact, let the water rush through, and lower the ship into it.

Otherwise, you can shoot ahead and dive right in.  The rush of water shouldn't be a problem.

Let me know who is doing what on the bridge.  I'm assuming Ledo is pilot and Rig is engineering it up.  Silver manning the turrents and Teph on scanner?

---

Ansley snuggles closer as the thrum of the engine comes on and the ship starts to shake Nero.  Seems like you are finally getting out of this deathtrap.

Ansley sighs.  "Nero...have you ever had to make a tough decision?"

Ledo considers the options available and then starts plugging in a course and targeting information.

"I don't care if mainframe thinks rushing water isn't going to be an issue, I'd much rather not have to deal with it. Prepare to fly above the point of impact and lower ourselves in."

OOC: Correct, Ledo is at the pilot's chair, Rig is engineering, Tepha is on sensors and Fritz duty and Silver is manning the guns.

Nero hugs Ansley close, giving her a little squeeze so she knows he's listening.

"Yeah, sure. Doesn't everyone?"

He pauses, considering her tone.

"What's on your mind. You've been kind of out of sorts since that guy got shot. Did you know these eco-terrorist assholes?"

His mind was racing, processing information he had ignored from earlier. Hadn't she said something about the OLF right before the shooting started? Didn't she call to that guy like she knew his name?

In reply to Ledo Typhin (msg # 11):

Aye aye mon cap-e-tahn.  Fritz seems to have been playing with the slang dictionary program again.

Silver, you can make this shot in your sleep.  The shaft wall comes crumbling down and the water starts to rush in.

Pushing into the flow of the oncoming water isn't difficult.  This is Tia after all.  But it is the first time you've taken her into oceanic conditions Ledo.  The controls are a little rough.  -1 to any Pilot rolls

You leave the elevator shaft and start to move around the dome.  The damage is worse than expected.  You can see large gouges in the upper tiers.

Tepha needs to give me a Sensors/Int roll please.

---

Ansley sniffles, nuzzling closer, Nero

She nods slowly.  "That guy...the one that pulled that rifle an' got shot?  He was the concert promoter.  Well.  Hesaid he was the concert promoter.  Who the hell knows now.  He an' Hava just told me it was gonna be this joke, right?  Like I was gonna yell that crap about OLF, and you'd take a vid, and we'd all yell that Bugga-guy crap.

"Now I don't know.  What if...what if Hava's in on it?  She spent a lotta time with that guy."

Hava was the Orange/Blonde you met at the same time as you met Ansley.

Tepha frowns as she punches the controlsa the sensor station. She had never had to configure sensors for underwater operation and it wasn't nearly as straightforward as she had hoped it would be. This was the difference between being a skilled amateur and a trained sensor operator.


15:32, Today: Tepha Pezal rolled 5 using 2d6+01.  sensors/int.

Nero took in the information. He was still in his zen chill happy place with a Pansy Paws on his arm. It felt nice to cuddle up next to someone who he hadn't had to pay by the hour.

"Do you think we should tell someone? We could talk to your security team or I could talk to BB wherever she is. She definitely isn't involved with anything so you can trust her. Or whoever's ship this is I don't think they're tied to the OLF at all given how many people they shot to get us here."

In reply to Tepha Pezal (msg # 14):

Ansley giggles.  "They did shoot a lotta people, huh?  Shit.  Never thought I'd see someone's head blow up."

She leans up and gives you a quick peck on the cheek.  "Thanks Nero.  I feel better.  I guess I should tell someone.  If you were me, who would you tell?"

---

Tia begins to come around the curve of the dome.  Schools of fish dive this way and that.  A school of mackerel sear to a crispy brown in the exhaust vent.  A dolphin tries to get out of the way, only to get whacked by the hull as you power through.

Maybe these OLF people have a point.

The ship suddenly shakes.  More so than could be expected.

Then it shakes more.

Warning, warns Mainframe.  <Red>Additional weight has been added to hull.  Adjust for streering by 15 point 72 on sections 24 to-<red>

What dumbass here is trying to say is there's a giant squid stuck on the hull.  Like...a really big one.

Fritz flips the cameras over.  It is indeed a squid, sticking to the underside of Tia.  It must have been laying on the ocean floor and reached up as you passed.  It's pulling itself along Tia's undercarriage.

It's weight is throwing off your steering Ledo.  This squid is almost as long and wide as Tia herself.

See?  Like really big!  Like super duper big! Also...not sure if you can get a shot at it with the weaponry.  It is on the hull too.


Poor Teph.  She just can't get a break.

So yeah.  Giant squid crawling up Tia's belly.  You can try to use the ship's weapons on it.  But remember:  it is on Tia's hull.

At the moment, other than making piloting rough on Ledo, it's not doing anything.

At the moment.

Ledo frowns as he flips through displays.

"Is it attacking us? It might just be curious. Once it realizes we're not food it might just go away. Silver do we have any weapons that will fire under water?"

Silver just laughs over the comms.

"Yeah that's what I thought. Alright, steady as she goes. One problem at a time..."

Nero thought about it for a second and then gave his reply.

"BB. Definitely BB. My bodyguard. She's a pain in the ass but security and shooting stuff is kind of her deal. If your band member and manager are in league with the OLF and the OLF just tried to blow up the entire dome it would probably be bad if they tried to sabotage the ship with us inside of it, right? Let me call her over."

Nero activated his comms and gave BB directions to the room they were squatting in. Nero figured it was time for her to earn yet another paycheck.

In reply to Nerotes Madigan (msg # 18):

Ansley dries her eyes.  She runs through the story for you BB.  It pretty much is exactly what she told you before Nero

---

Tia wobbles.  Really wobbles.

Oh my.  Yeah.  It's really curious.  If Mainframe was wearing a dress, he'd be up under it.

Rig, you can see lights coming up on your systems board.  The squid is feeling up into the cracks and crevices, a couple of tentacles lodging up into the underside bays the landing struts curl up into.

It seems to feeling around.  And tugging.  There are proximity alerts.  Like if asteroid debris were pinging off the ship.  But nothing terrible yet.

Looking things over, if it keeps going around the area it's in, it could damage some hydraulic lines.  It would mean you couldn't land planet side until that was fixed.

The real concern is the hydrogen scoop.  If Squid-o continues along the hull in the direction it's going, it will come up to the hydrogen scoop.  If it messes with that, it's more of a problem.

They didn't really cover 'giant squid going through hydrogen processor' in engineering school.  But it probably would put a crimp in ya'lls mirth.

That's if it goes that way.  But it is kind of creeping forward...

Ledo considers the squid. If it keeps doing what its doing it seems like nothing they can't fix. Let it poke around and let them go. Squids are just curious right?

However it it starts to drift he considers the side of the dome they're next to.

"Fritz...how hard do you think it would be to bounce against the dome a couple of time and kind of squish it or scrape it off? Maybe a couple taps will make it realize that no means no?"

BB nodded as Ansley spoke but she drew her pistol all the same. Just in case. She pulled out her comms and dialed Ledo's frequency.

"Uhhh...Captain? We might have a situation."<darkblue>

"Yeah I'm well aware of the squid that is groping us..."

<darkblue>"What? No. Not that. I mean...listen one of the band members just told me that a couple of the people in her entourage might have ties to the OLF. It might have been that the Pansy Paws were just a cover to get boots on the ground."

"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me. You think..."

"That if they're fanatic enough they might try something. Do you have a place to lock them up in?"

"Actually..yeah. We have a brig onboard. This ship was run by skiptracers for awhile so they would throw skips in there. I'll send Silver back and the pair of you can get that figured out. Thanks for the update, BB. Where are you currently?"
"Uhhh, one of the crew rooms. I dunno, not a lot of stuff around but it smells kinda like weed..."

"...alright well this is going to be fun. Silver is on her way."

"What do you mean in my room?"

Silver had one hand to the link in her ear while she jogged down the corridors. The ship was noisy what with the two dozen or so passengers they had picked up trying to ignore the odd shakes and jolts of the ship becoming intimate with a squid. On top of the passengers they were transporting a squad of troopers so it was standing room only as everyone tried not to go ping-ponging around from the turbulance.

"I don't care if I wasn't using it...no I'm not going to shoot them..."

With a huff she shut off her comm and added.

"...unless they touched my stash..."

When she got to her room she stormed inside, looking with dismay at the teen lovers cuddled up on her bed. She thrust a finger in their direction and locked them with her best death stare.

"Don't you fucking smoke or drink or swallow ANYTHING or I will gut you myself. Fucking kids fucking on my bed..."<brown>

She grumbled as went to the locker and began to suit up. Full boarding suit and combat rifle get up. She wasn't taking any chances with these OLF fuckers. For all she knew they had rigged half the ship with IEDs by now and she wasn't going to be caught with her proverbial panties around her ankles.

As she was gearing up she saw the other woman next to her. BB, the chick that went with Ledo to kill some snipers was eying her and her overall demeanor screamed military. Didn't Ledo say she was a marine or something?

<brown>"So, do you know who they're talking about?"

The marine nodded.

"And you're ready to rumble?"

"I've got a gyro rifle stored if we need it."

Silver thought about it and shrugged.

"Eh, a pistol is probably fine. How much trouble can they be, right?"

"Well with all due respect we also have a squad of twitchy dome security looking to save their city onboard. AND the Pansy Paws have their own armed security team. AND we never bothered to check them for any weapons or explosives. So yeah, probably no trouble at all."

"Huh...well when you put it like that. Can you get their security to stand down?"

She wasn't looking at anyone in particular. She didn't know who the fuck was who so just asking the room seemed the best idea.

"I can try. I don't think their security is working for OLF especially as they helped shoot them on our way here, same as the rest.">

"Alright, let's let them know that we're coming to relocate a couple of them to the brig."

"Lead the way, I've got your six."

Silver finishes gearing up and then proceeded to the lounge where the rest of the Pansy Paws and company were located.

When they were outside the lounge, BB dialed Parket on her comm.

"Parket? It's BB, Nero's shadow. Nero's been chatting up your girl Ansley and she just made a connection between Hava and that OLF assassin. The captain of the ship wants to relocate her to the bridge just in case she has deeper ties than originally suspected. I guess they were the ones that put Ansley up to shouting for the OLF when she grabbed Nero. They told her it was just a prank except if we hadn't been there she would have been the poster child for the whole terrorist organization.

Is everything cool? Are we going to have a problem?"

She thought about revealing that they were about to enter with high-grade armor and combat weaponry but she figured if Parket wasn't cool then there was no reason to give him advanced warning that his pea shooters were about to be useless.

In reply to BB Nova (msg # 23):

Parket snaps back pretty quick. "Ha.  That's funny.  Cos Hava just finished tellin' me Ansley was the one who set the whole thing up.

"At this point I'm all for throwin' 'em both in the brig.  Just seems the cleanest solution.  You got Ansley with you?"

Ansley is hugging onto Nero, looking back at you BB with big innocent eyes.

---

Hmmm.  That might could work.  But it would be tricky even in outer space.  Let me get Mainframe to run some trajectories...

Fritz spits a set of numbers to your comm Ledo.  Optimally, you would need to skid over the surface of the dome, leaving just enough room to rough up or smear the squid.  Too close and Tia will be rubbing her hull against the surface of the dome.

Which may or may not be a good thing.

Who knows?

Interesting solution.  Pilot roll. You do have the -1 penalty for being underwater but that's all I'm going to penalize you.  Just don't fumble it.

BB looked at Ansley, then at Nero who also had big doe eyes looking up at her and she sighed.

"Yeah we have Ansley. We'll keep her under watch same as Hava. Their crew is coming into relocate the target to the brig, stand down."

With that she motioned for Silver to go in and collect the "package."

Alright just take it in nice and easy. Nothing too fancy just a couple of bumps to get it to rethink its current interest in their ship...

Ledo slowly moved the controls to close the distance between the ship and the side of the dome...


14:24, Today: Ledo Typhin rolled 6 using 2d6.  no whammy... pilot check.

While Silver was going in to retrieve Hava, Nero looked at BB with wide eyes.

"So now what?"

BB let out a sigh.

"Now I'm going to be your chaperone. No more going off by yourself. She should be locked up in the brig as well until we can get to the bottom of it but...fuck me...I really don't think either of them are a big concern at this point so...goddam those are famous last words, right?"

She pulled up her pistol to make a point as she looked at Ansley.

"I'm letting you run around but don't think for a second I won't put a bullet through your skull if you try anything. I'm ex-marine so don't fuck with me and this crew is packing serious firepower on top of what I have. And there's the fact that we've got a cargo bay full of station security. Just sit back and enjoy the ride."

While Silver was busy BB gestured for the two lovebirds to head back to Silver's room. They would all make camp in there. Nero and Ansley huddled up on the bed and BB sitting by the doorway with her pistol drawn but pointed at the ground.

In reply to Nerotes Madigan (msg # 27):

Hava is being told what's what by one of the security guys Silver.

She starts to squawk, but the one that you think is Parket leans close to her and says, "Until we determine who is and isn't a threat to the group, all potential threats will be isolated.  Capice?"

Hava seems smart enough to figure out from his tone that now is not the time to play spoiled popstar.

Parket glances at you.  "One of my guys is goin' with you."

One of them nods at you and follows along.

BB, you see the crew coming when...

---

As carefully as possible, you swerve to scrape the side of the dome Ledo

Proximity alarms blare out and the ship starts to rumble.  Tia suddenly pitches...

Let's have a check from BB, Silver, and Nero to stay on their feet. Either Athletics/Str or Athletics/Dex.  Your call.  If you can think of a more applicable roll, go for it.

I am assuming everyone else was seated.

Fritz squawks on.  You can level off Captain Ledo.  We left a squid stain on the dome.  We're good.  The docking port should be coming into view in a moment.

And because you haven't rolled enough lately, Tepha needs to make me a sensors/int check.  Thanks

The ship suddenly lurches and out of instinct BB latches onto the nearest handhold, flexing against her own weight to keep her from tipping over.



15:45, Today: BB Nova rolled 9 using 2d6+1.  athletics/str.

Silver tries to stay on her feet, shifting her weight under her as the ship lurches but she doesn't quite make it...


15:47, Today: Silver rolled 7 using 2d6+1.  dex/athletics.

Ever see what happens when you put a whiffle ball inside a dryer? That is Nero as the lurch catches the already ungainly kid by surprise and he goes flying down the hallway.

OOC: Lol

15:48, Today: Nerotes Madigan rolled 2 using 2d6-3.  athletics...ha.

Luckily by this point Tepha had reconfigured the sensors to account for the "blue shift" so to speak and once the squid was off the hull she took a look around to get their bearings once again.


15:49, Today: Tepha Pezal rolled 9 using 2d6+1.  sensors/int.

After that bump Ledo considered things and tapped the comms for general internal communications.

"Ahhh...this is the captain speaking. Apologies for the turbulence, we had a close encounter of the octopod kind. Things should be clear from hear on out but I recommend keeping yourself seated and secure until we give the all clear."

In reply to Ledo Typhin (msg # 33):

And I was really looking forward to the Silver in a bikini/Giant Squid knife fight too.  Oh well. Have to settle for this...

The scanner shifts a little as you fiddle with the resolution Tepha.  But it pops up pretty clear after a fidget of the knobs or two.

The scanner pings the air hatch.  It also pings three small vessels floating around it.  Looks like baby Tia's maybe?  What do you call them?  Subs?

They seem to have pinged you back because they are heading for ya'll.

---

BB, as everyone else in the hallway pitches off their feet, you observe several things.

First, Hava doesn't lose her balance.  Accidentally.  She sees Silver move to adjust her weight to the sway of the ship and launches herself into her, knocking the surprised gun moll over.  Hava does lose her own feet.

You also see Ansley, just a moment before it happens, flip a hand signal to Hava, instigating the whole thing.

You also see her grab at something under her shirt as Nero pinwheels his arms and pulls on her shoulder, sending them both bouncing down the hallway.

And what is it Ansley pulled out of her shirt?  It's a C19 Enemy Repressive AncilliarieS Explosive or a C19 ERASE.  It's a little thicker than a sheet of paper, as long as a sheet of paper, and probably capable of putting a hole in the hull, depending on how close you guys are currently to the hull.

It's also live.  She managed to press the button starting the countdown before Nero brought her Jack-and-Jilling with him.

BB sprang into action bolting down the hallway and scooping up the slip before Ansley or Hava could recover. Bolting as fast as she could she slapped the explosive slip onto her pistol and then headed for the airlock. She tossed the explosive pistol bundle in and slapped the panel to cycle the airlock.

Hopefully just by leaving the outer airlock door open the currents would sweep in and her pistol would get swept out into open waters as the ship moved. She stayed by the airlock, hand hovering over the outer airlock panel ready to close the outer door when their "package" had left the ship.

Silver catches sight of the explosive swiftly departing. She thought for a second she should follow BB just in case everyone was in on it but seeing her run towards the airlock she had to trust the ex-marine knew what she was doing. If she was in on the terrorist plot BB could have easily slapped that thing onto someplace far more damaging. That explosive had the punch to get through one airlock door but not two.

Instead Silver was hauling out her weapons, pulling a knife with one hand and her rifle in the other.

"Alright you stupid fucking terrorists. Anyone so much as moves a muscle and you're getting cut in half. I'm not a cop. I'm not security. I will shoot your ass dead and dump you for the sharks to feed on."

Nero was confused. He didn't know what was going on or why BB had suddenly taken off but the woman in the power armor didn't seem to be kidding so he froze, lying motionless on the ground like a dead fish.

Ledo tapped the comms to signal Silver.

"I need you in the turret. Looks like the OLF launched subs to stop us."

"Well those fucking girl band popstars just tried to blow a hole in the ship with some explosives. Someone's got to come here and help me search them and get them to the brig?"

"Can we have the security team do it?"

"You mean their security? I think that marine you worked with is fine but the rest of them are probably lining the ship with explosives as we speak."

"Fuck fuck fuck! Alright we'll draft BB then. Rig, report up to the lounge and collect the rest of the band members. Help Silver process them and throw the entire band in the brig. Make sure to search them, no more explosives!

He steadied the course as he dialed over to BB's comm.

"BB? You copy?"

"I'm a bit busy flushing an explosive charge out of the airlock. Don't slow the ship down."

"Uh...copy that. I'm assuming you're not part of the terrorists if you're helping us out. We're going to round up the entire band and throw them in the brig but there is also a group of OLF boats out here that are looking pretty hostile. Can you fire a ship's turret? Or barring that can you head back to the lounge and relieve Silver so she can hop in our turret?"

"Oh I can use a turret just fine. Just feed me directions on where to go and what to shoot, Captain."

"Roger that."

Ledo leaned back and considered BB's words. It was nice to have another soldier on board. Silver was great at what she does but her style didn't exactly mesh very well with what Ledo was looking for out of a crew. Maybe when this was all settled he could offer BB a job.

That was assuming they survived their current mission.

"Copy that, Captain. Heading up."

Rig pulled out his pistol, double checked it, and then jogged towards the lounge where their passengers were clustered/hanging on to whatever they could for dear life.

When he got there it didn't take a genius to figure out which of the group were part of a girl pop band. He kept the pistol down but had his eyes locked and ready on them.

"Alright ladies, we'd like you to come with us. Captain's prepared a room for you and your friends and we'd like to keep you all together."

The two wannabe radicals spout a lot of nonsense on their way to the brig Silver.  But they don't try anything.

The other three members of the Pawny Paws and their management shake their heads as they walk by you to the brig Rig.

"Did we know she was a terrorist?"

"Well she did read a lotta books.  That's why I never read."

"I'm starting to think I'm not gonna make my pedicure appointment."

Parket pings you Ledo.  "What about us?  You want us in brig too?  I wouldn't blame ya."

BB, you find the turrent just fine.  A voice pops up, maybe one of the crew members you haven't seen yet.

You should be set for firing.  You're familiar with this kind of system?  Feeding the target comm to you now.

Three blips pop up.  None of them large, but if they are subs, it would seem reasonable to expect torpedos.

Silver shook her head at Parket and the rest of the security team.

"Not unless you want to make sure they don't do anything stupid. Well...stupider."

Carefully at gunpoint Silver had Rig strip the women down to their underwear to make sure they didn't have any more hidden surprises tucked away somewhere before sealing them into the brig.

"Uh copy that. Yes I have been trained on standard laser gunnery. Let's see here..."

She flipped through the setting systems quickly customizing the turret for her particular reflexes and doing a few test spins to make sure the sensitivity was correct. The turret was definitely an older model and while it didn't have the enhanced tactical or electronics that she was used to, ultimately it was a point and shoot weapon.

"Captain are we firing first or are we waiting to get a read on them?"

"What are the chances that three tourist craft just happen to be lurking outside of the airlock of a critical pumping station moving in attack position?"

BB snorted.

"Roger that, turret is green. Engaging."

She lined the targeting reticle up, double checked the setting and then opened fire with the beam turret.

OOC:
08:44, Today: BB Nova rolled 3 using 1d6+1.  beam laser damage.
08:41, Today: BB Nova rolled 13 using 2d6+2.  beam turret gunnery.

In reply to BB Nova (msg # 42):

One of the Pawny Paws looks at you Rig.  "Normally I'd charge you for this."

---

The laser slices into one of the subs.

Ohhhh. You cut their propulsion.  Nice. says mystery crewman to you BB.

The subs launch a round of torpedoes.  They aren't large enough vessels to carry the good stuff.  But Tia shakes as most of them slam into her side.

Fritz pops up a holo screen for you Rig.  The armor lapped up most of the damage.  There will be some welding in your immediate future.  But other than tossing about, Tia is holding up fine.

The two subs that can still maneuver take a pincer formation:  one skimming the ocean floor and one going up high.

BB didn't respond although she smirked a little.

Yeah. I know. It's what I was trained to do. she thought as she lined up her next shot.

Two targets remaining. She twisted the turret to track the one going high as the one going low was out of her field of fire. She lined up her shot and then pulled the trigger.

She scores a 10 for 2 damage

13:28, Today: BB Nova rolled 2 using 1d6+1.  damage.

13:27, Today: BB Nova rolled 10 using 2d6+2.  beam turret gunnery.

In reply to BB Nova (msg # 44):

BB, you manage to score a bit on the sub going high.  There's a nice little show as it slices into the plastic of the sub.  It apparently wasn't made for laser fire.   It seems to be takin on water.

Tepha, you can 'see' the one that went low.  It scoots under Tia.  It seems to be going for the airlock.

Ledo, the target is in sight.  You can push forward if you want and try to link up to the drop off point.  But you'll have to ram that sub BB crippled earlier.

Rig, another round of torpedoes hit.  The armor didn't quite carry through.  You have a rupture in one of the air vents.  Water's leaking in.

So to summarize:

The low sub is trying to dock with you.  They probably mean to board.

Ledo can make a pilot check to dock with the pumping station.  But he will need to ram the crippled sub to do it. Otherwise, you will need to take two turns to go around it.

There is a hole in the hull (got a really good roll on my damage).  Not a huge one.  But Rig will need to get on it before you try to leave orbit.

Ledo decides that slow and steady wins the race. He maneuvers around the damaged sub while rotating the ship 180 degrees around so that the "docking" sub is now in line with BB's turret instead of their cargo airlock.

If the sub pilot is good enough to stick with them through their barrel roll he'll message BB and Silver to be prepped for a boarding action. He thought about alerting the security team but at this point he wanted them focused on their drop off. The last thing he needed was for a wayward grenade to annihilate the security force and then the fate of the whole dome would be dumped onto his crew.

Rig does what he can to patch the hole so they won't drown but he figured that he would have to wait for them to be out of the water before he could really make them spaceworthy again.


15:03, Today: Gary 'Rig' Rigan rolled 8 using 2d6+3.  mechanics/edu check for repairs.

BB sat there as the world spun around her as the ship barrel rolled. If she got the chance for a shot she would take it on the last sub.


15:04, Today: BB Nova rolled 9 using 2d6+2.  turret/laser
15:04, Today: BB Nova rolled 2 using 1d6+1.  damage.

In reply to Ledo Typhin (msg # 46):

Saw through that plot point about the security team, didja?

Let's have dueling Piloting rolls please.  Ledo Pilot/Int.  This is to see who outmanuevers who sub-wise.  So no terrible effects unless you roll a 2.  Thanks

BB, you wait, finger on the trigger....

We'll see how Ledo does before that shot goes off

---

The patch isn't great Rig.  But then you knew that.  The water is still leaking instead of pouring.  But as you pointed out:  at least now you guys won't drown.

Ledo began his barrel roll trying to get the enemy sub lined up with their top turret.

OOC:

14:54, Today: Ledo Typhin rolled 9 using 2d6+2.  pilot/int.

In reply to Ledo Typhin (msg # 50):

The sub pilot must have been so shocked by the sudden roll he panicked.  The sub scapes across the ocean floor before coming to rest mere meters before BB's gun turrents.

After all that, I'm the one who rolls a 2

You bring Tia into position Ledo, and sync up the airlock.  The securtiy team feeds in override code into the lock and force it to cycle open.  Within moments, they are out of your ship and heading into the pumping station.  You can hear gunfire almost instantly.

You have delivered your payload.

Let me know what Ledo wants to do next.  Then we can wrap this one up.  Thanks

Ledo's finger hovers over the airlock control, an inch away from sealing the Tia up. He withdrew his hand and turned to Tepha.

"You know, let's wait. Just in case the security force fails their mission and we have to be the big heroes that save the day...again."

Tepha raised an eyebrow at him from the co-pilot's station.

"And to make sure we're not responsible for anything too extreme?"

Ledo kept a grim look on his face, silently warning her to stop that line of dialogue. The OLF obviously had grand plans put into place long before their little virus came into play and in the grand scheme of things all it had done was sow confusion among the dome security forces and buy the OLF some time. As long as their plan failed and the dome was saved Ledo felt confident that their guilt would be absolved.

"I'm going to go back and see to our passengers. You stay here and watch the sensors."


She had touched a nerve and he wanted to put some space between the two of them before he said something he might regret later on.

Nero was outside of the brig, frantically punching at the panel trying to find the release mechanism. He hadn't seen Ansley pull out the explosive and had figured that the crew was just being paranoid by locking up the Pansy Paws.

The one control he had discovered that he could use without the ship's passcodes was the communicator so in between trying to guess the controls he was sending reassuring messages to his newfound love.

"Ansley, don't worry, I'll get you out of here. I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding. I know it was just a joke, you didn't mean any of that stuff about the OLF. I'll...I'll get you out of here, I promise!"

Rig continues to hold the ship together, Silver waits armored up to act as the cavalry in case the security team needs backup while Tepha and BB keep their eyes open for any other targets.

This left Ledo a brief moment of respite to go back and take inventory of the passengers they had picked up and make sure that nobody was blowing the ship up or bleeding out on their cafeteria table.

In reply to Ledo Typhin (msg # 54):

One of the Paws sighs.  "Ans?  I know you're a radical crazy slutmuffin.  But can you do us a solid here and shut lover boy there up?  He's really wearing on my nerves."

Ansley stands and walks over to the door.  She looks at you Nero.  "You are the dumbest asshole I've ever had the misfortune to con.  Go die fish eater."

She turns, walks back to the spot on the wall she was leaning against, and goes back to leaning.

---

Uhm...Teph? Fritz sounds a little hesitant as he speaks up Tepha.  He must have overheard you and Ledo's little exchange.

I don't mean to throw this out there.  But...here.  It's just easier to show you.

He plays back video feed from the door outside the brig.  It's just a couple of minutes ago.  You see and hear the exchange between the guy standing outside the door and the radical who tried to blow up the ship.

I feel a little bad for the guy.  I mean...I did have to keep changing the brig door codes cos he got close to guessing them twice.  But I don't think he's a radical.  Anyway.  I don't think he's trying to get her out cos he's a compatriot.  But I figured I should tell someone.  And I thought you might be a better choice than say Silver.

I'm listening in to the security team's audio by the way.  They seem to be proceeding without any difficulties.

---

Some of Parket's people have scrapes and cuts.  But they're soldiers.  Nothing they can't handle.

The only real injury was the rich guy who got shot back in the hotel.  He's still in the Medbay.  Surgery seems to be proceeding and the Autodoc is giving him an 82.89% chance of recovery.

His wife is seated by the bay door, watching.  She smiles up at you Ledo.

"I'm glad you came by.  I wanted to thank you and your people.  My Henrik would have died if it wasn't for you.  If you'll allow me, I'll call up to the highport.  You and your ship can dock there.  We'll cover any of your expenses for repairs.  Refuel.  If you're looking for transport work, I can put in a good word for you too."

There's a loud beep from the Medbay. She wheels around, staring inside it, until she can see on the readouts that everything is still fine.  She must love her husband.  She's obviously a wreck.

"Something else..." she mutters.  Then she reaches up and takes off her earrings.  Even to your eye, you can tell these are nice pieces.  Jade carved into teardrop shapes, hanging off small emeralds hung in silver loops.  "These should cover our passage and everything else.  I don't know what's going to happen with the banks.  I would imagine it will take weeks to get everything up and running again.  But this is what I have on hand.  So thank you."

Nero backs up a few feet from the viciousness of Ansley's reply. It was so abrupt (for him) that he couldn't even wrap his head around what had just happened. He just stared in disbelief until Tepha came and brought him to the spare guest room and laid him down.

"It's been a long day, get some rest."

Nero just nodded, still dumb founded by Ansley's reply. He sat there lying in the dark staring up at the ceiling trying to process everything.