In space, no one can hear you scream (aliens RPG)

[TheThan]

SS Nomad Cryo-bay
The first few moments of consciousness are disorienting. The bright lights of the cryo-sleep chamber blind you as you awaken. After blinking it away your eyes adjust to the brightness. The ceiling comes into focus beyond the clear hatch of the cryo-sleep tube. You wonder for a moment where you are but that quickly passes. After stretching and rubbing the sleep out of your eyes you get up and head into the locker room with the rest of your squad, happy at least to be returning home after an 18-month patrol.

The locker room stands in stark contrast to the surgical white cryo-room. The bare steel floor is cold to your feet the doors are stained with grease from a previous mishap with a can of WD40. The room has four rows of lockers with low benches bisecting the paths between them. Like nearly everything else the benches are steel but are surprisingly clean.
To one side there are showers, the communal kind, with white tile and black grout. The showers are brightly lit and has eight shower heads spaced along its three walls, with a single wall in the center of it with two shower heads on each side.
The lockers themselves are simple affairs, steel boxes with a simple combination lock, handle and name tag holder, all set into the door. On the inside there is a small mirror on the inside of the door, a single shelf sitting about neck height on most people and a horizontal steel pole set directly under that, for hanging uniforms and the like on.




Players
First squad:

Arachnid
as yet unnamed space marine(Gunnery sergeant) (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=116362)

Mangy Mathan
Corporal Dustin Friedhelm (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=116149)

Ghal Mark
Corporal George Danot (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=115518)

Meshakhad
PFC Mila Korvanic (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=63546)

Ricky S
PFC Tiger Roberts (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=115764)

Keilyn
Jakob (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=109911)

Other Characters
Second squad (npcs)
Lieutenant Samuel Blake
Corporal Carson Hess
PFC: Aron Meyers
Private Harris Crawford
Private Lawrence Joyce
Private Felecia Gordon
Private Ahmad Vaughn Diaz


Alright, people Role playing time, get to know each other, you guys have worked together long enough to have developed a camaraderie with each other so take that into consideration. Also sorry for the lateness of the post, I got a little busier than I thought I would today.

[keilyn]

Jakob

::Swinging his legs out of the cryo-tube, Jakob blinks heavily, his vision clearing. He wasn't sure, but there was something fleeting, just at the edges of his memory of falling asleep. Had he been dreaming? Was it possible? He wasn't sure, but perhaps it would be better not to mention it to the others. Standing gracefully, he moves over to the wall and hits the control panel for the room heaters. No sense in freezing if you're not going to be in cryo.::

"Rise and shine campers! It's cold outside!"

OOC: Alright. I'll be the first to post then, and greetings, fellow cannon-fodder, err. Marines.
Edit: Well, DM, first ruling - are the other characters going to know that Jakob is a synthetic, or is that information going to be a surprise "in character"

[TheThan]

You guys have been together long enough that that sort of information could easily have leaked. But then again the crew of the Nostromo didn’t know Ash was a synthetic until they killed him. So I will leave it up to your discretion.

[Mangy Mathan]

Corporal Dustin Friedhelm

Dustin slid groggily from the cryotube, stood, wavered, and blinked. Waking up was always the hardest part of these ice naps. Still, he was glad to have actually woken up; Dustin had heard his fair share of horror stories involving cryotube malfunctions. He knew 99% of them were completely fabricated, but it was that haunting 1% that managed to creep into his mind in the last seconds of consciousness before the freeze. After shivering to shake off the chill, he started towards the showers, furiously scratching his fire-red hair in an attempt to fluff it back up. "Congratulations on being the first one up and out of his tube, Jake. Yet again." He grumbled sarcastically. "We are all consistently amazed at your ability to shake off freezer burn with such bubbly cheer."

With a grumpy glare to his friend, the marine snatched a towel and some clothes from his locker and made his way towards the shower. That guy's just not normal.

Dustin will be more cheerful once he's gotten warmed up and fed. He's one of those grumpy morning people, and happy morning people make grumpy morning people even more grumpy.

[roll0] - Because getting out of a comfy bed can be that hard. :smallbiggrin:

Also, why exactly were we brought out of cryo? Are we on our way home or have we reached a mission destination? If so, what are our orders?

And Corporals apparently command a small fire-team. Who are my slaves servants soldiers? I'm assuming a slice of the NPC Privates. There's enough Privates and PFCs to give each Corporal a squad of 3, and one will have 4. One will also have Jake. So I guess I should have said squads of 4 with one having 3, with Blakes and [INSERT HERO'S NAME HERE] as my superiors. To any players who end up in my squad: don't worry, I will be a benevolent god ruler squad leader. :smallamused:

Also, unless you tell us otherwise, I'm playing it as Dustin is unaware of Jake's synthetic nature. He sometimes jokes that there's "something wrong" with Jake, which might scare him if he's concerned about others knowing his secret, but despite what Jake might extrapolate from such suggestions, Dustin is completely clueless. His decent wisdom means he might notice little things about Jake that are different, but his low Charisma means he's rather bad at figuring other people out. So it goes something like,

"There's something wrong with Jake. He's acting wierd."
"What do you think it is?"
"Pssh. Don't know. Don't care. If he wanted to talk about it, he would." :smallannoyed:

Also, I'm probably going to go watch Alien soon. :roach:

[keilyn]

Jakob

::laughing and shaking his head at Dusting, he flips the showers on and finishes quickly.::

"Well, it would be a lot more difficult if the rest of you didn't take your dear sweet time Dusty. You don't get anything done while you're sleeping."

::Not wasting time waiting for the rest of them, he gets dressed and sets into checking his gear while they go about their business, his back turned towards them while he sits facing his locker.::


OOC: alright, we'll play it on a character by character basis - if you want your character to have noticed something odd, that's fine, the medic will almost certainly know -something- is up, if not be fully informed. Anyways- how do you want me to play "Andrew"? I was just going to have the conversations be in his head, and have him talk to himself every now and then. work for you?

[Ghal Marak]

George

Rubbing his eyes, George carefully picked himself out of the tube and did a few stretches. "Good god, why does cryosleep make you MORE tired?!" He quickly grabbed a shower, then got dressed. "So... were up. I guess that means... what again? You know I don't have the best memory."

[Caewil]

Sergeant Erica Landing

"Not for your orders anyway!" begins Sergeant Landing even before she exits the cryotube. Standing up, she rubs her arms. "I still owe you a demerit for that time on the space station. But since I'm kind by nature, Corporal, I'll only add four more for forgetting to read the mission briefing!"

[keilyn]

Jakob

::As the Sargeant rises from her cryo-tube, he stands and turns around, scrubbing vigorously on the piece of his 1911 he holds in his hand.::

"Actually, Sarge, it would seem that we have been released from our cryo early. Several months so. I don't beleive that was a planned event, so isn't likely to be in the mission breifing."

::He shrugs and sits, exchanging one peice of the pistol for another, and resuming his cleaning.::

"Of course, there is the possibility that Andrews chronometer was damaged during the freezing process, but I highly doubt that."

OOC: alright, I'm assuming that if -anyone- knows, it's going to be the group CO. Anyways - you said in the intro that we were going to wake before the full trip had expired, I just thought I'd throw it out there IC. If that's a problem, let me know and I'll do some deleting.

[Ghal Marak]

George

"Demerits!? Awww maann. Can you cut me some slack Sarge? It was boring as hell to read through, and didn't I already apologise for that other time?" He looked around at the other guys who were awake for backup.

[TheThan]

You and your comrades gather in the ship’s galley eagerly anticipating your breakfast. Eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes or waffles, hash browns, toast and biscuits and gravy await you as you find a seat. You notice another platoon has been awakened. These guys have been stationed aboard the nomad with you, and your team and theirs have a friendly rivalry going. Whatever they have planned, it must be important to send both teams. The Lieutenant, Samuel Blake sits at a separate table with the lieutenant from the other team, they are discussing something quietly, and you can’t quite make out what they say. Normally the lieutenant sits with the grunts, but today something must be up.

The Lieutenant, a grizzled old veteran has black hair is graying at the tips and his many years of service are etched into his lined face. His gray eyes are as hard as rock, missing nothing, they analyze with the cold calculation of a pure combat soldier.

The veteran of hundreds of hours of combat, lieutenant Blake has been in the marines longer than just about everyone. He’s a lifer, the sort of tough no nonsense man that makes the marines the best fighting force in the galaxy. He’s smart, dedicated, skilled, adaptable, cool under pressure and above all, tactically aware.

Rumor has it he earned a field commission during the mars riots, the rumor differs between places, but the most common one is that he lead a squad of marines in capturing the leaders of the uprising, after their commanding officer was killed. But whatever the truth is, every marine that has served with the man has been proud of it.

The gossip around the table is of course your paychecks, when you are going to make space dock, and why you were brought out of stasis early.

After breakfast, your team and the others gather for mission briefing in the ops room. There, Lieutenant Blake gives you your briefing.

“ By now you might have noticed that we are not at Haven, and that we’ve been de-thawed early. That’s because we’ve received an urgent message from high command.

Approximately thirty-six hours ago high command lost contact with a military installation on the planet Raih IV. Being the closest ship to them we’ve been ordered to investigate.”

Groaning….

“I know, we’ve been out here a long time, but this is a priority message and we have orders. Now there are rumors of insurgent activity in the area, it is possible that they have overrun the base, but we won’t know that until we can gather further Intel.”

“The planet EP328, AKA Raih IV was terraformed about 50 years ago, aside from the original terraforming colonists there have been two other attempts to colonize the planet. Though only has met with marginal success. Intel indicates that the base is located northern most continent, it’s a moderate zone so we won’t need additional survival gear. The region is heavily forested and animal life is still limited to isolated zones so we shouldn’t have to deal with any hostile life…”

The meeting continues for a while although it grows boring after a few minutes. Afterward you set about doing your typical pre-mission duties, securing weapons, prepping the two-drop ships, stowing non-essential gear etc. after the ships are prepped and the other pre-mission duties are taken care of, you all gather in the weapons depot and gear up for your mission.

[Meshakhad]

Mila picked up her massive smart rifle, with a look like a child picking out their favorite toy.

[Mangy Mathan]

Corporal Dustin Friedhelm

Dustin speaks little as he cleans his rifle. He tries to play the tough guy, pretending like it's no big deal, but he knows that every new mission is a chance he may never come home. He watches his team gear up as he thinks. Hopefully, this was just a case of a technician screwing up and taking out the base's radio.

He knew it wouldn't be that easy. Something was wrong.

I like how Mila's all, "GUNZ OMG! :smallbiggrin:" and I'm sitting here all Sin City-like. :smallannoyed:

[Ghal Marak]

George

George largely ignored his weapons, instead going through his sizable medical kit, making sure it is fully stocked and ready to go. "Hey, so has anybody been to this planet before? Or even heard about it? Cause I sure haven't."

[Caewil]

"As far as I'm concerned, it's just another rock. Now, let's do the job so we can go home." says Landing.

[Meshakhad]

"Well, we'll find out when we get down there," Mila said cheerfully as she gathered the rest of her gear.

What do you expect? She's a Texas girl.

[keilyn]

Jakob

::He sat down with the others, falling into the routine that they had established through long drills and real-life preparation for battle. It was an interesting experience, preparing the tools of their trade, the tools of death. Perhaps they would be used, perhaps not, but they had been trained to always be ready.::

::As he went from one piece of gear to the next, he put a cigarette in his mouth, lighting it and giving a long pull.::

"Well, ladies and gentlemen. Time to go to work, eh?"

[TheThan]

SS Nomad Hangar
After climbing aboard the APC and securing your gear, you sit down in your “rapid deployment” positions and strap in for the decent. Lieutenant Blake gives his standard pep talk, designed to build confidence, inspire and pump up your adrenaline.

The apc rolls into the launch bay of the UD4L Cheyenne drop ship and a few moments later your ship and its twin, with the other team of marines aboard drop out of the Nomad’s drop ship bay. The sudden drop pushes your guts into your chest, and your heart into your throat. One of the marines, holds out a coin, and watches it lift off of his hand as you descend.

Mere moments fly by and then the dropships hit atmosphere. The turbulence in incredible, you can hardly see as the ship is bumped and pushed around, the air has turned yellow with fire as your ship burns its way into the atmosphere. Just as suddenly as you hit, things smooth out, and you are in atmosphere.

The ships level out, deploy its wings and head to the designated LZ.

[Ghal Marak]

George

"Fingers crossed and all that." Grinning, he closed up his kit and secured it to his backpack.

[Mangy Mathan]

Dustin Friedhelm

Once the ride calms down, Dustin takes a moment to lean back, breath, and relax his muscles. Falling was never something he enjoyed. Once he's stabilized, he turns to the person next to him. "It's more fun if you raise your hands up like this." He says jokingly, raising his arms up like he's on a rollercoaster.

[keilyn]

Jakob

::As the dropship falls, he laughs, enjoying the sensation, and the coin trick. He's going to have to remember that for next time. As Dustin raises his hands, Jakob does so also, willing to give it a try.::

"So, how does this make it more fun?"

[Caewil]

"It's easier to reach your mouth if you need to throw up," says Landing. "We should be there soon. Get ready people."

[Meshakhad]

"Locked and loaded!" Mila shouts, still smiling.

[TheThan]

As the ships approach the LZ, warning klaxons begin blaring, a red spinning light flashes above the Lieutenant’s head and you hear the pilot yell something about taking evasive action. One or more of you glance out the window in time to see a surface to air missile slam into the other drop ship. The ship rips in half where the missile hit, secondary explosions in the wing mounted missile pods and the engines disintegrate the ship in a catastrophic fireball.
You also see the black puffs of smoke and dim booms, classic indications of anti-aircraft fire. Your ship shimmies and shakes, trying to avoid the barrage of AA fire. You hear loud thuds as they begin to riddle the ship. Over the inter-com you hear the pilot yell something about emergency deployment. Then suddenly your APC is in free fall. A large explosion rocks the free falling apc, sending it into a nosedive.

Inside the apc, things are in chaos, people are shouting and yelling, previously stowed gear is thrown around like discarded toys. You can hardly see because of the sudden and erratic movements of ship. Then when the APC is let go, everything fall towards the front of the vehicle and your hearts are in your throats again. Everything after that is a blur.


You come to in what looks like a disaster. Most of the ship’s gear has fallen in a heap in the front of the APC. Which happens to be pitched at an odd angel and up side down. Releasing your safety harness results in you crashing into the ceiling of the APC. It looks like nearly everything is broken, two marines force the door open, the video screens where the lieutenant sit are all smashed or inoperative. Floor, ceiling and wall tile has broken loose, exposing wires, cables and other internal components. Most of the other large gear has not survived the crash.
The pilot must have released the mourning clamps that lock the APC to the drop ship. It was a gutsy move; the APCs aren’t designed to survive an airborne drop, and there is a good chance you wouldn’t have survived the crash. But it must have been the only way. The AA fire was too intense for the ships to have made it in.

The Lieutenant makes a quick head count, the pilot of the APC was in the cockpit, which was smashed in on impact, the team tries to reach the drop ship via radio, but nothing picks up. So the lieutenant rights them off as MIA, until conformation of their fate can be determined. So out of a thirteen-man squad, you find yourselves down to ten.
He then orders everyone on a scavenging mission, find any piece of working equipment you can. After
All you’re still marines, and you have a job to do.


[ OOC] sorry for the lateness of this post, forums have been down due to new comic.

Anyway you guys don’t have to make any rolls, the gear you have (the stuff I’ve given you or you’ve bought) is what you manage to find in the wreckage of the APC. It wouldn’t be an aliens game without a catastrophe.

[Ghal Marak]

George

After recovering from the... experiance he just had, he gathered up his medical kit and everything else as best he could. "Is everybody okay? Anybody need patching up?"

[Meshakhad]

You hear the whine of a smart rifle powering up as Mila hefts her weapon into position.

Back on Earth, a puppy dies. Mila Korvanic is no longer smiling.

[keilyn]

Jakob

::As the ship comes to a stop, he looks around, blinking. A surprised look on his face.::

"You know. I think I'll keep my arms down from now on, that was too much fun for me."

::As they receive their orders, he falls in, collecting what gear he can, and generally staying out of the way until he has the opportunity to hop out of the APC. As he looks around, he frowns and scans the horizon, resisting the urge to light a smoke.::

"What a hell-hole. No place to lose good Marines."

[Mangy Mathan]

Dustin Friedhelm


One or more of you glance out the window in time to see a surface to air missile slam into the other drop ship.

"WHAT?!" Dustin yelps when he sees the missile. He leans back and grits his teeth, knowing he has no say in whether he lives or dies.

Once he wakes up, he quickly checks his surroundings, looking for enemies or the corpses of his friends. When he sees everyone in the back section getting up or milling around, he stumbles up, winces in pain, and heads to check on the pilot. He doesn't like what he sees. Once he is sure that the pilot is no longer alive, he pats the pilot's head (or hand, or nothing, depending on the corpse's condition). "Thanks, buddy. You saved our lives."

He returned to the cabin and began scavenging for supplies, quietly refusing George's attempts to patch the bleeding wound on his head. He put all of his sadness and anger into a box and placed it in a dark corner of his mind. He'd deal with it later.

[Caewil]

The sergeant doesn't waste time indulging her respects for the deceased. Instead, she gets down to business.

"The locals sure know how to throw visitors a welcome party." Looking at the wreckage, Landing shakes her head. "We still have most of our weapons, but I guess the communications equipment is trashed."

"Jakob - get off your ass! I want anything that can be repaired removed from the wreckage. Make a pile here. Any electronics that can be salvaged as well. This trash heap ain't gonna be moving again, so strip the power generator."

"Get on it and do it fast! The bastards blew us out of the sky know we're here and I intend for us not to be here if they send a search party. Corporal Fries, take Private Korvanic and circle the area. Standard sweep, let us know if any hostiles approach. Look for shelter while you're at it.

If anyone needs to make a skill check, Landing uses her Leadership ability to grant a +5 bonus (her reputation). She has 9 points in diplomacy, so she automatically succeeds even on a 1.

Edit: Unless someone has a better plan. Landing could also go with the scouting party, if the Lieutenant approves.

[TheThan]

Jakob finishes his salvage work, unfortunately there is little left of the APC aside from its shell. The power generator lays about 600 meters behind you, in tinny bits. You could possibly MacGyver a long-range communications device but without a dish or a power generator there is no real point in trying. Corporal Fries and Private Korvanic report back from their sweep with nothing to report.

After your attempts to strip the APC, the lieutenant orders the team out. He thanks you for the effort and then assigns everyone his or her positions. Squad one takes with second squad acting as fire support. The military base lies due east from this location.


[ ooc]
I seem to have picked up a cold and have been feeling rather lousy. So I wasn’t able to post this week. Sorry for the wait.

Also I need a marching order.

[Mangy Mathan]

Dustin will march at the front or near the front, depending on the preferences of his comrades and superiors.

[Meshakhad]

Mila will take the front, given her particular weapon.

[Caewil]

Landing will take the center - wherever that is - and use her leadership to boost all spot and listen checks.

[TheThan]

PCF Korvanic
Corporal Friedhelm
PCF Roberts
sergeant Landing
Corporal Danot
Jakob

The squad forms into a rough line, about 5 meters apart from each other with PCF Korvanic leading the way with her smart gun, corporal friedhelm, PCF Roberts and Sergeant Landing follow in succession. Corporal Danot and Jakob bring up the rear.

The second squad lead by the lieutenant follows about 25 meters behind, close enough to provide cover and watch your flanks, while still being far enough away to not be easily spotted.

Thick underbrush makes travel in the forest difficult. Big leafy ferns, bushes and the trunks of large pine trees provide ample cover for any would be assailant to hide. The sun shines down through holes in the canopy, casting shadows at odd angels. The effect makes your eyes play tricks on you and you fight the urge to start jumping at shadows.

A flash of movement draws Mila’s attention, her big smart gun swings out to her left and up slightly looking for a target to lock on to. Corporal Friedhelm spots the same movement and brings his rifle up to shoot.


[ooc]
Ok I took the liberty of putting everyone in formation. Those that responded to my last post got the positions they wanted. I sort of threw everyone else in.

surprise round.
I need Mila and Dustin to roll initiative. While pretty much everyone else spotted the thing in the bushes. You are too far back to engage without risking friendly fire. You’ll have to wait till the surprise round is over to act.

[Mangy Mathan]

Corporal Dustin Friedhelm

[roll0] - Captain Slowpoke to the Rescue! :smallannoyed:
Upon noticing movement, Dustin instinctively crouches, signaling the others to drop low as well. He readies his gun to shoot at any hostile to jump out at him or his comrades.

Move - Crouch (+2 Defense vs. Ranged, -2 Defense vs. Melee, making my Defense now 24 or 20)
Standard - Readied attack vs. hostile target if it is revealed Nevermind, surprise rounds don't allow full actions.

Also, would a battle header like the one below work? It can go right below the name.

Initiative: 8
HP: 32 / 32 [♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥]
AC: 24 vs. Ranged, 20 vs. Melee, 22 Base

The ♥'s would be replaced with ♡'s as damage is taken. Yes, it's a Zelda-style lifebar. It would help the medic to see how butchered I am with a visual aid.

[TheThan]

[ ooc]

Ok I’ve rolled initiative for Mila. She’s rolled a 19 and therefore gets to go first. What she decides to do is up to her.

Ok, you know what, I’m seriously concerned about the interest most of you have in this game. My last post was on a Thursday and in the five days since, I’ve only received one post. I’ve asked for player interactions like marching orders and initiative checks (just now). I want players to make these rolls and decisions, not me (otherwise I might as well just write a book.).

If you guys have lost interest and don’t want to play anymore just let me know and I’ll end it. also if you guys still want to continue but don’t want respond to my requests for player input then I’m going to just end it anyway. I don’t really want to do this, but I feel I will if I feel that I don’t really have any players. I know that i haven't been 100% on time with my posts but I've tried. That's the important thing, that people try to play. I get this vibe that no one here save one or two people are actually trying to play.

[Mangy Mathan]

It may actually have something to do with the time of the year. Since Easter, each of the games I'm involved in, save one, has seemingly lost half its players. So, not sure.

[Meshakhad]

(OOC: The forum has a habit of eating my posts.)

Mila scans for any kind of target.


Spot: [roll0]

[Ghal Marak]

(OCC: I'm still here. I've just felt kinda burned out lately. Dunno why.)

George grabbed at his rifle and dropped to his knee. "What is it?" He asked in a hushed tone.

[Caewil]

"Could just be the light but if not... At a guess? - Whoever shot us down. Probably coming to finish the job. Use your damn eyes, why don't you?" says Landing, still working out the tricky problem of how to bawl the idiot out without making too much noise.

Well, I can't do anything since you said my character was too far back. If I had an idea of the area's layout, maybe I could come up with a plan or do something, like break for more cover.

Spot:[roll0]

[TheThan]

The bushes off to your left rustles slightly. A black blur bursts from the bushes. It soars several feet in the air, before landing on all fours and charges Mila, too quick for her to bring her weapon to bear.

When it lands you get a good look at it. It’s a large black ape like creature with very long, muscular arms that end in sharp curved claws. And its about a round away from tearing Mila a new one.
[ooc]

Ok Dustin’s up in initiative order, then everyone else gets to get involved. Assuming of course this thing survives your overwhelming firepower.
oh yeah you all can roll initiative (including Dustin and Mila... again).

[Meshakhad]

Mila brings her weapon to bear.


Initiative: [roll0]

[Mangy Mathan]

Corporal Dustin Friedhelm

[[Forums have been stupidly slow.]]

Dustin rises to get a better shot, then unloads on the creature. Not normally one for killing.... wildlife, he knew it was better than letting it rip into his companions.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[TheThan]

The bark of Dustin’s assault rifle fills your ears as he fires at the creature. His shots slam into the creature staggering it, but not killing it. It howls in pain and turns to face its new enemy, rage burned into its simian face.

The howl of the creature awakens the forest around you, off in the distance you hear similar howls, as if a group of these creatures have responded to the creature’s call.


[ooc]

Ok I still need some initiative checks

[Ricky S]

Tiger Roberts

He brings his rifle up and steadies it against his shoulder. Ready to fire should the creature attack.

( initiative [roll0] +4 )