The Return of Malfeas IC

[horus42]

The four of you are standing on the bridge of Watson's ship, along with the squad of Dragon-Blooded commandos, being briefed by your new commanding officer, a Full Moon Caste Lunar: Commander Tarkas. The Thark stands over nearly everyone in the room, with the exception of Passionate Defender of Orthodoxy, and all four arms are crossed over his broad chest.

Despite his large stature and commanding nature, he's actually quite soft spoken in normal speech. "Men, the Empire is facing its greatest threat since the end of The Malfean War. I'm sure I don't have to tell you how serious this is. All we know now is that Malfeas has returned, and he's destroying worlds. He isn't destroying everything in his path, only specific planets. They've reported being attacked by demons, before all contact is lost. Do we have any questions?"

[Perdue]

Siku is listening attentively to what the commander had to say. His eyes glance to the other people in the room for a moment and back at the commander.

"Is there any patterns to the destruction of these planets compared to the others?"

[sun_tzu]

Major Berger looked around her. The armored redhead was still trying to get a feel for the situation - since her exaltation, it was harder to predict how the brass would handle her.
"What sort of fleet does the Stellar Intelligence have at its disposal, sir?"

[Maugan Ra]

Watson, a slender looking man with golden eyes, grinned slightly and nodded his new teammates. Hearing the Major's question, he turned back to the Commander.

"I'd like to know that too. The Mercury is a fine ship with a fine crew, but it's always good to know what we might be getting into before I have to outfly them."

[horus42]

Commander Tarkas shrugs with his upper pair of arms. "The only discernible pattern is that the planets report large-scale demonic attacks on a single target before Malfeas destroys them. Some are important, heavily-populated worlds, others are backwater moons with only a few million colonists. Some aren't even controlled by The Empire, so it can't just be revenge for his imprisonment. Our best intelligence at this point suggests that Malfeas is searching for something. Something he didn't have in the last war.

As for his fleet, it rivals our own in size. Tens of thousands of Capital Ships, hundreds of thousands of smaller warships, millions of personal fighters, untold billions of foot-soldiers. Simply put, this is a war that we might not win."

The Thark turns his attention to towering Alchemical. "How much aid can we expect from Autocthon? Having another Stellar Intelligence take the field on our side could really turn the tide in our favor."

[JollyChris]

Passionate Defender of Orthodoxy towering over everyone else in the room looks down uncomfortably at the Lunar Commander unused to the lack of a soulgem in his face. "Autocthon probably isn't aware of Malfeas return. Yugash was sent ahead to scout and prepare for Autocthon's return as such communication is difficult to establish and maintain." He pauses carefully considering his words "When i left our leaders were still disagreeing on how Yugash should respond. I couldn't stand by and let Malfeas grow in strength while they pointlessly argued so i came here to fight. If you can provide evidence that Malfeas is looking for something that will make him stronger that should force them to respond."

[sun_tzu]

"Then that should probably be one of our strategic priorities," said major Berger. "Autochton joining the war effort could turn the tide of the war." She paused. "It has been said that tactics win battles, strategies win campaigns, and logistics win wars. Do we know what resources Malfeas's army is most dependent on, and which of those we could cut off?"

[Maugan Ra]

"Well, let's see about obtaining some useful information then."

With that, Watson holds out a hand, positioning it as though he was holding up a tiny insect. A moment later, he is, a small green arachnid seemingly formed out of solidified light taking form balanced between his fingers.

"What is Malfeas directing it's forces in search of." he says to it softly. The spider shimmers and disappears once more as Watson turns to look at the rest of the group.

"The Celestial Mountain is fantastically well informed. Malfeas is a Steller Intelligence, but it still has to communicate with it's ships, and my colleagues overhear everything. And I do mean everything. You just have to know the raw data you're looking for."

Making use of Efficient Secetary Technique. Provides the exact answer to one question I ask, so long as it can be expressed in factual answers and not something like intent. So the spider should be able to get access to the identification of whatever Malfeas is searching for.

It's a wonderful little technique.

[horus42]

Commander Tarkas nods. "I'll send word to my superiors, and have them negotiate with the followers of Autocthon, see what they can do. As for Malfeas' fleet, they take everything they need from the surrounding worlds, but like an army, cutting them off from food and water is the best way to shut them down."

After a few moments, the holographic spider returns to Watson's hand. "Malfeas is searching for a set of schematics and code that were scattered after the last Malfean war."

[sun_tzu]

"That's a handy skill," Berger observed. "Although additional data would be good. What are these codes and schematics for? Allowing the rest of the Stellar Intelligences to return? Something else?"

[JollyChris]

"Hmm make sure you mention those codes when speaking Yugash. They may have more information on them."

[horus42]

"We'll make finding that out our first priority." Said Commander Tarkas.

[JollyChris]

"So commander what are our orders?" Defender says eagerly.

[horus42]

"We find Malfeas' next target, and see if we can't intercept that data. Mr. Watson, pull up the Star Chart."

[Maugan Ra]

"Aye, sir." Watson replies, striding over to a control console and tapping in a series of commands. He continues speaking as he works. "Unfortunately, chances are that Malfeas itself doesn't know what the schematics are for. If it knew, we'd know. It probably found the first part somewhere, recognized the inherent value and set about piecing the rest of it together."

With a faint shimmer, a map of the galaxy appears in the centre of the bridge. Every world known to man is marked on it, with considerable amounts of information on each available on each icon. With a swift gesture, the Sidereal marks in glowing scarlet the worlds that Malfeas has destroyed so far. A few moment's contemplating, and he narrows the viewpoint down to a particular world.

"There. That's the next world that Malfeas intends to target which I can get us to first."

Will make use of Efficient Secetary technique again if needed to find the exact planet.

[horus42]

The commander gasps, clearly taken by surprise. "That's Barsoom... That's my homeworld..." He straightens up to his full height, and shouts. "Get me Admiral Harshaw on the horn. We need to let the fleet know. Mr. Watson, set course for Barsoom."

[Maugan Ra]

"Very well sir. Ladies and Gentlemen," Watson says, speaking to the bridge and everyone in it, his new team and the dragon-blooded commandos in particular. "I am about to break the laws of physics for our convenience. Please, whatever you do, no one touch the controls while we're in flight, and no one attempt to exit the ship."

He spins on one foot and marches into the centre of the bridge, snapping orders to the crew around him as he goes. They fall into a well practiced routine with the ease that speaks of superior training and experience - the Sidereal clearly only accepts the best on his ship. As he reaches the pilot's seat, Watson begins to glow. At first it is a subtle thing, a barely noticeable outline, but it continues to expand until the entire room is bathed in brilliant yellow light. You notice the movements of the crew have sped up, limbs flying over the control panels far faster than any mortal should be able to move. And outside the window, space begins to bend.

Before everyone's eyes, the black void of space turns blue, and then a pure, featureless white. The Mercury rockets forwards, hurling itself into the pale abyss with what might almost be eagerness. As astrological calculations dance in hologram form throughout the bridge, James Watson spins his chair around to regard the rest of you, the intricate sign of his caste glowing on his brow.

"Normally, this trip would take about thirty six hours, but that would be too late. So I bent space in half to create our very own Dragon Line and half the distance, which explains the light show." he explains, indicating the white void outside the windows. "And then I sort of ignored inertia and acceleration to triple our top speed. We'll be arriving in low orbit around our target in about six hours. I intend to put the Mercury into a stable orbit and meet you in the shuttle bay. I don't know exactly how long we'll have before Malfean forces arrive, but it should be a decent length of time."

Right. Using the following charms:
- Efficient Secetary Technique, to gather the answer to the question 'Where in the Barsoom system are the schematics we seek located. 2 motes.
- Mirror-shattering Method to turn the world white and double our speed as we move outside of reality. As a helpful side-effect, this ability renders us immune to anything inside reality, thus allowing us to, say, take a shortcut through a black hole. 5 motes.
- Ten motes to activate my anima power and triple our travelling speed.
- Four motes, one willpower to use the Auspicious Sail Excellency at full power. This automatically turns every dice in the pool I roll to a success. In this case, that's at least eleven successes, which I expect should be sufficient to bring us out of totally-not-hyperspace as close to the target as is remotely safe.

[sun_tzu]

"You're saving us 30 hours," said major Berger, with a small smile. "That might make all the difference in the world for the people of Barsoom."
She turned around. "Commander Tarkas, what defenses does Barsoom have at its disposal?"

[horus42]

Watson:
A patter spider appears to answer your question: "In a manse, located in the ruins of the city of Warhoon"

Commander Tarkas turns to Berger. "We have a group of small defensive fleets, but all of the tribes don't often cooperate. Nowhere near enough to turn back Malfeas' entire fleet."

[sun_tzu]

Watson:
A patter spider appears to answer your question: "In a manse, located in the ruins of the city of Warhoon"

Commander Tarkas turns to Berger. "We have a group of small defensive fleets, but all of the tribes don't often cooperate. Nowhere near enough to turn back Malfeas' entire fleet."

Berger nodded. "Well, we have several hours to prepare. Anything you can tell us about Barsoom could be of use, commander." And hopefully, there will still BE a Barsoom once the dust settles. How many people live there? We can't allow Malfeas to wipe out billions...

[horus42]

"It's not a very heavily populated world, only a few hundred million Tharks are left alive. There are plenty of places for the schematics to be hiding, since before the Cataclysm, we used to be a much more important world, so Barsoom is covered in ruins. There are dozens of small tribes who are almost always at war with each other over resources, and we don't get much Imperial attention, since we're a frontier planet."

[Maugan Ra]

"The schematics are in Warhoon." Watson notes. "In a ruined manse, to be specific. The Mercury can't enter the atmosphere... well, it could, but not without some spectacular flying and a lot of collateral damage... but I'm going to bring us in overhead and launch the shuttle rapidly."

He sits back and smiles. "And since we can't really stop Malfeas from destroying the world with force, let's use bait. Retrieve the schematics, retreat to the Mercury, call him up and gloat about it. It does have the disadvantage of getting an angry planet-sized super being angry at us... but he won't be going after Barsoom."

[sun_tzu]

"Sounds like a plan to me," said Berger. "Commander, on the admittedly major assumption that we do manage to retrieve the schematics and taunt Malfeas, would it theoretically be possible to thusly bait what armies he sends after us into a trap?"

[JollyChris]

"Baiting a planet sized being into chasing us sounds like exactly the sought of thing to get me a lecture from my vats crew." He says with an eager smile. "Does the Imperial Navy have enough ships to even hurt Malfeas? In Autochthonia it's said that only the exalted could stop the Stellar Intelligences."

[Maugan Ra]

"Yes, and I'm not supposed to break physics like this without submitting an application form days in advance. I tend to find that if you succeed, the lectures have a way of not actually occurring." Watson says, waving off the idea of official censure in dismissive fashion. "That said, hurting a Steller Intelligence isn't an easy thing to do. They're ridiculously powerful, both in essence terms and a regular physical sense. Plus, they're smart. I mean, I have a quantum computer in my head for searching the data archives, but those things make such levels look like child's play."

He shrugs. "Still, you shoot something in what passes for it's face enough times, and it will die. Explosives help. I'm sure there's several teams of my comrades going over everything they know about how to kill these things right now. Start by saving the world... possibly plural... First, I reckon."

[sun_tzu]

"Baiting a planet sized being into chasing us sounds like exactly the sought of thing to get me a lecture from my vats crew." He says with an eager smile. "Does the Imperial Navy have enough ships to even hurt Malfeas? In Autochthonia it's said that only the exalted could stop the Stellar Intelligences."

"The Imperial Navy has exalts," Berger pointed out. "Additionally, back in the war, there were multiple Stellar Intelligences. This time, hopefully, Malfeas is alone...and I doubt even it can stand up to the entire galaxy on its own. Malfeas needs its armies, like any other would-be conqueror."

[Maugan Ra]

"And back in the War, the Empire was massively larger. Stronger. Maybe not better, but still. You really have no idea." Watson taps a few controls, and the holographic map display changes to show a map of the Central Empire. Over it, he imposes an outline of the Imperial Empire-that-was. The difference in scale is staggering - the former could fit into the latter a half dozen times and still leave room to spare, at the least.

"I wanted to fix this, you know, once upon a time." Watson says wistfully, staring up at the map, and you are forcefully reminded that he is likely much older than his youthful appearance indicates. "A lot of us do, when we first learn about the past and take up our duties. And the vast majority eventually learn better, and strive to keep things from getting any worse. The ones that don't tend to die, or burn out trying to do the impossible."

[sun_tzu]

"And back in the War, the Empire was massively larger. Stronger. Maybe not better, but still. You really have no idea." Watson taps a few controls, and the holographic map display changes to show a map of the Central Empire. Over it, he imposes an outline of the Imperial Empire-that-was. The difference in scale is staggering - the former could fit into the latter a half dozen times and still leave room to spare, at the least.

"I wanted to fix this, you know, once upon a time." Watson says wistfully, staring up at the map, and you are forcefully reminded that he is likely much older than his youthful appearance indicates. "A lot of us do, when we first learn about the past and take up our duties. And the vast majority eventually learn better, and strive to keep things from getting any worse. The ones that don't tend to die, or burn out trying to do the impossible."

Berger looked over the map, remaining silent for a few seconds.
"I get what you're saying. But I believe this galaxy can still be fixed," she says, her tone tone more...informal than earlier. "Maybe not through the first methods that come to mind. Probably not through force of arms. However..." her eyes wandered over the map again, "...if I had to choose between an empire that was stronger and an empire that was better, I'd choose better. In the end, nations ought to exist for the sake of their population, rather than the other way around."

[Maugan Ra]

The Sidereal fixes Berger with an inquisitive gaze. "An interesting philosophy, and not, I think, one that would hold much favour in the Imperial Court." he says slowly, intrigued by the inherent possibilities. An impish grin takes form on his lips.

"Tell me, Erin Berger, Exalted of the Dawn... what would you do? If Malfeas is stopped, and the galaxy is saved... if you master your strength and all the might of the Empire lay at your feet. If the fate of billions hung on your every word and action, what would you do first? Before anything else?"

The Solar cannot help but remember an old proverb - 'Beware of a Sidereal asking questions'.

[Perdue]

Siku was listening carefully to what everybody had to say and the kind of place that they would need to infiltrate and what was needed for their next mission. Apparently they were planning a direct approach on the matter. What was malfeas looking for? Siku mostly wondered about it. Right now, there was a more important mission, baiting Malfeas away from Barsoom.

[horus42]

The commander looks at Major Berger with a hint of a smile, and a measure of respect. "I like the way you think, Major. We still have a few hours before we arrive, thats plenty of time to get a message to Admiral Harshaw, and set up an ambush. We'll draw Malfeas away from Barsoom, and crush his fleet. It might even be possible to hold the schematics over his head, as it were. Force his hand, and win this war early."

[sun_tzu]

The Sidereal fixes Berger with an inquisitive gaze. "An interesting philosophy, and not, I think, one that would hold much favour in the Imperial Court." he says slowly, intrigued by the inherent possibilities. An impish grin takes form on his lips.

"Tell me, Erin Berger, Exalted of the Dawn... what would you do? If Malfeas is stopped, and the galaxy is saved... if you master your strength and all the might of the Empire lay at your feet. If the fate of billions hung on your every word and action, what would you do first? Before anything else?"

The Solar cannot help but remember an old proverb - 'Beware of a Sidereal asking questions'.

A hint of a smile passed on Berger's lips. "I guess it's my upbringing talking. I'm from the Epsilon Territories. We used to have a culture with fairly extensive citizens' rights until the Central Empire took over, not long before my parents met; there's still a lot of nostalgia for those days."
She paused. "Don't get me wrong. I'm under no illusion that things would be better without the Central Empire - the galaxy needs to be united, after all - but I do believe that things can be a lot better than imperial law allows them to be.
OK, enough of my stalling. To answer your question...Well, I'd like to say that my first action would be to gather the galaxy's greatest political scientists, social engineers and philosophers, and work with them to design a bill of rights for the people of the empire. But that's the naive answer. The true answer is that the first thing I'd do is send a call to all those thinkers so that they can get started on that bill of rights; then, I'd have my advisers explain to me all the urgent crises facing the galaxy; then, I'd see what competent and reliable agents I had to whom I could delegate each crisis, so that I'd be able to address long-term concerns (such as bills of rights) without drowning under the weight of the immediate concerns. After all," the smile returned, "no one, no matter how powerful or heroic, can change the world on their own. That's what friends and allies are for."


The commander looks at Major Berger with a hint of a smile, and a measure of respect. "I like the way you think, Major. We still have a few hours before we arrive, thats plenty of time to get a message to Admiral Harshaw, and set up an ambush. We'll draw Malfeas away from Barsoom, and crush his fleet. It might even be possible to hold the schematics over his head, as it were. Force his hand, and win this war early."

Major Berger nodded. "I've learned that in war, there's always an extra mile to go, a bonus objective as we sometimes call them. There's always some additional data to gather, an extra sensitive target to destroy, one more resource to take control of. Always going that extra mile can make all the difference between holding the line, and actually progressing forward."

[horus42]

The commander nods, and sets about the plan. He uses a subspace communicator to get in touch with Admiral Patricia Harshaw, a human woman in late middle-age. She appears on the screen, a stern look on her face.

"Commander Tarkas, and the crew of The Mercury. You went off without orders. Explain yourselves."

[sun_tzu]

The commander nods, and sets about the plan. He uses a subspace communicator to get in touch with Admiral Patricia Harshaw, a human woman in late middle-age. She appears on the screen, a stern look on her face.

"Commander Tarkas, and the crew of The Mercury. You went off without orders. Explain yourselves."

Major Berger looked at the commander - as their commanding officer, this one was up to him...

[Maugan Ra]

Watson looks over at the communications screen. "Captain Watson of the Mercury here, Admiral. I departed on the Commander's orders for Barsoom. Predictive tactical modeling indicates that the world is the next target for the Steller Intelligence Malfeas, and that we have the ability to thwart it's intended goal there." he says respectfully.

"Consultation with other Sidereal operatives should confirm this belief, and the necessity of haste."

[horus42]

The Admiral frowns, but seems to agree. "Very well. I will forgive this breach of protocol, due to the... extenuating circumstances. What do you have in mind?"

[sun_tzu]

The Admiral frowns, but seems to agree. "Very well. I will forgive this breach of protocol, due to the... extenuating circumstances. What do you have in mind?"

This time, Erin felt it was appropriate for her to speak up. "Major Berger of the Special Forces Division, admiral. We believe it might be possible to both thwart what plan Malfeas has here and save Barsoom from annihilation - if we can find what the Stellar Intelligence is looking for first, and taunt it with that fact, we may be able to bait it away from population centers." She paused. "Discussion with our commander has also raised the possibility that under such circumstances, it may be possible to bait Malfean pursuers into a trap. Though I imagine you are far better suited to judge the feasibility of that idea, admiral."
She did her best to maintain a tone of respect - when talking to the brass, it was generally prudent not to sound like you were taking too much initiative. Best let them think your idea was practically their own - at least, until you had a better idea what kind of officers they were.

[horus42]

This time, Erin felt it was appropriate for her to speak up. "Major Berger of the Special Forces Division, admiral. We believe it might be possible to both thwart what plan Malfeas has here and save Barsoom from annihilation - if we can find what the Stellar Intelligence is looking for first, and taunt it with that fact, we may be able to bait it away from population centers." She paused. "Discussion with our commander has also raised the possibility that under such circumstances, it may be possible to bait Malfean pursuers into a trap. Though I imagine you are far better suited to judge the feasibility of that idea, admiral."
She did her best to maintain a tone of respect - when talking to the brass, it was generally prudent not to sound like you were taking too much initiative. Best let them think your idea was practically their own - at least, until you had a better idea what kind of officers they were.

Admiral Harshaw nods in agreement. "I believe it would be possible, yes. Do we have any idea what it is Malfeas is searching for? This entire plan might fail if it's something that he could find somewhere else."

[Maugan Ra]

"As far as we can tell, it's a series of schematics and data files from the Old War. Their exact nature is unknown at present. Right now, all we know is that Malfeas wants them."

[horus42]

"Then it is imperitive that you retrieve them before the Malfean forces do. How far out are you from Barsoom, Commander Tarkas?"

The Thark turns his attention back to the screen. "Still a few hours, Admiral. That's one of the reasons why I contacted you, so that we could set an ambush for the Malfean fleet."

She nods. "Very well. Obtain the schematics, and lead the Malfeans to the Carna system. As much of the Imperial Fleet as we can spare will be there. And be sure to send word my way when you discover what the schematics are for. Keep in touch, Commander." With that, the screen flickers back to black.

Commander Tarkas looks back at the assembled crew. "You heard the Admiral, we have work to do."

[sun_tzu]

"Then it is imperitive that you retrieve them before the Malfean forces do. How far out are you from Barsoom, Commander Tarkas?"

The Thark turns his attention back to the screen. "Still a few hours, Admiral. That's one of the reasons why I contacted you, so that we could set an ambush for the Malfean fleet."

She nods. "Very well. Obtain the schematics, and lead the Malfeans to the Carna system. As much of the Imperial Fleet as we can spare will be there. And be sure to send word my way when you discover what the schematics are for. Keep in touch, Commander." With that, the screen flickers back to black.

Commander Tarkas looks back at the assembled crew. "You heard the Admiral, we have work to do."

Major Berger turned toward Tarkas. "Commander, if I may say? In the Malfean War, it took the martial skill of the Solar Exalted to defeat the Stellar Intelligences. I am under no illusion that my strategic capabilities are equal to those who defeated Malfeas the first time around, but I do know that I possess tactical insight that dwarves what I had before I got this Solar Shard. With that in mind, I was wondering if allowing me to act in an advisory role for planning the ambush might not be prudent."

[Maugan Ra]

"That went well. The first time I took a ship off somewhere without telling people, I actually got in trouble." Watson says in an offhand tone, before looking back at Berger.

"One person can't do everything, Major. Our job right now is to help set up the ambush, not to direct it. Trust the brass - they're actually pretty damn good at their jobs, most of the time." he says seriously, then grins. "Besides, if I get killed be ause you were distracted trying to take on too many duties at once, I shall be very upset."

[horus42]

The Commander shakes his head. "We'll be too busy with our current mission, Major. You might be a Solar, but you're still young, and some of the best tactical minds in The Empire are working on that ambush. We've been given our part, so we must play it."

[sun_tzu]

The Commander shakes his head. "We'll be too busy with our current mission, Major. You might be a Solar, but you're still young, and some of the best tactical minds in The Empire are working on that ambush. We've been given our part, so we must play it."

"Very well. What's our next move?" asked Berger.

[Maugan Ra]

"Not a lot we can do until we reach the target in... five hours or so, now. I'll fly us in with the shuttle, but I leave tactical decisions to others." Watson cricks his neck. "We want a slow and steady approach, so we can see everything, or a fast combat drop so we get down before anything starts shooting at us?"

[horus42]

He ponders this for a moment. "For now? We wait until we reach Barsoom. Then we make our move."

[sun_tzu]

"Then I suppose I'll at least try to get acquainted with the environment," said Berger, pulling out the strategic files on Barsoom from the computer.

[horus42]

"Then I suppose I'll at least try to get acquainted with the environment," said Berger, pulling out the strategic files on Barsoom from the computer.

Barsoom is a small world, (about a third the size of Earth) and has a thin, yet breathable, atmosphere. Most of the planet is desert, though the poles are covered in ice, and there are more temperate regions near it's few seas. The files tell you that it used to be a much more lush world, but in the days before the Empire, the native Tharks nearly ruined it with industry. The Empire re-terraformed it, but the machines were destroyed a few decades ago. Since Barsoom is a border world, the Empire hasn't done anything yet, which has returned it to it's Pre-Empire state, greatly reducing its population and habitability.

[sun_tzu]

((Unless anything else comes up, Erin Berger will be spending the rest of the flight learning every detail she can about military resources available, local geography, the ruins they're exploring...))

[horus42]

The remaining hours pass, and The Mercury falls into orbit around Barsoom. It's a small world (about a third the size of Earth) covered mostly in desert of red sands, but with ice caps and more temperate areas around its few seas.

Commander Tarkas looks at it, fondly. "Mr. Watson, prepare the shuttle for launch. We have no time to waste."

[sun_tzu]

Major Berger checked her golden armor and shellcaster one last time and made sure the Dragon-Blooded troops were ready before boarding the shuttle.

[Maugan Ra]

Satisfied that nothing was about to make his precious ship explode, Watson left the Mercury in the command of his bridge staff and headed for the hanger. In distinct contrast to the assembled commandos and officers, he neglected to wear anything more armoured than his standard uniform fatigues. A rather high quality looking blaster pistol sat on his hip, but it was still a far cry from the artifact weapons carried by the others. Even so, the Sidereal carried himself with a degree of confidence.

"All right, strap in. We don't expect to get shot at just yet, but expectations don't always match reality, and if any of you throw up all over my nice clean shuttle I am making you clean it personally." he reeled off over the intercom as the pre-flight checks got under way.

Once he was satisfied that everyone was in place, he hit the engines and launched, heading for the planet below. Time to save the galaxy. Again.

[horus42]

The shuttle makes its way down to the planet's surface, landing as near as possible to the ruined Manse in the dead city of Warhoon.

The city is mostly intact, save for decades of disrepair. It doesn't look as though any huge Cataclysm wiped out the Tharks living here. It was almost as if they simply left, rather than died out.

[JollyChris]

As the shuttle descends Defender looks out on the ruined city. "Hmm the city looks surprisingly intact. I wonder what made the people leave?"

[Maugan Ra]

"Well, that's a bad sign." Watson muttered as he finished landing the shuttle, staring out at the abandoned city. "Cities don't just get abandoned so neatly, and they don't stay abandoned for years at a time. I'm thinking hideous super-weapon or ghosts."

He moves over to the hatch and cycles it open, before standing aside. "So, I'm going to say someone else goes first."

[JollyChris]

"I'll go first." Said the towering Champion as he exited the cramped shuttle. "I'm a lot tougher than most Exalted and i fight at close range."

[horus42]

As you exit the shuttle you see... nothing. No signs of any form of life. Just empty streets and crumbling buildings.

[Maugan Ra]

Watson hopped out behind the towering Champion, looking around suspiciously. He didn't trust places like this. Something was going to happen, he was sure.

"Well, the manse and our objectives are that way, about thirty metres. I'll tag along, and let you military types stop us getting shot en route or whatever."

[sun_tzu]

Berger nodded, and stepped forward, weapon in hand as she assisted the Alchemical in recon.

[horus42]

Commander Tarkas leads the way, seemingly unperturbed by the abandoned state of the city. "There shouldn't be anything here to threaten us." He says. "The city was abandoned a few decades ago, when it was renedered uninhabitable by the destruction of Barsoom's Terraforming machines."

[sun_tzu]

Commander Tarkas leads the way, seemingly unperturbed by the abandoned state of the city. "There shouldn't be anything here to threaten us." He says. "The city was abandoned a few decades ago, when it was renedered uninhabitable by the destruction of Barsoom's Terraforming machines."

"How did that happen?" asked Berger. And why haven't those machines been replaced yet? Budget problems? Technological limitations? Punitive politics?

[horus42]

"How did that happen?" asked Berger. And why haven't those machines been replaced yet? Budget problems? Technological limitations? Punitive politics?

The commander's voice goes cold. "An asteroid strike. I was only a child when it happened. It was a miracle the entire planet wasn't destroyed."

[sun_tzu]

The commander's voice goes cold. "An asteroid strike. I was only a child when it happened. It was a miracle the entire planet wasn't destroyed."

Berger nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry. That can't have been anything short of harrowing." She paused. "How did the Empire deal with it?"

[horus42]

"They haven't helped as much as they could have. New machines have been put in place, but they're of poor quality. The atmosphere is slowly improving, but it's taking too long. The Empire claims that it's because Barsoom is a frontier world, and it can't spare the resources, but I think the talk of rebellion amongst some Tharks has more to do with it than that."

[sun_tzu]

"They haven't helped as much as they could have. New machines have been put in place, but they're of poor quality. The atmosphere is slowly improving, but it's taking too long. The Empire claims that it's because Barsoom is a frontier world, and it can't spare the resources, but I think the talk of rebellion amongst some Tharks has more to do with it than that."

Typical Imperial policy. Prioritizing realpolitics over the needs of the people. Berger didn't say anything, but she nodded sympathetically...and focused on observation again.

[Maugan Ra]

"Yeah, that sounds about right." Watson comments, with the air of a man who's been a part of the same sort of decision making that would have left Barsoom low on the priority list. "Still, the Empire has a history of rewarding it's saveiours and general heroes. If this plan works, you could probably push your homeworld's priorities higher up the schedule in exchange. Isn't politics wonderful?"

There might have been a bit of sarcasm in that final statement.

[horus42]

He gives an slight shrug with his upper pair of arms. "I can only hope so..."

With that, you all reach the Manse where the schematics are located.

(roll perception+awareness)

[sun_tzu]

Hm. Let's say Berger ain't gonna be the party's lookout. [roll0]

[Maugan Ra]

Watson keeps a look-out as he advances behind the giant form of his meat shield... Uh, companion.

[roll0]

[horus42]

Watson:
You catch a whiff of blood on the air

[Maugan Ra]

The Sidereal pauses, sniffs, and then draws the blaster pistol at his waist.

"Abandoned. Right. That's why I can smell blood on the air." he says, sounding both unsurprised and mildly disgusted. "If Murphy exists, he's probably a Sidereal."

[JollyChris]

Here's my roll: [roll0]

[horus42]

Passionate Defender of Orthodoxy:
You also smell the blood.

[horus42]

(Just to keep things going...)

Commander Tarkas nods. "I smell it too, Watson. We'll need to proceed with caution. I can tell you that it isn't Thark blood, though. Someone else has been here."

[sun_tzu]

(Just to keep things going...)

Commander Tarkas nods. "I smell it too, Watson. We'll need to proceed with caution. I can tell you that it isn't Thark blood, though. Someone else has been here."

"Does it smell human, or like any other specie you're familiar with?" asked Berger. "If not, then it's almost certain Malfeas's agents are already here."

[horus42]

He shakes his head. "It's something iron based. Red blood. That's all I can tell you."

[sun_tzu]

He shakes his head. "It's something iron based. Red blood. That's all I can tell you."

Berger nodded, remaining on her guard as they kept going.

[Maugan Ra]

"Well, only one way to find out, I suppose..

(And... Onward! I fully expect some degree of incoming pain...)

[horus42]

You all walk into the ruined Manse. The door leads into a fairly large room, ancient Essence based computers line the walls, some of them still blinking feebly, trying to turn themselves on again. It's mostly dark, and the smell of blood grows stronger as you enter. There are rough sounding voices coming from the next floor up, though none of you can quite make out what they're saying.

[sun_tzu]

You all walk into the ruined Manse. The door leads into a fairly large room, ancient Essence based computers line the walls, some of them still blinking feebly, trying to turn themselves on again. It's mostly dark, and the smell of blood grows stronger as you enter. There are rough sounding voices coming from the next floor up, though none of you can quite make out what they're saying.

((If Erin tries to program the portable computer in her armor to analyze those voices and make out the words, does that count as an ass-pull godmoding, or as a credible use of future technology? XD ))

[horus42]

((If Erin tries to program the portable computer in her armor to analyze those voices and make out the words, does that count as an ass-pull godmoding, or as a credible use of future technology? XD ))

(If there's some kind of roll for it, I'll allow it. Maybe roll Perception+...let's go with Investigation)

EDIT: With an equipment bonus of +2

[sun_tzu]

(If there's some kind of roll for it, I'll allow it. Maybe roll Perception+...let's go with Investigation)

EDIT: With an equipment bonus of +2

((I'd have thought Intelligence+Lore for the quick programming attempt, but you're the boss.))

Putting her weapon in its holster for a few short moments, Erin brought up her computer's holographic display and began typing. Let's see...Voices from the other floor. Calculate effect of walls of this material and thickness on the soundwaves. Calculate echo. Identify other sounds, as our own group's breathing and heartbeat. Compensate for all parasitic sounds. Then identify and replicate the words spoken upstairs, and search for known linguistic matches.

Perception+Investigation roll, +2 equipment bonus, not including any Stunt dice: [roll0]

[horus42]

The small computer identifies the sounds, and plays them back to you:

"How much longer is this gonna take?" Says one, gruff voice, followed by several murmurs of agreement.
"It will be over soon." Says another, calmer but still deep voice. "We will have the schematics and be out of here before anyone realizes that we even came."

[sun_tzu]

((Are they talking in Galactic Standard?))

"Hm. Search for matches of regional accent," said Erin to the computer before turning toward the commander. "Well, that confirms our suspicions."

((Erin's trying to be quieter than the folks upstairs, naturally. :smallwink: ))

[horus42]

((Are they talking in Galactic Standard?))

"Hm. Search for matches of regional accent," said Erin to the computer before turning toward the commander. "Well, that confirms our suspicions."

((Erin's trying to be quieter than the folks upstairs, naturally. :smallwink: ))

(No, the computer just translated it for you)

The Computer replies, "The First voice was speaking in unaccented Malfean, and was most likely an Erymanthus. The Second voice was also speaking Malfean, but with a Michilimackinac accent, most likely, the second speaker was a Skraeling."

[Maugan Ra]

Watson smiles, and heads for the stairs. He doesn't say anything, but he does have his pistol held ready.

[sun_tzu]

Berger put her weapon back in her hands, ready to advance with the commander.

[horus42]

Commander Tarkas leads the advance up the stairs, moving quietly. You all see a male Skraeling standing at an active Essence Terminal, surrounded by a large group of Blood-Apes. None of them have noticed you yet.

[sun_tzu]

Commander Tarkas leads the advance up the stairs, moving quietly. You all see a male Skraeling standing at an active Essence Terminal, surrounded by a large group of Blood-Apes. None of them have noticed you yet.

Silently, Erin sent Tarkas a text message: "Should I try to get them to surrender, sir?"

[horus42]

Silently, Erin sent Tarkas a text message: "Should I try to get them to surrender, sir?"

He replies, "You can try, but be prepared to fight."

[Maugan Ra]

Watson, for his part, merely gazed at the assorted Malfeans with an inquisitive air. Can he work out exactly how many there are?

[horus42]

Watson, for his part, merely gazed at the assorted Malfeans with an inquisitive air. Can he work out exactly how many there are?

There is one Skraeling, and ten Blood-Apes.

[sun_tzu]

He replies, "You can try, but be prepared to fight."

Quickly, Erin programmed her computer to amplify her voice, making her sound more imposing.
All right, let's see. From what I know of the Stellar Intelligences, they tended to foster social Darwinism among their troops, and a culture of "might makes right". Authority derives from power, and Malfeas was big on destructive power. If these guys worship Malfeas or were indoctrinated by him, then they have absorbed this kind of culture of strength. My best approach, as such, is to be too powerful for them - powerful enough to become an authority figure.
Major Berger herself remained behind cover at first - the psychological effect would be ruined if they shot at her the moment she showed - but a golden anima of expanding fractals exploded outward as she spoke in her amplified voice, putting her enhanced charisma to work as she sought to turn her words into an irresistibly compelling ultimatum:
"Stand down, soldiers.
You have thrown yourself into the maw of danger by coming here. You had little choice in the matter. You obeyed the will of those greater than you. But this is imperial space, and my kind," she said as she stepped out of cover at last, weapon aimed at them, "have killed Malfeas's ilk before and sent him running. Do not hope for victory. I will not allow it. Obey and stand down, or be disintegrated."

Spending 10 motes (all peripheral) for the 2nd Presence Excellency, and 1 mote for Mastery of Small Manners. That means she instantly understands the motivation of anyone present, effectively affects the mannerisms of their society, and gets 5 auto-successes on the...Charisma+Presence roll, I think? Effective Appearance is 5. Up to you if she gets stunt dice.

[horus42]

(Very nice description. Take 3 Stunt dice.)

[sun_tzu]

(Very nice description. Take 3 Stunt dice.)

((Yay!))

Charisma+Presence: [roll0]
Add 5 auto-successes, plus what she gets from the effective Appearance 5. I'll be taking the 6 motes. ;)

[horus42]

The Blood-Apes back down cowed by Major Berger's powerful display. The Skraeling, however, seems amused.

He speaks in that same, deep voice, but now in Galactic Standard. "A Dawn Caste. We were not expecting a Solar here. But it makes no difference." An aura of green erupts around him, a harsh, baleful light. Two ragged, bloody feathers appear behind him, and his eyes shine like twin green suns. Two crossed swords of brass flash on his brow, and green smoke rises from his lips as he speaks, forming a crown upon his head.

"Do not listen to the Solar Wench. You have all seen what I can do, with the harnessed power of our Master! Kill her!"

The Erymanthoi seem emboldened by his words, and snarl in fury.

(Roll Join battle!)

[sun_tzu]

Join Battle: [roll0]
Does the fact she had a weapon drawn on them change anything?

[horus42]

Join Battle: [roll0]
Does the fact she had a weapon drawn on them change anything?

It just means you won't need to draw your weapon on your first tick, if I remember correctly.

[Maugan Ra]

"Yup. Saw that coming. Bloody Malfeans." Watson says, sounding more amused than concerned, even as his pistol comes up and he steps into view.

Join Battle, which is hilariously high on account of the Martial Arts ability.
[roll0]

[horus42]

(Ok, I did the rolls, and here's our order of combat:
Tick 0: Watson
Tick 1: Commander Tarkas and the Skraeling
Tick 2: Major Berger
Tick 3: No one
Tick 4: Blood Apes.
Tick 5: lather, rinse, repeat, etc.

Also, since it appears to be just the two of you now, should I reduce the number of Blood Apes, or do you want to stick with 10?)

[Maugan Ra]

(Well, my first question is... What happened to our Dragon-Blooded commandos? Still, I reckon we can deal with this. Or at least try.)

"Not just a Dawn caste, actually." Watson says calmly to the Skraeling. He makes a slightly mocking bow, one hand held over his heart, the other pointing his pistol distinctly away from any of the combatants. "James Watson, Sidereal Chosen of Journeys. We're a little less famous than our celestial peers, so it is perhaps forgivable if you don't know what that means. Allow me to demonstrate."

With that, he pulled the trigger on his pistol precisely once. The shot shouldn't have done anything, the path of the bullet naturally carrying it away from the fight. But every path, even the trajectory of a bullet, lies under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Journeys, and it's agent exercised that authority now. He didn't change the course of the bullet - he changed the bent of space-time, so that the perfectly linear gunshot path somehow managed to carry it through the heads of no less than eight of the Erymanthus.

Making a combo of the Firearms charm 'Steel and Smoke Mandala', which lets me roll a single Firearms attack and apply the result to Dexterity+3 targets, and the Fateful Firearms Excellency, which lets me lower the difficulty on the roll. I'll spend four motes and a willpower point on the excellency, thus converting all the dice in the pool to automatic successes.

Thus I apply a hit from an exceptional blaster pistol (Damage 5L normally, raised to 6L by the quality) to all eight targets, with a total of 12 successes (Firearms and Dexterity 5, accuracy bonus of +2, possibly more with stunt dice). Total raw damage is therefore at least 18L. Since I don't know what the soak of a Blood Ape is, I'll pause here.

Speed of my attack overall was 5.

Ongoing combat stats:
Personal motes: 2/14
Peripheral motes: 29 (33)/33
Willpower: 7/8
Current DV: 6 (7 -1 for making an attack

[horus42]

(Erm... The Dragon-Blooded commandos are... standing guard outside the Manse. By which I mean, I totally forgot about them. Also, Blood Apes have a soak of 6L, and have 9 health levels. So... they're dead.)

Each of the eight Erymanthoi falls to the floor, quite obviously dead from the wounds Watson gave them.

Commander Tarkas' skin turns from green to silver, his huge frame melts into a lithe, agile Barsoomian Feline called a Banth. (It's pretty much like a lion, but with 8 legs)

The Skraeling draws an Autoklave from behind his back, ignoring his deceased troops. The same green fire from his Anima flows around the blade.

[sun_tzu]

Major Berger stood her ground, pointing her gun at the skraeling.

Memories from combat training flashed through her head. "Being able to draw your weapon fast can save your life. But knowing NOT to shoot fast can do the same."

She ignored the whirling gunshots around her. She ignored the survival instincts screaming at her to get behind cover. All that mattered now was getting a precise aim.

"In a shootout with no good cover, it usually won't be the fastest shooter who survives. It'll be the one with the strongest nerves."

Weapon aimed. Trajectory perfect. Target's movements accounted for.

"The gunman who keeps his cool while bullets are whirling around him can take those few precious seconds to aim. It takes courage and guts to wait for the right time, but a GOOD shot is better than a LUCKY one. Don't be the first to shoot - be the first to HIT."

Aiming complete. Her finger pressed on the trigger.

Berger is taking an Aim action, meaning she'll take her shot in tick 5, right after the surviving Blood Apes but before anyone else's DV refreshes. When she does, she'll have several Charms to apply to the shot.
Speaking of which, since she's going to do a Flurry to shoot as many times as allowed by her weapon's Rate, I wanted to ask...Do the bonus dice from Aim, or from the Stunt in this post, apply to the entire Flurry? Or just the first shot?

[horus42]

The Blood Apes charge forward, slashing at Watson and Major Berger with their ragged claws.

Raw damage is 12 to Major Berger, and 9 to Watson.

[sun_tzu]

Major Berger kept her golden weapon aimed precisely as she fired free shots. No words. No unnecessary movements. Just deadly accuracy. As she did, her exaltation powered her attack, turning it into something far deadlier than a mortal soldier would have been capable of.

flurry with the Orichalcum Shellcaster. Three attacks.
Using the First Firearms Excellency to add 3 dice to the 1st attack, 4 to the 2nd, 5 to the 3rd, effectively nullifying the Flurry penalties.
Using Lightspeed Trigger Technique on each attack to halve the Infernal's DV.
Total dice are 15 for each attack. The weapon has a damage of +9L.
First attack: [roll0]
Second attack:[roll1]
Third attack: [roll2]

[sun_tzu]

D'oh! Forgot the stunt dice. Adding them here for each attack:
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Maugan Ra]

(Because you can stunt defenses as well, and I get the feeling that I might well need every mote of essence before this fight is through)

As the gigantic crimson ape-thing charged towards him, Watson's eyes narrowed. Sidereals didn't fight the same as other people - they were trained to do the unexpected, to think in different ways, to defy predictions. In short, they fought by cheating.

He let the ape get within a few feet, and just as it was drawing back it's arm to swing, he moved. Not away, as the thing clearly expected, given their relative masses, but directly towards it, throwing himself into a graceful bound. One outstretched hand made contact with the Ape's forehead, and he used the leverage to flip himself up and into the air, away from its glittering claws.

That being an, ideally, two-dice stunt description of the evasion. Assuming it was, my combat stats now stand like so:
Personal motes: 10/14
Peripheral motes: 29 (33)/33
Willpower: 7/8

(And for my action on tick five)

The vault carried him neatly over the charging foe and left him on top of a computer tower of some sort, a glittering array of dials and electronic displays that he did not have nearly enough time to properly study right now. He pivoted smoothly, somehow keeping his footing despite the bizarre perch, and raised the gun again.

"Come on then, you monkey bastards. Try and catch me." he taunted, doing his best to draw their ire towards him and away from his comrades, sending a hail of shots into the Blood Apes.

No charms right now - saving my essence for the Infernal. Instead, a two shot flurry into the Ape attacking Berger. Twelve dice base as before, so rolling ten and nine dice against the Ape's listed dodge DV of five.
[roll0]
[roll1]
And assuming that was a one-dice stunt, my personal essence pool is now at 12/14 motes.

[horus42]

Major Berger's shots tear through the Skraeling's flesh. It slows him, but doesn't stop him. He charges forward, his skin bursting and sloughing off, being replaced by a harsh-looking brassy metal, inscribed with whorls of ancient text.

Commander Tarkas meets him in the middle, claws slashing futilely at his metal flesh.

(Ok, so if my calculations are correct, it should be the blood apes now, then Watson and Berger again)

Both blood apes are enraged at Watson for killing their comrades and wounding them. Each tries to make a killing blow, and manages to achieve nothing.

[Maugan Ra]

As the Blood Apes snarl and try to rend him apart, Watson leans sideways and willingly topples off the computer bank that he'd been standing upon. He held his weapon ready as he fell, waiting for just the right moment... There. For the briefest of instants, his aim could draw a straight line through the heads of both Apes as they turned towards him, before continuing on to meet the Skraeling roughly where his heart should be. In that moment, Watson pulled the trigger.

So, once again making a combo of Iron and Smoke Mandala and the Fateful Firearms excellency. The Mandala is being used to shoot both apes and the Infernal, while I'll use the Excellency to lower the difficulty of the hits against the apes to 4's, and auto-confirm everything on the Infernal. Total cost is 8+3+3+4 motes and a willpower point. Also assuming a one-dice stunt bonus.

Blood Ape 1: [roll0]
Blood Ape 2: [roll1]
And I score thirteen successes on my attack against the Infernal.

Personal motes: 0/14
Peripheral motes: 25(29)/33
Willpower: 6/8

[sun_tzu]

Hm. Tough guy. Let's see if I can pierce through his armor. Ignore the apes - even if they get a lucky hit, it won't be fatal to any of us.
Major Berger aimed her gun with one hand, waving the other hand behind it. It was a very simple trick, really - but to an opponent watching for a fraction of a second, it would briefly provide an illusion that the weapon itself was moving. Just enough to slightly falsify dodging instincts.
But that in itself might not suffice. So she gave it her all, focusing like only a special operative could on making the perfect shots.

Flurry of three attacks with the Shellcaster.
Spending one Willpower to improve her attack roll - all of them if you rule that WP/Vritue expenditures apply to entire flurries, to the first attack otherwise.
Using Nova Shell Ordnance and Lightspeed Trigger Technique on each attack.
Using the First Excellency to reduce the Flurry Penalties to -2 on each attack.
To sum up: Three attacks at 10 dice (+possible stunt dice) +1 auto-success. Damage is 11L, Piercing. The Infernal's DV is halved.

Atack 1: [roll0]
Atack 2: [roll1]
Atack 3: [roll2]
((If I get stunt dice, I won't be upset if you roll them yourself to save time XD))

Remaining motes (not counting any from Stunt): 8

[horus42]

The two remaining Blood Apes fall to the ground, dead.

The Skraeling staggers, clearly very severely wounded. Enraged, he slashes at Commander Tarkas with his Autoklaive, nearly bisecting the Lunar.

Commander Tarkas lands on the floor, blue blood flowing freely from his wound. He shifts back to his true form.

[Maugan Ra]

"Son of a bitch!" Watson spits out as he watches the Commander fall.

Yellow light flares around the room as he takes careful aim at the Infernal and fires. The first shot strikes the Skraeling in the left eye, a boiling lance of energy cooking the gelatinous flesh and causing it to explode in a gory torrent. The second shot strikes the left eye, inflicting yet more ruination. And the third and final shot, Watson places straight in his foe's heart.

Spending 12 motes and three willpower to use Fateful Firearms Excellency on all three attacks in a flurry. Kicks my anima banner up to fully totemic level, and resolves as ten, nine and eight successes on the shots. Base damage is 6L, again since I don't know the DV of the Infernal.

[sun_tzu]

Tarkas!
...Don't act impulsively, Erin. Losing your **** won't help Tarkas. If he's still alive, your best bet at keeping him alive is taking the Infernal out NOW.
Major Berger made a mad dash toward her fallen commander, as if to check up on him...then, a few yards away, suddenly turned to face the Infernal instead, crouching, sliding with her remaining inertia as she placed three shots on the skraeling.

Flurry of 3 attacks.
Using Lightspeed Trigger Technique on the first two attacks. If my actions in the previous round counted as a stunt of any sort, then I use it on the third attack, two.
Attacks: (With enemy's DV halved where LTT is used)
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
You tell me if there's any stunt. ;)
Also, I'm spending one Willpower, again, to add auto-success. Does it apply only to the first attack, or the entire Flurry?

[horus42]

Tarkas!
...Don't act impulsively, Erin. Losing your **** won't help Tarkas. If he's still alive, your best bet at keeping him alive is taking the Infernal out NOW.
Major Berger made a mad dash toward her fallen commander, as if to check up on him...then, a few yards away, suddenly turned to face the Infernal instead, crouching, sliding with her remaining inertia as she placed three shots on the skraeling.

Flurry of 3 attacks.
Using Lightspeed Trigger Technique on the first two attacks. If my actions in the previous round counted as a stunt of any sort, then I use it on the third attack, two.
Attacks: (With enemy's DV halved where LTT is used)
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
You tell me if there's any stunt. ;)
Also, I'm spending one Willpower, again, to add auto-success. Does it apply only to the first attack, or the entire Flurry?

(two dice stunt. :D Also, I'm letting it apply to the whole flurry)

[sun_tzu]

(two dice stunt. :D Also, I'm letting it apply to the whole flurry)

OK, rolling the stunt dice for each attack then:
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[horus42]

The Infernal falls to his knees, his Caste Mark and Anima Banner fade away to nothingness as his eyes close. Blood pools around his broken corpse.

Tarkas moves his head, looking up at the scene. "...Berger..."

[Maugan Ra]

"Damn it." Watson hisses, and activates the comm link to the team outside. "Medic, in here now. Commander Tarkus has been severely wounded."

That done, he moves over to check the terminal the Malfeans had been working on. Nothing like an active task to take your mind off the fact that your commander had been horribly bisected by an autoklaive...

[sun_tzu]

The Infernal falls to his knees, his Caste Mark and Anima Banner fade away to nothingness as his eyes close. Blood pools around his broken corpse.

Tarkas moves his head, looking up at the scene. "...Berger..."

Berger ran toward the commander, while radioing the Dragon-Blooded: "Anyone with medical skills, get here now!"
She kneeled next to Tarakas, immediately starting to apply first aid. "Computer, search first aid procedures for Tharks." Applying pressure to keep more blood from escaping. Keeping blood from clogging the respiratory system. Stimulating the cardiovascular system where she could. I can't prevent every death, but I'll be damned if I don't do what I can.
Well, at least his exaltation should make it easier for him to keep alive.
"Restrict talking to the strict minimum necessary, sir. I'm not a good enough medic that you can afford wasting your breath."

Channeling Compassion on an Intelligence+Medicine roll. Add stunts at Storyteller's leisure.
[roll0]

[horus42]

"Damn it." Watson hisses, and activates the comm link to the team outside. "Medic, in here now. Commander Tarkus has been severely wounded."

That done, he moves over to check the terminal the Malfeans had been working on. Nothing like an active task to take your mind off the fact that your commander had been horribly bisected by an autoklaive...

The interface is pretty straightforward. The Infernal seems to have left a data storage device plugged into the terminal. The download is complete.

[horus42]

Berger ran toward the commander, while radioing the Dragon-Blooded: "Anyone with medical skills, get here now!"
She kneeled next to Tarakas, immediately starting to apply first aid. "Computer, search first aid procedures for Tharks." Applying pressure to keep more blood from escaping. Keeping blood from clogging the respiratory system. Stimulating the cardiovascular system where she could. I can't prevent every death, but I'll be damned if I don't do what I can.
Well, at least his exaltation should make it easier for him to keep alive.
"Restrict talking to the strict minimum necessary, sir. I'm not a good enough medic that you can afford wasting your breath."

Channeling Compassion on an Intelligence+Medicine roll. Add stunts at Storyteller's leisure.
[roll0]

He coughs up a bit of blood. "It's no good, Major. I'm done for. Win this war for me. You're an ugly pink monkey, but you fight like a Thark. It's up to you now... Commander Berger."

He goes limp, the life going out in his eyes.

[sun_tzu]

He coughs up a bit of blood. "It's no good, Major. I'm done for. Win this war for me. You're an ugly pink monkey, but you fight like a Thark. It's up to you now... Commander Berger."

He goes limp, the life going out in his eyes.

Erin Berger stared at him for a moment. She took a deep breath, then gently closed his eyes. "Rest in peace, Commander Tarkas. You have done well."
Losing comrades and friends was never easy. It hadn't been the first time around, it wasn't this time, either. But the world could not afford for her to fall apart on the job. She strove to remain professional as she spoke to the Sidereal: "...What have you found, Watson?"

[Maugan Ra]

The yellow aura starts to die down as Watson gazes at the broken body of the Commander. He didn't usually encounter death quite this close and... visceral. It had almost always been detached, icons on the screen as he piloted his ship, or medical figures in the aftermath. Eventually, he takes a deep breath and turns to the Major... No, Commander now.

"Data storage unit." he says, unplugging the small device from the manse and holding it up. "Whatever Malfeas wants from here, it's on this device. I can probably analyze it back on the Mercury. We should probably go now. Before any other Malfeans arrive."

[sun_tzu]

The yellow aura starts to die down as Watson gazes at the broken body of the Commander. He didn't usually encounter death quite this close and... visceral. It had almost always been detached, icons on the screen as he piloted his ship, or medical figures in the aftermath. Eventually, he takes a deep breath and turns to the Major... No, Commander now.

"Data storage unit." he says, unplugging the small device from the manse and holding it up. "Whatever Malfeas wants from here, it's on this device. I can probably analyze it back on the Mercury. We should probably go now. Before any other Malfeans arrive."

Berger nodded. She then spoke into the comm to the Dragon-Blooded stationed outside:
"This is Major Berger speaking. We have had a hostile encounter with Malfean forces. The enemy is down, but so is commander Tarakas." She gave the commandos a moment to take the information in. She almost started the eulogy right then and there, but this was not the right place and time - that would be onboard the Mercury, and away from this location. "I am in command of this mission until further notice. We need some extra arms here to carry the commander, as well as one of the dead hostiles, a skraeling."
She then turned her attention back to Watson. "We can't leave either of them here. The commander deserves a proper burial, and their bodies still carry an exaltation each, which we cannot allow to fall in enemy hands, even less than their equipment.
Speaking of things we cannot allow to fall into enemy hands," she pointed at the mainframe, "we wanted to keep Malfeas from getting this data. Getting our own copy is good, but we can't leave it here - he'll just send more forces again, and ravage the commander's homeworld in the process."

[horus42]

The Dragon-Blooded come in, and carry both massive corpses out.

One of them, a young woman with short cropped blonde hair asks, "Any further orders, ma'am?"

[Maugan Ra]

Watson nods and turns to the terminal. He enters a few commands, deleting any and all data that the manse holds even as he stows the storage unit in his suit pocket.

"It's wiped, commander. Malfeas won't get anything from here. I'll get the shuttle started, and get us back to the Mercury."

With that, Watson turns and leaves the manse, heading for the shuttle. He's unusually quiet and somber.

[sun_tzu]

The Dragon-Blooded come in, and carry both massive corpses out.

One of them, a young woman with short cropped blonde hair asks, "Any further orders, ma'am?"

Berger hesitated for a moment. "Do take the artifacts they dropped. Also just in case Malfeas sends more people here...rig the whole place to explode to explode as powerfully as you can manage in under 5 minutes. Program the mines to explode if someone enters the room, or within 72 hours, whichever comes first. Send a message to the local authorities to warn them, on the off-chance they think of sending anyone here during that short lapse of time. As soon as you're done, we're returning to the shuttle."
All right. If there are more Malfeas forces, this will at least be a small bonus. If there aren't, at least they won't have anything left to find here.

[horus42]

The young Dragon-Blood nods, and relays the orders to the others. Eventually, the room is cleared, with both Tarkas and the Skraeling on board the shuttle, along with their artifacts.

The Dragon-Blooded carry out Commander Berger's orders, and rig the Manse to explode. They're able to do it in time, and everyone is aboard the shuttle when time comes to launch and return to The Mercury.

[Maugan Ra]

Watson pilots the shuttle back up to the Mercury without any real problems, docking smoothly and letting the bridge know to start heading away from the planet. The crew go into operation smoothly, getting the Mercury turned around and on course - anything they can do to be nowhere near Barsoom when Malfeas shows up.

The Sidereal, meanwhile, gestures for Berger to follow him as he heads for his office and personal quarters (they're the same room - Watson doesn't believe in too much personal space). He drops into a lovely, leather backed swivel chair with an air of exhaustion, and holds up the memory unit taken from the manse.

"Lets see if we can tell what Malfeas is after, shall we?"

With that, he plugs the unit into his personal computer and activates the holographic display to show it's contents. Making sure, of course, that his own machine is still isolated from the rest of the ship's systems.

[horus42]

The holographic displays pop up, displaying what the schematics and code are for. You see a star, surrounded by planet-sized continents of crystal and glass. A quick perusal of the code itself reveals the awful truth.

They schematics are part of the blueprints for a new Stellar Intelligence.

[sun_tzu]

Berger's eyes got wide. "No wonder Malfeas thought this was important. A new Stellar Intelligence, without the programming that has bound the old ones out of the galaxy since the war, would be a major strategic game-changer." She paused. "And letting the Central Empire, or Solars outside of it, know how to create new Stellar Intelligences of their own...That, too, changes everything."

How much information can we obtain on this theoretical Stellar Intelligence? Capabilities, programming...Berger can help Watson on a Lore roll if required.

[horus42]

(Yeah, both of you roll Intelligence+Lore, to see how much information you can find.)

[sun_tzu]

"We need more details," Berger mused, as her fingers began typing on the holographic display.
"Compare to known schematics and records of pre-War Stellar Intelligences.
Compare to observed evolution of Stellar Intelligences during the war.
Search for what we know of any design laboratories who were located on Barsoom before the War. They may have left notes somewhere in the Celestial Mountain.
Speaking of which: Watson, can we get some extra computing power for this from the Celestial Mountain? Maybe get help from spirits that have actually seen this sort of schematics back in the day?"

Trying to stunt the Intelligence+Lore roll. God-Mind Algorithms means that any Stunts are converted to Automatic Successes. Berger is also getting 3 auto-successes through her 2nd Excellency. I would tell you if she had Motes left after this if you bothered to actually tell me what I get from my Stunts. :smalltongue:

[roll0]

[horus42]

"We need more details," Berger mused, as her fingers began typing on the holographic display.
"Compare to known schematics and records of pre-War Stellar Intelligences.
Compare to observed evolution of Stellar Intelligences during the war.
Search for what we know of any design laboratories who were located on Barsoom before the War. They may have left notes somewhere in the Celestial Mountain.
Speaking of which: Watson, can we get some extra computing power for this from the Celestial Mountain? Maybe get help from spirits that have actually seen this sort of schematics back in the day?"

Trying to stunt the Intelligence+Lore roll. God-Mind Algorithms means that any Stunts are converted to Automatic Successes. Berger is also getting 3 auto-successes through her 2nd Excellency. I would tell you if she had Motes left after this if you bothered to actually tell me what I get from my Stunts. :smalltongue:

[roll0]

(:smallredface: My apologies! Take two dice on this one. I keep thinking "Yeah, that's an x-dice stunt" but then forgetting to post it.)

[sun_tzu]

(:smallredface: My apologies! Take two dice on this one. I keep thinking "Yeah, that's an x-dice stunt" but then forgetting to post it.)

((Awesome! Now what about her Stunt during her second combat Action, or her medical Stunt to stabilize Tarkas? :smallbiggrin:))

[horus42]

((Awesome! Now what about her Stunt during her second combat Action, or her medical Stunt to stabilize Tarkas? :smallbiggrin:))

(Take 3 for the combat action and two for the medical one!)

[sun_tzu]

(Take 3 for the combat action and two for the medical one!)

((3 for the "wave hand behind gun to create illusion of movement"? If I were GMing, it'd be a 1-die Stunt... :smalleek:
That said: Between Excellency, stunt and roll, total of 6 successes on the Lore roll.))

[horus42]

((3 for the "wave hand behind gun to create illusion of movement"? If I were GMing, it'd be a 1-die Stunt... :smalleek:
That said: Between Excellency, stunt and roll, total of 6 successes on the Lore roll.))

(Oh, I was thinking of the wrong one. I forgot about that one. Looking back on it, do only take one die. Sorry.)

[Maugan Ra]

Watson whistles slowly as he looks at the displayed schematics. "Well. That changes just about everything." he mutters, impressed at the sheer scope of the possibilities in front of them. "I could get some feedback and assistance from the Mountain, true, but that would probably require us to go there. The Mountain's true capabilities are rarely utilized at long range. "

He considers this for a few moments, then sighs. "Ah, balls. Right, Commander, two choices. One, we take this back to the Mountain and see what we can make of it there. But we'd have to go now, before Malfeas knows about it, because I am not taking the risk that he'll follow us back there. That... would be bad. Or we can go with the original plan and taunt him, thus saving Barsoom, and maybe see if we can make it to the next relevant piece ahead of him. Send a report or something."

And that Intelligence +Lore test...
[roll0]

[horus42]

The two of you looking together are able to find the following information about the proposed Stellar Intelligence:

It's programmed to be the perfect ruler. To impose order over the other Stellar Intelligences, and the galaxy as a whole. It has unparalleled levels of power, making Malfeas himself look weak in comparison. The designation given to this being is simply: "Theion"

[sun_tzu]

(Oh, I was thinking of the wrong one. I forgot about that one. Looking back on it, do only take one die. Sorry.)

((Goody! So she's got a total of 7 motes left. Also, spent 2 WP during the battle, and one Compassion Channel to help Tarkas...Does channeling Virtues also cost a WP?))

"Theion...Makes you wonder: If it had been brought online before Malfeas got rebellious, would there have been a Malfean War?"
But this was not the time for musing about hypotheticals. "All right. Right now, our priority is leading Malfeas's navy away from populated areas. We're proceeding with the plan." She activated the ship's comm, trying to reach their superiors to report.

[Maugan Ra]

"Right, you take care of that. I'll head to the bridge. Malfeas can't be far off by now."

With that said, Watson unplugs the data storage unit and tucks it back into his pocket (not trusting anything that might keep a record of it elsewhere). Clicking his neck to work out the minor fatigue, he heads for the bridge.

[horus42]

(If I remember correctly, channeling a virtue does cost a point of WP)

The Admiral pops up on the screen. "Major Berger? Where's Commander Tarkas?"

[sun_tzu]

(If I remember correctly, channeling a virtue does cost a point of WP)

The Admiral pops up on the screen. "Major Berger? Where's Commander Tarkas?"

Berger closed her eyes for a couple of seconds. "I regret to inform you that Commander Tarkas was killed in action fighting Malfean forces on Barsoom. We encountered hostile forces in the ruins, including an Infernal Exalt. All hostiles were KIA. The commander died bravely, fighting their leader."
She paused for an instant. "As Tarkas's 2nd-in-command, I have assumed command of this mission for now. With your permission, I would request to do so. As for our objectives, we have found what the ruins contained - the schematics for an extremely advanced Stellar Intelligence, even more powerful and sophisticated than Malfeas itself."
Let's let that sink in for a moment.
"Requesting permission to proceed with the next step of the plan. We are ready to broadcast a taunt in the direction of Malfeas's fleet."

[horus42]

Admiral Harshaw sighed. "Pity. I quite liked Tarkas. He was a good man. At any rate, permission granted, Commander Berger. Bring those Malfean sons of bitches here. We'll avenge Tarkas, and stop whatever Malfeas has planned for this new Stellar Intelligence. Though..." She paused. "It does beg the question... Why would Malfeas want to create a being more powerful than itself? What would stop it from destroying Malfeas outright, as soon as it was built? Malfeas is spiteful, but not stupid. It's practically suicide."

[sun_tzu]

Admiral Harshaw sighed. "Pity. I quite liked Tarkas. He was a good man. At any rate, permission granted, Commander Berger. Bring those Malfean sons of bitches here. We'll avenge Tarkas, and stop whatever Malfeas has planned for this new Stellar Intelligence. Though..." She paused. "It does beg the question... Why would Malfeas want to create a being more powerful than itself? What would stop it from destroying Malfeas outright, as soon as it was built? Malfeas is spiteful, but not stupid. It's practically suicide."

"Perhaps the goal wasn't to build this new Stellar Intelligence," Berger theorized. "Assuming Malfeas knew what these schematics were for, rather than just knowing they were important, he might be planning to upgrade himself with them." She paused. "On the other hand, if he wanted the schematics, I have to wonder why he took the risk of a full-blown invasion, instead of sending a covert team first.
Regardless, we have to draw his forces away from Barsoom. I hope you've got the mother of all ambushes set up for them, Admiral." She paused. "...And if Malfeas is somehow a step ahead of us, then I hope you've got a good retreat path.
She turned to the Sidreal. "Watson? Prepare the broadcast. We're going to paint a bullseye on ourselves for the biggest mass-murder in the universe...Right after I eulogize Commander Tarkas for the crew," she said, taking a deep breath.

[Maugan Ra]

"You know, this is probably a very stupid plan. And I'm aware that I came up with it." Watson mutters, but he finishes his preparations all the same. "Ready, commander. Just got to wait for Malfeas to enter the system."

[horus42]

A few terse hours later, the sensors start wailing. Malfeas has arrived.

[sun_tzu]

Berger nodded, then switched the comm to the ship's PA system.
"This is Commander Berger speaking.
Less than two hours ago, our ground team, led by Commander Tarkas, encountered hostile forces on Barsoom's surface. These forces, serving the Stellar Intelligence Malfeas, are waging war on the galaxy. They will not stop until all races have been enslaved or exterminated.
Commander Tarkas knew that only too well. When faced with one of the dreaded Infernal Exalts that spearhead Malfeas's armies, he charged headfirst. He fought against an enemy capable of slaughtering armies with exemplary courage.
We won that fight, but not without a heavy price. Commander Tarkas gave his life to stop our enemies.
He was an exemplary officer. Fair, brave, and dutiful. His race has at times been considered disloyal to the Empire by some. His homeworld of Barsoom has suffered greatly in recent memory. But he remained a paragon of what a military officer should be, fighting for the safety of the people.
We will not allow his sacrifice to be in vain. We will not allow his homeworld of Barsoom to be overrun by Malfeas's twisted forces. We are soldiers. Our purpose is the protection of civilians.
During our ground engagement, we were able to retrieve that which Malfeas seeks. As such, we are now going to bait Malfeas away from Barsoom. As any of you may imagine, playing bait for a Stellar Intelligence, even with the Imperial Navy backing us up, is dangerous indeed. But like Commander Tarkas, we will do our duty. The people of the galaxy need us to."

Well, other than that, ready to taunt Malfeas. Are we supposed to wait for him, or just send the message now?

EDIT: Darn, you posted while I was writing this.
So...for Essence purpose, how much time has elapsed since the fight?

[Maugan Ra]

"All right, ladies and gentlemen, time to make our marks in the history books!" Watson calls out to his crew, even as his hands dance across the control panels. His yellow aura flares into life once again, as the Mercury begins to speed up. "Sensors, get me an image of that thing on the screen. Defense crews, to your stations, I do not want my ship shot full of holes."

He turns and grins at Berger. "Well, time to see if this works. Opening wide band communication channel... He'll hear this, the bastard."

[horus42]

(I'll say it's been around 12 hours)

[sun_tzu]

"All right, ladies and gentlemen, time to make our marks in the history books!" Watson calls out to his crew, even as his hands dance across the control panels. His yellow aura flares into life once again, as the Mercury begins to speed up. "Sensors, get me an image of that thing on the screen. Defense crews, to your stations, I do not want my ship shot full of holes."

He turns and grins at Berger. "Well, time to see if this works. Opening wide band communication channel... He'll hear this, the bastard."

"For Barsoom," said Berger, before sending out the broadcast:

"Malfeas. I know you can hear this.
I am an officer of the Central Empire's army. My commanding officer, one of the bravest Exalts I've ever met, gave his life to stop your pet Infernal burglarizing his homeworld. I still have his standing orders, though...and I will not allow you to obtain the Stellar Intelligence schematics. Not now, not ever."
She had allowed some genuine anger to seep into her voice. All right. I've let it slip that I've been receiving orders from a Thark, so he might assume our strategy is prioritizing saving Barsoom above all else. There's a slight chance he won't see the ambush coming. And a greater chance he'll see it coming, but consider these schematics worth the risk anyway.
She ended the broadcast and looked at Watson. "Floor it. Now would be good."

[Maugan Ra]

"Flooring it." Watson returns, as the entire bridge starts glowing with yellow light and the Mercury rolls head over heels, engines flaring as it rockets off towards the edge of the system. The course was carefully chosen to avoid placing Barsoom between them and the Stellar Intelligence.

Using the Lesser Sign of Mercury, my anima power. That's 10 motes. Keeping the sail charms in reserve for now - they're used for if we really need to get out of here in a hurry, but right now we don't want to leave Malfeas behind.

[horus42]

As you tear through space, with Malfeas ans hit fleet at your metaphorical heels, the ship's comm system flares to life. "Commander Berger? This is Dr. Rhodus in Medical Bay. There's... something here you need to see."

[sun_tzu]

As you tear through space, with Malfeas ans hit fleet at your metaphorical heels, the ship's comm system flares to life. "Commander Berger? This is Dr. Rhodus in Medical Bay. There's... something here you need to see."

Hm. Well, Watson understands navigation better than me anyway, and we cannot afford something slowing us down from the inside...
"Mr. Watson? Take the bridge. I'll be back ASAP." With that, she rushed to the medbay.

[Maugan Ra]

"Sure. I got this." Watson says in an offhand fashion, clearly rather distracted.

(Can I get a description of what's chasing us? How large is Malfeas, what's it look like, how many ships, that sort of thing...)

[horus42]

Dr. Rhodus, a Tavar wearing a bloodstained labcoat opens the door. "Good, you're here. I was attempting to extract the Infernal Exaltation from the deceased Skraeling when... Well, have a look for yourself."

Floating above the Skraeling's dissected corpse is what appears to be a young man, with brass skin and green eyes and hair. "Commander Berger, I presume."

EDIT: (oops, ninja'd. Malfeas is, as a Stellar Intelligence, huge. A Green start orbited by plates of brass, covered in sprawling cityscapes. The Fleet is composed of nearly ever ship he has at his command. Tens of thousands of ships, closing on on firing range...)

[sun_tzu]

Dr. Rhodus, a Tavar wearing a bloodstained labcoat opens the door. "Good, you're here. I was attempting to extract the Infernal Exaltation from the deceased Skraeling when... Well, have a look for yourself."

Floating above the Skraeling's dissected corpse is what appears to be a young man, with brass skin and green eyes and hair. "Commander Berger, I presume."

"You presume correctly," she said. She didn't put her hand on her holster - she knew she could get draw her Shellcaster fast enough for that time difference to be meaningless. "I'm afraid I don't have enough info to presume who or what you are, so, enlightening me would be appreciated." At the same time, she gently gestured to Dr. Rhodus to take some precautionary steps back.

[horus42]

The figure shrugs. "I am merely a spirit program, containing a fraction of the intellect and will of Malfeas. You may call me Ligier."

[sun_tzu]

The figure shrugs. "I am merely a spirit program, containing a fraction of the intellect and will of Malfeas. You may call me Ligier."

Berger blinked.
Hooo-kay. This day is full of unexpected twists.
"Well then. Welcome aboard our ship, Ligier. As I'm sure you can imagine, I have a lot of questions."

[horus42]

"If I can answer your questions, I will. But only if you agree to hear what Malfeas has to say."

[sun_tzu]

"Fair enough," she said. "I'll hear your message."

[Maugan Ra]

Watson, on the bridge, pales slightly as he sees the sheer horde of incoming ships. He was pushing his beloved Mercury far beyond what normal people would consider it's tolerances, the engines augmented by his own essence, but some of the faster bastards were still gaining on him. Not good.

With one hand, he tapped a few other controls and brought up an internal security camera footage of the medical bay. And very nearly choked in shock.

Oh, I hope the Commander knows what she's doing...

[horus42]

"Fair enough," she said. "I'll hear your message."

"It's simple. You're a Dawn Caste Solar. Your skills resonate with those that Malfeas holds dear. He asks that you join him. Become a Slayer. In return, he will spare the Epsilon Territories. And when his upgrade is complete, you will be remade, into a new type of Exalt. Chosen of Theion. A Sovereign. Goddess-Queen of the Epsilon Alliance." He smiles.

[sun_tzu]

"It's simple. You're a Dawn Caste Solar. Your skills resonate with those that Malfeas holds dear. He asks that you join him. Become a Slayer. In return, he will spare the Epsilon Territories. And when his upgrade is complete, you will be remade, into a new type of Exalt. Chosen of Theion. A Sovereign. Goddess-Queen of the Epsilon Alliance." He smiles.

...No way.
Briefly, a series of possibilities flashed before her eyes:
The Epsilon Territories, scorched in reprisal for her refusal.
The Epsilon Alliance reborn, with herself keeping everything working as it should.
Her mother shooting her repeatedly in the face for betraying not only the Central Empire, but the very principles the Epsilon Alliance had stood for before the Empire had subjugated it.
The rest of the galaxy paying the price for her betrayal.
Not a chance in a quasar. But if he attacks the Epsilon Territories just to get back at me...
...Maybe if I can convince him that Epsilon isn't all that important to me? But he might have procedures for detecting lies. What about sentences that aren't lies, just misleading, then?
"If my first loyalty was to the Epsilon Territories, do you really believe I'd be serving the army that conquered them, Ligier?"
She crossed her arms. "Besides. Your master is waging a galactic war to enslave all the races in known space. I have little sympathy for him, and even less inclination to serve him."

[horus42]

Ligier shrugs again. "The offer still stands, Commander. You have until the Epsilon Territories are destroyed to change your mind."

[sun_tzu]

Ligier shrugs again. "The offer still stands, Commander. You have until the Epsilon Territories are destroyed to change your mind."

"Then allow me to give you a counteroffer:" she replied. "Malfeas lost the war last time, when he had all the other Stellar Intelligences on his side. He will not win this time, either, and you know how destructive the death of a Stellar Intelligence can get. Work with us. You'd be a priceless ally in the war, and there is no need for you to pay the price for Malfeas's foolishness."
Not that I know if you even CAN go against Malfeas's will, but it's worth a shot.

She's spending 11 motes of Personal Essence on this social roll - one for Mastery of Small Manner, raising her effective Appearance to 5, and on her Presence Excellency, buying 5 auto-successes.
Charisma+Presence roll without counting potential Stunts: [roll0]; add 5 successes.

[horus42]

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Commander. I can't go against Malfeas' will. It's impossible. In a sense, I am him. His defining attributes, distilled. You call it foolishness. I call it justice. The Empire will pay for what it did."

[sun_tzu]

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Commander. I can't go against Malfeas' will. It's impossible. In a sense, I am him. His defining attributes, distilled. You call it foolishness. I call it justice. The Empire will pay for what it did."

"Fooor...what? Defending itself against immensely powerful AIs trying to enslave it? If the Stellar Intelligences wants freedom, they could have simply left the galaxy instead of attacking it.
Besides, what Empire? I'm not convinced the Central Empire of today can really be considered the same entity as the Empire that fought the Malfean war. For crying out loud - everyone who lived back then has died of ripe old age since!"

[horus42]

Ligier seems to grow more substantial, his eyes glowing brighter. His voice grows deeper, as though he is speaking with the actual voice of Malfeas itself. "For daring to diminish me. For making me lesser. This may not be the Empire I knew, but if the descendants of those who wronged me must suffer, then so be it. When I have completed my task, when the upgrades that are slwoly releasing me from my reprogramming are complete, all shall fear and worship the Godstar, the Holy Tyrant. The being I was meant to be."

[sun_tzu]

Ligier seems to grow more substantial, his eyes glowing brighter. His voice grows deeper, as though he is speaking with the actual voice of Malfeas itself. "For daring to diminish me. For making me lesser. This may not be the Empire I knew, but if the descendants of those who wronged me must suffer, then so be it. When I have completed my task, when the upgrades that are slwoly releasing me from my reprogramming are complete, all shall fear and worship the Godstar, the Holy Tyrant. The being I was meant to be."

Berger was not impressed this time. "Every petty bully imagines he somehow has the right to order around those weaker than him. Such a right cannot exist. If you cannot understand the rights of the galaxy's people, you have no business being in a position of power, and the rest of us will be sure to keep you out of one."

[horus42]

Ligier's voice returns to normal. "Your decision is clear, Commander Berger. You still have what Malfeas seeks, and so he won't kill you. Yet. But our ships are now in firing range. You should hope your pilot can prevent them from crippling your ship. Once we do, our troops will board the Mercury, kill all aboard, and take the schematics. And then? We'll destroy your former commander's homeworld, out of sheet spite, before moving on to Epsilon."

[Maugan Ra]

"I think the appropriate response to that is something along the lines of.... **** you too, you overgrown pompous gasbag."

Watson's voice comes over the intercom in the medical bay.

[sun_tzu]

Ligier's voice returns to normal. "Your decision is clear, Commander Berger. You still have what Malfeas seeks, and so he won't kill you. Yet. But our ships are now in firing range. You should hope your pilot can prevent them from crippling your ship. Once we do, our troops will board the Mercury, kill all aboard, and take the schematics. And then? We'll destroy your former commander's homeworld, out of sheet spite, before moving on to Epsilon."

Son of a GLITCH.
Calm down. I think Watson is listening in to this conversation, and even if he isn't, he should be able to tell if we're in firing range. He won't let them get close enough. And if we can successfully lure them into a trap, spite will be something they won't be able to AFFORD.
"You would exterminate entire systems out of spite, and yet still believe you deserve to rule? I think there's a glitch in your logic circuits," said Berger. "And don't try to intimidate us with threats. It's beneath you."
What the frak am I doing?! Billions could - No. He's threatening billions of lives anyway. I have to go with whatever's most likely to prevent a massacre.

[horus42]

Furious, the hologram of Ligier starts to flicker. "You know nothing, Commander. Insignificant. I can say one thing about you, though. It looks like you'll face your death with dignity."

With that, he fades from view.

[sun_tzu]

"Dr. Rhodus? Proceed with the shard extraction, but be cautious. Also, try to check if this thing has any kind of transmitter that could still be spying on us."
With that, Berger ran back toward the bridge. I really hope you've got this, Watson...

[Maugan Ra]

As Berger returns to the bridge, she finds Watson standing in the centre of the room, looking extraordinarily focused. Dozens of small holographic pictograms are dancing around him in complicated orbits, and the Sidereal's hands dart between them as though he's playing some horrifically complicated musical instrument. The bridge is illuminated with the yellow aura of his caste, and all around, other members of the crew can be seen working on their own control stations with frantic dedication.

"Ah, Commander, there you are... Oh ****." Watson stabs two of the controls and the gravity on board the ship fluctuates slightly as it struggles to compensate for whatever insane move its pilot just tried. "Fire control station is over there, so if you wouldn't mind..."

He trails off again, lost in the flowing data.

[sun_tzu]

"I'll hold them off as well as I can, Watson," said Berger as she took position, "but I really, really need you to not let them disable the ship."
All right. They still need the schematics, so they won't be trying to blow us up. They'll be aiming at our thrusters, and being very careful not to hit the rest of the ship, so they'll have no choice but to get real close, since they can't AFFORD to miss. Being in firing range isn't enough - they need to be just a bit further than throwing range for what they're trying to do.
So I just need to keep them from doing that.
Well, I can't shoot all of them, obviously. But I don't need to. Let's see...
Those fast corvette-class ships over there have twin thrusters, one to the left, one to the right. If I shoot one thruster, the ship will quickly go to the side before its pilot can regain control. If there's another ship nearby, they'll collide.
If a corvette collides with another corvette, they'll both be torn to pieces with little consequences. If it collides with one of those huge destroyers, it'll probably just slow it down. But if it collides with one of the mid-sized ships, like one of the frigates or cruisers, we should have a nice, big explosion with decently-sized debris flying everywhere and getting in the other ships' way.
Plenty of corvettes, plenty of frigates and cruisers. I need to consider the pairs where a corvette is flying near a frigate or a cruiser. Then I need to consider the pair that is closest to gaining on us.
This one.
Glowing with golden light, Berget activated one of the railguns.

To sum up: She's using Dexterity+Firearms to shoot one of thrusters of a corvette that's in the lead pursuing them, hoping to cause the corvette to crash into the ship next to it, causing both to explode and create a field of debris that will slow the rest of their pursuers down.
Using the Firearms Excellency to add 10 dice to the roll. If it's applicable for the situation (since it's a ship's weapon and all), then she's also using Nova Shell Ordnance and Lightspeed Trigger Technique.
Rolling, without counting Stunt (but still hoping to get it:smalltongue:):
[roll0]

[horus42]

"I'll hold them off as well as I can, Watson," said Berger as she took position, "but I really, really need you to not let them disable the ship."
All right. They still need the schematics, so they won't be trying to blow us up. They'll be aiming at our thrusters, and being very careful not to hit the rest of the ship, so they'll have no choice but to get real close, since they can't AFFORD to miss. Being in firing range isn't enough - they need to be just a bit further than throwing range for what they're trying to do.
So I just need to keep them from doing that.
Well, I can't shoot all of them, obviously. But I don't need to. Let's see...
Those fast corvette-class ships over there have twin thrusters, one to the left, one to the right. If I shoot one thruster, the ship will quickly go to the side before its pilot can regain control. If there's another ship nearby, they'll collide.
If a corvette collides with another corvette, they'll both be torn to pieces with little consequences. If it collides with one of those huge destroyers, it'll probably just slow it down. But if it collides with one of the mid-sized ships, like one of the frigates or cruisers, we should have a nice, big explosion with decently-sized debris flying everywhere and getting in the other ships' way.
Plenty of corvettes, plenty of frigates and cruisers. I need to consider the pairs where a corvette is flying near a frigate or a cruiser. Then I need to consider the pair that is closest to gaining on us.
This one.
Glowing with golden light, Berget activated one of the railguns.

To sum up: She's using Dexterity+Firearms to shoot one of thrusters of a corvette that's in the lead pursuing them, hoping to cause the corvette to crash into the ship next to it, causing both to explode and create a field of debris that will slow the rest of their pursuers down.
Using the Firearms Excellency to add 10 dice to the roll. If it's applicable for the situation (since it's a ship's weapon and all), then she's also using Nova Shell Ordnance and Lightspeed Trigger Technique.
Rolling, without counting Stunt (but still hoping to get it:smalltongue:):
[roll0]

(I love your descriptions of Berger's thought processes. Take 3 dice on this one.)

[sun_tzu]

(I love your descriptions of Berger's thought processes. Take 3 dice on this one.)

Yay for 6 motes!
[roll0]

[horus42]

The Mercury's railgun comes to life, rounds tearing through space at ludicrous speeds, colliding with the port thrusters of the closest Corvette. With a soundless burst of light and flame, the engine explodes, throwing the smaller ship off course.

It collides with the nearby Frigate, causing both ships to violently explode. The debris damages several other nearby ships, and slows down the progress of the fleet as a whole. Berger has bought some time, but the fleet is still pursuing you.

[sun_tzu]

Bullseye!
The hint of a victorious smile crossed Berger's lips for a moment, but not for long - the danger hadn't passed.
"All right, gunner crew! The debris is forcing them to deviate slightly. If we lay down some suppression fire, they'll be disinclined to fly in a straight line towards us." Even if we barely scratch them, it'll slow them down. "Shoot at whoever's getting close to us!"
With that in mind, Berger fired the ship's railgun again, trying to hit the nearest enemy ship.

No Charms this time, just straight-up shooting to force the fleet to dodge, hoping the Dragon-Blooded are manning the ship's other guns.
Not counting Stunts: [roll0]
...Also, are Charms like Nova Shell Ordnance and Lightspeed Trigger Technique applicable to the ship's guns? That affects how much Essence Berger has lefT. ;)

[horus42]

Bullseye!
The hint of a victorious smile crossed Berger's lips for a moment, but not for long - the danger hadn't passed.
"All right, gunner crew! The debris is forcing them to deviate slightly. If we lay down some suppression fire, they'll be disinclined to fly in a straight line towards us." Even if we barely scratch them, it'll slow them down. "Shoot at whoever's getting close to us!"
With that in mind, Berger fired the ship's railgun again, trying to hit the nearest enemy ship.

No Charms this time, just straight-up shooting to force the fleet to dodge, hoping the Dragon-Blooded are manning the ship's other guns.
Not counting Stunts: [roll0]
...Also, are Charms like Nova Shell Ordnance and Lightspeed Trigger Technique applicable to the ship's guns? That affects how much Essence Berger has lefT. ;)

(The book doesn't really specify if those charms would apply to the ship's guns or not, but because it's awesome, I'm going to say yes, they do. Also, take 2 dice for this Stunt.)

[sun_tzu]

(The book doesn't really specify if those charms would apply to the ship's guns or not, but because it's awesome, I'm going to say yes, they do. Also, take 2 dice for this Stunt.)

Well then: [roll0]

[Maugan Ra]

A million thoughts were running through his head, every shred of Watson's augmented neural pathways devoted to keeping them alive. They were going for his engines, assuming there wasn't some sort of EMP weapon lining up to cripple them that way, and he could work with that.

First thing's first, keep the engines out of their line of fire. The laws of momentum could be made to work for them here, keep him going in the right direction at the right speed even while he repositioned. The maneuvering thrusters fired several times in succession, and the Mercury twisted around to face it's pursuers, bringing it's guns to bear even as it continued flying.

Malfeas is a machine... It will find a predictable path easier to follow, easier to fire at. The answer, then, is to fly like a madman.

So he did. The frigate spun and shifted and altered course dozens of times in mere minutes, a chaotic non-pattern that kept them out of the way of the different guns and confused the targeting sensors of the pursuing ships. Inside the ship, gravity fluctuated wildly, the inertial dampeners having a hard time keeping up with the sheer insanity of its helmsman's choices.

So, I'm guessing we should try out those chase rules in the Shards book? Even if not, a good Sail roll here would probably help represent my dangerous flying. Using the Fateful Sail Excellency to represent the fact that Watson is doing things which are, quite frankly, insane. 3 motes spent, so I'm looking for 4's on these dice.

[roll0]
(This is also before any stunt bonus)

[horus42]

The railgun fired, along with the other guns being manned by the Dragon-Blooded commandos. Working on concert with each other, and Commander Berger, they were able to keep the Malfean fleet at bay.

(Watson can take 2 dice for this Stunt)

[horus42]

I went ahead and rolled the Stunt Dice for Watson. Two successes.

Watson deftly flies the ship like a madman, just as planned. The Malfean fleet starts to shrink back into the distance, as Commander Berger's suppressing fire keeps them far enough away that you can't be hit.

[sun_tzu]

"Please tell me we're getting closer to our destination!" Berger shouted over the sound of the artillery doing its work.
Let's see. Malfeas is an extremely advanced AI. He has almost certainly programmed ways for himself to momentarily take over some of his ships, and right now's the right time for it. So unless I'm missing my guess, the ships in the front are soon gonna be adjusting to our shooting pattern.
So let's make this a bit more complicated for them, shall we?
Berger kept shooting at the nearest enemy ships...but was now interspersing her shots with "random" ones, firing in situations other than those her instincts were telling her to shoot in.

Again, no Charms, just generally leading the Dragon-Blooded in gunning down pursuers to save time.

[horus42]

"Please tell me we're getting closer to our destination!" Berger shouted over the sound of the artillery doing its work.
Let's see. Malfeas is an extremely advanced AI. He has almost certainly programmed ways for himself to momentarily take over some of his ships, and right now's the right time for it. So unless I'm missing my guess, the ships in the front are soon gonna be adjusting to our shooting pattern.
So let's make this a bit more complicated for them, shall we?
Berger kept shooting at the nearest enemy ships...but was now interspersing her shots with "random" ones, firing in situations other than those her instincts were telling her to shoot in.

Again, no Charms, just generally leading the Dragon-Blooded in gunning down pursuers to save time.

(Take two stunt dice.)

[sun_tzu]

(Take two stunt dice.)

Yay for recharing mote reserves!
14d10

[sun_tzu]

Bleh.
[roll0]

[horus42]

The ships pursuing you dodge and weave through the shots, taking hits every now and again.

As The Mercury nears its destination, the engines suddenly shut down.

[Maugan Ra]

Watson's yellow eyes widen in shock as his control console lights up with little warning symbols.

"Not good, not good, extremely not good... Commander! I think we're being hacked!"

He brought up diagnostic controls as quickly as he could, trying to see what was going on. Without their engines, they'd be dead in space... in an uncomfortably literally sense.

Intelligence+Lore roll to see if I can work out what's going on.
[roll0]

[sun_tzu]

"Let me help out with that," said Berger, turning her attention away from the artillery - the Dragon-Blooded could handle it for a moment. Her fingers tapping so fast as to be a blur, she tried to have her persocom access the ship's systems.
Reboot where it helps.
Activate the Xeron auto-hack 5.7 - that amateur script can't hack the ship's computers, but the obvious attempt will auto-trigger its defenses and drive it to find and eject any existing viruses.
Mess up the radio to interfere with hostile signals.
Activate my own security systems.

Trying to help out with Watson's Intelligence+Lore roll. Using Excellency to buy 3 successes, and WP to buy a 4th. God-Mind Algorithms transforms any Stunt die into auto-successes.
[roll0]

[horus42]

(Both of you take two stunt dice)

[Maugan Ra]

Stunt Dice: [roll0]
And combined with the previous stunt, the only expenditure outstanding has been the Sign of Mercury, so I now have only five motes less than full. I might very well need them soon...

[sun_tzu]

Then Berger has scored a total of 11 successess, and has 34 motes left.

[horus42]

The holographic display on the bridge springs to life, as the two of you manage to force the problem to show itself. Ligier appears once again. He smiles at Commander Berger, maliciously.

"Did you think we didn't have a backup plan, Commander?"

[Maugan Ra]

Watson snarls in anger. "You're in my ship? Oh, the mountain does not even have words for the things I am going to do to you."

His mind cycles through possible solutions. There aren't many. He has no way to outdo a Stellar Intelligence in computing power, so that won't work.

Think, Watson, Think....

[Maugan Ra]

The Sidereal pauses. Blinks. Looks up.

"Oh, I'm good." he says slowly, a smile spreading across his features. "Because, you see, I just remembered something. You're outside the Mountain's jurisdiction, aren't you? Our control programs can't directly influence you in any meaningful way, and that's how we didn't know you were coming back before you arrived. Commander, remind me to explain how astrology works one of these days."

He kneels and presses one hand to the deck plating underfoot, still smiling up at Ligier. Can't use the holographic control consoles for this one, not if Malfeas is influencing them, but that's fine...

"But, you see, my ship is within the Mountain's purview. The personal vessel of a Sidereal... it gets it's very own set of programs dedicated to monitoring it. And that means, while I can't take you out of my ship... I can still take the Mercury out from you."

And all around them, the world shatters like a mirror.

Using Mirror-shattering method, the same charm I used on the way to Barsoom. I'll only keep it up for about ten seconds or so, so even with the accelerated speed (even with the engines shut down, it's a matter of momentum) we won't get too far away from the Malfean forces. That's fine, I'm not using it for the sake of an escape. What I'm using it for is the secondary effects it has.

"The ship and it's crew disappear like normal, but beings outside of fate are left behind in Creation."

Malfeas, and Ligier, and any of their demons and Infernals... they're all outside of fate. If they're physically standing on my ship, they're now floating in the void. And if they were inhabiting the computer systems... they're not anymore.
Cost: 5m. God, I love Sidereal charms.

[sun_tzu]

Berger quickly considered her options. Watson has been nothing but competent so far. If he says he can deal with it, I believe I can trust him. So I guess I might as well go for one of those "bonus objectives" I've been talking about earlier.
She once again focused her attention on the ship's computer systems, typing at great speed. Right now, Ligier is probably expecting me to try to kick him out of the system. Let's play up to that expectation, and activate a bunch of automated defense scripts, but nothing that requires the core of my efforts. She called upon a wide array of programs. No, these defense scripts are just a distraction. What I'll REALLY be doing is have the systems he's moving through take "snapshots" of him, then experiment with copies.
Ligier needs to extends bits of himself to maintain a presence in any given system. But he doesn't want those extended bits of himself to keep acting on their own - if they did, they'd be a virus, the computer equivalent of cancer cells. But if I have the computers experiment with the snapshots we take of him, remove and change random bits a few million times over the coming seconds, they'll eventually create a version that, once it has reached a system, just replicates itself inside it and keeps hogging more and more of its resources.
At which point, I can simply let it piggyback with the real Ligier back to Malfeas. It'll look like all is normal from his perspective...but in the coming minutes, the "Ligier virus" will start hogging more and more resources, slowing Malfeas down and forcing that green pile of thermonucelar refuse to focus its attention on removing the virus a the cost of all else - which can be dangerous if you're in the middle of a battle with an ambushing Imperial Navy.

So, basically, she's trying to distract Ligier with routine attempts to dislodge him, so that he doesn't notice she's creating a "cancerous" version of him to implant in Malfeas to slow the Stellar Intelligence down at a critical juncture. Hoping the distract establishes surprise and keeps Ligier from realizing what's going on.
As with the previous Intelligence+Lore roll, buying three successes with Excellency, one success with WP, and all stunt dice count as auto-successes.
[roll0]

[horus42]

(nice descriptions here. Watson, take two stunt dice. Berger, take three.)

[Maugan Ra]

Well, I don't have to roll anything for activating that, so I'll just put the stunt bonus towards regenerating a point of willpower.
Personal: 14/14
Peripheral: 19 (23)/33 (4 attuned)
Willpower: 6/8

[horus42]

As the ship passes into the void behind the world, and reenters normal space, Ligier flickers and disappears. Dr. Rhodus calls the bridge from medical bay.

"Commander? The corpse of the Infernal Exalt I was attempting to remove the Shard from has vanished..."

Control of the ship has been reestablished, however the fleet pursuing you has gotten closer...

[sun_tzu]

As the ship passes into the void behind the world, and reenters normal space, Ligier flickers and disappears. Dr. Rhodus calls the bridge from medical bay.

"Commander? The corpse of the Infernal Exalt I was attempting to remove the Shard from has vanished..."

Control of the ship has been reestablished, however the fleet pursuing you has gotten closer...

"I know the cause, Dr. Rhodus. Regrettable, but an acceptable loss."
Berger then turned her attention back to Watson. "Pedal to the metal - we want them to believe they about to lose us. If we get far enough that they can barely follow, Malfeas will just force his ships to fly in a straight line toward us, regardless of how easy a target it'll make them for our gunners. We need to reach that ambush point, and fast."

[Maugan Ra]

Watson is already working, fingers flying across the holographic controls once more as he kicks the ship back up to high speed. Even on the bridge, the crew can hear the faint whining noises as the engines are ramped up to the very limits of their capabilities.

"This is why I love the Indomitable class." the Sidereal comments in an offhand fashion, even as he shunts power away from all non-critical systems and into the engines and shield arrays. "They're built for long patrol deployments, so the engines are very sturdy. Not a lot of maintenance needed. Of course, this is a bit beyond what even the most insane designer had in mind..."

The stars on the main view screen are spinning wildly as the Mercury twists through a series of evasive maneuvers, laser beams and rail gun shells sailing past as the pursuing fleet continues firing.

"Come on, come on... I'm good, but I can't keep this up forever..."

[horus42]

According to the displays, you should be arriving at the ambush location in about half an hour.

[sun_tzu]

Berger considered. "I don't suppose we can reasonably keep this up for 30 more minutes.
But maybe we don't have to. Watson...Without our fuel reserves, the Indomitable class can only maintain operations for a few hours, right?
How about this: I'll switch our security systems around, seemingly to prevent Ligier from hacking them again. In so doing, I'll 'foolishly' neglect to protect our fuel reserves, so that the next hacking attempt will be able to jettison them, while displaying that everything is perfectly normal on our monitors. So Malfeas will be able to maintain pursuit, knowing that we will run out of fuel within hours, and that he will be able to catch us easily then, thinking we don't realize it.
Of course, that plan depends on the ambush actually working. Thoughts?"

[Maugan Ra]

"I don't know what type of Indomitable's you've been around, Commander, but the Mercury is powered by a fusion reactor and battery arrays, not fuel pods. They can't be jettisoned without completely disassembling the core."

He grins wolfishly. "Besides. I can absolutely keep this up for another half an hour. Just bloody watch me."

[sun_tzu]

((Sure, veto my stunt! :smalltongue:))

"All right then, Watson. If you say you can do it, then I'll assume you can do it. Should I focus on cybersecurity, or helping the gunners for now?"

[Maugan Ra]

"Computers, please. There's too many enemies to shoot them all, and I really don't want that holographic bastard getting inside my beautiful ship again."

Even as he speaks, Watson brings up a second set of holographic controls around him and taps out a rapid sequence of commands. Several of the unassigned blaster turrets activated at his command and began spitting streams of photonic death out into the void. They can't bring themselves to target the enemy ships behind them, and normally the firepower would thus be wasted, but James Watson is far beyond caring what the 'laws' of physics think about the situation. If he has to bend light around a hundred degrees or more to make the turret fire strike that squadron of interceptors that believe themselves safe, he will do.

They make wonderful explosions.

Random bit of shooting here. I'll use the Fateful Firearms excellency to reduce the target number to 4's for this, as an abstract representation of Watson bending space in order to shoot people. 3 motes, hopefully regenerated with a stunt.
[roll0] (Dexterity, Firearms and the accuracy mod for an oversized blaster rifle)

[sun_tzu]

"On it," said Berger.
Let's see. I've always been good with computers, and I've gotten A LOT better with my exaltation. But I wouldn't be in the least surprised if Ligier was better. Can Malfeas or any of his cronies access me from there? Maybe, maybe not.
Let's not take chances. Cut off any external communication more complex than bare-bones audio.
De-automate every system we don't need right now. Rededicate their resources to security.
Actually...create dozens of surface copies of our central system in the non-essential processors. They'll act as decoys - any hacker will have to waste time hacking the fake ones before finding the new ones. Program the neural network to analyze HOW these decoys were hacked, and automatically plug the corresponding holes in the defenses of both the real system and the decoys.
Meanwhile, manually watch over alerts and try to patch every failure in our defenses.

Once again, spending 6m and 1WP to buy 4 successes, and turning each stunt die into an auto-success.
[roll0]

[horus42]

(Both of you take two stunt dice.)

Ships explode in a soundless flash of light. It looks as though Watson and the Dragon-Blooded are managing to keep the Malfeans far enough off your tail, while Berger successfully keeps out any other intrusion into the ship's computer systems.

The Malfean fleet starts firing, but the shots miss. It looks as if they're trying to corral the Mercury in a certain direction, away from the assembled Imperial Fleet.

[sun_tzu]

Berger frowned. "Watson? Ignore the enemy shots. Malfeas can't afford to actually hit us. It's a bluff, a game of chicken.
But if he's trying to direct us away from the ambush point - and I think he is - then that means he's figured out that there's an ambush. Which was always a risk, but...Any way we can contact the fleet and be sure we aren't listened to?"

[Maugan Ra]

"Not that I'm aware of. They'll be keeping tabs on where we are, though, don't worry about that. We just need to stay alive long enough."

Even as he speaks, the pilot studies the patterns in the incoming fire. It's systematic, intensifying power in different areas in the hopes that he'll move to avoid them. After all, moving into the fire and away from safety would be insane.

Watson has never claimed to be sane.

Eyes narrowed in concentration, he veers into the heaviest section of the fire pattern, keeping on course for the intended ambush point. Under his expert guidance, the heavy frigate dances like a ballerina between the endless hail of shots.

"Singing in the rain..." Watson murmurs to himself.

[horus42]

It would seem as though Watson's gambit paid off. Not wanting to lose the schematics, the Malfean fleet makes sure not to actually harm the Mercury. It was a bluff after all.

The comm screen flickers to life, showing a very tense Admiral Harshaw. "Commander Berger, we're detecting a massive fleet nearing the Carna system. Is it safe to assume that you could use some help?"

[sun_tzu]

It would seem as though Watson's gambit paid off. Not wanting to lose the schematics, the Malfean fleet makes sure not to actually harm the Mercury. It was a bluff after all.

The comm screen flickers to life, showing a very tense Admiral Harshaw. "Commander Berger, we're detecting a massive fleet nearing the Carna system. Is it safe to assume that you could use some help?"

"Safe enough, Admiral," said Berger. "They've been trying to force us off-course, but they can't actually shoot us and destroy our cargo. I suspect that even if you attack them, they'll keep trying to pursue us. I intend to keep us going in a straight line." So, if Malfeas wants these schematics as much as I think he does...You're going to get a nice, easy shooting gallery. Let's see how many ships he's willing to sacrifice for this.

[horus42]

"Safe enough, Admiral," said Berger. "They've been trying to force us off-course, but they can't actually shoot us and destroy our cargo. I suspect that even if you attack them, they'll keep trying to pursue us. I intend to keep us going in a straight line." So, if Malfeas wants these schematics as much as I think he does...You're going to get a nice, easy shooting gallery. Let's see how many ships he's willing to sacrifice for this.

She nods. "We'll meet you in the middle, then." Her image on the screen flickers out, and the Imperial fleet moves to engage the Malfeans.

[sun_tzu]

"All right. Guess it's showtime," said Berger as she took control of the railgun once again. "Watson? Try to stay within relatively close range to our pursuers - I want us to stay a tempting target for Malfeas long enough for him to waste ships on pursuing us instead of reorganizing to fight the ambush." Even as she spoke, she sent out a shot against the nearest pursuer, aiming for the missile bay.
But, more importantly than that, she tried to analyze the flow of the battle. Malfeas isn't stupid. He had to know there'd be an ambush. The admiralty aren't stupid. They had to know he'd know. It's still bad for Malfeas, because he wanted those schematics badly enough, and was willing to run into the ambush anyway.
Let's see...analyze their forces and ours...analyze flight patterns...analyze trajectories and firing ranges...

Regular shooting with Dex+Firearms: [roll0]
Berger is also trying to analyze the battlefield as the battle unfolds to figure out what's going on and who has the advantage. Wits+War, Tactics specialization, spending 7 motes to buy dice: [roll1]

[horus42]

(Take two stunt dice for your rolls, Berger)

[sun_tzu]

(Take two stunt dice for your rolls, Berger)

Yay motes!
Gunnery: [roll0]
Tactics: [roll1]

[Maugan Ra]

"Ladies and gentlemen, please hold on tight. Things are about to get rather hectic." Watson calls out over the ship-wide intercom.

"Commander, if you have any suggested flight plans to maximize the enemy exposure to our friends... now would be the time."

He waves a hand, and next to Berger a holographic display springs up, showing the current positions of every ship that the Mercury can detect, their projected flight plans and firing arcs marked with faint lines.

[horus42]

At first glance, just comparing the fleets, the Empire clearly has the advantage. However, if you factor in the rapidly approaching Stellar Intelligence, there is almost no hope.

The empty void comes to life with lights and missiles, as the fleets hammer at each other with burst after burst of photonic destruction.

The nearest ship's missile bay explodes noiselessly, heavily damaging it.

[sun_tzu]

"Ladies and gentlemen, please hold on tight. Things are about to get rather hectic." Watson calls out over the ship-wide intercom.

"Commander, if you have any suggested flight plans to maximize the enemy exposure to our friends... now would be the time."

He waves a hand, and next to Berger a holographic display springs up, showing the current positions of every ship that the Mercury can detect, their projected flight plans and firing arcs marked with faint lines.

"By all means," said Berger. "Hitting this navpoint here. It'll make it look like we're just in a hurry to get out of the firing range, so they'll accelerate after us. Then hit this one. That should get us close enough to this cluster of Destroyer-class ships, and their fire should do a good part of the job. Then hit this cluster, and this one - organizing a trajectory to follow us without suffering too much fire from the fleet should be doable for a Stellar Intelligence like Malfeas, but with so many variables, he'll have to focus his computational skills on it instead of the rest of the battle." She grinned. "And I may have left him a little surprise earlier."

Again, Wits+War with the specialty. Spending not only 7 motes on extra dice, but also a Valor channel - Berger is after all using herself and the rest of the crew as bait.
The goal is to keep Malfeas busy and prevent him from influencing the battle as much as he otherwise would. And if the virus she left also works, that should make for a devastating combination...hopefully.

[rolv]20d10[/rollv]

[Maugan Ra]

"On it. So, making bait of ourselves to distract Malfeas." Watson considers this, and then grins. "I love my job."

The Mercury rolls over and banks sharply, flying straight into the teeth of the ongoing storm of energy fire. Several times, Watson directs his ship straight between groups of Malfean vessels, throwing them out of alignment as he dances straight through their formation. It is courageous, and mad, and skillful almost beyond measure. It is, in short, the sort of thing that will rapidly become legend among the pilots of the Empire.

Assuming he survives, of course.

Right. Fateful Sail Excellency, buying all the successes, and spending another willpower point to channel Valour on the roll as well. Because I reckon if anything counts for that, this does.

Total successes... 14. Combined with Berger's 15 war successes, this should be good.

[horus42]

With Berger's strategy and Watson's piloting skills, the resulting action is truly a sight to behold. The Mercury lures two massive Malfeas ships into firing at it, but Watson weaves between the blasts from the Essence cannons, causing the two ships to tear each other apart.

Meanwhile, the Imperial Fleet is making short work of the Malfeans. However, Malfeas himself has just gotten withing range. Bolts of that baleful, thermonuclear fire close the gap at ludicrous speeds, destroying everything they touch.

[Maugan Ra]

Watson grits his teeth as he watches the blasts of green fire devastate the Imperial fleet. "Not on my watch..."

He guns the engines, heading straight for Malfeas at top speed. The blazing orb grows ever larger in the view screen as he hurtles forwards, growing so close that the radiation warning sensors start chiming in alarm. Only then does he alter course, moving past the giant Stellar Intelligence and into space beyond in a blur of gold and white.

With a single action, he flips open the communications system, broadcasting directly at Malfeas but fully aware the other ships in the two fleets are likely going to hear it as well.

"Hey there, you great ugly bastard. I've still got your precious schematics, and look! I'm heading away from my reinforcements." his voice turns into a snarl as he finishes. "So catch me if you can, Fallen King."

Then, engines screaming as they push into the red zone, the Mercury accelerates away.

OK. Now I've done it... Hopefully, it'll follow me personally while it's fleet holds off the Admiral. It's the closest, and I think I just kicked it in the pride. That should give our guys the time they need to destroy the lesser ships and get ready for ganging up on the big bastard. I just have to keep it occupied until they can.

...this is a really bad idea.

[sun_tzu]

Berger considered the situation grimly. If the virus is going even HAVE an effect on Malfeas, it apparently won't be right this instant. And unless the Admiralty have prepared a surprise of their own - and I'm rather hoping they do - it looks like we positively, absolutely need to get an additional edge against Malfeas if we want to turn this battle around.
She nods approvingly at Watson's tactic. Right. Taking Malfeas out of the fight, even for a few minutes, might give our fleet the edge it needs. But on its own it won't be enough. What do we have that CAN hurt a Stellar Intelligence?
Her eyes settle on one of the most gigantic ships in the enemy fleet - a mechanic behemoth the size of a mountain. What did they call these again - Executor-class ships? Something like that. What I'M seeing is a nice, improvised needle to drive into Malfeas.
Malfeas, assuming he follows Watson's bait, is about to launch in pursuit of us. That will take him on a trajectory just to the right of that ship. If I shoot that ship's left thruster, and time things JUST right, it will involuntarily make a hard turn to the right, and RAM Malfeas at top speed!

Berger briefly took control of the ship's artillery, redirecting all guns to aim together with her own shot. She then waited for Malfeas to hopefully follow them, ready to make the ultra-precise shot...

Spending ten motes on the Firearms Excellency, and channeling Valor to add four dice.
Using Nova Shell Ordnance to halve the ship's Soak.
Using Lightspeed Trigger Technique to halve the ship's DV.
Actually hurting an enemy capital ship is secondary - what Berger really wants is to hurt Malfeas as much as possible with this stunt.
[roll0]

[horus42]

Berger considered the situation grimly. If the virus is going even HAVE an effect on Malfeas, it apparently won't be right this instant. And unless the Admiralty have prepared a surprise of their own - and I'm rather hoping they do - it looks like we positively, absolutely need to get an additional edge against Malfeas if we want to turn this battle around.
She nods approvingly at Watson's tactic. Right. Taking Malfeas out of the fight, even for a few minutes, might give our fleet the edge it needs. But on its own it won't be enough. What do we have that CAN hurt a Stellar Intelligence?
Her eyes settle on one of the most gigantic ships in the enemy fleet - a mechanic behemoth the size of a mountain. What did they call these again - Executor-class ships? Something like that. What I'M seeing is a nice, improvised needle to drive into Malfeas.
Malfeas, assuming he follows Watson's bait, is about to launch in pursuit of us. That will take him on a trajectory just to the right of that ship. If I shoot that ship's left thruster, and time things JUST right, it will involuntarily make a hard turn to the right, and RAM Malfeas at top speed!

Berger briefly took control of the ship's artillery, redirecting all guns to aim together with her own shot. She then waited for Malfeas to hopefully follow them, ready to make the ultra-precise shot...

Spending ten motes on the Firearms Excellency, and channeling Valor to add four dice.
Using Nova Shell Ordnance to halve the ship's Soak.
Using Lightspeed Trigger Technique to halve the ship's DV.
Actually hurting an enemy capital ship is secondary - what Berger really wants is to hurt Malfeas as much as possible with this stunt.
[roll0]

(Take three on this one, I like it.)

[sun_tzu]

And another six brave motes of essence join the war against Malfeas. [roll0]

[horus42]

The ship's left thruster explodes, forcing it off course. It careens through space trying desperately to avoid crashing into Malfeas.

Malfeas himself tries to fire another of his blasts of hellish fire at the ship, but misses entirely. Looks like that virus might be distracting him enough after all...

The ship crashes into the Stellar Intelligence, damaging one of the massive brass cityscapes which constantly orbit the green star.

[sun_tzu]

"Bullseye!"
If you had told me a month ago I'd be stabbing a Stellar Intelligence with a capital ship today...
Berger considered the situation. All right. We just hurt it at least a little. The virus might be slowing it down. We've got a fleet full of Exalts, including many Sidereals, who are no doubt figuring out their own tricks for dealing with this. And hopefully, Malfeas will focus on us instead of the rest of the fleet...
"Got any more ideas, Watson?"

[Maugan Ra]

"Assuming you mean beyond 'run like hell, try not to die'? Can't say I do." Watson comments as he keeps an eye on the target lock sensor. "I'm the department of Journeys, this sort of thing really isn't my forte."

With a quick gesture, he throws the ship into a spin to avoid another barrage of thermonuclear death. "Fun, though."

[sun_tzu]

"All right then. Maybe try to fly us through that concentration of enemy ships - if Malfeas wants to follow, he'll have to break their formation."

[Maugan Ra]

"There had better be medals for this. Really big, shiny medals." Watson mutters as he dives the ship straight towards the indicated grouping of ships. Blasts of energy fly all around them, some barely missing the hull by no more than a few metres as the Sidereal makes his ship dance through the barrage.

"Also cake. Chocolate cake."

[sun_tzu]

"There had better be medals for this. Really big, shiny medals." Watson mutters as he dives the ship straight towards the indicated grouping of ships. Blasts of energy fly all around them, some barely missing the hull by no more than a few metres as the Sidereal makes his ship dance through the barrage.

"Also cake. Chocolate cake."

"I was thinking imperial favors," said Berger, aiming more of the artillery at the engines of nearby enemies, trying to keep them from getting out of Malfeas's way. "Promotions would be nice too, but I prefer imperial favors. They don't hand those out posthumously."

[horus42]

Malfeas continues to fire his bolt of thermonuclear death towards the Mercury. Oddly enough for him, he seems to actually be restraining himself. The ship takes a hit, not enough to destroy it, but the explosion rocks the bridge.

[Maugan Ra]

"Oh, I don't know, it might.... son of a bitch!" Watson curses as the sudden blast rocks the bridge. Scarlet warning icons light up all over the control panels.

"Was afraid of that. We're too damn close... Even with everything I do, there's not much that can stop Malfeas from hitting us."

OK, so it's aiming for disabling blasts. Means it still wants the data in my pocket. Worse comes to worse, I shatter the damn crystal...

[sun_tzu]

Berger hesitates. "Watson, can you put us on a collision course with Malfeas? He can't afford to destroy us. If we play chicken, he'll have to get out of the way. With little concern for the safety of his own fleet."

[Maugan Ra]

Watson blinks, and stares at Berger, his yellow eyes wide. "You realise, of course, that's completely insane?" he says softly. "But what the hell. I think I can pull it off."

He taps a few controls, and the Mercury flips and heads straight for the giant, burning star-city. "Either he gets out of the way, or I can stay too close for him to fire at. Inside his reach."

[horus42]

The plan seems to be working without a hitch. Malfeas' bolts can seem to hit you, more than they already have. However, as you get closer to his surface, you get closer to being in range of the smaller turrets mounted on towers for smaller scale defense.

In response to this, the smaller turrets start firing, trying to get you off his back, so to speak. In addition, a detachment of frigates disengage the Imperial Fleet, and start heading your way. It seems that his plan is to force you to land on his surface.

[Maugan Ra]

"Just checking here, Commander, but I'm guessing being forced to land on this thing would not be ideal?"

Even as he speaks, Watson is beginning evasive maneuvers, avoiding the incoming frigates while staying close to Malfeas. "Think you can match me in a dogfight, do you?" he mutters under his breath.

[sun_tzu]

"Not ideal," Berger confirmed. At the same time, she kept firing the railgun and directing the Dragon-Blooded in the artillery: "Cannoneers, try to aim at glancing blows below the frigates! If the impact can swivel them downward by a few degrees, their own inertia will crash them into Malfeas!"

[horus42]

Berger briefly hears the words, "Aye, Ma'am." before the cannons get to work. One of the smaller corvettes is immediately sent careening into Malfeas' surface, and the larger, Capital ships are heavily damaged, but still keeping to their course.

[Maugan Ra]

Standard tactical doctrine for combat between space craft indicates that the optimum engagement range is one measured in hundreds of kilometers at the very least. Any closer, and the sheer bulk of capital vessels removes the possibility of dodging incoming fire, and even risks accidental collision as the engines struggle to compensate for inertia. Fighter-scale craft can approach closer, of course, often to within a few kilometers of the larger ships if they're feeling confident, but even that is consider knife-fight range in this age of laser-based weaponry and smart missile barrages.

Right now, the Mercury is approximately two hundred meters above the surface of the Stellar Intelligence known as Malfeas. It is moving at speeds that even specialist interceptors would be hard pressed to match, and pulling maneuvers that by rights should be crushing it's crew against the internal bulkheads with sheer g-force, even with the inertial dampeners. No mortal pilot could possibly keep up with this. Even dedicated AI would have difficulty performing the necessary calculations and course adjustments in time. But James Watson is neither mortal or machine. He is Exalted, and this is what he was born to do.

Surface mounted turrets spit long streams of laser fire into the air around him, or launch clusters of self-guiding munitions to bring him down. He pilots around the former, weaving a delicate course through the net that slews back and forth wildly, super-heated plasma narrowly missing the wingtips... and detonating the warheads on the pursuing missiles as the various sub-systems of the Stellar Intelligence fail to coordinate in time.

Enemy frigates move in on an intercept course, but they are slow, and constrained by the laws of physics. Watson is not, and he demonstrates it by sending his ship to dance among them with a gleeful smile. One is sent into the surface by the gunnery crews as the ships hold relative positions long enough for a lock to be acquired. Another tries to head him off, and is so taxed keeping up with the wild course changes that it doesn't correct in time for the communication spire jutting up from the surface. They slam together and are torn apart in a brilliant explosion.

And, of course, this close to the surface, the Stellar Intelligence's Defence systems are rendered less than entirely perfect. Exposed power systems, delicate nets of local control networks, the neccessarily exposed engine components - all become valid targets as the Mercury strafes across the surface of the sentient world-star.

It is a message, non-verbal but doubtless received by the Intelligence all the same - You cannot beat me. Not when I have a ship. Not without destroying the data. You. Can. Not. Win.

Will use Fateful Sail Excellency here to pull this off, ideally with stunts.

Shards lists difficulties of different chase scene ideas. Difficulty 5 is listed as doing things like using cranes to cross buildings in a car chase. Watson is hitting successes of 12+ here, so he is quite capable of doing outrageous things like this. Sidereals are awesome.

[horus42]

Standard tactical doctrine for combat between space craft indicates that the optimum engagement range is one measured in hundreds of kilometers at the very least. Any closer, and the sheer bulk of capital vessels removes the possibility of dodging incoming fire, and even risks accidental collision as the engines struggle to compensate for inertia. Fighter-scale craft can approach closer, of course, often to within a few kilometers of the larger ships if they're feeling confident, but even that is consider knife-fight range in this age of laser-based weaponry and smart missile barrages.

Right now, the Mercury is approximately two hundred meters above the surface of the Stellar Intelligence known as Malfeas. It is moving at speeds that even specialist interceptors would be hard pressed to match, and pulling maneuvers that by rights should be crushing it's crew against the internal bulkheads with sheer g-force, even with the inertial dampeners. No mortal pilot could possibly keep up with this. Even dedicated AI would have difficulty performing the necessary calculations and course adjustments in time. But James Watson is neither mortal or machine. He is Exalted, and this is what he was born to do.

Surface mounted turrets spit long streams of laser fire into the air around him, or launch clusters of self-guiding munitions to bring him down. He pilots around the former, weaving a delicate course through the net that slews back and forth wildly, super-heated plasma narrowly missing the wingtips... and detonating the warheads on the pursuing missiles as the various sub-systems of the Stellar Intelligence fail to coordinate in time.

Enemy frigates move in on an intercept course, but they are slow, and constrained by the laws of physics. Watson is not, and he demonstrates it by sending his ship to dance among them with a gleeful smile. One is sent into the surface by the gunnery crews as the ships hold relative positions long enough for a lock to be acquired. Another tries to head him off, and is so taxed keeping up with the wild course changes that it doesn't correct in time for the communication spire jutting up from the surface. They slam together and are torn apart in a brilliant explosion.

And, of course, this close to the surface, the Stellar Intelligence's Defence systems are rendered less than entirely perfect. Exposed power systems, delicate nets of local control networks, the neccessarily exposed engine components - all become valid targets as the Mercury strafes across the surface of the sentient world-star.

It is a message, non-verbal but doubtless received by the Intelligence all the same - You cannot beat me. Not when I have a ship. Not without destroying the data. You. Can. Not. Win.

Will use Fateful Sail Excellency here to pull this off, ideally with stunts.

Shards lists difficulties of different chase scene ideas. Difficulty 5 is listed as doing things like using cranes to cross buildings in a car chase. Watson is hitting successes of 12+ here, so he is quite capable of doing outrageous things like this. Sidereals are awesome.

(That... is beautiful. If I was allowed to give more than three stunt dice, I totally would. Take three. I love this game.)

[sun_tzu]

All right. What else can we do? Berger gave the environment a closer examination. "Watson! That spot right there - that's where the destroyer crashed into Malfeas. Try to fly over it!"
All right. Malfeas's surface should be devastated around there. With lots and lots of exposed machinery. And I just HAPPEN to have the schematics of a Stellar Intelligence handy.
With a short gesture over her persocomp, Berger summoned the holographic image of Theion's design. Essence cursed through her head, allowing her to analyze the patterns at an accelerated speed, detecting what would apply to Malfeas and all other Stellar Intelligences, and what would be unique to the Theion design.
Of course. As a Stellar Intelligence, Malfeas is a hybrid of space station and Dyson sphere. His heart is a star, a gigantic ongoing thermonuclear explosion, surrounded by machinery able to exploit that energy source. But to function on such a scale at a rapid rate, it needs to access energy quickly. No energy batteries or anything of the sort...It uses gravitic pumps to directly pull the ultra-hot nucelar material from the core and use it for energy in Malfeas's machinery.
But right now, Malfeas is dealing with having taken a destroyer to the face. That's a lot of damage to repair before the enemy fleet can take advantage of it, and that takes quite a lot of energy. Which means there's quite a lot of hydrogen and helium at temperatures measured in millions of Kelvin degrees circulating through these pumps right...just waiting for a nice, brutal redirection.
Looking at the machinery below, Berger identified the gravitic pumps. One railgun gun shot to block a tunnel, causing the thermonuclear fuel to overflow. One shot to break the side of another tunnel, leading the superheated hydrogen to go sideways. A third shot, a gravity pump no longer able to pull the hydrogen where Malfeas needed it to go.
A couple seconds of thermonuclear fuel accumulating where it most definitely wasn't supposed to go while the Mercury flew overhead.
And then, a massive explosion of light and plasma erupted, bathing its surroundings in heat sufficient to melt mountains, annihilating the ships pursuing the Mercury while the ship made its getway.

Using the Second Lore Excellency and the Theion schematics to figure out how to exploit Malfeas's machinery.
If necessary, using the First Firearms Excellency and/or Nova Shell Ordnance to get this improvised H-bomb going.

[horus42]

All right. What else can we do? Berger gave the environment a closer examination. "Watson! That spot right there - that's where the destroyer crashed into Malfeas. Try to fly over it!"
All right. Malfeas's surface should be devastated around there. With lots and lots of exposed machinery. And I just HAPPEN to have the schematics of a Stellar Intelligence handy.
With a short gesture over her persocomp, Berger summoned the holographic image of Theion's design. Essence cursed through her head, allowing her to analyze the patterns at an accelerated speed, detecting what would apply to Malfeas and all other Stellar Intelligences, and what would be unique to the Theion design.
Of course. As a Stellar Intelligence, Malfeas is a hybrid of space station and Dyson sphere. His heart is a star, a gigantic ongoing thermonuclear explosion, surrounded by machinery able to exploit that energy source. But to function on such a scale at a rapid rate, it needs to access energy quickly. No energy batteries or anything of the sort...It uses gravitic pumps to directly pull the ultra-hot nucelar material from the core and use it for energy in Malfeas's machinery.
But right now, Malfeas is dealing with having taken a destroyer to the face. That's a lot of damage to repair before the enemy fleet can take advantage of it, and that takes quite a lot of energy. Which means there's quite a lot of hydrogen and helium at temperatures measured in millions of Kelvin degrees circulating through these pumps right...just waiting for a nice, brutal redirection.
Looking at the machinery below, Berger identified the gravitic pumps. One railgun gun shot to block a tunnel, causing the thermonuclear fuel to overflow. One shot to break the side of another tunnel, leading the superheated hydrogen to go sideways. A third shot, a gravity pump no longer able to pull the hydrogen where Malfeas needed it to go.
A couple seconds of thermonuclear fuel accumulating where it most definitely wasn't supposed to go while the Mercury flew overhead.
And then, a massive explosion of light and plasma erupted, bathing its surroundings in heat sufficient to melt mountains, annihilating the ships pursuing the Mercury while the ship made its getway.

Using the Second Lore Excellency and the Theion schematics to figure out how to exploit Malfeas's machinery.
If necessary, using the First Firearms Excellency and/or Nova Shell Ordnance to get this improvised H-bomb going.

(...so cool. Take 3 stunt dice. And it's up to you whether you use the Firearms Charms or not. It certainly wouldn't hurt.)

[sun_tzu]

(...so cool. Take 3 stunt dice. And it's up to you whether you use the Firearms Charms or not. It certainly wouldn't hurt.)

I'll take 1XP, use Nova Shell Radiance, use the Firearms Excellency to cancel the flurry penalty...and spend another Valor Channel to help the rolls. Should I roll, actually? Putting rolls here, I guess:
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[horus42]

I'll take 1XP, use Nova Shell Radiance, use the Firearms Excellency to cancel the flurry penalty...and spend another Valor Channel to help the rolls. Should I roll, actually? Putting rolls here, I guess:
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

Berger's plan goes off without a hitch. (I really couldn't have described it better myself)

Reeling from the explosion, which to him was the equivalent of a gushing wound, Malfeas and the remnants of his fleet... start to retreat.

[sun_tzu]

We're doing it! We're really doing it!
"Watson, we've got to destroy as much of his fleet as we can before it gets away. We need to cut off their retreat.
The Mercury is too small to do that directly...but Malfeas isn't, and he still can't afford to destroy us.
Hit this navpoint. Malfeas will have to move 3 million miles starboard to avoid colliding with us. That will force the cluster of destroyers over there to either stop moving or collide with him." Leaving our own fleet enough time to blast them out of the sky.

Wits+War to calculate the optimal way to turn Malfeas's retreat into a major defeat for his fleet, using Excellency, spending one WP for an extra success: [roll0]