Galactic Adventures IC

[Darvin]

The industrial districts are unusually clear today, but the air still chokes you as you try to breath it. With the city under lockdown the refineries sit idle for the moment with only a skeletal staff, and the area is eerily calm and quiet. The preassigned meeting place is just one of many nondescript warehouses along Saccharine Street. A woman wearing a hoodie stands aloof in front of the gate, paying no heed as you approach. She preempts you before you can speak: “been expecting ya” and a moment later the huge iron gates of the warehouse shudder and open for you.

Your wait for Galvinchi isn’t long, and you are lead into a luxurious office that contrasts against the drab off-white hallways you passed through moments earlier. You are seated before an ornate desk along with a few people you don’t recognize, five of you in total. However, one figure demands attention above all others in the room. He sits before you in an ominous chair, legs splayed across the fine desk. Short, squat, fat, and bearing a menacingly toothy grin, boss Galvinchi reclines silently and waits for all of you to take a seat.

As the door shuts behind you, Galvinchi tilts his head and gestures his arms flamboyantly in the air. The goblin chuckles to himself, then speaks: “Ya, this lot looks good. I get the impression that you can get stuff done without me breathing down your neck. Or at least that’s what my boys and girls have to say. I’d ask what old Galvinchi can do for you, but I already know. The real question is what you can do for Galvinchi… but I guess I already know that too,”

“But see, I sympathize with having to work for some fat lout who has a bigger chair than you do. I got my own bosses that want stuff, and I gotta give it to ‘em. And when my boss’s boss gets involved… hoo boy, that’s what we in the business call a ‘priority’. So ya see there’s this package that got delivered to Governor Allesandre about a week back. Big armed escort, everyone in the know knew about it. Didn’t think much of it at the time, but then word came down that some really important people wanted that package really badly. Well, why didn’t they tell me before it arrived?”

“So, anyways, my top girl figured out where the stupid package is, and like the good trooper she is tried to snag it for me. Got caught red handed, now she’s locked up and the game’s wide open. Well, I’m a player, and if those Basur tools think they got me beat with their ‘security’ they don’t know what they’re in for,” the goblin wide grin turns into a maniacal laugh. He opens the drawer of his desk and pulls out a large manila envelope. With a callous flick of his wrist he spills the contents on the desk. Papers and badges with your photographs lie strewn in front of you. The goblin gives the envelope another shake and a stapled stack of papers falls out.

“Security clearances and freelance licenses. Totally real, too. As far as the Empire is concerned you’re legit mercenaries and bounty hunters now. You can kiss my ring in gratitude later, after I find a suitable ring. As you can see I’m not actually wearing one right now. Anyways, my ingenious four step plan is as follows: step one, you get into the Grand Towers using these clearances. Step two, I arrange for a distraction in the streets. And by distraction, I mean a full-scale riot. Step three, you guys snag the package. Step four, you go to the governor’s private hangar and use a signal flare to alert my boys to pick you up. They’ll lift you off planet, pay you, and drop you off at Porbo station in the Vayyun system,”

“So, whaddaya think? You guys up for the job?”

[digiman619]

PRE-01, or Perry as he prefers to be called. ponders that for a moment. "I'm in. While there are significant risks involved, staying here doing nothing seems riskier."

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848) HP 17/17 AC 15/17T Fort 5 Ref 6 Will 0

Torq walks over to the table, looks at Galvinchi, then picks up a license and moves the papers about with one hand. Grrr. He looks back at Galvinchi. Nice. There is a pause. Schematics of these towers? ... Maintenance access, etc.? There is no emotion on Torq's face. He is neutral, stoic, and speaks directly and professionally.

[Darvin]

"Did I forget to mention that? Yeah, this isn't the first time we've been skulking around the towers and my boys and girls have been figuring out its secrets for me. I can't say we have accurate floorplans of the restricted areas, but we know a lot of stuff that tower security doesn't," after gleefully rubbing his hands together, Galvinchi demeanor turns sour for a moment, "Course, my girl Filsey knew even more than this, and she still got caught. All the planning and scheming in the world won't save you from dumb bad luck,"

[Triskavanski]

Along with the group was a gnoll. On his side was no blaster, but a flashlight hanging from his belt, the rest of his body wrapped in up black robes of a fairly light cloth. Most striking though was the mask on his face, that hissed slightly as he spoke. "If it is willed, it Shall be done."

[DyerMaker]

Galvinchi demeanor turns sour for a moment, "Course, my girl Filsey knew even more than this, and she still got caught. All the planning and scheming in the world won't save you from dumb bad luck,"Urrr. Understood.

[digiman619]

"What is the package we're after?" Perry pauses a moment before amending his query; chances are he wouldn't get a straight answer and/or the contents of said package was highly illegal. "Or rather, how will we be able to identify the package and are there any precautions we must take while moving it?

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848) HP 17/17 AC 15/17T Fort 5 Ref 6 Will 0

Torq gathers all of the elements provided by Galvinchi, then glances at Rez ... responding in his low-ranging bass voice; We'll take the job.

[Lt Gravemind]

Sarkus simply listened in silence from the moment everyone entered the room. Galvinchi hadn't really given him much of a reason to speak either. Fat and sleazy insert-race-here? Check. Very shaky mission parameters? Check. Good chance of going down south? Oh yes. He didn't doubt that the "riot" the crime boss was going to start could very well cause them as much trouble as help them in getting the package. The merc didn't really have any other immediately available options for getting off this rock though, so cutting his way out of any trouble would have to do. He made a mental note to trace back the steps that led him to this situation.

Oh well, Sarkus mused to himself as he leaned against a wall, his power armor revealing nothing. He already knew that he was going to take the job, and the others seemed to be already be doing a decent job of hashing out the details.

[Darvin]

"What is the package we're after?" Perry pauses a moment before amending his query; chances are he wouldn't get a straight answer and/or the contents of said package was highly illegal. "Or rather, how will we be able to identify the package and are there any precautions we must take while moving it?

"You'll find a photograph of the package inside your briefing material, not that you could miss it. It's a six foot tall reinforced box with the words 'top secret' written in red on all sides. Radiates psionic energy, too, if you can hone in on that sort of thing. The armed guards that delivered it didn't take any special precautions when unloading it, but the seals keeping it shut are supposedly pretty hardcore so I wouldn't advise getting too curious,"

With that, Galvinchi rolls up his sleeve and checks his watch, a small grimace of irritation finds its way to his mostly unflappable face, “well, as much as I’d love to continue discussing the upcoming acts of wanton mischief, I’m afraid I have another appointment to attend to. You people had better get moving to the Grand Towers. My provocateurs will be starting their performance soon, and if you don’t get in before security escalates this is going to get a lot… harder. I'd say I hope to see you again... but if all goes according to plan this is the last we'll see of each other,”

The doors swing open and you are ushered out the way you came. Galvinchi’s men keep their distance, but their eyes remain firmly planted on you until the warehouse doors close behind you. As you leave the grounds, the woman who originally admitted you to the building gestures for your attention, “Those security passes will get you past the grunts, but you will be transparent under the full scrutiny of an Imperial Telepath. Avoid eye contact, don’t speak to them unless spoken to, and don’t draw unnecessary attention to yourself in their presence. You’ll know them by the mark,” the woman steps forward and pulls back her hood and hair to reveal a concealed tattoo on her forehead. She allows you a moment to study it before pulling down her hood and concealing her face, “remember, you're just pawns to Galvinchi. He has no qualms throwing your lives away on a longshot. Act prudently and carefully. Good luck,”

Your attention turns towards the Grand Towers. The four monolithic high rises dominate the rest of the city, like giant pillars spearing into the low-lying cloud cover above. They cast a shadow - both literal and metaphorical - over the rest of the city, a constant reminder of the wealth and power of House Basur and its utter indifference to the impoverished sprawl over which they rule.

(Please come to an agreement among yourselves and declare where you will be going first within the towers complex; have fun with it, and feel free to "think outside the box")

[BarbieTheRPG]

Rez was silent during the whole exchange. She didn't like Inixa and its politics. Too much to get tangled up in. Getting back out into space was the best cure for the situations so she played along, even with a slimeball like Galvinchi. He reminded her of about two-hundred pounds of rat refuse. Regardless, Rez listened closely making mental notes of the 'job' and when the sit was over, walks out keeping Torq close. Taking a hard look at the security pass, Wybrin sighs and says, "He made it sound so easy. Question is, IS IT? There's no accurate schematics to plot a course and our best guide is locked-up. HIS words. How do we know this place can actually be cracked and how do we know 'Filsey' hasn't spilled her guts about this entire op? I've already had my ambush for the week. Another would just be rude. Torq, your thoughts? Anyone?"

Rez looked over Sarkus, Perry and the gnoll while waiting for responses.

[Triskavanski]

Gmork let out a hiss of air from his mask as he followed with the rest of the group. "One must trust in the Manes. They will guide us down the proper path but only if we dare to take it ourselves." he hums a bit. "Perhaps it would be best to know what we each can do. I am Gmork, practitioner of Manes."

[digiman619]

"My designation is PRE-01, but please call me Perry. I am a psionic relay; I can connect our minds and direct them more efficiently." He paused for a moment, thinking over what he had just said. "Wait, that makes it sound like I'm taking over your brains; all I really do is make a link between our minds and can essentially act as coach; pointing out ways to make us work more smoothly together."

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848) HP 17/17 AC 15/17T

Torq leans in toward Rez with a hushed remark; This will NOT be easy.

Well met. I am Torq. Slayer. Pilot. Tracker. Ex-Imperialist.
My plan is this: Hijack a maintenance shuttle. Hover at floor 157. Cut through the glass or blast the substrate. Enter the War Room. Take the asset. Board the shuttle. Make way to floor 97 of tower 3, the hangar.

Plan B. Proceed pedestrian with stealth through Tower 4. Take out any and all telepaths along the way. Enter the War Room. Take the asset. Then, hijack a maintenance shuttle and make way to the hangar.

The less time afoot. The higher percentage of success.

[digiman619]

"Definitely A. I may be able to detect psionics, but I have no way of knowing where a given psion's talent lies, so unless we accost everyone with a bit of psychic ability we'd probably miss one."

[Triskavanski]

"Carrying Asset looks difficult. We might need a dolly." Gmork replies.

[Lt Gravemind]

Sarkus was glancing over his blades and checking the readings on his power armor as they walked. To be frank, for a job like this, things should have been prepared a significant amount of time ahead. The last minute nature of the whole operation left him on edge. The mysterious cargo - apparently radiating psionic energy - especially. Upon hearing the plans of action however, he spoke up.

"You want to get yourselves killed by flying directly to the floor with the package, or was that a joke? We should be knocking out the communications first. If the military is using Media tower, then they won't be able to coordinate to put down the riot and that'll buy us time. They also won't be able to call it in when we actually take the package."

"Then we go to the prison block where this Filsey character is being held. With no comms, they can't call for help and we figure out what the hell is actually going on. We use her to figure out how to get to get into the War Room. She clearly knew things that our mob boss friend didn't, and she probably wasn't as well armed as us."

"With comms disrupted and Filsey in tow, we use our new knowledge to work from there. If she was almost able to get there, she clearly knew how to get past the telepaths and we can certainly do better."

Sarkus let out a sigh. "And, if need be, I can be the pack-mule for the package. Between me and my armor, I should be strong enough."

[digiman619]

"So busting into a highly fortified prison is the more sensical of the two plans?" Perry shook his head. "And how will you take down an entire communications tower? No, the more I think about it, we've got to sneak in. I can conceal my thoughts and I think I can extend that to anyone else in my link, but I can't take all of you into the link; my max is three other people. Someone is going to have to go it alone and risk their thought being read."

[Lt Gravemind]

Sarkus snorted at the Android in annoyance. "Were you not listening to the briefing? It's a prison block with six guards, a warden and four prisoners. The guards are there to keep people in, not out. And it's not 'an entire communications tower' we have to deal with. It's one Media floor for newscasters that someone got lazy and decided to route military traffic through. That's the weakness that'll do them in."

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848) HP 17/17 AC 15/17T

Grrr.
Torq cuts eyes at the mech warrior.
Not a joke.
Your plan is Tower 1, Media. Tower 3, Prison. Tower 4, Package. Tower 3, Rendezvous. Four steps vs. my two.
Listen mate. Rez and I want off this rock. There are only five of us and a short window to complete this job. Keep it simple.

Filsey is in prison for a reason. She failed. I don't want her in tow. A failed operative. There's no compromise there. I won't help spring her. Looking at the schematics; Service hatches. Emergency walkways. Transit lines. Walkways wide enough to fly a transport through.

If you must hit Tower 1. Do it. Rez and I will steal something that gets us one-hundred and fifty-seven floors up.

Any other ideas? To a vote?

[Lt Gravemind]

"Can you count to five? Because that's how many corpses will be falling from the sky when we get shot down after failing to cut off enemy comms, try to fly it directly to the War Room in broad daylight and try to bust it open with explosives and cutting tools we don't have. A person that actually knows the towers sounds like a better asset than what you're suggesting. We don't even need a vehicle to get up there. We have the security passes that would get us up there through the elevator, with the exception of the telepaths at the checkpoints presumably not on the elevators themselves. Keeping it simple is among the dumbest ideas for not taking action to avoid death I've ever heard. But yes, let's put it to a vote. If I die at least I won't have to hear you say 'Grrr' every five seconds."

[digiman619]

"I'm thinking we need to go half and half here; Let's take out communications before we sneak in and the two of them will get transport for when we have the cargo."

[Triskavanski]

Gmork silently watched through his face mask, occasionally letting out a hiss of air every time he took a deep breath. They both were right and both were wrong. "How many maintenance shuttles can we take over? We could crash them into the facility remotely."

[DyerMaker]

"Can you count to five? Because that's how many corpses will be falling from the sky when we get shot down...

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848) HP 17/17 AC 15/17T

Hmm. That mech is affecting your brain, mate. I suggest that you and perhaps... Wolfman, take on Media HQ. But, don't underestimate the Imperial Telepaths. Let one, just one in your skull and you're just as dead. Talk about communication; they're heavy hitters.

Rez, you're too quiet. What's going on in that scoundrel brain of yours?

[Darvin]

Fierce disagreement forms between the members of the group, each formulating their own plan of attack. The group seems evenly split between taking a direct course of action or approaching with greater subtlety. Even where there is agreement in principle, differences remain in the execution. Tensions mount, but it becomes clear that no one is interested in splitting up. Working together will be necessary for any plan to succeed, and even through the less-than-pleasant debate there is the palpable sense of excitement of what is about to unfold. As the debate continue and opinions shift you take vote, hoping to come across - if not a consensus - then at least an option the majority can agree upon.

Vote Time
Four suggestions have been made in terms of your first destination. Please indicate your preference order for these options:

A) War Room
B) Hijack a vehicle
C) Media Center
D) Prison Block

(Feel free to continue debating and change your vote up to the next GM post)

[Lt Gravemind]

Preference Order:
1. Media Center
2. Prison Block
3. War Room
4. Hijack Vehicle

[digiman619]

I'm going C, B, A, D as far as preference goes.

[Triskavanski]

Gmork was more of mind of B) b) B) B). If they could hijack a lot of shuttles, they would have the ability to have a lot of weapons.

[BarbieTheRPG]

Grinning almost, Rez rubbed her nose and looked around, "To establish a runner, 'I'm with Torq on this'. Just make it a 'smash-and-grab'. In and out. Perry gives us decent recon. We have plenty of munitions. But, we're doing the democracy thing so that's what, three for jacking a rig? Makes sense to me."

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)

Torq glances at Rez, then looks around at the three strangers that will very shortly become co-combatants on this mission.
I don't mind a compromise. As Perry laid it out, I'll agree. We'll take your Media HQ (C), then we'll hijack the proper maintenance shuttle (B), and take one of the service hatches into Tower 4 or go pedestrian (A). But, I'll not compromise on Filsey. That's the rookie move, mate. Like an unharmed ship abandoned in dead space; a tasty morsel trapped to the gills.

As always, Torq will stay close to Rez. She's got more tricks up her sleeve than most.

[Lt Gravemind]

"Rookie mistake coming from the guy who was going to get us shot out of the sky. Cute."

Sarkus allowed his arm blades to extend out and they glowed with a red hum. He gave a satisfied nod as he commanded them to resheath.

"As much as I enjoy chatting, I think we're done here. Break down comms, kill anyone who gets in our way to the shuttle, and presumably pick up some explosives along the way."

[Darvin]

After much debate, a consensus forms to first strike at the Media floor to disrupt communications, then hijack a vessel afterwards. With precious time passing, the party makes haste towards the Grand Towers. The Saccharine Street train station is practically deserted. When the train arrives there are few people on board, and they give the five of you a wide berth. With a persistent speed the train makes its way towards the city's heart. The looming towers grow ever larger, and as you enter their shadow there is a distinct chill of twilight.

You disembark at Memorial Plaza Station. The view of the Grand Towers is blocked out a statue that dominates the square. The depiction of a former Emperor - a woman of youth and vigor with left hand firmly gripping her sheathed sword and right hand raised in victory - stares off into the distance. The five of you walk towards the tower, a stoic nonchalance masking the immense risks of what you are about to undertake. Gunners in the watch towers overhead stand at the ready, a tank sits idling in front of the gate and a number of soldiers stand in a state of semi-preparedness.

You approach the pedestrian entryway. A security officer with a laser rifle slung over his back and a breathing mask over his head waves you down and pulls out a small scanner. One by one he scans your security ID's, and each time a pleasant 'ding' sounds out from the device. He makes idle but amicable chit-chat to you as he works, his voice muffled slightly by his mask, "Anything eventful on patrol? I've heard things have been nice and quiet today. Here's hoping things getting back to normal now," You pass effortlessly through the outer security layers and emerge into the inner security perimeter.

Those of you interested in looking for vehicles to "requisition" notice a fenced off area containing several dozen tanks. In the distance you also notice a small transport craft taking off, but you can't tell if there are more transit craft on the ground from where you stand. Maybe you'll have a better view from inside the tower, or perhaps you can scout it out later. As the thought of discussing this matter occurs to some of you, a hover vehicle pulls up silently behind you.

"Hey!" an imposing voice shouts out; a man of inhuman proportions leaps from the craft. The ground trembles and cracks as his armored body strikes it. His right arm is practically indiscernible beneath a cannon-like weapon attached to it. The gun glistens and bristles, charged with energy and ready for a fight. With a swagger the man approaches you, each step digging into the ground with the force to crush skulls, "I haven't seen you guys around here before. I don't like strangers skulking around my turf," with his left hand the man pulls off his helmet and tucks it under his arm. A pig nosed, bald, and grinning face greets you, "So let's not be strangers. Name's Lieutenant Corhan, chief of inner perimeter security and biggest gun on the grounds. But you can just call me Gourgos. Why don't I give you a ride back to the tower, and you guys can give me your stories on the way,"

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)

Partu. Torq introduces himself to the Lt. with a single name. Well met. Which tower would that be, Gourgos?

[Triskavanski]

Gmork let out a small little his from his mask as he let out a breath. "The Tower. Gmork. Very well, I shall share my tale." as the man boldly announced to them.

[Darvin]

"You are new here, aren't you? Don't worry about it, took me a while before I found my way around, too. I'm going to drop you off at Maria Main entrance. Just follow the main thoroughfare until you reach the transit hub. Then you just click on the computer where you want to go, and it tells you which line to jump on. Doesn't matter which tower it is, they all connect up to the main hub. Didn't trust those fancy touch screens when I got here at first and kept using the stairs. The run was good exercise, but my life is so much easier now that it takes me ten minutes minutes to get to work rather than two hours!" Gourgos lets off a boisterous laugh, "but really, if you're looking for a place to go for lunch, I recommend Sandy's Bar. 2nd floor, tower 2. Best wings on the planet, you'll love it,"

[digiman619]

Perry remained perfectly still; not due to any sense of fear, but rather so he'd seem unimportant. Robots weren't that unusual a sight in such a city and the longer the officer remained oblivious to his true nature, the better.

[BarbieTheRPG]

Rez looked over Big Ugly's hovercraft noting various controls, "Very nice rig you got here, L.T. I'm hoping we get issued one like this. Our story? We're contractors. Sometimes we work for the Imperium, if the money is right. We're told Inixa-Prime might have a pest control problem. You know, criminals running loose. So we were brought here to help your people out, Chief. It's still your show, L.T. We're just here in a supplementary capacity. Now that you mention it, I'm starving. They got good desserts at Sandy's?"

Rez flashed her trademark semi-smile and blinked both eyes at Gourgos.

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)

Torq remains quiet, watching Rez work the LT.

[Darvin]

"Yeah, you all do look like mercs. I used to do contract work myself, but a job went sour and... well, those of us who survived didn't want to keep going. I was kinda afraid of settling down at first, but honestly I've never been happier. I got friends, a stable and dependable income, a nice home, and even a girlfriend! Gosh darn it, you know how many women will date a one-armed ogre? Not very many!" Gourgos chuckled, "But if you're looking for something sweet at Sandy's... honestly, gotta go with my lady-friend's favorites, the emperor brownies. I never thought I'd be able to eat something that rich. You know what, why don't I take you there. All this talk about food is making me hungry, and there's nothing better than making new friends over a delicious meal!"

The group boards the hover car. It lurches as Gourgos pulls himself in, then on his command the driver sends the craft surging forward. Gourgos makes a good attempt to keep up the conversation, but the rushing air of the open-top vehicle makes it difficult for anyone's voice to project. Still, his jovial attitude shines through. It doesn't take very long to reach the Maria Main entrance. As you approach the security checkpoint Gourgos waves to the security officer. The officer smiles and waves back; the vehicle passes through with no further scrutiny. You don't even stop.

You enter the inner perimeter airlock. The doors seal behind you and a vicious wind cycles through the room. The polluted exterior air is pumped out, and sweet clean air - unlike anything you've breathed since setting foot on Inixa - replaces it. The inner doors open and the hover car trots through. Gourgos leaps out of the vehicle and takes a deep breath. He looks like he's about to say something when suddenly he becomes distracted, and you realize that he's speaking into a barely-visible commset.

"Yeah, what's up?... ahuh... ahuh... you gotta be kidding. Yeah, go ahead and mobilize every available division and wait for my arrival. I'll be right there," Gourgos shakes his head and sighs, "Sorry guys, it seems my shift's not over yet. There's been gunfire and explosions out in the streets, so we're locking down the perimeter and mobilizing. We'll do Sandy's another time, 'kay? My treat," you disembark the hover car, which turns around. With a shrug and a hand signal, Gourgos gets the security crew to reopen the gates and he leaves the way he came.

The five of you don't waste time. You briskly walk up thoroughfare towards the main transit hub. A trickle of armed soldiers rush past you in the opposite direction. The main transit hub has a large number of terminals, each showing a layout of the four towers. The touch interface proves to be very intuitive. One of you clicks the option for tower 1 floor 100. A pleasant but robotic voice emanates from the terminal: "Your request has been submitted. Your wait time is **pause** 30 **pause** seconds. Please board the next arriving yellow line car,".

The group moves towards the yellow doorway, and thirty seconds later a transit car arrives and unloads half a dozen soldiers. They pass you without a word. The five of you board the spacious transit car, and the pleasant robotic voice announces "Next stop: Tower 1 Floor 100 Inixa News Network main office". A few moments later the doors shut, the car shudders, and you rocket upwards. You are alone in the spacious transit car. One of its walls is clear plastic, allowing you to look out over the grounds from a high vantage point.

In the distance you can see smoke billowing up in the city and a number of assault vehicles darting around overhead. Within the inner perimeter vehicles and men scramble to their posts.

Perception Checks (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?517442-Galactic-Adventures-OOC&p=21794145#post21794145)

You make out a familiar-looking open top hovercraft with an extremely large occupant. Gourgos seems to be heading towards a vehicle yard. You make a mental note of which yard he went to.

Your view of the grounds disappears suddenly as the transit line enters the interior of the tower. You feel it slowing down and then finally lurch to a stop. The pleasant robotic voice announces: "Now arriving Tower 1 Floor 100 Inixa News Network main office; have a nice day" the door opens into an open room (likely an unloading area). A set of glass doors stand in front of you with the emblazoned logo of "Inixa News Networks and Communication Services". Visible right behind the doorway is a reception desk manned by a young man. You can also see two visibly armed security guards chatting by a nearby water cooler.

As you walk through the door, the receptionist perks up his head. His eyes the five of you with a degree of uncertainty and suspicion. After only a moment's pause, he speaks with forced and inauthentic enthusiasm, "Welcome to Inixa News Networks; how can I help you?"

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)

Torq remains quiet, cutting a sly grin. The slayer is ready to act, but coming here wasn't his idea.

[BarbieTheRPG]

Looking around the new room, Rez tries to orient herself to the building's exterior. No real luck though. She gives the others the 'lost in space' look then smiles at the receptionist.

[Triskavanski]

"Where is the bathroom." says the gnoll through this hisses of his breather, after seeing the other two there being rather quiet. Of course he wasnt exactly known for his own charm and tact either.

[BarbieTheRPG]

Smiling, Rez replies to the receptionist, "Thank Junar, you're here! We've been wandering in circles for nearly fifteen minutes. The base didn't look this big from the outside. Lieutenant Gourgos told us we could find the Media HQ around here, along with the server room we're supposed to secure. We're Imperial contractors and we're way behind schedule here. Gourgos is going to lose it if we're not back at the motor-pool in twenty. I'd be much obliged if you could spare us the time to find the server room."

Rez continues to smile at the desk-jockey while trying not to death-stare the gnoll.

[Darvin]

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know we were expecting additional security. I guess things are getting pretty crazy out there. Could I see your credentials please?" one by one the party lines up and has their name tags scanned. One by one the receptionist nods affirmatively, then after all five are scanned he turns around, "George, could you show them down to the server room? I'll buzz Claudine and tell her to let you in,"

One of the security guards, with a visible irritation on his face, turns away from his conversation and gestures you to follow him down one of the branching hallways. As you walk away, the receptionist jerks forward as if he just remembered something and shouts after you: "Bathroom is the third door on your left down Hallway C. Right past the break room!"

The security officer leads you around several bends before you reach a slightly larger door colored differently from the others. The door has no handle. The guard presses a button on a nearby intercom and grunts something unintelligible. Without any response the door opens and a blast of freezing air hits you. Inside are row upon row of racks filled with blinking lights. A woman stretches back in a reclining chair. She wears a tuque and gloves, doubtlessly to stave off the chill of the server room. Behind her is a wall filled with dozens of screens stacked on top of each other, each with different video feed.

The woman pulls off some headphones and greets you, "Heh, so someone higher up finally gave half a thought about us. Not sure how much good another half dozen guns will do if there actually is a terrorist attack, but I'll take it," the woman, presumably the Claudine mentioned by the receptionist, spins around her chair, "Anyways, pull up some chairs and be careful not to touch anything. I've got the best of the action onscreen," Claudine points to several screens showing aerial views of the chaos in the streets.

She turns her back on the five of you, but before you can react she nearly falls out of her chair. With a flash of speed her fingers dance across the keyboard, "Oh-ma-gawd-oh-ma-gawd-oh-ma-gahd!" she shrieks, "I've only got audio on this channel, but you gotta listen to it!"

The sound turns on a shrill and panicked voice rings out, "Emergency! Armory number 7 is under attack! Requesting immediate backup! Requesti-" there's a crackle on the other side of the line followed by a tormented cough, "immediate backup... anybody... they're inside the tower... they have heavy weaponry... please send assistance!"

Claudine shivers, her face frozen in shock and voice trembling, "Inside the tower... there really are terrorists inside the tower. What is going on!?"

[digiman619]

"'Fraid so." Perry said, pulling his arc pistol. "Now step away from the console."

[BarbieTheRPG]

Snapping out her laser pistol, Rez moves for the operator, "You heard the droid, missy, GET DOWN!!" Wybrin goes to snatch the woman down to the ground while looking at her associates, "Let's get what we need and get it fast!"

[Darvin]

Claudine's eyes widen, and she gives a weak laugh. Her head tilts to the left, then her body, then she feebly falls out of her chair in a state of shock.

[digiman619]

Perry looked at the passed out woman. "Well, that turned out surprisingly well. Do you want us to bust the hardware or the software?" he says, gesturing to the console.

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)

Torq unsheathes his longsword and begins to slice cords & cables from the backs of the server racks. He does so calmly but with pace. The slayer doesn't say a word. He's focused on getting this done and getting out.

[Lt Gravemind]

"On the one hand, I would've suggested just asking her where the most important point of this server room is so we could just knock that out. On the other hand, that was just funny." Sarkus chuckled as he moved deeper into the server room. "See if any of you can't fiddle with the software. Breaking things on both fronts makes things all the better for us. Maybe restrain the lady too. Best if she didn't grow sense and start screaming nonsense."

He poked around the servers for a moment to see if there was perhaps a central power junction, but baring divine intervention, simply extends both his blades and begins the work of hacking away at cables.

[Darvin]

Torq and Sarkus move slowly but steadily through the server racks. A cacophony of warning alarms right out on the main terminal to join the din of steel weapons meeting the server racks. However, one word continually appears on the computer screens to accompany the error message: "Service Restored". As quickly as error messages pile up, the system automatically restores itself.

Those of you paying attention to the terminals notice a familiar face on one of the video channels. Gourgos is talking to a female officer wearing the emerald green regalia of House Basur. A shimmering headband adorns her brow, and she emanates a presence that would crush a lesser will with but a fleeting glance.

"What's the status of the perimeters? Do we have a breach?" the woman demands.

"Negative; both the inner and outer perimeters are secure. Pretty quiet right now, actually, and I'm more concerned about the precincts. The boys out there weren't prepared for this. We have a lot of isolated patrols that need evac," Gourgos replies.

"Belay that; reinforce the perimeter. Nothing gets in or out. The precincts can wait until we've crushed the rats within,"

"With all due respect, our boys dying! It's a warzone out there!" Gourgos interjects.

"The tower complex is our only priority. You will recall all forces to the perimeter and hold position. Expect further instructions on redeployment shortly. Am I clear?" the woman seethes.

"Crystal clear, Countess" Gourgos scowls, then the channel closes.

[digiman619]

"Find the cooling systems." Perry said, "These will fry themselves without it. Unfortunately, they'll have a back-up somewhere else in the building."

[Triskavanski]

Gmork has a slightly different idea than the rest, as he works on trying to open the servers, taking the drives. "Take the drives and parts." then a bit quiter "It will make it seem this is what we came for."

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)

Perry, point out what needs to be destroyed?

Perception [roll0], to look for the phrase "Cooling System" on some of the equipment.

[Darvin]

Torq and Perry take a round of the room, finding four separate large air conditioning units. One by one, Torq disables them in a very permanent fashion. While they work, Gmork moves throughout the room, breaking open server racks and pulling out drives. As they move about, Torq and Gmork both find a channel filled with wires beneath the floor of the room. It appears to continue beyond the room, perhaps connecting elsewhere. This channel isn't big enough to walk through, but it could be crawled through.

Just as the work of shutting down the cooling systems completes, there is a buzz over the intercom. Grainy footage of a security camera appears on one of the terminal screens, showing a man in a suit standing just outside the door. Behind him are four security guards, their hands ready on their holstered weapons. "Hey Claudine, we've been trying to phone you for the last few minutes; we're getting all kinds of weird server errors out here. What's going on in there?" the man in a suit demands.

[BarbieTheRPG]

Rez puts the muzzle of her pistol on Claudine's temple and presses a finger to her own lips, suggesting the operator say nothing. Then she squats down and whispers in Claudine's ear, "Tell them someone's attempting a remote-hack of your system but you prevented it and you've located the threat near the south perimeter. They need to get there fast because you can't hold them off forever." Rez signals one of the crew to move next to the door just in case the guards try to enter.

[Lt Gravemind]

Sarkus nods in acknowledgement and with blades drawn moves over near the door. If anyone tries to step through, they'll get a nasty surprise.

[Triskavanski]

Gmork shrugs a little and buggers up against the wall, holding a drive in one hand.

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)

Uhrrr

Torq holds steady. Tense. Anxious to see how the exchange at the door plays out. His right hands moves to the Arc Pistol cross-drawn from a shoulder holster.

[digiman619]

Perry moved so his back was against a server, distancing himself from the door. He'd really been hoping that they could be sneaky enough to avoid armed conflict. His grip on his arc pistol tightened as he prepared to shoot the hostiles as best he could.

[Darvin]

Gun to her head, Claudine anxiously steps up to the phone. Fighting back a stammer, she turns on the intercom and speaks as directed, "There's um... been a remote hack of the system. I've prevented it for now, but I've isolated the threat to the the south perimeter. You, uh, you should deal with that immediately"

There is a moment's pause. Through the security camera you can see the man in the suit speak with the security guards. They don't seem to realize that you can see them, as they draw their weapons and get in position to rush through the door. The man in the suit once again presses the button on the intercom and replies:

"Okay, Claudine, we'll do that right now, you just sit tight," he then pulls a key card from his suit pocket and stands poised, waiting for a signal to swipe the card and open the locked door. The four security officers tense up, and one of them activates a stun baton with crackles to life.

Declare any action you are taking the brief moments before this goes down

Rolling for initiative:
Rez [roll0]
Torq [roll1]
Sarkus [roll2]
Perry [roll3]
Gmork [roll4]

Security Guard A [roll5]
Security Guard B [roll6]
Security Guard C [roll7]
Security Guard D [roll8]

[digiman619]

So the order is
Sarkus
Security B/Perry
Gmork
Security D
Rez
Security C
Torq
Security A

That's very back and forth.

[Darvin]

Good point, I'll just have them all act on the same initiative in the interest of making things run smoothly. Here's their one initiative roll:

[roll0]

[DyerMaker]

Torq will take cover, draw Arc Pistol with right hand, and ready to target a guard.

[BarbieTheRPG]

Rez taps the operator on the head with the pistol barrel, "Shhhhhhhhhhhhh." She looks at the others while pointing at the wiring channel running under the room and moves to get down into it.

[digiman619]

"Sorry about this". Perry said to the woman before heading into the crawlway.

[Darvin]

As per the majority decision in the OOC thread, the party opts to use the wiring channels to escape the room undetected

Rez pries open the hatch leading into the wiring channel and the group hurriedly crawls inside. The door opens and security officers rush into the room as Rez jumps inside as the last of the group, shutting the hatch behind her. The security guards pause, unable see the closing catch from where they stand, and find themselves pointing their guns at a trashed server room whose only occupant is a woman huddled on the floor.

The service hatch is cramped, but spacious enough that the group can crawl through it without difficulty. As you crawl the noise of the server room fades into the distance, and is replaced by the din of voices. You seem to be beneath an office setting, and the commotion you caused has everyone talking. You continue moving, trying to keep as quiet as possible as you continue to crawl. You overhear a voice - the same voice that you heard over the intercom less than a minute ago - address the crowd.

"There's been a security breach, and the main server room has been trashed. We're still assessing the damage, but it's likely we'll have to revert to the backup servers entirely. The backup server room is strictly off-limits. No one enters or leaves without my approval and armed escort. We just need to hold the fort; tower security is sending a squad of soldiers our way as we speak,"

Peeking through a vent, you can see several security officers flanking the man in the suit, but fortunately none spot or hear you. You continue moving, and soon notice a familiar sound; whirring fans and air conditioning. You are certain the backup server room must be nearby. The five of you move towards the sound, and push open the access panel to emerge in a room that could be an exact duplicate of the one you just left. However, it seems strangely empty. There was an operator in the main server room, but this one doesn't seem to have anyone.

As you look about the room your gut sinks. Two security officers lie dead on the ground, scorch marks at the back of their heads, and you also notice a few blinking lights that don't belong. On closer inspection, they appear to be explosive charges. You're beginning to get the feeling that Galvinchi omitted some crucial details in his briefing.

The unoccupied control terminal has two interesting screen displays. One shows the outside hallway, occupied by three security guards with their backs to the door. The other shows some kind of service shaft. Two individuals are riding an elevator platform down the shaft - a short figure obscured by a hoody, and a man wearing the Media Center employee uniform.

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)

It's a setup. We're a decoy. A distraction. ... We gotta bolt before these bombs go off.

[Triskavanski]

"Well, curses." Gmork says, looking at the bombs to try and figure how big the boom would be as quickly as he could. It might be best for them to sneak out the server door behind the backs of the guards rather than going back through the service channels.


[roll0] knowledge engineering

[Darvin]

Gmork examines the explosives and determines that they are more than powerful enough to incinerate everything inside the room, but not enough to cause structural damage to the building. If the door is shut, the blast will likely be contained to the server room. The explosives appear to all be rigged to explode separately and have been synchronized to explode at the same time. There are about 70 seconds (12 rounds) left on the clock.

[Triskavanski]

"We go out there." the gnoll says pointing to the server room door. "Rather fight on our feet than die on our belly."

[BarbieTheRPG]

Gritting her teeth in anger, Rez looks around at Torq, "What do ya think, partner? I'm for blasting our way out, but we have no escape vehicle yet."

[digiman619]

"If we head back now, we can get a safe distance before the explosion. we can emerge in the other networking room when they scramble to find out what happened here. I can shield you from the worst of the damage, bit only if we go now."

[Triskavanski]

"Other room already has several guards by now. We will be on our bellys climbing up. Rather large mess of things.. Did anyone see another path in there? Speak now or I'm going out that door."

[Lt Gravemind]

"Better to cut our way though guards than try out-crawling an explosion." Sarkus said extending his blades. He didn't want to be in a cramped channel when the only outlet for the server room explosives was that channel.


Sarkus will cast a quick glance around to see if there's anything in the room that might offer another option.

Perception: 1d20+9

[Darvin]

Although he doesn't have the time to thoroughly examine the entire server room, Sarkus does notice a safety bulletin on the wall with a marked evacuation route in case of fire. The fire marked fire escape would make for a potential escape point from the media floor without having to pass through the reception area or use the main elevator.

[digiman619]

After a few seconds, Perry did the math and determined that heading back wasn't an option, so moved to the door controls. "Looks like we fight our way out. On my mark, I'll open the door and we rush out. Ready?"

[Darvin]

That's a majority for 'fight'

Rolling for Initiative (for real this time)

Rez [roll0]
Torq [roll1]
Sarkus [roll2]
Perry [roll3]
Gmork [roll4]

Security Guards [roll5]

The party will have a surprise round due to the guards having their backs turned. Declare any actions you are taking prior to opening the door, or on the surprise round. The security guards will act together on their initiative. There are three security guards in sight; Security Guard A is wearing heavier armor than Security Guard B and C, which otherwise appear to be outfitted the same way.

[DyerMaker]

"What do ya think, partner? I'm for blasting our way out, but we have no escape vehicle yet."This is FUBAR. I knew we should have secured a maintenance vehicle first! Torq draws his Arc Pistol. Looks like we're going out in force.

[Darvin]

With everyone in position, Gmork presses the button on the terminal to open the door. The guards don't even have time to turn around before the party is upon them.

Position of the guards in the hallway relative to the door to the server room:
http://i.imgur.com/2ziQOpc.png

[Lt Gravemind]

Sarkus will step through the door, blood finally pumping as his power armor begins whirling forward and he empties his mind, his mech becoming a second skin. He swings one of his arm blades at the guard who is more heavily armored.


Expending Psionic focus as a free action to activate Overdrive and then spending two boost points as a swift action to active High Performance. For the next three rounds he gets his Wisdom bonus to attack rolls, saving throws, and acrobatics checks.

He five-foot steps into the hallway and makes a single attack at Security Guard A.

Security Guard A: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Triskavanski]

Gmork was going to go into his reaching blade stance for this before he would start the combat by opening the door. "well then.." a bit rushed, but then again, he never really did have good experiences with being set on fire in a fiery explosion.


Once Sarkus and Torq go, gmork is going to step out next, initiating Tidal Blade if there are two targets left. If there is one, we're going with flowing creek

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)

Uhrrr
Torq watches as Sarkus steps into the hallway, putting himself into a flank for the two guards and blocking any melee or ranged attack for the rest of the team.

Torq will stand in the square adjacent to Guard A, behind the wall, in the event that Sarkus moves and he can fire at Guard C.

[Darvin]

With lightning speed and overwhelming force, Sarkus' blade comes dwon over top of the security officer. His armor takes the full brunt of the blow and the blade cuts clean through, there is a splatter of blood and widened shocked eyes as the guard falls to the ground.

(Rolling for Gmork (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21827234&postcount=74)) Gmork steps into the doorway just behind Sarkus. He can only reach one of the standing guards from his position, and even then the frame of the doorway makes his attack awkward, but he takes the opportunity to launch his Flowing Creek attack. Despite the awkward angle, Gmork strikes home and scorches through the light body armor of the security guard, sending him toppling to the ground.

(looks like this could be wrapped up on the surprise round; good rolls all around. Only guard B remains standing)

[digiman619]

Perry wasn't much of a fighter, but he shot the remaining security guard as best he could.
Attack: [roll0]
Damage [roll1]

[BarbieTheRPG]

Rez steps out the door, into the hallway and watching from the scene, zig-zagging to avoid gunfire!

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)

With everyone easily piling out of the room, Torq takes a shot at Guard B.

Arc Pistol [roll0]; possible damage [roll1]

[Lt Gravemind]

A splatter of blood coated his armor as Sarkus cut through the guard, bring his blade and body down low enough for his ally to cut down the other. Sarkus spun around, bringing both his blades around for a horizontal strike at the remaining guard.



Full Attack:
Blade Attack: [roll0] - Damage: [roll1]
Blade Attack: [roll2] - Damage: [roll3]
If both blades hit, Rend: [roll4]

Regardless if the guard is dead, Sarkus will take a five-foot step in the direction of the fire exit.

[Darvin]

The guard turns around, having seen his comrades fall in his peripheral vision. His eyes home in on Sarkus and his blades with a look of bewilderment and fear. There is no time to react; Sarkus' attack is already upon him and with vicious force he cleaves straight through the hapless guard. He collapses to the ground in two pieces.

Wasting no time, the party begins to run down the hallway. They reach a juncture; to the right will take them back towards the elevators, and to the left will take them towards the fire escape route. Behind them they hear a shout of alarm; someone has heard the commotion and seen the signs of battle.

(decide whether to head to the fire escape or the elevators; you now have 40 seconds, about 7 rounds, before the bombs explode)

[digiman619]

"Let's hit the fire escape; they might shut down the elevator while we're on it otherwise"

[Lt Gravemind]

"Fire escape sounds like a better idea to avoid a fiery explosion of death."

[Triskavanski]

Gmork grabs the first card he can reach and yanks it off as fast as he can, running after the others. Helps getting through an armored facility when you have a key after all.

[DyerMaker]

Torq will follow Rez toward/down the fire escape. He'll stay as close to her as possible.

[digiman619]

Perry makes quick work over to the fire escape lest he be left behind.

[Darvin]

At a sprint the party makes their way through the hallways. There are shouts in the distance and the clapping sounds of approaching boots, but if anyone saw the five of you pass them they shrewdly kept their heads down. The final corner seems a dead end at first, but in a hidden recess is a nondescript doorway. At first it resists attempts to force it open, but with a bit of leverage the door swings open.

The door is shut behind you, and a moment later calamitous tremor shakes the building. You stumble to catch your footing as the ringing in your ears ceases. You stand at a crossroads, so to speak. The fire escape leads in two directions from here: up, and down.

Perception Checks
Rez [roll0]
Torq [roll1]
Sarkus [roll2]
Perry [roll3]
Gmork [roll4]

You hear footsteps coming from the floors below
It sounds like there are between 3-5 people coming up the the fire escape

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)

Okay, people. We have 3 to 5 guards coming up the fire escape. We're on the 100th floor. Might as well go up to avoid any further melee.

[digiman619]

"Up it is, then."

[Lt Gravemind]

"Up is as good as any direction."

[Triskavanski]

"Going up!" he calls, trying to get up as well.

[BarbieTheRPG]

Still playing evasion, Rez finds cover and finds cover and whips out her laser pistol while whispering, "This is what you wanted. I'll observe."

[Darvin]

The group scampers up the fire escape, seeking to avoid the approaching footsteps from below. Four stories go by before the shouting begins. It comes from several stories below, a confrontation that - strange as it may seem - does not involve any of the five of you. The voices are muffled, but one is raised with a tone of abject fury.

"Drop your weapons," the voice demands.

You can barely make out a much quieter voice, but what was said in response eludes your hearing.

"I said drop your weapons! Now!"

There is a moment's pause, then the sound of gunfire erupts below. An ear-piercing crackling overwhelms your hearing, as if a bolt of lightning just struck within the confines of the tower. When sound returns it is joined by a chorus of screams. Then there is a second thunderous crack, and there is silence.

The five of you find yourself on the 105th floor, an unmarked - but unlocked - door in front of you. Behind you is a battle scene you are not quite sure you understand.

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)

Grrr
If the threat is indeed below and not behind, Torq will move for the unmarked door.
If the unfathomable threat is behind. Torq will hold for now.

[BarbieTheRPG]

Rez looked around and shook her head but couldn't suppress a grin, "Yup. Just like we planned it. Obviously there's another team in here working for whoever doing whatever. Sure would be easy for us to take the blame for their actions. So ........ set-up. We've been duped by Galvinchi. And if it isn't his doing I'm still paying him a visit when we walk get outta here. Now. We can check the roof for a way out OR we go guns blasting back down. Thoughts?"

[Lt Gravemind]

"Well, we're not getting paid to harass every set of guards we know about. I don't like it, but there might be a maintenence shuttle on the roof. No comms, no one to report an unauthorized borrowing." Sarkus commented, taking a moment to regain his focus and do a once over on his armor. "Course, good chance that anybody coming to check this place out might come through the roof. Maybe even that other team that generously blew up the backup server room. If they're dead now, I'm sure they wont miss their ship."

[Triskavanski]

"I would rather not do it your way, and avoid the combat instead. So far there is only one person who can really point at us and say we are the bad people. Honestly we should have removed that loose end there. But what is done is done. We go up faster." Gmork says, putting away the server part he was carrying into a bag, and pulling out his flashlight.

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)

Roof it is.

[digiman619]

"Let's head up; here's hoping there's someething on the helipad."

[Darvin]

The party continues their climb up the fire escape. Their echoing footsteps are the only sounds to accompany them, and there are no apparent signs of pursuers. The first few dozen floors seem easy, but the tower stretches on an on. At last the one hundred fifty seventh floor passes by. There is a moment to catch your breath before you press onward and open the door to the roof. You are immediately taken aback by the gust of wind and the bright light. The overcast of Inixa is beneath you, and from this vantage it stretches like a veil over the city. Blotches of smoke can be seen in some places, though the status on the ground is impossible to discern.

The situation before you on the landing platform is a mixed one. There is indeed a vessel here, some kind of armored personnel carrier, but there is a large gash in its cockpit left by some kind of heavy ordinance. About a dozen soldiers are on the platform, possibly more on the inside of the craft. One is severely injured and being tended to by his compatriots. From the looks of their faces, his prospects are grim. For the moment, none of the soldiers seem to notice you. A commanding officer is speaking into a commset.

"Hello? Hello? I'm losing you again. Argh, anyone!? This is Tango Upsilon Team; we took a hit from an rogue aircraft, our pilot is down and our craft is damaged. We're parked on the top of Tower A and need a status update. Anyone! Anyone!?" the commanding officer throws his headset to the ground in frustration. One of his subordinates taps him on the shoulder and points in your direction. The officer turns to address you, "You there! Please tell me you have the slightest clue what's going on,"

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)

Tired. Sweaty. Head aching. The last thing Torq wanted to see was a damaged ship.
Rioters in the building...or who knows what they were...explosions...bad juju... Hey, does that bird still fly? I can get you and your men back in the thick if it does.

[Darvin]

"It still flies. Well, barely. Problem is, we don't know where the thick of things is or if it's safe for us to move. My communication connection keeps dropping on me, and I haven't been able to get anything close to an answer," the commander grimaces, "And to make matters worse, I don't think the imperial divisions are deploying. It's just the Basur divisions out here, and we're getting hammered,"


Knowledge (Nobility) check:
Rez [roll0]
Torq [roll1]
Sarkus [roll2]
Perry [roll3]
Gmork [roll4]

Military command in the empire is divided between the Imperial Core - which is appointed by and answers to the emperor - and the individual military forces of the seven great houses. Most soldiers in the empire are under the direct employ of the seven houses. Although all such soldiers carry equal authority and privilege under imperial law, they have separate chains of command. Typically officers from the separate lines of command are cooperative with each other, but at times they have other agendas.

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)

Torq whispers to Rez.
Do your thing. Get us on that bird.

OOC: Based on that Know roll. What does Torq know about the Basur that he can use? Are they the best-of-the-best? Do they wear pink panties? Is there a conflict where they were recently victorious?
Torq is not a charmer, so he needs common ground to introduce ideas to Rez and the team who might not know them.

[Triskavanski]

Gmork eyes his companions waiting to see what they would do, expecting them attack again. Not that he was looking like he would at all, holding nothing more than a little flashlight in on hand.

[BarbieTheRPG]

Rez gets in and stats going over controls, "It's a POS but it might make do." She attempts to get the bird flying.

[digiman619]

"You'd best not go too fast", Perry chimes in, taking a closer look at the damage. "You can see the fracture in the chassis here. Going high speeds or too many aerial maneuvers might cause irreparable damage."

[Darvin]

One of the soldiers notices Rez trying to start up the vessel, "We don't know if it's safe to fly right now. You should talk to the commander before we make any moves," gesturing to the officer talking to Torq. Or more accurately, talking at Torq as he continues to rant about the massive cluster-frag of a response this has been so far.


OOC: Based on that Know roll. What does Torq know about the Basur that he can use? Are they the best-of-the-best? Do they wear pink panties? Is there a conflict where they were recently victorious?
House Basur is one of the seven great houses. Most of the planets in the empire are administered by one of these seven houses, and Inixa is assigned to House Basur. The Imperial Core and the Emperor do not concern themselves with the day-to-day governance or domestic policies of individual planets, instead assigning the territorial rights to one of the great houses. That house becomes responsible for collecting taxes, undertaking any infrastructure projects, setting domestic policy goals, and maintaining a military garrison. The great houses maintain their own military forces, including war fleets. Very few of the soldiers stationed on Inixa would be part of the Imperial Core, and their role on the planet would be different from those under the command of House Basur. Ordinarily they would be cooperative in an emergency situation, but given what has just been said this doesn't seem to be the case right now.

Military forces can vary substantially. House Basur would employ everything from basic recruits up to the most elite of special forces. However, surface garrisons are generally of the lowest quality while special forces are deployed on a "need only" basis (which means it's entirely possible that House Basur will send such a force to Inixa; you probably don't want to be here when they arrive, because like most of the imperial forces House Basur's response to an uprising is overkill. However, it will be days or weeks before such a force can be deployed).

(also, do let me know if you feel you want more background on the setting; I've got a bunch of notes, but I don't want to exposition dump it on you guys so I'm only going to bring it up as it becomes relevant)

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)

Torq looks around at his team, especially Rez.
Is anyone getting anything on comms? Anything concerning the concentration of fire or where Basur's troops and focusing fire, at the moment? We need to get these troopers back in the heat, and off of this roof.

[Triskavanski]

Gmork moslty ends up standing around awkwardly glancing between the soldiers on the roof and the rest of his crew. Talking was not his strong suit, nor was piloting cruisers. He knew how they worked a bit, but not even how to repair them, and it was certainly not time to get down with his badself and do a little boogie.

[Darvin]

"Seems everyone is having troubles. The primary, secondary, and tertiary channels are all down. I've tried reverting to manual communication channels, but they're completely overloaded. Everyone's trying to talk at once, so it's just sentence fragments in between unintelligible gibberish," one of the soldiers, a short woman hunched over some technical equipment, answers Torq's question, "As best I can tell, there are insurgents all throughout the tower complex doing hit-and-run attacks, but no one seems to be able to coordinate a real response,"

"Look, I'm pretty much giving up on contacting anyone remotely at this point. We're going to have to make a call since we're sitting ducks right now. Who do you guys report to, anyways? Do you know any officer we can rendezvous with?" the officer interjects.

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)

Torq mumbles the only name he remembers, Gourgos. We report to Gourgos. ... Captain, lets load up. I'll drop you and your men at the base of Tower 3.

[BarbieTheRPG]

Nodding in agreement with Torq, Rez readies the controls, eyeing the area.

[Triskavanski]

Gmork silently follows the other two's lead, not wanting to fight all these troopers here.

[Darvin]

"Gourgos? As in the chief if inner perimeter security Gourgos Corhan? What are his people doing on top of tower A?... Screw it, let's move out. Take us to your commander, and we'll figure things out from there. Watch our angles; I have no idea who pegged us last time but another good hit and we could all be goners"

The party and soldiers climb into the transport. A few of the soldiers hang nervously out of the side, watching the skies for any suspicious craft. The vessel hums to life and its control systems give warning sputters. It's not happy, but it will fly. Rez takes the controls as the craft lifts off. So far so good; the vessel moves off the top of the tower and gently begins its descent down. The open gash in the cockpit creates a swirl of air.

You breach the cloud cover and catch a glimpse of the chaos below. Three of the towers seem to shimmer with electric intensity - some kind of defensive field most likely - but tower B does not. A smoking gash in the side of the tower betrays its defenselessness. There are craters throughout the inner compound and a number of crashed aircraft. Mindful not to become one of them you approach cautiously towards the ground.

You have no time to react as an alarm rings out in the cockpit and a streaking missile passes by the ship. A light interception craft emerges from the clouds above you, homing in from behind.

Initiative
Rez [roll0]
Torq [roll1]
Sarkus [roll2]
Perry [roll3]
Gmork [roll4]

Enemy [roll5]

Rez is piloting, so the ship moves on her initiative. The transport craft has two heavy gun turrets that can be manned. These guns are martial weapons, semi-automatic (you can treat yourself as having the rapid shot feat when using them), and deal 4d6 damage per shot.

[BarbieTheRPG]

Banking to avoid further enemy fire Rez shouts, "WE'RE TAKING FIRE! Anyone have eyes on the enemy?!?" Using only the direction the missile came from, she takes evasive maneuvers hoping to make their craft a hard target.

[Lt Gravemind]

"Ah hell!" Sarkus cursed to himself, clutching a support beam as the craft suddenly started to twist and turn, and his stomach with it. He really didn't like flying. The missile didn't help. "Anyone else fancy enough with a gun wanna take up a turret? Otherwise I will."

I assume the more dexterous members of the party will want to man the guns.

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)

Grrr
Torq will take up a turret position and fire at the craft.
[roll0] possibly damage per shot [roll1]

[Triskavanski]

Gmork (https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=231476) looked to the others, shaking his head. "I do not know how to use blasters." he replies, picking up what little scrap metal was available, looking for the next missile. Energy starting to float around as he prepares for anti-missile defense



Gathering Power to reduce burn.
Readying Kinetic Blast using scrap metal with the extended form infusion to attack any other missiles or rockets headed our way .

[digiman619]

"I've got it!" Perry said, taking up the remaining turret. He then scans the skies for oncoming bogies.

[Darvin]

Without hesitation Torq throws himself into the weapons turret. The enemy, now clear of the cloud cover above, is directly behind the craft and lining up for a second volley. He pulls the trigger and looses a single round. It streaks through the sky and hits home against the attacker. The satisfaction is short-lived; retaliation comes swiftly in the form of two missiles streaming towards the ship. Rez jerks the ship aside to evade one of them, but the other strikes home. The vessel shudders and alarm bells ring out, but for the moment she's holding.

Seeing no one taking control of the second gun turret, Sarkus moves to man it himself. The armor-piercing round shoots out. For a moment it appears that it will miss, but the telltale sparks of an impact betray otherwise. The enemy is drawing closer, however, and the next salvo will be coming shortly. Gmork leans out the side of the transport, eying the approaching enemy and preparing to take a shot at it as it passes.

The ground - and the gun turret emplacements along the outer perimeter - is approaching all too slowly. Rez scans the ground for possible landing (or possibly, crash landing) locations. There are a number of open spaces within the security perimeter, but perhaps more appealing are the various vehicle yards with landing pads. More than one are engulfed in smoke, and certainly not appealing landing sites. Others appear to be in working order, and while it's hard to make out from this altitude there do appear to be active security forces who might be of assistance to the stricken transport. Rez remembers spotting one of these yards earlier while in the elevator; it's not the closest yard, but unless he's gone somewhere Gourgos would be stationed there.

digiman's previous post just ninja'd me. Seeing as Sarkus actually hit his target I'm just going to keep the events as they played out, and Perry can take over that gun turret next round.

Also if you do plan on attacking, please declare whether you will be using rapid shot and roll accordingly. A reminder that the weapon turrets are semi-automatic so you can apply the benefits of rapid shot without having the feat.

[BarbieTheRPG]

Spotting the smoke-covered vehicle yards, Rez grunts to herself and shouts, "HOLD ON! I'M GOING FOR GROUND-COVER!!" She whips the sluggish aircraft downwards at a sharp angle still trying to evade enemy fire while streaking for landing pads hoping the smoke will provide cover!

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)

Torq fires the turret at the craft again.
Rapid shot (with penalty?) attack [roll0] damage: [roll1], attack [roll2] damage: [roll3]

Edit: Those attacks are actually 12 and 21. I forgot my bonuses.
I blame the Pinot I've been drinking for the last hour.

[Darvin]

Torq's turret flares to life as he unleashes a volley of armor piercing shells. Two neon yellow streaks fly through the air and strike home against the target, but the pilot of the pursuing craft doesn't even seem to flinch. Seeking to find some kind of cover against their attacker, Rez jerks the ship hard to the left. Her maneuver is interrupted by the next volley of missiles. Far more directed and purposeful than the probing attacks thus far, it's clear the enemy has a lock on the transport. Rez desperately attempts to evade, but both missiles strike home. Warning alarms ring out throughout the ship as it shudders and groans. Internal lights flicker on and off, and there are screams of panic from some of the soldiers inside. Subsystems begin to lose power, and the cockpit control terminal can't even give an accurate reading of the damage anymore. Yet by some miracle the craft still has lift and control.

The pursuing fighter roars past its prey. Gmork, hanging out the side of the transport, lets loose an opportunistic blast against it (attack/damage roll (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21865358&postcount=2)). The enemy passes too quickly to evaluate the damage, but the sparks of contact betray that the attack hits target.

(current status: Perry is next up in initiative order, and presumably can take control of the second turret from Sarkus. Rez's attempt at a hard turn failed due to the combat penalties, so she only turned 45 degrees instead of 90 degrees. The enemy is no longer behind you but instead in front of you, having passed this round. You have at least a short reprieve from its forward facing weapons before it can wheel around for another attack run)

[digiman619]

Perry didn't have much in the way of experience with manual turrets like this; he was more familiar with the computer assisted kind. Needless to say, his lack of familiarity showed, as both his shots flew wide.

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)

If within range and with LOS, Torq will fire again at this pestering vessel.
Rapid shot: attack [roll0] damage: [roll1], attack [roll2] damage: [roll3]

[Darvin]

Shots from the turrets still trailing after him, the enemy pilot wheels around for a second approach. Torq fires into the contrail, the telltale flash of contact of armor piercing shells telling him that one of them hit home. The enemy pilot speeds away, putting some distance between his craft and your own, before taking a sharp turn to the . Despite the interference of Torq's shots, your pursuer manages his maneuver and turns 90 degrees.

The commanding officer of the soldier staggers into the cockpit, clinging to the walls as if for dear life. He hesitates, afraid to distract the pilot whose hands are entrusted with his life and the lives of his men, but then gathers the courage to speaks, "where do you plan on touching down? I'm not sure how well the transport will take the landing in its current state, and the closer we are to first responders the better,"

(Current status: Perry is up in initiative next. The enemy is about 500 feet away from you so you take a 1 range increment penalty on any shots against him this round. He will be able to make a standard action attack on his next turn. You're still about 10 rounds from reaching the surface at current speeds, but as you draw closer the likelihood of drawing the attention and support of someone on the ground increases)

[BarbieTheRPG]

Keeping her focus on landing the damaged craft, Res doesn't even look at the troop commander, "This wounded duck is going down HARD! The smoked-out landing pad is our best shot but unless you want to be painted on the turf I suggest everyone hold on! This won't be pretty!" Rez does her best with the shuddering controls and for a moment she imagines riding a horse off a cliff and trying to guide it to a perfect landing. The thought makes her grin.

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848) braces for impact.

[Darvin]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848) braces for impact.
You're still several hundred feet in the air and the transport still has lift (however, due to the damage it has sustained its maximum speed has been halved) so you don't have to worry about bracing for impact quite yet.

[digiman619]

Perry takes aim once again.
Will a 12 hit? Probably not. Sorry for my lack of skill with this thing.

[Darvin]

Perry's first shot appears for a moment like it is to hit, but the enemy pilot evades it. The second shot goes wide, missing wildly.

One of the soldiers emerges from below deck holding a rocket launcher. He moves to peer out the open side of the transport and take aim, but a sudden jerk causes him to lose balance. He falls backwards into the transport, shaken and still holding the rocket launcher. One of the other soldiers remarks callously, "secure yourself before trying something like that, idiot,"

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848) eyes the rocket launcher for near-future acquisition. Sticky fingers, baby. Yum.

[Triskavanski]

Gmork glances at the rocket launcher for a moment, along with the rest of the troops. "Any of the rest of you have any sort of gernades or other explosives?"

[digiman619]

Perry takes aim at the enemy once again.
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

[BarbieTheRPG]

Rez stays focused on landing the damaged craft and barely notices the sound of the gun turrets!

[Darvin]

The approaching interceptor pulls again into an attack vector, lining up its first shot. Rez carefully watches the pursuer, refusing to give a clean shot. A missile screams forward but the stricken transport deftly dodges it. The turrets focus in on the target, which has just come into ideal targeting range. Torq and Perry unleash a volley of armor-piercing slugs. Like a hailstorm they batter their target, smashing the it over and over again. A plume of fiery smoke billows from the interceptor as one of its thrusters is torn to ribbons. The vessel staggers in the air before rebalancing itself.

As yet unaware of the reversal of fortunes in the battle, the soldiers inside the transport maintain their grimly stoic demeanor. The soldier Gmork addresses turns to him and replies, "There's an equipment compartment below deck. I think there's an entire crate of grenades down there, but I don't know how we could use grenades in a dogfight,"

[Triskavanski]

"This isn't a dog fight." he replies, being a gnoll, as he heads into the transport to get to the box of grenades, as he begins thinking on how these FDBs are able to fly, and the quickest way of taking them out. Explosive would help take it down, but paint grenades would disable it.

[rol]1d20+6[/roll] know engineering

[Darvin]

The soldier stares blankly at Gmork, not getting it. No one stops Gmork as he opens a hatch into the lower holds. It's a cramped space, requiring him to hunch to move. Passing over a row of heavy caliber munitions, Gmork locates what he's looking for: a crate filled with palettes of grenades. Some of the grenades have already been removed, but it seems the crate is still about half full. There are five palettes inside the crate, and the top palette still contains five grenades. The crate is shielded and padded, housing the grenades safely. Gmork could attempt to take the entire crate - which weighs 100 lbs - with him or remove and stow the individual grenades in his inventory one at a time.

[Triskavanski]

Gmork didn't care if they got it or didn't get it. It wasn't his job. Instead, he needed to do what he could to stop the fdb from attacking them, if the others didn't do it by the time he got up there. And if they did.. He was going to need these later. Gmork was after all if nothing, always planning for the long run more than just what was going on in the here and now. He begins taking them, clipping them to his armor and gear, filling his pouches and bag.

[Darvin]

(I rolled for everyone seeing as this is our final round of combat and I'm sure we're all ready to move on (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21889296&postcount=12))

The interceptor veers away, frantically seeking to escape the barrage of attacks. The turrets continue to track him as he moves, and Torq lands two more hits. A streaming cloud of black smoke now trails behind the target as he pulls away. Perry takes aim, lining up his attack against the banking enemy, but is distracted when someone beats him to it. A flash of red streaks across the sky and slams into the interceptor. It lurches upwards from the force of impact. A second shot follows the first, narrowly missing. Perry takes aim again; his shots pierce the murky cloud of smoke around the interceptor. There is a moment of silence, then a ripple of red and a shower of debris where the target had been moments before.

In the cockpit Rez is left with bitter comfort at the encroaching ground. The enemy may be gone, but the stricken transport will be hitting the ground in the next 30 seconds and there's no telling how well it will hold up. Complicating matters is that the transport now seems to have attracted attention of the surface forces. With communications down and no obvious signals from below she is left to her own discretion on where and how to land.

Below decks, Gmork carefully unloads the grenades from their container, stowing them as best he can on his person. He takes mental note of what he's found as progresses:

5 Inferno Grenades
4 Arc Grenades
6 Soft Grenades
4 Concussion Grenades
3 EMP Grenades
4 Flash Grenades

By the time he has finished unloading the crate, the transport is moments away from touching down.

[Darvin]

The ground approaches rapidly from below. Rez tests the various systems. Landing gear seems to be shot, thrust is only at 50% and not responding consistently, and something is causing the transport to list slightly to the left. The acrid air of Inixa rushes into the cockpit through the gaping hole on the co-pilot's side. She fires the thrusters in rapid bursts, trying to gauge how the ship was reacting, carefully keeping it stable. The altimeter continues to drop as Rez pushes the throttle upwards. The system alarms ring out; its power system is failing under the strain of the rising throttle. The altimeter passes one hundred and enters into the single digits, and Rez raises the throttle still further, then suddenly pulls it back. The altimeter stops - the transport is holding stable 5 meters off the ground with every warning and alarm imaginable ringing in the cockpit. Rez eases the throttle gently and lets to transport down onto the ground. One by one the systems power down and with them the alarms and warnings, the transport crying one final sigh of relief as its pilot signs off.

As if afraid the transport will explode at any moment the soldiers file out. The commanding officer of the soldiers is the only one who remains on the ship when Rez emerges from the cockpit. He smiles and salutes, then without a further word he climbs down. Rez joins the rest of her group. All five of them are well although Gmork's clothing appears... bulkier than usual.

A cavalcade of vehicles arrives on the scene and a young woman with the badge of an officer jumps out. Her face is cool and collected, but her voice betrays her; she is pissed, "What were you yahoos doing up there!? There's a no-fly order, who authorized you to launch!?" she demands. The commanding officer meekly steps forward, but he only manages to stammer about being stranded. The woman interrogating him sneers, "I'm not your mother, don't give me stupid excuses. Do I need to have you all detained for jeapordizing a military operation!?"

Perception Checks
Rez [roll0]
Torq [roll1]
Sarkus [roll2]
Perry [roll3]
Gmork [roll4]

In the distance you see an open-top vehicle approaching with a familiar looking occupant. Gourgos, the amicable lieutenant you met earlier, appears to be heading to the landing site

The soldier with the rocket launcher still seems to be holding it, but has set it down on the ground and is fixated on the ongoing commotion

[BarbieTheRPG]

Frowning at the mouthy officer, Rez points at the approaching vehicle saying, "We're contractors acting on our mission parameters. Lt. Gourgos there will vouch for us. He helped us find our way around the perimeter before all hell broke loose. We got trapped on the roof and had to navigate down while engaging terrorists. Our team working with your people managed to bag some bad guys, but the area still seems unstable. How can we help, ma'am? I'm Rez and what's your name again?"

[Triskavanski]

Gmork knew better than to open his mouth once again. Now was not the time for his action. That time will come to pass, but it was certainly best not to piss off a small squad of goons who could be at a moments notice, ready to tear off their heads.

[Darvin]

The officer scowls at Rez "It's Sgt. Hammond, and you can help by not creating more confusion than we already have. We need to lock things down so we can do a clean sweep, and having yahoos flying out of nowhere makes that impossible. Speaking of which, we need to ID everyone who was on board your transport. We can't let any of the insurgents slip through our net. Everyone file up and get your credentials ready"

Standing right in front of the officer, Rez finds herself first in line. The officer pulls out a hand scanner and scans the security credentials. She pauses to look at the screen for a moment, then makes a dissatisfied face and waves Rez onward. The documents provided by Galvinchi are still holding up under scrutiny, it seems. The open-top hover car arrives and the familiar frame of Gourgos jumps out. The lieutenant appears completely distracted, with one hand pressed to his temple.

"We just shot down one of the rogue interceptors," Gourgos speaks aloud to no one in particular. He pauses a moment.

"I know there's trouble in the tower, but the perimeter is my priority," Gourgos replies as if conversing with someone. He pauses again.

"That would be a very bad idea," Gourgos interjects angrily.

"If it's an order, I'll act on the matter personally. I'll be there shortly... ngh," Gourgos keels over as if he was just struck by some sort of blow. Within a fraction of a second the sound of an explosion rings out over the tower grounds. Heads look up to see where it came from.

Sgt Hammond immediately stops vetting the soldiers and rushes to Gourgos, "Sir, what just happened?"

"I'm fine, just a bit of a backlash, but there's something I need to do," Gourgos turns to the tower, his gaze upon the newly formed smoking gash in the tower, "There's definitely something I need to do. Can I trust the perimeter to you, Hammond?"

Gourgos' eyes finally fall in the direction of the party. For the first time since he's arrived a smile creeps onto his face, "And let me guess, you were the ones flying and gunning up there? Impressive work, but who is the lucky sunova gun who got the killshot?"

(Reintroducing Lt. Gourgos, now with colored speech)

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)

Torq grabs 2 Arc 'nades and 2 Inferno 'nades then walks out of the chopper with the rocket launcher resting across both shoulders, his hands hanging on the weapon like a criminal bearing his cross for crucifixion.

He looks around at the Imperialists and then speaks to Rez; We gotta get going before someone recognizes us.

[Darvin]

Gourgos, his stature naturally tower over the other soldiers, moves to address the crowd:

"The enemy is launching attacks inside the tower complex. Holding down the perimeter isn't enough, and we can't wait for reinforcements any long. We gotta send a relief force into the towers," Gourgos' left hand swings wildly upwards and points towards the smoking gash in the tower, "I'm going to lead the charge, and we're going to do a sweep of the tower 3 secured areas, starting with the war room. Any volunteers up for joining me?"

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)
Hmm. Count me in.

[digiman619]

Perry nods his head. "Affirmative."

[Darvin]

There is an awkward silence for a few moments, but one of the soldiers from the transport steps forward. She salutes Gourgos without making eye contact.

"What's your name, private?" Gourgos asks.

"I'm Cass Taylor... Lt. Corhan sir," she murmurs her name, then suddenly remembers to address her superior properly.

"You've got spirit, Cass, I'll feel better knowing you've got my back in the thick of battle. Oh, and call me Gourgos. Everybody else does," Gourgos flexes his broad smile with his words of encouragement. One by one more voices chime in.

"Terry Law, reporting for duty,"
"Barry Zims, security contractor,"
"I'm Reg, and I'm in,"
"Private Sweeney, at your service!"
"Harold Veers, demolitions specialist"

Seeing a chance at the prize, the party steps forward to join Gourgos' forming group. His eyes light up when he seems them.

"Heh, here I thought we'd all be meeting at Sandy's over a round or two of wings. Seems it's the battlefield with a round or two of gunfire instead. Heh, but I guess it comes with the territory when you choose this line of work," Gourgos pans his head left and right but sees no more volunteers, then moves to address the eleven soldiers assembled in front of him, "Okay people, we don't know the status in there, but things are pretty bad and the enemy is fighting dirty. My instincts are telling me to go in there guns blazing, and if there's one thing I've learned it's that instinct ain't worth a day old turd. My head is telling me that we need to get the drop on these guys, we can't fight on their terms. So our top priority is the engineering floor; if anyone can get us into the war room with the element of surprise, it's our buddies in engineering. Alright company, let's move out!"

Gourgos commandeers several vehicles responding to the stricken transport, and packs his soldiers into them. The twelve of you race off to the tower. The inner perimeter lockdown is far fiercer than when you passed through earlier. Guns are drawn and pointed at your small convoy of vehicles, but Gourgos pulls off his helmet and addresses the guards. A bald man with the mark of an Imperial Telepath tattooed on his face looks at Gourgos apathetically, then turns to the other soldiers. The airlock into the tower complex opens.

There is a distinct sense of deja vu as you make your way back to the main tower transit hub. The robotic voice at the transit hub informs you that transit is presently suspended, which Gourgos overrides with a swipe of his ID card. The same pleasant robotic voice you remember for your last trip emanates from the terminal: "Your request has been submitted. Priority level 1 activated; your transport is ready, please board the red line"

Without a moment's delay the group files onto the red line. It's completely empty. The moment everyone is boarded Gourgos swipes his ID card and the door shuts, "Next stop: Tower 3 Floor 154 - Engineering and Secure Area Maintenance"

"Stay sharp people, the enemy could have hit the engineering area and we might have a fight on our hands when these doors open. Keep your eyes peeled and your guns ready, but don't get trigger happy," Gourgos mentions.

As you rise in the tower, Perry, Rez and Gmork begin to hear a strange ringing sound. Like a single note of a chime it plays then falls silent. Several seconds later the same chime plays again. They look around, but the only other person who seems to be responding is Gourgos, who taps at his ear with his hand (oversized as it is from his power armor).

(skill checks (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=21922923&postcount=156))

The mental sounds you are hearing are consistent with a psionic power being activated very close by... within this very elevator.

[digiman619]

Perry felt a slight brushing on the corner of his mind. While an organic psion might need to close their eyes or take a breath, Perry only needed to focus his mind in order to activate his powers, trying to psychically ping the other psion. The tricky part, of course, was figuring out who was manifesting without tipping them off.
Manifesting Detect Psionics via expending psionic focus (rather than pay 1 PP.) Concentration check to avoid the manifestations: [roll0] vs 15; I have about a 50% chance of not blowing my cover. Here we go!
EDIT: Well, ****

[BarbieTheRPG]

Rez nods at Gourgos and looks at the others winking. When she knows security isn't looking Rez mouths the words "Server Room".

[Triskavanski]

Gmork silently followed with the rest of the group, glancing from person to person. There was a lot of people here, too many actually. He didn't like the look of the tattoo headed person, so he did only the most reasonable thing he could do at the time, and started thinking about an movie he watched recently, Galactic Space Babes IX.

[Darvin]

Despite his efforts to dampen the display of his psionic powers, Perry's eyes light up and a shrill sound emanates from him as he attempts to scan for psionic influence. Heads turn nervously towards him, but no one says or does anything. Gourgos just taps his ear again and remains focused on the door. There is is definitely a psionic presence in the elevator... multiple ones, in fact.

Perry continues concentrating as auras come into view. None of the auras appear particularly strong, but one by one they take form in Perry's vision. The most noticeable is a halo of pale green light that dances around Gourgos' shoulders, likely some form of psionic item he's wearing underneath his power armor. Sarkus registers as psionic and Gmork registers as... something strange and unusual. Perry ignores them to focus on the other occupants of the elevator. A total of three other individuals appear to register as psionic or having some kind of psionic influence associated with them on the elevator. Perry remembers their names from when they announced them earlier; Terry Law, Private Sweeney, and Barry Zims the self-described security contractor. Of the three only Terry glances at Perry, but averts her gaze a moment later. Whatever the case, there are no further incidents of the psionic effect on the remainder of the elevator ride.

Gourgos tenses as the doors prepare to open. The chiming voice reads out, [i]"Now arriving Tower 3 Floor 154 - Engineering and Secure Area Maintenance. This is a secure area; please have your credentials ready,"[i] the only sound as the doors open is the clattering of guns as those inside prepare for the worst, but the room is empty. Gourgos steps forward cautiously then scowls.

"The loading area here is never empty like this. Could be the lockdown procedure, but I still don't like it," Gourgos remarks as he edges forward while cautiously scanning back and forth. He steps forward to an intercom next to a sealed blast door and presses a button, "It's Gourgos, is the floor hot?"

There's a long period of silence, but no answer. Gourgos pushes the button again and repeats himself, but nothing. Shaking his head, Gourgos shoves his arm into the ground. The floor gives way and buckles. With inhuman strength Gourgos forces the blast door into the open position.

"Huff... huff... I swear, budget cuts. I've been showing this off as a party trick for years and they don't replace a single one of 'em," Gourgos grimaces, "Everyone through, this thing's heavy and doesn't like being forced open like this," the soldiers file through the doorway, and Gourgos squeezes through last and allows the door to fall behind him. The signs of a shootout are evident, and several soldiers line the hallway. A battered arc rifle still lies in the clutches of one of the fallen warriors.

"Okay people, we're under the presumption that engineering control is compromised. I'm gunna spearhead from the north entrance. The other half of the group heads around to the west entrance and comes through to flank the enemies from the other side. Whose with me and whose gunna do the flanking? Gourgos asks.

Choose which group you're with, as well as what you do. If you're with Gourgos you're charging into the room with him, but if you form the flanking group you'll be... unsupervised

[Triskavanski]

"I shall go to flank the side." Gmork responds, slowly scanning the rest of the team near him, waiting for his chance. The Patient hunter as often as he is.

[BarbieTheRPG]

Rez nods in agreement, "Right. We'll loop around and hopefully catch them by surprise." Drawing her weapon, Rez took a quick look at Torq and Perry to see if they were following.

[Lt Gravemind]

Sarkus checked over his blades one more time before giving a slight nod and joining the flanking group.

[digiman619]

Perry chided himself for being unable to hide his psionic check earlier. Still, no one had said anything, so he'd best continue on the mission as planned. After pausing for a few seconds to regain focus, he follows Rez and the rest of his unit.

[Darvin]

"Stay alert, and don't fight unless it's on your own terms," Gourgos advises as the group walks off down the indicated corridor. The lighting here is flickering and there are obvious signs of extensive damage from a fierce firefight. A noxious smokey gas seeps through an exposed section of wall panel, the damage and source of which isn't clear, but fortunately the floor's climate control seems to be working and the fumes aren't building up.

As you step over some rubble, a weak voice calls out, "Hey... help," is all that the man caught beneath the rubble can manage. His face is burned, but he is alive and conscious unlike the other bodies left in the corridor from the earlier firefight.

[BarbieTheRPG]

Keeping her pistol at the ready, Rez approaches the semi-buried victim and tries to loose the debris around him, "What happened here? Can you move at all?"

[Darvin]

"There was fighting... I couldn't tell who was who, everyone was just wearing the same military uniforms. I was running away and then the next I knew there was fire and rubble and I was pinned on the ground. It's been quiet for a while now, you're the first ones through here since the fighting ended," the man speaks slowly, breathing small breaths with his chest compressed under a fallen slab of ceiling. As Rez loosens the largest piece his body is mostly freed and he wheezes and coughs, but regaining his composure he continues "They took the survivors as hostages, but I played dead so they left me alone. I heard them asking about the service lifts... we've got access to pretty much everywhere in the tower through those lifts. They can get past almost any security checkpoint with someone who knows where they're going,"

[DyerMaker]

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)

Torq looks on as Rez helps this person. He's unmoved by her sudden flair for compassion and wondering why they're stopping to help. He remains silent, then steps over the man and rubble. Pistol at the ready, rocket launcher on his back, Torq continues onward.

[Darvin]

There's a sudden and loud noise from a nearby room like a grenade exploding, followed by a disgruntled yell from what sounds to be Gourgos. You cannot make out his voice from where you stand, but he seems to be quite agitated about something. There are no further sounds to indicate that any battle has commenced.

[Triskavanski]

Gmork, wasn't in the slightest bit bothered by any of the fumes. Helps when you're wearing a mask almost all the time that filters out the air. "So they took the lift past all the security checkpoints."

[Darvin]

The injured man looks at Gmork and replies, "I presume so. We do all kinds of maintenance jobs throughout the secure areas. There's supposed to be a formal security protocol, but the bosses got tired of following it and just gave a few of us top clearance... really seems like a really bone-headed decision in hindsight," the man grimaces.

[BarbieTheRPG]

Rez cleared as much debris from the man as possible, "This whole place is compromised. What's the quickest way to the main server room?" she asks the injured survivor.

Then she whispers to Torq, "And where's this package supposed to be again?"

[DyerMaker]

Then she whispers to Torq, "And where's this package supposed to be again?"

Torq (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=1125848)

The War Room. The package is in the War Room; supposedly.

[Darvin]

Rez pries free the last of the debris from the man. He tries to stand but stumbles as he attempts to put weight on his left leg. The man catches himself against the wall, uncertain of his own footing. He turns to Rez to answer her question.

"A server room? Not on this floor, unfortunately. We requisition servers from other farms throughout the tower complex. There's never been any budget for a proper secured server room of our own... or for much of anything, really. We're pretty understaffed in engineering, and it's hard enough to keep everything running even when people aren't actively trying to blow it all up,"

[BarbieTheRPG]

Moving closer to Torq, Rez says, "Then we need to find the War room. That's the objective." Turning back to the survivor, she asks him, "What's the fastest way to the War room, my friend?"

[Darvin]

"The War Room? Normally I'd take lift 5, but I'm pretty sure that would be sealed shut given the circumstances... so unless you can contact someone on the inside to let you in that's not an option. I guess if you came here you can't just walk in the front door either. But... um..." the man looks deeply uncomfortable, "there is a back door through power substation 82A and 82B. It's a bit of a circuitous route, but the security doors in there are the same defective ones we have on the engineering floor. With a bit of muscle they open right up,"

There's another, softer, bang in the distance followed by an irritated yell by Gourgos. Once again there is no sound of ensuing battle.

"Um, is it safe to be staying here?" the man asks.

[BarbieTheRPG]

Looking at the man, Rez says, "You should get out of here." Then she turns to her companions, "Are we still flanking or does the War Room make more sense?"

[Lt Gravemind]

"Well, we're here for the War Room. Probably better to get to that before the rest than keep playing pretend and hoping we get to the War Room in one piece." Sarkus commented, eyeing their surroundings and keeping an ear out. "In and out with the package before the folks playing soldier even know."

[Triskavanski]

Gmork looks to the two slowly and frowns behind his mask as they discuss what they're going to do now, hoping that the injured solider isn't paying attention enough to piece together what was going on or one of the silver tongued people could bluff something out if he was.

[Darvin]

Coaxing directions from the stricken man without raising suspicion as to their intention, the five wolves in sheeps clothing obtain specific instructions on this entry into the war room:

"Go down this hallway and take a right. There's a series of service lifts there that lead to different areas. They have dedicated backup power so they should be unaffected by the damage to the rest of the floor. Take lift number three and take it up to the power substation 82A. Follow the perimeter of the room until you reach a red security door, then force it open. That will take you to substation 82B. On the opposite side of the room is a staircase. Follow that staircase up one floor and it will take you into a supply room. This supply room connects directly with the war room," the man stops for a moment then muses, "Maybe I should write that down for you?"

The rubble-filled hallway of the engineering floor proves surprisingly easy to navigate, although something of concern does catch the eye: the charred remains of a soldier keeled over a tripwire trap. It appears whoever was through here earlier left surprises for any soldiers coming after them. With heightened diligence, the party presses forward. Service lift 3 is exactly where it was supposed to be, and with the press of a button the lights turn on and the door opens. The lift is much smaller than the spacious and luxurious elevators of the main transit line of the tower. There is no pleasant voice attendant, just a simple control terminal. Sarkus' bulky mecha suit scrapes against the walls and his companions alike in the more confined elevator.

The door opens and ears are filled with a deafening hum. Massive power cables are fed into an array of metal devices, routing power throughout the floors. Unlike the lower floors here there is no obvious damage. Following the perimeter of the room and passing a yellow security door, the party arrives at the promised red security door. Sarkus, being the strongest in the group, kneels down and replicates the feat of strength Gourgos showed off earlier. True enough the floor gives way to sufficient force and he finds a grip underneath the door and forces it open.

The party enters a room that could be a mirror image of the previous one, if not for a large smoking gash in the wall. On the opposite side of the room an exposed metal staircase extends upwards.

Perception Checks (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?519905-Galactic-Adventures-Dice-Rolling&p=21972556#post21972556)

One of the transformers appears to have been damaged by the explosion from the nearby wall. Walking by it could be hazardous, but it can be avoided by walking the longer clockwise route around the room rather than counter-clockwise

Two armed soldiers crouch near the center of the room, concealing themselves amidst some debris. They appear distracted by something nearby the smoking area of the wall.