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Re: REKT: BTE Mission 1: Nanyej Colony

#901
TURN 28

Maps:
Spoiler:      SHOW
Image
<<<MISSION COMPLETE. As soon as the stellaplex is recovered and placed in the aux slot of a CASKET, everyone is free to go home.>>>
Time until mission termination and complete failure: 4 minutes


The Grav Plant:
Buck
Spoiler:      SHOW
Hapchazzard wrote:
Mon Aug 13, 2018 11:41 am
Talvieno wrote:
Mon Aug 13, 2018 9:45 am
((It's another attack. Won't get to you immediately though; he needs to find firm footing.))
((Got it, thanks))

Briefly consider charging the dragon, but chicken out
Vault over the northern consoles to where Frank is
if I notice Frank's sword drifting away from him as I'm vaulting across the consoles
-Nudge/push it towards him, if I can do so easily
if I notice the turret that is targeting him
-Try and move to a position where I'm both in cover from the south(drakedog etc.) and the turret itself, if possible
When an enemy approaches me in melee range with the intent to attack
-Hit it with the baton until it is either dead/incapacitated or has backed off
if the dragon, God forbid, manages to grab me
-Wildly hit it in the head/neck until it lets go
Do not exceed my max baton uses in the turn
-
Looking up, you consider your options. "Gene!" you shout. "Stop twiddlin' yer thumbs and shoot this thing, it ain't gonna kill itself! It's made quick work o' Frank, and now the fukcer's set his nasty eyes on me - I ain't no Frank though, and this son of a bitch is gonna learn that soon!"

The son of a bitch "learns it" by watching as you almost immediately flee. You briefly considered charging the dragon... but chickened out. Perhaps you're starting to sober up. It's a horrible thought, and not one you have time for - especially with the massive alpha drakedog bearing down on you. You don't want any of that shit. As quickly as you can, you grab hold of the consoles to your right and pull yourself upwards - barely escaping the monster's snapping teeth as you duck over the top. But it follows - ravenously, eager for a taste of your flesh. Grabbing a spindly tree trunk, you pull yourself towards the far corner of the central chamber as quickly as you can.

Everything is a blur of images. A tree catches fire from a laser beam, just above your fingertips. Frank screams in pain - it echoes in your ears. You drift through a floating cloud of blood droplets; they spatter on your helmet. The alpha drake grabs your leg in its teeth - a grinding pain as it bites almost to the bone.

Struggling in its grasp, you try to bash it with the baton; it sees the flickering energy wrapped around the weapon's shaft and swings you in its jaws, hurling you out against the far wall with the ease of tossing a child's toy.

You watch helplessly, in great agony, as the wall approaches. It slams into you with such force that you almost black out, but you hold on, clinging to the ribbed wall like an insect above a mass of floaty, blobby pondwater, risen from a pond below. The massive beast has lost interest in you, thinking you incapacitated - now it's headed back towards Frank.

Unfortunately, you're not out of the woods yet: the smaller drake is perched on one of the central computers, ready to leap in your direction. You realize that there's a very solid chance that you'll lose this fight - what with the zero-G and essentially no handholds anywhere to be had. The thought enrages you, and you turn to ready yourself for its onslaught, clutching your weapon's handle tightly in both hands. "I'LL BASH YOUR HEAD IN!" you shout. "WATCH AND SEE IF I DON'T!"

And it leaps at you, teeth bared, claws readied. You push yourself away from the wall in its direction, and you meet in a tangle of claws, teeth and plasma sparks. It slashes you across the shoulder, and you bash it in the leg - and then the face. It tries to bite your arm but you kick it away, sending a jolt of agony up from your ankle. You almost pass out from the pain, but hold it together as you tumble away from each other in zero-G.

The gravity chooses that moment to turn back on at full 1.1G capacity, dropping both of you into a pond. You splash-land on your stomach, nearly getting the wind knocked out of you. In front of you, the drakedog lands on its back, hitting its head hard against the pond's raised edge as it falls.

Scrambling for the baton, you pick yourself up and propel yourself towards it with a one-legged jump. As it scrambles to get back to its feet, you throw yourself onto it and bash it in the head. "DIE, YOU FUKCIN' UGLY ALIEN PIECE OF SHIT!" you roar, your throat hoarse. "FUKCIN' DIE ALREADY!" Oblivious to your shouts, the beast tears at you with its claws, and you smash it again and again until its head is a shattered, pulpy mess against the pond's border wall.

Bleeding, tired, and nearly spent, you sink back onto your ass in the shallow pond water and reflect, staring haggardly at the mess you've made. To your right is a little waterfall, creating a peaceful sound as water falls from it into the pool, further spreading the blood - yours and the drake's - that permeates the water.

In the distance, you hear Frank shouting, and the deep, agonized roar of the alpha drake. Did the bastard actually manage to get the thing? Really? Frank of all people?

It's at that moment you hear someone shouting to you from your left. "Buck!" the voice calls. It doesn't sound like it belongs to anyone from your squad, you realize; you turn to look. "I'm Mekkin," he says - quickly, with a slight aristocratic accent. He's balding on the top of his head and looks the no-nonsense sort. "We need to get moving, now."

You hear Gene's voice over the comms. "I need medical backup, now!"

Stern disappointment is apparent on Mekkin's face. He rifles through a side pouch and tosses you a stim - a white liquid: painkillers. "That's a call for me. Get back on your feet and get moving or we'll end up leaving you behind, and there's nothing I can do about that." With that, he jogs quickly out of view.


Gene
Spoiler:      SHOW
TotallyNotHuman wrote:
Fri Aug 17, 2018 6:16 pm
Hapchazzard wrote:
Sun Aug 12, 2018 7:09 am
To Gene:
"Gene! Stop twiddlin' yer thumbs and shoot this thing, it ain't gonna kill itself! It's made quick work o' Frank, and now the fukcer's set his nasty eyes on me - I ain't no Frank though, and this son of a bitch is gonna learn that soon!"
Look what you've done again, Weber. Brom's out and probably dying, Frank's probably dying, Buck's probably going to be dead in the next couple of minutes, and you probably don't have much more time left with those scratches in your chest. Once we're gone the bastards'll make short work of Vynkor.
Squad. Wipe.
Now get your fukcing shit together, Weber. You're not going to wipe your fukcing squad again. You're going to get out there and put a slug through that fukcing drakedog's head. So when you report to Heaven once shit goes south, you have something better to say to your parents than "Sorry, Dad; sorry, Mom; I failed. Again."


"Reports of my death have been grossly exaggerated. Vynkor, just get over here and revive Brom. I'm cough fine."

Load my weapons,
then attempt to move to cover behind the drakedog.
As soon as it moves within range, fire no more than two slugs from my shotgun at it,
then seek cover immediately and ask for medical backup.
"Gene!" Buck shouts at you. "Stop twiddlin' yer thumbs and shoot this thing, it ain't gonna kill itself! It's made quick work o' Frank, and now the fukcer's set his nasty eyes on me!"

Brom's dying, Frank's dying, Vynkor's still in horrible shape, and even though you're not in particularly good shape yourself, you're now the squad's best hope - even with those deep scratches on you chest. They don't seem to be bleeding out anymore, though - the coagulants must still be doing their work.

Get your fukcing shit together, Weber, you reprimand yourself as you reload. You're not going to wipe your fukcing squad again. You're going to get out there and put a slug through that fukcing drakedog's head.

"Reports of my death have been grossly exaggerated," you announce, pumping your Gauss shotgun. "Vynkor, just get over here and revive Brom! I'm - fine." You suppress a cough as you say this last, gritting your teeth and getting to your feet.

It's showtime.

You wait behind cover until it tires of tormenting buck, and moves towards Frank instead (who turns out to be not as dead as Buck thought). The perfect opportunity soon arises: the gravity turns back on, sending both Frank and the monsterdog tumbling to the floor. This is when you unload your weapon.

BLAM. A dozen pellets smash their way through the beast's hind leg, ripping through the weak skin behind the knee and fracturing the bone; it screams and staggers, letting up its relentless assault on Frank for just a brief moment.

"Yo!" someone shouts quite loudly behind you. It sounds like Vynkor.

You grit your teeth and focus.

BLAM. The shell rips through the thick hide of the monster's back, shredding what lies below. It flinches and screams, and staggers again on its bad leg.

((Continued at the end of the Grav Plant section))


Vynkor
Spoiler:      SHOW
0111narwhalz wrote:
Wed Aug 15, 2018 3:27 pm
I push off of my rock, hard, towards the north wall of the connecting corridor. Need to break line of sight.
I then quickly bounce south, inside the central room.
I shoot squid 1 as I move.
I jump from the consoles at the southern wall towards the ceiling.
If I killed squid 1 in the first shot OR squid 1 is out of my line of sight:
-I shoot at the dragon.
Else:
-I shoot at squid 1.
I jump off the ceiling and land in the same cover Gene and Brom are in.
If a conscious teammate is still in that cover:
-
"Yo."
Near the floor, I fire on the dragon.
If the dragon is coming my way:
-I retreat into cover.
I should fire exactly thrice.


((Visual aid:))
Spoiler:      SHOW
Image
You share a brief shouted conversation with Saoirse. She nearly got you killed, but she doesn't sound at all sorry about it. "Oh no," she drones sarcastically, "I'm so sorry for making sure they couldn't shoot you." Bullshit. She's not remotely sorry, and they almost shot you anyway, just as soon as she alerted them to your presence. But whatever - you'll deal with Saoirse later.

You push off your rock, hard, moving quickly toward the central corridor. Behind you, through the trees you just pushed yourself past, you hear the hiltorel trapped in Saoirse's stasis bubbles screaming at you angrily. As soon as they're out of those pods they'll be shooting at you again, so you need to break line of sight. Fast.

As soon as you reach the near wall, you bounce off of it with a strong kick of your legs, readying your guns for a strike at... well, whomever you can find. This happens to be the squid right outside the gravplant core, who is firing at buck this very moment - Buck, who has a drakedog chomping at his heels - a drakedog so massive that it positively dwarfs the ones you fought earlier. Distracted by its size, your first shot misses the hiltorel on the ground, but the shot you follow it up with is a direct hit, though non-lethal. It gets the squid's attention, and the alien fires a few plasma rounds at you; you dodge them easily, twisting in the air. They feel so slow; or you feel fast. It's hard to say.

Mekkin shows up behind the squid at that moment and makes quick work of it, lasering it in the neck, just as you drift out of view. He gives you a short salute and heads north towards Buck, possibly to make sure he's okay.

The gravity "switches on" - a full 1.1Gs, from the feel of it - certainly more than there was when you arrived. You were headed to the ceiling, and now you're falling in an arc. You spin yourself through the air and land lightly on your feet atop a computer console, and then drop from there to the ground, right beside Gene and the unconscious Brom. Gene is unloading his shotgun into the monster, so you step forward and try to help him with your pistol. It's not entirely effective against the massive alpha-drake's tough skin, but you did try your best. "Yo," you say quietly, not knowing you're actually shouting.

((Continued at bottom of gravplant portion))



Frank
Spoiler:      SHOW
F4wk35 wrote:
Thu Aug 16, 2018 11:00 am
Need to stop the bleeding!

The turret out of reach.

It hurts! Help me! Stop it!

A jammed crossbow, an assortment of bolts.

And...

I just want to run!

A way to the turret.

Snarl

Reach out to grab a sticky-headed bolt and smash it open against the wall to create a simple handhold
As soon as it's solid enough, propel myself to the turret
On the way, grab the crossbow and a sharp bolt
Use the crossbow to try and block some of the turret's shots and discard it afterwards
Upon reaching the turret, hold onto it and smash it's focusing lense with the sharp bolt
Re-orient toward the Alpha-drake

For a short moment, as he brings the drake back into focus, hesitating for just a moment, an errant thought manages to reach through Frank's mind before being pushed back again. But the idea was there already...

Grab another sharp bolt and a coagulant booster
Absentmindedly administer the booster
Push off the corner at the Alpha-drake
Grab onto its neck, reach for its head and stab the bolt into one of its eyes.
You need to stop the bleeding.

The turret seems to sight you; lights flash on the side and it springs to life, slowly rotating in your direction.

The pain is intense. You flinch; a spasm of agony ripples across your body.

The turret turns.

You're fighting an internal battle. This entire mission, people have poked and pried at you and your ideals. One by one, you've had the values you've held most dear ripped and pulled away; lines were crossed, and boundaries broken. Who are you? You don't even know anymore. Are you still Frank? Is this still even you? Is this hollow shell, packed with fury and topped with hatred, still the same Frank Foster you were fifty years ago?

Still the turret turns.

It seems like a lifetime ago. The scary thing is... it actually was.

The turret slows as it focuses on you, preparing to fire. You snarl, grabbing a sticky bolt from your pack as you pull your way towards the hateful machination. Slamming the bolt against the wall, you use it to pull your way forwards.

Not fast enough. Just before you reach the turret, it begins to fire a steady laser; it burns a hole in the front of your suit as you move; you shout - part from pain, part from blind rage. You scream as you wrestle with the turret with both hands, turning it away from you; it carves a burn across your suit. The motors grind, trying to turn back to you; you grab a sharp bolt and stab the bloody thing in the lens with a strength you didn't know you had, shattering the glass and ruining its internal parts. You pull the bolt and stab it again, just to be sure. The turret shudders, clicks, and grinds.

It is done.

Your wounds throb.

You turn back towards the alpha-drakedog. It just got through tormenting buck, and now it's coming back to you. You lock eyes with the monster - it definitely remembers you. Slowly, deliberately, it turns and begins stalking in your direction, pulling its way through dispersing clouds of blood droplets, its feet clinging to the tops of the computers. You glare at it in return. If it's going to kill you here, you're going to make sure it has a scar to remember the rest of its life. With this thought firmly in your mind, you reach for a coagulant and administer it to yourself, hands shaking.

The dragon hisses at you as it approaches, readying itself for a leap.

"You should've left us alone," you growl. You feel rage building in your chest (or is it pain?), which builds up to a wild shout: "WHY WON'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE!?" Unthinking, you whip a crossbow bolt out of your side pouch and kick off of the wall as the drakedog leaps.

For a brief moment you're able to reconsider your actions without hope of righting them: you just challenged a monster many times your size to a wrestling match to the death. What the hell were you even thinking?


This is where the gravity flips on: a full 1.1Gs. The drakedog spasms at the unexpected change, which is exactly enough for you to wrap your arms and legs around its neck as you collide, tumbling to the floor; it hits a tree beneath it, smashing its face against the trunk; the branches tear at you as you and your foe tumble to the ground, drakedog on its back. This is your chance. Clinging to the drakedog's neck, you try to will your arm to stab it in the eye, but your arm won't move; it wants to keep clinging tightly as though with some primal fear of falling, holding on for dear life. In the meantime, the drakedog roars and gets to its feet, twisting its neck around nimbly to try to bite you, snarling and gnashing its teeth. You twist, trying to get out of the way, but it's no use - you see the teeth coming.

BLAM!

A shotgun blast at what must be nearly point-blank nearly shatters your eardrums. The great beast arches its back, howling in agony at some unseen wound; your fingers slip at the sudden motion, and you fall to the ground beneath it, slamming to the floor, just as the monster looks at you with a new wrath, terrifying to behold. It dives towards you with its teeth.

You ready your bolt. The eye, the eye flashes through your mind - you see it coming.

BLAM!

A second shotgun blast; the beast dips down low to the ground reflexively, nearly crushing you beneath it; its eyes are out of reach. You grab hold, wrapping your arms around its neck as you try to position yourself for a jab at its eyes, just as it rears, raising itself up on its hind legs.

You stab - a miss for the eyes, but you got it on the soft underside of its jaw. It easily pierces the soft flesh, ripping into its mouth and through its tongue; you slam it in with the palm of your hand and the monster screeches, hisses, at the unexpected agony, writhing and clawing as it tries to throw you to the floor. You feel its sharp claws rip wildly into your sides - an unimaginable pain as it shreds through your muscles.

The world grows even darker than it was before.

((Continued at bottom of gravplant portion))


Bob
Spoiler:      SHOW
Cha0zz wrote:
Thu Aug 16, 2018 2:13 am
Dinosawer wrote:
Wed Aug 15, 2018 7:31 am
"Great! So, Alpha has harnesses mounted under the back of their ships and they forgot to bring one inside. Can you bring one along before you come inside here? You should be able to find one under one of their ships.
Thanks!
Oh, and by the way, alpha has made the city so everything floats, so be careful you don't get stuck somewhere."
Bob will get harness!
Why everything float? Did alpha forget to close tap?


Carefully land my ship near where squad alpha has landed their ships, when flying to that location, try to stay as far away from enemies as is possible and try to stay behind cover.
Should an enemy come too close and if he looks like he wants to fight me, shoot at them with my mounted laser (1 shot), if they follow me, shoot at them with my turreted particle gun (1 shot)
Once landed, make my way to one of Alpha's CASKETs and take one of the harnesses mounted under the ship ((waste some time by making him look for a real medieval harness before realising what I'm actually looking for))

Enter the building and give Saoirse her harness
Take cover and start spinning up my minigun
Sweep my minigun to hit enemies 4, 2 and 6 ((if all of these should be down by the time I get there, just focus all fire on enemy 1))
Take out my semi-automatic pistol and shoot at the most threatening looking surviving enemy (1 shot)
If an enemy should come into melee range, introduce him to my crowbar (smash him on the head)
"Alpha has harnesses mounted under the back of their ships," Saoirse calls over the comms, "And they forgot to bring one inside. Can you bring one along before you come inside here? You should be able to find one under one of their ships. Thanks! - Oh, and by the way, Alpha has made the city so everything floats, so be careful you don't get stuck somewhere."

Everything floats? Did alpha forget to close the tap?

"Bob will get harness," you radio back, already descending towards the grav plant. You can see your allies grayish ships there, already landed. There's a shiny blue one there, too.

You carefully land your ship near where squad alpha landed theirs. The landing is really awkward - partially because your ship started behaving funny when you got over the colony, and partly because your ship is in such bad shape to begin with. You eventually manage it, though, and bring your CASKET to a rest just above the ground, taking care not to damage anything.

Saoirse was right. As soon as you get out of your ship with Jimmy, everything changes: there's no gravity. It's... really weird. Alpha broke things bad - this much is clear. Their ships are floating a little ways off the ground even, but they're motionless in the air now. You try to walk down the edge of your ship, and make a jump in their direction.

You quite promptly fall flat on your face. Gravity is back. Alpha needs to make up their mind! Will things float, or will they not? Jeez. They don't even have any harnesses either. There's not ONE THING on their ships that looks ANYTHING like something you could wear. Eventually you just decide that it's probably the big box in one of their aux slots, and detach that to take it with you. You heave it over your shoulder and start inside.

~~~

It's a mess in here. Water and blood - both red and blue - is spattered everywhere, broken branches litter the ground over ripped-up paving stones, and most surfaces are smeared with some amount of mud. It looks like it used to be a beautiful building - at least, before Alpha got to it. They really ripped the place to pieces.

"Here, Saoirse-boss," you say, handing her the "harness". She accepts it; it must be the right thing. She's crouched behind a large boulder, and was trying to fire blasts of electricity at a few squids on the other side of the complex. "I'll shoot them, Saoirse-boss. You go on, okay?"

Saoirse nods and ducks down, trying to sneak past the enemies. Meanwhile, you toss yourself into cover and pull out your massive minigun. It's going to be very difficult to aim - you can't move your left hand - but you should be able to hit something... provided they don't hit you first. But there's no time to be scared now. You tuck Jimmy under your arm to help calm yourself, spool up your minigun and step out of cover - into their line of fire. "Okay Jimmy. Let's do this."

You pull the trigger, firing a powerful stream of projectiles at the remaining squids - one of whom is trapped in a stasis bubble, and another of whom is skulking around at the edges. Your bullets rip into one as your poorly-aimed stream passes by, absolutely shredding its flesh with streams of spattering blue blood; it collapses to the ground. You manage to sink several bullets into the far one as well before it gets into cover - but your fire rips into the computer towers as well, throwing sparks and putting holes through it. You think you see the squid crawl away, and try to get him before he does, but miss. He's severely wounded now and you think you got his gravbelt too. He should be no problem.

It's a job well done.

You hope Saoirse-boss made it through okay.


Saoirse
Spoiler:      SHOW
Dinosawer wrote:
Mon Aug 13, 2018 11:49 am
PDA still in hand, I start zapping the 2 trapped Hiltorel with electricity originating from some circuit near them. Trying to knock them out, not kill them...
After all, they're only doing what they think is right, and after all I've heard the Hiltorel say, I'm not so sure they're wrong either...
Then I do the same with any other enemies I can see from where I am. (not going over my limit of 4 attacks).
When Bob arrives with the harness, I thank him and take it with me if I can do so stealthily (otherwise I leave it be for now)
If after attacking all enemies I can see are taken out, I move forward toward the central area, going from cover to cover and trying to stay hidden. There, I again check the situation with my PDA's infrared view if it's too dark to see properly.
If I also have attacks remaining:
-If I can see the giant drakedog (and it's alive, of course) I throw the largest lightning bolt I can muster in its face (repeat until it's dead or my 4 attacks are used)
-Otherwise or after, zap other enemies if any with electricity from nearby circuits, (not going over 4 attacks, trying not to kill Hiltorel etc)
Mekkin leaves his spot and, ducking low, rushes forwards. You see Vynkor leaping over to the left, out of view. Everyone's advancing, but they haven't even finished off the last enemies in the area. You'll take that task for yourself, you decide - at least until Bob arrives.

PDA still in hand, you check the positions of the two remaining squids and try zapping them with electricity from the nearby computer towers. One of them seems defunct; you can barely get a spark out of it. You decide to try with a different tower instead for the hiltorel that's closer to you. You've gotten the whole zapping thing down at this point. You know the physics don't "make sense" in your head, but the "feel" is right, and it's the feel of it that matters: you just need to encourage the electricity to jump from one place to the next. That's what it feels like, anyway. It's like putting down a red carpet, or lowering a bridge.

You don't want to kill them though. They're not really in the wrong. You are taking the gravity from their colony, after all, and even if they do have some backup stellaplex somewhere, you've messed up their equipment pretty badly.

Your second zap manages to get the closer hiltorel, electrocuting him (or her; it's hard to tell) with enough severity to cause him to go limp.

This is where things get confusing. You thought for sure you saw another hiltorel out there somewhere... at least one more squid - you know there must be three in the corner chamber, surely - but your PDA isn't revealing them, and neither are your eyes. They must be hiding behind cover, but you've lost track of them. You strain your eyes, trying to peer through the debris and wreckage...

...which is precisely when all of it falls to the floor, all at once. You fall, too, stumbling with surprise; your hurt leg nearly gives way underneath you when you reflexively try to use it to steady yourself.

While you're still taking stock of your injuries and trying to figure out where the last squid went, Bob shows up, harness over his shoulder. "Here - Bob-boss brought harness," he says, handing it to you. It's heavier than you expected. You thank him, and look anxiously in the direction of the squids. You need to get this to the computer core - and fast. Thankfully, Bob seems to undestand this instinctively. He pulls out his minigun; you see his brutally mangled hand again and wince. "It's okay, Saoirse-boss. I'll shoot them. You go on, okay?"

You nod. "Thanks, Bob," you tell him, and crouch down, headed for the center of the complex - and the stellaplex core.

((Wrapped up in the following portion (just keep reading))



Wrapping up all the above portions (except Bob)
Spoiler:      SHOW
This spoiler is just here to look nice.
The battle with the megadrake has reached a head. Frank dangles from its neck by an arm as it reels and staggers on its hind legs, limping from where Gene shot it with his Gauss shotgun. The megadrake is in terrible pain, and is very, very angry. When Frank jabs a crossbow bolt up through its lower jaw and into its mouth, it unleashes its fury on him, ripping at him with its claws to try to get him away; Frank, blind with wild desperation and fear, doesn't see fit to let go.

At this moment, Saoirse runs up - a PDA in one hand and a grav harness under the other. Her eyes wide, she drops the harness and directs the strongest electric blast at the beast she can manage, arcing from nowhere less than the central stellaplex tower - a bright stream of electricity with a crackling, ear-shattering thunder. The drakedog, enveloped in the crackling energy, writhes and screeches at an ear-splitting pitch with what can only be described as yelps of pain. Frank, who also got caught in the blast, loses his grip and falls limply to the floor, six feet below.

The monster's scales smoke lightly as it roars in unbridled wrath. Turning its fury against Saoirse, it begins climbing in her direction - and Saoirse hits it with another powerful electrical storm. Screeching, screaming, yelping, the monster twists like a worm, clawing up everything within reach as it struggles blindly against the electric flow, its mouth dripping and foaming with thick, dark blood. Just as it gathers the last of its strength to leap at Saoirse, its hind leg gives way beneath it - the leg Gene got with a gauss shotgun. The beast shrieks again and collapses, falling headfirst to the ground, growling and spitting blood.

Meanwhile, over to Saoirse's right, the stellaplex tower has lowered the large, many-sided chunk of stellaplex towards the ground, where it awaits placement upon a hovering dual-harness stretcher. The autohacker, having done its job, chirps cheerfully for a few moments before its insides melt with a timed and controlled chemical reaction.

Frank is alive, but barely awake, and hardly able to stand.

Mekkin rushes up to Gene and Brom - a bit late, but ready to assist.


It's time to go home.



Brom
Spoiler:      SHOW
Hema wrote:
Thu Aug 16, 2018 2:01 pm
*Painfully turn to look back at Gene, Frank and Buck.*
*thinking*
Look at the mess you've gotten them into, Brom.
You weren't cautious enough going in, and you didn't listen to your team.
The mission has failed and the fault can only lie with you.
You were their leader. They were counting on you to keep them safe and lead them to victory, but you have let them down.
Now they are paying for your own stubbornness and inexperience.
They didn't screw up, you did. And they shouldn't have to suffer for your failure.
It's time to stop hiding behind your squad and face the music. They don't need to be here any longer.

*To Alpha Squad*
"Frank, Buck, this fight is over. We've lost.
I have failed in my duties as your squad leader, and I'm sorry.
Buck, you have two choices now. You can either go down fighting, or surrender yourself to the Hiltorel.
I would recommend the latter. You shouldn't have to die for my inadequacies. If you cooperate with them, they might let you live.
Should you choose to make a final stand, then it would be my honor to fight and die along side you. We'll take them to hell with us!
The choice is yours. Know that I support you regardless of which course of action you pick. I myself choose to go down fighting, as surrender isn't in my nature. I'll be giving the Hiltorel squad a little parting gift in case you decide to fight."

Reload my shotgun and fire once at the largest drake to get its attention.
"Over here, ya freak! Dinner time! Come and get it!"
Insure that the drake is focused on me, and then turn around and charge the Hiltorel Squad, staying in cover from their weapons as much as possible, while remaining visible to the large drake. As I move, I will reload my shotgun.
When I reach the last piece of cover between myself and the squids, I will ready my lasgun and leave cover.
After I've broken cover, I will continue my charge and fire my lasgun twice at the hiltorel (preferring those I have a clear shot at.).
"Surprise, you slimy bastards! I've brought you a new friend to play with! Try to be nice; she upsets easy!"
The moment my lasgun is out of shots (i.e. needs to cool), I will drop it and switch to my shotgun, where I will fire two more shots at the nearest Hiltorel soldier(s).
If I'm not dead by the time I'm within melee range, I will knock the nearest squid into the ground/wall, grab onto something, and give a few of my strongest punches to its face.
You turn painfully to look at Buck, Frank, and Gene. Look at the mess you've gotten them into, you chide yourself. You weren't cautious enough going in, and you didn't listen to your team. The mission has failed, and the fault can only lie with you. You were their leader. They were counting on you to keep them safe and lead them to victory, but you let them down. Now they are paying for your own stubbornness and - and this part is the hardest to admit to yourself, but you swallow... some portion of your pride - and they're paying for your inexperience. They didn't screw up. You did. They shouldn't have to suffer for you failure. They don't need to be here any longer.

"Frank, Buck!" you shout. "This fight is over. We've lost. I've failed in my duties as your squad leader, and I'm sorry. Buck - you have two choices now. You can go down fighting, or surrender yourself. I would... I would recommend the latter. You shouldn't have to die for my inadequacies. If you cooperate with them, they -"

Buck interrupts you. "Fukc that shit!" he growls, spitting to the side. "I ain't got this far with you to leave you now. You shoulda known better'n that, Brom. I may not like you - that's true enough - but I ain't no quitter!"

"Then," you say, "it would be my honor to fight and die alongside you."

"Fukc yes." His brow furrows as he readies his weapon - the gravity gun. "I've got them a little parting gift."

You grin - almost sadistically. "We'll take a few of them to hell with us."

And Buck fires. Pieces of computer paneling and equipment peel away from their towers, spooling up around the singularity as it travels down the corridor. The drakedog, caught up in the spiral, screeches and howls as sharp bits of metal dig into its sides, clinging loosely to the floor. Floor tiling gets ripped up as the bolt descends, spiraling ever closer around the center.

A plasma bolt catches you in the chest - the exact center. You gasp and clutch at the wound, and find yourself hardly able to breathe; a lung has punctured.

The gravitational singularity explodes, taking with it at least four of the squids. Frank was caught in it too; he's now sprawled lifelessly on the floor. "I'm sorry, Frank," you whisper, choking; blood pools in your mouth and you spit it out. "At least they won't torture you."

Buck shouts; you look beside you and see the drakedog about to pounce. Your shotgun ready, you fire one, two shots into its side, but they have little effect. Before Buck can even ready his plasma baton, it's already on him - and then it comes for you.

You've lost a lot of blood already. You're starting to feel rather dizzy, in fact.

The monster leaps; it pins you to the wall. You hit your head against the back - hard enough to fracture the skull.

Everything, mercifully, goes dark.

~~~

BLAM!

It's a shotgun. Suddenly you realize - the sounds have changed. You open your eyes, puzzled, and clutch at your chest. Your hand comes away sticky with blood; the edges of your vision are still darkened.

BLAM!

Another shotgun blast, from close range. At this moment you see none other than Gene Weber standing before you, fighting what is surely the largest drakedog you've ever seen - and that by a wide margin. Did it get bigger? How? Your thoughts race, and then you grow even more confused when you see Frank. Hanging from the monster's neck, Frank stabs the beast through the jaw with a crossbow bolt, causing it to screech and roar with agony - your eyes are wide with disbelief. Is this the same Frank as before? The coward? Is this perhaps a dream?

Or perhaps you were dreaming before?

Vynkor lands nearby and immediately begins firing on the beast with her laser pistol. You hear Buck screaming in the background - "DIE, YOU FUKCIN UGLY ALIEN PIECE OF SHIT!" - you see the monster drake claw up Frank's sides to try to get him to let go.

The massive beast is in horrible shape - its leg is barely holding together, it has a hole in its neck, a stake through its jaw, and is bleeding all over its back. Alpha really did a number on it. Or ... what? You lift a hand to your head, and feel your helmet instead. You forgot you were wearing one, in fact; you feel a bit confused and dizzy.

At that moment, a massive crackling stream of electricity hits the massive beast, causing it to writhe in spastic agony. Frank falls limply from its neck, and it starts to climb over the computer towers, only to be hit a second time with another blast of energy. Shrieking, twisting, wrenching away, it tumbles out of view.

What the hell is going on?


Elsewhere:
Ishmael
Spoiler:      SHOW
outlander wrote:
Sun Aug 12, 2018 12:50 pm
"Anabais, Esteemed Commander. Ishmael here. I am coming from the South with Bob; I shall try to get enemy's attention focused on me. I am no good with long-distance fighting at the moment. Hopefully it'll give ye plentiful opportunities to sink the bastards!"

"Bob-boss, your ship is damaged. Please keep distance from the enemy, and use cover. Try to hit them from far away, OK?"

Quickly enter the fray!
Open the channel to the Hiltorei (lacking that, a general civilian channel) and read the Pastalm XVII to them:

Spoiler:      SHOW

Your most humble servant, that I
Might become a waiter on high
Serving your immutable word
To diners.
I wear white today, that I
Might be graced by the slight magenta hues
Of pureed tomato, with basil, and garlic
As between bites I spill your blessed sauceliness
Upon my blouse.
Another helping, please, that I
Might munch gratefully
In abject reverence
For two eternities.


Fly towards the nearest enemy,
AND smash the boulder I carry with me into his cockpit.
Use my tentacle to tear off his weapon.

IF the first enemy is dealt with,
fly towards the next one,
AND slap him with the tentacle.

At all times: EVADE!!!! Use PSI if needed for better evasion!
If the impact is imminent, roll the ship into the attitude that presents the sideshields to the incoming projectiles!
"Anabais, Esteemed Commander," you radio, "Ishmael here. I am coming from the South with Bob; I shall try to get the enemy's attention focused on me. I am no good with long-distance fighting at the moment. Hopefully it'll give ye plentiful opportunities to sink the bastards!"

"What the hell? You fukcing moron, if you don't have ranged weaponry you can't do shit against these creeps! Get the fukc out of here! That's an order! I already have one asshole to babysit, I don't need two!"

You change your comm channels, opening one to the hiltorel, and read the Pastalm XVII to them as you fly in their direction. One of them breaks off, headed directly towards you, while the other three continue flying in their own directions.

You'll play chicken, you figure. It can't be that hard. Surely your ship can take it. Right? These guys can't be too powerful... although as you close the distance, and the enemy ship opens fire, you begin to rethink your decision. Nemesis sent the veterans up against these guys, and even just trying to act as decoys, they've barely survived. Nonetheless, you're in too deep now. Honor demands that you continue.

Plasma rounds rip into your ship, peeling away the light armor on the hull; your comms go out when one blast rips the front of your ship wide open; another one hits the back of your ship and half of the instrument panels go dead.

You continue on your course.

The right side of the cockpit canopy implodes under a blast, sending transparent metallic shards through your cockpit; at least one of them lodges in your shoulder. Something - coolant or fuel of some sort - spews from the right side of your CASKET. You don't really know, nor do you care.

The distance is closing. You've lost some control, but you're headed in the right direction. The hiltorel ship seems to figure out what you're doing and tries to turn away, but you're prepared, and faster; you move in the appropriate direction and loose your boulder at just the right time; it hurtles outwards as you curve away, and smashes directly into the enemy ship - but as it's only a glancing blow (and a very lucky glancing blow at that) it barely does more than dent the frame and mess up a few thrusters. Meanwhile, the turrets are still firing - it's a two-man ship, and each side of it can fire. The turret-pod is capable of rotating to follow you, which it does - it severs your tentacle arm and seriously damages the back half of your ship, knocking out no less than two engines with its laser - and you've barely damaged it at all.

The scary thing is, you've been evading as best as you can this whole time - even using psi - and yet every single one of their shots have still landed. You try to orient the ship to better take the damage on your sideshields as the other ship comes back around - and this seems to help somewhat, actually saving your open cockpit (and you) from further damage - but it's no good.

Just in the nick of time, Anabais's ship rushes in and flashes by the enemy craft with an intense speed, thoroughly splintering it and ripping it into pieces. You hear nothing over the comms - they're dead now - but you can imagine Anabais cursing at you and figure she'll probably have a lot to say when you get back to the Nemesis - assuming you can even make it there. Your engines are very badly damaged - you'll be able to limp home, at best, but it may take some time.



Caleb, and a brief interlude from the action where people sip fruity exotic drinks and talk about philosophy
Spoiler:      SHOW
cuisinart8 wrote:
Sun Aug 12, 2018 7:20 pm
I frown a bit as Aloka (not Aloha- oops!) replies to my admittedly rather inane question, my mind warring with the drugs in me, attempting to help me not make any more of a fool of myself. Sounds like she's had a pretty crappy life, really. I feel kind of sorry for her, and feel more sorry for her when I remember that we're probably helping to cause her life to come to a rather painful end. I decide not to point that bit out- she's obviously not stupid, and probably worked that bit out for herself anyway. Instead, I continue along with our slightly absurd conversation.

"Stargazing, huh? I always lived in the city, and my father was away a lot doing whatever the hell he did in the defense force, so I never actually saw the stars until I went to space myself for training- and then I never really had time to look at them. Constant training after that, just like you. Till everybody got killed by pirates on Anba and I got blamed for it, though since then I've hardly even seen a window, much less the stars."

FSM, I'm moping again. Maybe I can salvage this, still...

"But, uh...I always liked swimming. Even went to a beach once."

Smooth, Caleb.
You're pretty drugged up. It's not fun. Your mind is kinda going all over the place right now, but it's all okay, man. You're sitting here safe and sound while the rest of your squadmates are out there miserably dying, which is undoubtedly something to be happy about.

Actually, thinking about it just makes you a lot more miserable. For this reason, you try to "change the subject" in your mind, and instead focus on how you're sorry for Aloka. You're really just stringing her along for a bit, and then they'll torture her on the Nemesis for information and, likely, kill her. Probably not a good idea to point that out. She's probably figured it out anyway. So, you continue along with your absurd conversation.

"Stargazing, huh?" you say in a cheerful philosophical manner. "I always lived in the city, and my father was away a lot doing whatever the hell he did in the defense force, so I never actually saw the stars until I went to space myself for training- and then I never really had time to look at them. Constant training after that, just like you. Till everybody got killed by pirates on Anba and I got blamed for it, though since then I've hardly even seen a window, much less the stars." You hesitate, and then to try to cheer things up (because that went so well) add, "But, uh, I always liked swimming. Even went to a beach once."

"Hiltorel don't have mothers and fathers like that," Aloka says, in a tone that makes you slightly uncomfortable with your choice of wording. "We are raised communally by a group of parents in our 'pod', or somid. Well... that's how it usually goes. I was different." She stops for a moment, and then adds, "I'm... not really like most of my species. I get the whole 'mom and dad' thing. I was raised on the streets by a Fysar merchant - or, he was trying to be a merchant, anyway. Da kind of sucked at it."

There's a long moment of silence between the two of you, before she finally adds,

"It's nice that you went swimming. I don't... I don't remember swimming. I know that's... weird, for hiltorel, but... I mean, I grew up on stations where there weren't hiltorel. Water is always scarce. I never got the opportunity. I don't even know if I'd like it anyway," she ends dismissively. "I probably wouldn't. I mean if I want to immerse myself in water I could just shower. Anyway, I do get where you're coming from with the squad thing. That's happened a few times to me... sort of."


Just then you hear Cho over the comms. "Oh, hi Caleb! Really sorry again that I can't bring you in yet, but as soon as we get confirmation from the others that they've retrieved the Stellaplex we can get you moving, okay? For now, Kendall's on his way out there and should arrive in about a minute! Don't worry, you're coming home soon!"


Gearhead
Spoiler:      SHOW
Absolutely nothing
Your mind races as you go through the sequence of events that led you to this moment.

Why did you come up here? You felt like there was something you could do to help distract the enemy. That was your whole plan - to serve as a decoy. Now that you think about it, it's a shame you didn't think it through any further.

Your ship is a shameful bucket of scrap. It barely flies, even without having taken any damage. You have no piloting skills, and in addition to sucking at ship combat, you're armed only with a laser pointer good for hurting unarmored squishies. This wasn't a good plan... but it's all you've got.

Your comm panel flashes: someone's trying to establish private comms. You hit a button to allow it. "Gearhead," someone says. It sounds... almost like Anabais. "Gearhead, I'm sorry," she says in a repentant tone. It's so unlike what you already experienced of her personality that it throws you for a loop. "I had to make a choice," the lieutenant explains. "I had to save you, or your... absolute buttfukcing retarded squadmate Ishmael," she spits out, with some clear annoyance. "I want you to know that normally, you'd be my first choice."

"What are you saying?" You're not in the mood for "bedside manners" and you never have been. You think you can tell what's coming.

"Look, my RCS thrusters are in shit shape. I'd be less likely to be able to hold the climb long enough to save you, than I would be able to save Ishmael. It's a long shot for both of you, but... I am sorry. I had to make a choice. I fukcing hate losing REKT crew, but there's only so much I can do for you bastards. Not asking you to understand. I'm just... ugh, fukc this shit."

You're not entirely sure how to process that. You don't want her pity - you know that much. When you go to respond, though, you find that she's closed the private channel.


From below, the singular hiltorel podship races up towards you. It's significantly faster than the few you faced before - it looks better armored and better armed. You prepare yourself to dodge its fire.

Without any sort of warning, a laser rips itself across your hull; you go to dodge, throwing your psi unit into it as well; it rips along your left wing, digging deeply through the hull and into the internals - your PSI unit conks out, and you feel a light click behind your neck - the jacks disconnecting. This is right before the main turret plows into you with a series of plasma blasts as the podship rushes past - a procession of explosions that blast the bow of your CASKET, breaching the cockpit walls and sending shrapnel into your legs. Through the rushing adrenaline, you suddenly realize you can't feel your feet anymore.

What the fukc are you supposed to do here, you wonder? Dodge? Run? You want to get on a line to Anabais - you want to do all sorts of things - but there isn't time. You continue doing your absolute best to dodge, but with your ship's specs and that of the enemy, it just isn't enough. One of the podship's guns are turreted, and a second series of blasts rips through your engines until they find something sensitive; you feel your entire CASKET thrown forward and flipped from a blast. Smoke fills the cockpit - choking you - you can barely even see. You come to realize a moment later that you've hit your head on something; blood is running into your eye. You try to wipe it away but find that one of your arms are pinned under something unidentifiable. "Damn these meatsack parts," you whisper, as your ship falls into a dead tumble, hurtling toward the ground far below. The g-forces are intense, and you feel yourself blacking out.

Blissful darkness.

There is no pain here.

It's what you always told your patients... the ones you liked, at least.

You'd rather be a machine.
Have a question? Send me a PM! || I have a Patreon page up for REKT now! || People talking in IRC over the past two hours: Image
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Re: REKT: BTE Mission 1: Nanyej Colony

#905
Hearing that the action has died down, chug some painkillers, get out of the pool, and advance cautiously towards the rest of the squad. Upon seeing the megadrakedog, whistle and say:

"My God, we bashed the thing so hard it looks like it got dun hit by some goddamn thunder!"
Hema wrote:
Thu Aug 23, 2018 9:32 pm
"What's our status, Alpha? Is everyone alright?
I must have gotten knocked unconscious. They can't keep me down for long though."
"Brom, ya dumbass, you fell asleep at the best part! You should've seen how me and Frank fuckin' obliterated this thing! It stood no chance."

Look at Saoirse

"Who the... Oh, it's y'all from Beta. Well, took you long enough - you're late to the party. As you can see, we dun' killed it, no thanks to you!"
Last edited by Hapchazzard on Fri Aug 24, 2018 7:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: REKT: BTE Mission 1: Nanyej Colony

#906
(( :lol: Buck, never change. By the way, you might wanna underline that 'give myself painkillers' part or tal is gonna mis it ))
...but I but he...
You know what, whatever.

"Yes, I could see you were clearly valiantly attacking it. From all the way over there with no ranged weapons.
Anyway. Bob and I brought that harness you guys forgot..."
sees perfectly fine harness already floating next to the central pillar
"Seriously?!?"
Warning: do not ask about physics unless you really want to know about physics.
The LT IRC / Alternate link || The REKT Wiki || PUDDING
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Re: REKT: BTE Mission 1: Nanyej Colony

#907
Dinosawer wrote:
Fri Aug 24, 2018 5:42 am
(( :lol: Buck, never change. By the way, you might wanna underline that 'give myself painkillers' part or tal is gonna mis it ))
...but I but he...
You know what, whatever.

"Yes, I could see you were clearly valiantly attacking it. From all the way over there with no ranged weapons.
Anyway. Bob and I brought that harness you guys forgot..."
sees perfectly fine harness already floating next to the central pillar
"Seriously?!?"
((I'll underline it just in case, yeah))

"Well, it threw me over there, while I was bashin' it's head in, duh! Where the hell do you think these scars came from!? And hey, I didn't forget nothin', someone else did, probably Brom!"

Now euphoric due to our victory and the painkillers, take out my PDA and say:

"Anyways, smile for the camera, y'all!"

Take a selfie of myself, the megadrakedog and the rest of the squad (or as much as I can fit in a single frame) with the PDA

"Now, I dun know 'bout y'all, but all this here winnin' makes me hungry for some spicy fried chicken. And thirsty, of course. So, if no one needs me for nothin' else -"

Spin the baton in my hand and point it at the exit

"- I'll be on my way back to the big ship."
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Re: REKT: BTE Mission 1: Nanyej Colony

#909
Dinosawer wrote:
Fri Aug 24, 2018 7:17 am
"Well, we should probably take that" points at the stellaplex "and I suggest we fly away in group, because there's a bunch of Hiltorel fighters nearby, but yes, let's get the stuff and get the hell out of here."
"Pfft, I ain't the one that wanted that shit, whatever it is. Someone else can carry it, I ain't no ones slave! But sure, I'll wait for y'all 'till I take off, it'd be boring goin' back to the big ship alone."
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Re: REKT: BTE Mission 1: Nanyej Colony

#910
*Barely concious*

Dinosawer wrote:
Fri Aug 24, 2018 12:22 am

I rush over to where Frank fell down to help him back up
"I'msosorryI'msorryI'msorry! I didn't mean to hit you too! Are you okay?"

"Mekkin! If you have a moment.... Frank needs some medical attention!"


Pain. Pain like he hasn't felt in his life before.

Rough rasping sounds, gurgling.

It's probably still around, surely...definitely...

Or at least, that's what the blood-crazed part wants to have him believe.

Frank tries to move his arms, to get up.
Struggles to move.
And fails.
And with that, whatever had driven him before dissipated into nothing.

Nothing left to keep the pain at bay.

Not able to give off more than a very pained groan.

"The...sword...! If it...comes...back..."
Apparently, sometimes stuff might happen.
- - - - - - - -
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Re: REKT: BTE Mission 1: Nanyej Colony

#912
Hapchazzard wrote:
Fri Aug 24, 2018 4:44 am
Hema wrote:
Thu Aug 23, 2018 9:32 pm
"What's our status, Alpha? Is everyone alright?
I must have gotten knocked unconscious. They can't keep me down for long though."
"Brom, ya dumbass, you fell asleep at the best part! You should've seen how me and Frank fuckin' obliterated this thing! It stood no chance."
"Buck! Am I ever glad to hear your voice. Are you alright? Where are the others?
Did Vynkor ever wake up?
Ha ha, I'd expect nothing less from my squad! Congratulations on the kill!

Now on a different note, when can we get out of here?"
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Breaker of fortune cookies
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Re: REKT: BTE Mission 1: Nanyej Colony

#914
Hema wrote:
Fri Aug 24, 2018 6:29 pm
Hapchazzard wrote:
Fri Aug 24, 2018 4:44 am
Hema wrote:
Thu Aug 23, 2018 9:32 pm
"What's our status, Alpha? Is everyone alright?
I must have gotten knocked unconscious. They can't keep me down for long though."
"Brom, ya dumbass, you fell asleep at the best part! You should've seen how me and Frank fuckin' obliterated this thing! It stood no chance."
"Buck! Am I ever glad to hear your voice. Are you alright? Where are the others?
Did Vynkor ever wake up?
For a second, stop, a bit taken aback by Brom's change in demeanor. Narrow my eyes and murmur: "Man, why the heck is everyone actin' so weird all of a sudden? I sense some squid magic hulaba - "
Hema wrote:
Thu Aug 23, 2018 9:32 pm
Ha ha, I'd expect nothing less from my squad! Congratulations on the kill!

Now on a different note, when can we get out of here?"
Immediately lose focus and forget what I was thinking about, enthusiastically respond to the ego-stroking and happily say:

"Heh, wasn't even that hard! I mean, anyone else would've just pissed themselves and ran away, but we sure showed that dipshit not to mess with us! Man, y'all should've seen Frank, I think he had even more fun than me!"

Try really hard to remember what I was thinking about before Brom interrupted me, fail and hope that it wasn't anything important
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