Marduk

[Tiglath]

Still without her helmet both the warband and the townsfolk can see Raven's cold smile cleave her "death's head" make up. She raises her voice so they can hear "It is now that they pause and calculate. They need to fear something more than the inevitability they see before them - a fear they can see and not imagine". She slings her support variant ACR and reaches over her shoulder to free Battle Hag's carbon steel blade "So show them some steel! Match your pace with mine and feed the Serpent!"

She switches channels again and demands "Rúna report!"

Then, just as she would in a real engagement she looks for one who will meet her gaze and fixes them with her own before turning Battle Hag in her wrist and increasing her walking pace steadily to a trot. She's not aware of the feral growl building in her throat as the pace quickens and she closes on the target. Extending her arms to guide the warband's progress she closes the "net" - intent on driving the townsfolk into the Serpent's gaping maw.

[The Bindoner]

Rúna comes online, breathing hard and obviously running: Giving the steel to these wives-of-goats, Lady.

Oy! Griss-bqllr! *zzt* The comm link is switched to receive-only.

[hardrocks]

Kar grins at the size of the approaching mob. Raven has done well.
He assumes a position by the Serpents entrance ready to encourage the former citizens compliance.
Subdue them, then let's get this cargo tied up and loaded fast, we need not be sitting ducks for long

[Legion Lee]

Seeing that there is not much to do on the bridge for the time being Leon calls over to Ridley I am going down to give Kar a hand with our new guests He then patches over to Ingred Ingred keep a look out, don't waste any sand-castors on the ridge give them some laser or cannon fire to try and keep their heads down, also blast anything moving on the outskirts of town Leon will then make his way down towards the hold where he will meet up with Kar, Roberta and the reception crew. He doesn't think about the problems Remington is dealing with, that's his job....hopefully he will sort it and soon and before anyone nosey with a bigger ship turns up.

On reaching the hold and grabbing a stun stick Leon flashes a grin to kar looks like our trainees done good cap! Leon will then position himself ready to greet the new arrivals.

[The Bindoner]

Round Six

Initiative
11: Militia
9: Cunning Serpent ( round two onwards ), Sigmundr's wing.
8: Raven's wing and the APC. ( round two onwards )
5:
3: Citizenry.

Rúna in the North:

As Rúna runs forward, sword in hand, the man leaning against the wall with bleeding wounds in each leg desperately raises his shotgun and fires the second barrel. It misses. A rifle shot rings out from the northern road, the bullet striking her in the back, just below her ribcage. It barely penetrates her armour, the blunted tip bruising her and remaining embedded as an irritant. Ignoring it she brings her sword down in a sweeping cut that severs the cowering figure's right arm near the shoulder and slices into his chest. Arm and shotgun hit the floor with a clatter and the man collapses on top, arterial blood spurting from the stump. Pulling the sword free as she turns Rúna charges the rifleman. Going to send you to Hel for Loki to play with, arse-face

The Main Arena:

From the docks behind the Town Hall a loud rifle report sounds and strikes Manfred in the right thigh. The .303 round smashes through his armoured Vac Suit and the muscle behind. Cursing in surprise Manfred focuses on the area, using the optics on his Gauss Rifle to pick out the gunman. A burst of needles sent forth with a whine and hum hit the man in the stomach and side, leaving him sprawled on his back. More figures can be seen dodging forward along the dock beyond him.

From the Town Hall the two rifles in the upper firing positions both fire at Þórir, hitting his left leg. One is fails to penetrate his armour, causing only bruising, the other skims through the ballistic cloth between the armour plates causing a minor wound.

One half of the front doors of the Town Hall opens and someone reaches out to the blinded, tear-gassed, woman, dragging her inside as the door closes behind her.

On the Serpent Ingrid maintains her fire on the side of the Town Hall, causing severe damage.

Regina is still unable to locate the sniper or ATGM positions on the ridge. To be fair, the ship is not built with sensors of that resolution in mind.

In Engineering the air is being pumped out quickly and efficiently compressed into storage tanks. The thin tainted air makes the space lethal., but the chance of explosion and fire is very low indeed now.

Remington recalls that the fuel processors work by cycling gas or water through the tanks, stripping out unnecessary molecules and compressing the remainder. This cycle can be repeated several times before the tanks are “full”. All of the tanks are connected, so one processor can fill all of them. Running the port side processor and the pumps feeding it should slow the leak, as it sucks against the flow. Running the pumps in the starboard processor to “blow” into the leaking tank will also help.

Gris operates the processors and the fuel-tank pumps to reduce the pressure of the leak while Remington and Handson tape and seal. After a three layers the seal forms and another three make it secure. For now. Later the whole connecting joint will need replacing, and probably some others will need welding, but for now the leak is fixed. The air in the Engineering holding tanks is dangerously contaminated, and the Engine Room is in near vacuum, so things are not “safe”, but the immediate danger is over.




Sigmundr urges on his team, praising their efforts, celebrating well-struck blows. He is too busy encouraging and directing his band to do anything else effectively though. He strikes out at a fleeing figure but comes nowhere near it, and the fugitives ignore him.

Gulbrandr and Dagný run to the soaked figures that had fled from them. Three are struggling to their feet, one is stunned by the grenade and the watercannon. The three show fight, the man ( obviously the leader ) and middle-aged woman trying to lunge past Gulbrandr and the teenage boy launching himself at Dagný. Gulbrandr raises his stunstick high and sweeps it hard into the gut of the man, the force of the blow doubling him over before the shock fells him. Dagný and the young man dodge and feint at each other until he tries to leap past her. Her outflung arm's blocking move connects with his groin, the blow from the baton causing him to cry out. When the electric shock triggers his cry turns into a high-pitched shriek and he falls twitching to the ground. Pulling his baton free Gulbrandr menaces the woman who flings a rock at him, misses, and loses heart, turning to run.


Þórir slings his Grenade Launcher and moves forward with his ACC in hand. Returning fire at the Town Hall riflemen he uses the under-barrel launcher to send a RAM HE grenade at one of the firing points in the Town Hall. It bursts on target, and while it doesn't penetrate the metal plate it certainly causes damage.

Yngvildr and Ragnheiðr are herding four people toward the port side of the Serpent when suddenly two of them turn to make a stand while the other two run for the rocks leading up to the ridge-line. The two men are unarmed but determined to buy time. Yngvildr and the man facing her are unable to land a blow on each other, but Ragnheiðr just swings her Great Axe in a mighty side-sweep, hitting the man facing her with the flat of it, breaking his left arm and knocking him flat.

The men's brave stand is in vain. The women find that the rocks are wet from the watercannon jet that missed the group fleeing west and they scrabble and slip trying get purchase, not making much progress. Áshildr notices them, calmly aims her snub pistol and puts a Tranq dart into the neck of the nearest. She gives a little ouch!, snaps a hand to the spot, slides down the rock and crumples.


Ingunn drifts sideways with the APC, keeping in lee of the buildings with the Autocannon facing the town Hall. Sverrir traverses across the building and manages to put a round into each of the rifle positions with a delighted whoop.


Hróarr chases his four prisoners through the smoke cracking his whip at them. Suddenly through the smoke he sees a young woman running past him. Calling Halt! he spins and snaps the whip at her. Its tip strikes her buttocks and she yelps as it discharges its energy, but keeps running. Hróarr follows for a few steps, realises he'll never catch her, and turns back to keep up with the four birds-in-hand while regretting the girl that got away.

Stáli had already forgotten that girl. Pausing long enough to lob a Tear-Gas grenade through the window he was sniped from and deep into the house he runs in cover of the houses to where Erlinger felled someone.

As the crowd is being compressed near the ship Steinn decides he isn't needed there and runs instead to the two people trapped in Tangler-Foam near the docks. He has the solvent with him, as part of his Grenade Launcher kit.

Erlingr and Bjartr stay with Raven herding the mob. One of the two men Bjartr is chasing breaks right and runs for it, Bjartr's blow with the stunstick missing him.

As they continue to chase the remaining man and boy they notice the Merchant and his assistant rally and turn while the woman customer with them dashes west after the man Bjartr missed.

Erlingr and the assistant dance around inclusively, Erlingr failing to land a blow and the man merely keeping out of reach while not retreating.

Raven contemptuously brings the hilt of Battle Hag smartly down on the crown of the Merchant's head, felling him like an Ox, and moves on.

Hrafn sees the man running from Bjatr and swings the Watercannon around, bowling him over. Seeing this the woman following him tries to change direction, stumbles over something underfoot and tumbles to the ground.

The remaining civilians keep going along the starboard side of the Serpent, where Roberta and Leon are waiting. They are an intimidating sight to the five people approaching.

Kar is standing in the middle, with Áshildr to his left and Leon to his right. His reputation and confidence are as much an inspiration to the Warband as Raven's prowess, he can see their eagerness to fill the Serpent's hold for him.

EDITED for typo's, grammar, clarity, better ideas and "reasons".

Edited again to restore lost text for Hróarr.

[Tiglath]

Raven gives Erlingr and Bjartr a frosty glare as she states "These sheep need to be loaded and me watching is clearly giving you performance issues. Get them aboard!" She turns and interfaces her HUD with her helmet before blissfully pulling it on at last and setting off for the docks. As she leaves she laughs coldly and adds "I go to honour the gods. When you have completed your chores you will find me in blood and smoke".

On route she pauses in irritation and transmits "Rúna you had best now bring me heads not excuses! Get back to the Serpent!"

She then sheathes her blade and tunes her senses to where she believes the fight needs her to be. Then the armoured warrior whose helm bears the stylised face of Hel herself moves quickly past Steinn to give him cover. She advances both to give herself a view of the docks and to close on the rear of the "under demolition" Town Hall looking for a rear exit.

(OOC: She's taking some personal time to hunt militia.

Recon roll [2d6] = 11

+1 Recon +1 Int

The (dice) gods approve! )

[The Bindoner]

Nice dice, I'll adjust to conform.

It is a long way to the docks. A full sprint might do it in one round, but there'd be no other action.

The militia have initiative and will act first. But:

HASTEN
At the start of each combat round a character may declare that he
is acting hastily. This gives him a +2 bonus to his Initiative for that
round only but all his actions receive a –1 DM. A character can
only hasten once.

[Tiglath]

(OOC: I'm minded that she likely just needs to have LOS to the docks to get into all sorts of trouble so she'll make her way with enough "in the tank" to take actions).

[The Bindoner]

Seems sensible. The Hasten option, should you choose to accept it, allows Raven to act simultaneously with/forestall the militia. Increases the chance to miss, but it might be better to act than react.

[Tiglath]

OK, let's go with "Hasten".

[The Bindoner]

Running east Raven sees, through the wisps of drifting gas and smoke, two militiamen deploying on the docks. One, with a heavy rifle, is crouched behind a bollard taking aim toward Manfred ( and, sort of, Raven ), the other is leaning around the corner of the ( now burning ) Town Hall sighting a military bolt-action rifle on Steinn as he works on the Tangler-Foam.

Beyond them there are figures leaving the Town Hall, carrying and supporting others. They are heading north.

[Tiglath]

Raven shouts a warning to Manfred and Steinn.

Then, bringing up her support ACR, she screams with the joy of battle and fires at the heavy rifleman.

She keys her comm "Serpent, covering fire on the ridge line - AT launcher! Ingunn move behind the Town Hall to cut off a group heading north - use cover!"

(OOC:

[2d6] = 7 (+5?)

+2 Skill +1Dex
ACR keyed to "Odin's Eye" a Personal HUD (+2 to Hit all ranges)

Damage (4d6 DSAP):

[4d6] = 18

Might need a plaster on that!)

[The Bindoner]

Single shot or burst? Not that makes much difference in practical terms. Want to roll a d100 for location, or shall I?

[Tiglath]

OCC: Probably a semi auto (3 round?) burst - I'm not up to full speed on the mechanics so going on instinct!

Here we go:

[1d100] = 45

Very nearly striking an obvious blow for feminism!

Low blow referee!

[The Bindoner]

Well, you do have 2 points of aim from Gun Combat/Rifles 2, you can shift the location to 6, 8, 12, 13 or 15 ( his left side is in hard cover. )

A four round burst adds the Auto rating of the weapon to it's damage, so another 4 points. ( A weapon fires its Auto rating in rounds per burst. On full-auto it fires 3x Auto in rounds and rolls the Auto rating in d6, firer builds pairs. In this combat a couple of times someone on full auto has failed to hit anything, so more dice don't necessarily mean more hits. )

Your DMs are right, making a roll of 12, -2 for target in cover and avoiding fire, 10 total, giving an "effect" of 2, so another 2 points damage. 24 total. Not a wound he's getting up from.

EDIT

While I'm discussing rules: The recoil/heft of a weapon comes off your initiative, slowing your action, by Strength DM - Recoil. The Leadership and Tactics rolls I've been asking for provide positive initiative modifiers. These have mostly been equalling out so far, or not providing enough of a boost to beat the Militia anyway.

[Tiglath]

Thank you. Four round burst is the answer. I think location is academic unless any part is unarmoured but I don't think we've seen the other side up close enough to know for sure. Therefore, on gamers instinct, I'd say the torso is always the most likely area to be armoured so hopefully 15 "right knee" is the (unarmoured) answer.

[The Bindoner]

Round Seven, Part 1

The Town Hall

Raven shouts a warning to Manfred and Steinn.

Then, bringing up her support ACR, she screams with the joy of battle and fires at the heavy rifleman.

She keys her comm "Serpent, covering fire on the ridge line - AT launcher! Ingunn move behind the Town Hall to cut off a group heading north - use cover!"

The man behind the mooring bollard fires simultaneously with Raven.

Raven's burst, aimed low, strikes the sniper's knee and shin. The first round shatters the kneecap and tears though the thigh muscle, another round rips through the calf. Pain and hydrostatic shock shut down the brain and he falls, unconscious, to the cobbled floor. His shot smacks into the ancient stone inches from the doorway Manfred is standing in.

Manfred seeing the target fall, switches aim to the rifleman aiming at Steinn, but is too late to stop him firing.

The rifleman's shot is well aimed and he has the satisfaction of seeing the bullet smash through Steinn's Torso Protector, the ballistic cloth beneath and lower left rib before the needles from Manfred's Gauss Rifle rip through his abdomen.

The militiaman drops his weapon and collapses.

Raven's warning had given Steinn time to see his opponent, but he had no chance to return fire, and his attempt to move behind one of the foamed figures was too slow. The shock of being hit and the pain of the wound stagger him, but the thought of looking weak or faint-hearted in the eyes of Raven and Kar keep him on his feet and he returns to work dissolving enough foam to make the prisoners mobile.

Ingrid acknowledges with Yes, Mistress. Switching her controls to take over the port turret she traverses the laser along the ridge starting just north of the still smoking southern bunker. The flare and smoke of plants burning off among the rocks show the progress of the pulses of energy as the weapon cycles.

Ingunn replies On it, Lady and accelerates forward from her careful sideways drift. The Doomsayer moves swiftly toward the now burning Town Hall and swings north, hurtling along the street past the warehouses trailing wisps of tear-gas, makes a sharp right turn to reach the docks and comes to a sudden stop broadside on to the dock road and blocking the junction. The manoeuvres were so swiftly executed that Sverrir and Hrafn are thrown off and their weapons traverse agitatedly as they assess their new position looking for targets.

The group heading away from the Town Hall are just passing the first warehouse when the APC appears. Momentarily surprised one of them urgently directs the group to divide, the wounded being carried into the warehouse, two armed figures dashing west.

The North Road

As Rúna runs across the street the rifleman in the house fires another burst, missing her. The man she is charging realises he cannot get away and fires an aimed shot. Directed at her centre of mass it hits her left fist as it passes in front of her body with the rhythm of her sprint. The bullet cuts through her gauntlet, tearing the back of her hand behind the thumb, before stopping on her Torso Protector.

The urge to kill this insolent Sinner is strong, but Raven's words are fresh in her ears. When her Raid Leader demands heads she wants them attached to bodies. Rúna turns her blade and the flat of the cross-piece strikes the man on his left ear, knocking him senseless as she steps behind him and strikes the rifle from his hands with the hilt of her sword.

The herding of the cattle to follow, pending Kar and Leon's actions. Engineering too, if Remington wants to do anything.

[hardrocks]

Kar will busy himself looking menacing and letting everyone get on with their jobs unless required. Keeping an ear out in case Raven needs any backup (unlikely as that is).

Comms: Eno, prepare a casualty station, we have a couple of injuries, I'll be in to assist when the cargo is loaded.

[The Bindoner]

Eno replies: I have a first aid post in the Mead Hall, Lord. If there are serious injuries Slave Hand Handson knows more of medicine than I, if he can be spared duty with the engines.

[Legion Lee]

With the help of Roberta Leon will herd the guests to their new quarters. Anyone who slows or resists gets a bash with the stun stick.