Marduk

[The Bindoner]

Yes, they upgraded the roller. You need to reset the password with the "forgotten password" routine. Different account to the main Unseen Servant one, so the passwords and possibly login name will be different.

I'll post responses to the above this evening.

[Tiglath]

The computer is my friend.

I can't log in because my password is now invalid and can't ask for a "forgotten password routine" because my "supplied email is not in the database"...

As per Paranoia I have reported to the nearest computer terminal for re-education/termination ... but can't log in!

Hopefully the mods/Admin will mend me!

[Gorethirster]

Implying that Friend Computer is fallible is treason.
Treason is punishable by death.
Please remain where you are. A troubleshooter squad is en-route.

[Tiglath]

I am fixed.
My new clone reports for duty!
Pretty sure some of those Troubleshooters were Communists...
Wait, knowledge of Communists is treason...

[The Bindoner]

Friend Computer drove me to distraction, until an Ultra-Violet took pity on me. Not sure if it was an aptitude or loyalty test. I failed both, I think.

To mangle an old quote "Why must we have progress, aren't things bad enough already?"

[The Bindoner]

Gulbrandr looks at Remington with gratitude:

Thank you Many Names, the spirits guide your hands in all things it seems.

Looking at the bullet, deformed by its passage through the armour, he comments

A token of a shameful wound. I won't be showing it off, but it will remind me to watch my back.

Handson helps him put his armour back on and he leaves.

After a few minutes respite to clean up Rúna and her two prisoners arrive.

Rúna has been clipped in the thigh by a rifle and shot through the shoulder, the bullet chipping the shoulder-blade before exiting through her armpit, clipping a rib on the way. There is a sticking-plaster sized graze on her left hand, and taking off her armour and shirt reveals the bruise of a semi-penetrating round in her lower back. One of the militiamen has a penetrating sword wound in his left side, just below the ribs, and the other has a bleeding head wound above his left ear ( which torn and bruised ) and likely concussion from being beaten unconscious with the flat and hilt of a sword.


Raven gets the Int and local knowledge bonus, plus some Tactics.

Darzi's shop and parts of her house are not built of local stone, they are made using blocks of advanced composites – a polymer bonded concrete. The blocks are obviously recovered from ancient ruins.

The bars form a cage around the house windows, allowing them to open outward, but are flush against the workshop windows facing the sea. The shop only has windows and a door on the street side, again seated flush, while the workshop/warehouse has large doors on the seaward side.

The bars on the warehouse and shop windows are seated in the stone, those on the house are bolted. The house windows are formed of narrow metal frames, each element too small to climb through. The workshop windows are larger, but placed high in the wall.

The Autocannon should be able to shatter the stone of the warehouse window surrounds. Possibly the other blocks too. It would be easier to cut away the cages on the house with the plasma weapon though.

The doors in Skeaping have proven to be steel with wood panels, and the ordinary house door Rúna opened took two well placed HEAP RAM grenades to get through.

Ingunn brings the Doomsayer to join Raven and Sverrir pops his head out of the top hatch to ask Where am I aiming Raid Leader?

[Tiglath]

Raven asides to Ragnheiðr "Adapt and overcome. Use what you have and keep moving. Never attack defences head on - do the unexpected".

She beckons the APC close and bids Leon and Roberta join her and Ragnheiðr aboard. She shouts to Sverrir "The high warehouse windows" she gets close and points out the target herself so he is sure "Chew up the outside stone so we can pull away the bars". To Hrafn she says "Once the bars are gone blow in the window and frame to give us clear passage". She adds "Ingunn when we have a breach put us up to the window then get clear and back to your duties with Sigmundr".

Raven drops back into the crew compartment and briefs Leon and Roberta on her planned entry. "There should be less pre planned defences on the higher floor. The watercannon will batter us into the first room then I'll lead with blade and grenades. I believe there are valuables locked within so we're better with souls we can negotiate with than corpses".

She unslings her support variant ACR and ammo and leaves it in her command seat before awkwardly drawing her kriegsmesserr in the confined space. She checks her grenades and sidearms and then confirms her ad hoc storming party are ready.

[Legion Lee]

Leon listens to Raven, holding his pistol at the ready he replies formerly to her We will follow in after you raid leader Leon is excited at the prospect of being part of a raid team. The adrenaline is pumping through his body all senses on alert, the feeling is fantastic, he hopes he does not let the formidable warrior down. He looks over to Roberta who is holding her mace and to release some tension he says to her If you see anyone bash them with that thing so that they don't get up

Leon is ready!

[The Bindoner]

Sverrir acknowledges his instructions with Yes Lady and rotates his weapon onto target. He hits the stonework at the bottom of the window with a traversing burst of AP followed by another of HE, cracking then shattering the blocks. The brief noise of the weapon accentuates the silence of the settlement, the only other sounds being the crackling of fire in the two burning buildings. Several of the bars fall out immediately, others will take little effort to pull free.

Hrafn trains the watercannon on the selected window and plays it's jet on the window, working up the centre from base to top, blowing in the glass and bending the frame inward.

Ingunn brings the Doomsayer up smoothly and swings it around to bring the open rear doors level with the window. Bjartr crouches by the rear covering the opening with his ACC. There are only two vertical and three horizontal bars remaining. The vertical ones could be pulled away by hand but the upper two horizontal bars are more securely attached, the stone being cracked but not yet broken. The broken window could be climbed through as it is, but it will be easier if the frame is pulled out too.

Through the window can be seen a platform running the length of the building on the sea side and half way across it. The area under the windows is lined with workbenches and there is a davit on the railing over the void. Nobody is in sight and the only movement comes from a drinking vessel rolling across the floor.

A cable is ready to attach to the bars, and Leon leans out to loop it around the bars and frame while Roberta stands ready beside him. Once he is satisfied the cable is secure Hrafn, who's gunnery position is near the rear hatch, closes the doors and tells Ingunn Secure. She edges the APC forward, taking up the slack, then increases thrust gently. The frame bends outward into the bars, the verticals pull out of their sockets and the horizontals bend slightly before they too tear loose and the whole mass chases the now accelerating vehicle out over the docks. Ingunn swings the Doomsayer in an arc, decelerating as it goes, and the mass of metal smacks into the wall of the warehouse as the doors reopen. The Doomsayer is almost where it started and Ingunn takes seconds to edge back into position .

[Tiglath]

Raven warns "Watch for traps - the locals prefer to run rather than fight". She then propels herself from the APC's rear and through the ruined window. Once inside she instinctively moves so as not to obstruct the breach and casts about for the owner of the abandoned drink whilst trying to gauge the contents of the worktables below the catwalk.

[Gorethirster]

Remington clucks his tongue disapprovingly at Runa's injuries. "Didn't anyone tell you the goal is to make the other poor bastard die for his beliefs? Not that you're liable to die, but damn. At this rate you're liable to gain a reputation as a bullet magnet more than anything else." As an aside, Remington asks Handson to take care of the other two wounded militiamen. He's not optimistic about the one who caught a sword to the gut, but the head wound should hopefully make it. Assuming he wasn't hit too hard. Before getting to work on Runa, Remington gives Kar a quick and reasonably discrete comm call.

"Captain, unless there's a surgical suite aboard that I haven't been told about, I'm not optimistic we can do much for one of these militiamen. He's caught a sword to the gut, so I feel justified in assuming his intestines have been punctured at least once. I trust your medical skill more than mine, so if it's possible do you think you could give him a look? I'm not sure I'm up to the job of trying to stitch up gut punctures, but if I have to I'll try. After my current raider patient, obviously. Crew comes first."

Call completed, Remington gets to work on Runa's back.The obvious problem is the through and through off her shoulder blade. One scan later and it was apparent that Remington was in for his second fishing trip inside an Oghman that day. The round that hit Runa's shoulder blade skipped, spalling several bone fragments into the area between the skin and the bone. Luckily, the fragments were contained outside the bone, so Remington would only have to go poking in the cavity the bullet already dug for him. As Remington applies a local anesthetic he makes small talk to distract Runa from the sensation of forceps and fingers not entirely gently maneuvering around the hole in her back.

"If it makes you feel any better about catching three bullets on your first raid, my first attempt at academic presentation was a total debacle. I'd written a good term paper for a master's level jumpspace physics course, "Concepts in Matrix Analysis of Regression Models of Fujikawa Particle Decay Rates Upon Jump Exit." That was the paper title. I had the math all nailed down, it was elegant, it was concise, it neatly modeled the closure of a jump rift when the ship returned to normal space. I spent another four months on it and took it to a conference, stood up in front of a bunch of working professors of jump physics and explained to them that I'd figured out why jump rifts close all on their own. After I presented the first question I got asked how I could get my work to align with Schroelin's model of jump rift closure.I'd never even heard of Schroelin, let alone his damn model of jump rifts. I'd spent six months thinking about this, and I was completely blindsided by someone else having already done the same work and reaching a completely different model. I just shut down. The moderator had to assure the questioner I'd look into it and move to the next question. I could tell after that they were softballing me. I just wanted off that stage, I wanted to stop thinking about jump space rift decay all together. And yet, before I even finished my PhD I had colleges trying to one-up each other on the offers of funding and research assistants to continue my work. So, moral of the story, if your first time trying something important is a disaster, the only place to go is up."

Remington's story was timed to match roughly how long he spent pulling out bone splinters, packing the wound, and getting Runa's arm into a sling. As he moved to fish the bullet out of her lower back, Remington decided to change topics.

"But enough about my failures, I'm sure you've got some good stories. They're probably slightly more thrilling than "I embarrassed myself in front of a bunch of nerds." So, go on, tell me a story. Give me something good, tell me what a horrifyingly embarrassing misadventure is like on Oghma."

Remington lets Runa talk as he finds and pulls the bullet lodged in her back. Once it's out, he packs that wound too, and finally slaps a dressing on her clipped thigh.

"You're good to go, but keep that sling on a few days. It's immobilizing your arm so you don't make the shoulder blade any worse. It's going to take time for that bone to regrow, even with the accelerants soaked into the packing gauze. So don't use that arm at all until further notice, unless you want to run the risk of crippling it for good! Now go find the captain and ask him for a job you can do with only one good arm."

As Runa heads off to find Kar, Remington turns to see how Handson and Eno have managed with the rest of the wounded.

Here's the roll for all that. Let me know if you want multiple rolls for fishing out the bone flakes and bullet.
[2d6+2]=6+2=8

[Legion Lee]

Leon will remain outside the breach with Roberta until Raven signals it is ok to come in. He will look up and down the street to ensure no-one is trying to creep up on them.

[The Bindoner]

Rúna, who Remington notices has several tattoos that are not professionally done, is a fit and strong individual and apparently not unused to medical attention. She bears up resolutely under Remington's treatment. To his banter she replies:

Made one of them die for his cause, didn't I? Three against one. Now it's two slaves and me. Done them with the blade too. Couple of bullets? Got away light, really.

When Remington prompts her to tell a story she responds with:

First screw up? I was told to teach this guy a lesson, didn't pay his insurance. Chance to step up. Went round day's end, saw him locking up. Stepped in behind. smashed his face into the door, told him the hard word, put him down, kicked him about a bit, on my way. Next morning, knock on the door, it's the lads. Wrong guy. Target'd sold up stock and left town, I'd done over the landlords man locking up after checking the place. Lesson, look at a man's face before you break it.

Once he is finished and dismisses her:

I don't know what half you say means, Many-Names, but I hope the incantation to your gods is heard this far from them.

Handson has stabilised the sword wound and dressed it without investigating it, merely ensuring it doesn't get worse before Kal arrives. The head wound takes little work, merely checking the skull is not fractured and applying adhesive dressings to the cuts.

[hardrocks]

Kar will head up to the mead hall and assess the wounded militia man.

[The Bindoner]

Kar checks the wounded militiaman and assesses that his injury is, indeed, one that needs surgery. Probably more care and attention than the Serpent can provide. For a Thing anyway. Rúna might not be happy about it, but it is probably best to dump the man for his community to deal with.

Áshildr reports ( over comm from the hold ): I had under-counted, there are two more Primes than I estimated. One is acting as translator for me, a merchant from the market. There is an unconscious woman too, I'm sending her up for assessment. I have stopped icing the stock for now, with four empty pods. I'll grade the remaining stock while Raven fills the hold.

Soon a strong looking middle-aged local and a fit young teen arrive in the Mead Hall carrying a young woman between them.

[The Bindoner]

Áshildr forwards her updated stocklist to Kar and Raven with the note This is what I have found so far. It will help you decide how we choose among them.:

Apilsha male age 21 UPP:585957 apprentice Gunsmith Frozen
Mut-kabid male age 34 UPP:886585 Wagon-Driver
Shalanum male age 30 UPP:A89738 Stevedore
Uselli male age 32 UPP:688978, Baker Frozen
Etirum male age 30 UPP:A89452 Farmer
Ilu-asu male age 26 UPP:8977868 Farmer Frozen
Ibnatum male age 24 UPP:5AB364 Builder Frozen
Nidnatum male age 25 UPP:A79758 Boat Builder
Ku-enlila male age 35 UPP:799684 Jeweller Frozen

Udish Male age 36 287A8A Merchant speaks Trade Marduk and Galanglic ( Imperial)

Ama-sin Militiaman: UPP:B86639 age 46 Householder
Ilulu Militiaman UPP:A9C797 age 35 Ship-owner gut wound, low priority


Abi-simti female age 32 UPP:839688 Householder Frozen
Daqqartum female age 28 UPP:7A7925, Stallholder. Speaks Galanglic ( Imperial) Frozen
Bikku-lum female age 26 UPP:7A8967 Fishing-boat crew Frozen
Ahatiwaqrat female age 21 UPP:73697A council-member (ko)

Imgua male age 17 UPP:A3B639 Seafarer
Yahdun-lim male age 19 UPP:AB8776 Tailor
Pushu-ken male age 18 UPP:6C766B Council Member, head of family

Mutu-bisir male age 52 M UPP:C7A655 ( Merchant's assistant )
Palusum male age 47 UPP:976778 Farmer
Inim-shara male age53 UPP:597845 Stall-holder

Habannatum female age 49 876537, Carter
Ku-aya female age 50 UPP:567835 Smith ( metalworker )
Ali-ahhusha female age 42 UPP:6A7948 Farmer, speaks Trade-Marduk
Eshargamelat female age 51 UPP:477A98 One of Zinat's crafts-people

Lipit-enlil age 66 UPP:558726 Ship Owner ( retired Captain )

[The Bindoner]

Ragnheiðr follows close behind Raven and, as her Raid Leader pauses to examine the workbench area, moves forward to peer into the lower section. Sweeping her weapon across the space she reports Clear so far and strides to the steps leading down from the southern end of the platform. Stepping slowly down she checks the area beneath the upper workbench area. No-one here, Lady.

The drinking vessel rolls in a curve and stops against the north wall, near the edge of the platform. It is one of several items scattered on the bench beneath the window, all items of ancient crockery in various stages of restoration and repair. There are four other benches, each with different items of salvage and the tools to work on them.

The floor below is an open space with several wooden crates ( some empty ), more salvage and two work areas – one for washing down and cleaning, one with machinery for cutting and sanding.

On the ground floor there are large doors in the east wall leading to the docks, a door to the north west and a sturdy door in the south wall.

[Tiglath]

Raven keeps a wary eye out for any emerging threats and states "Well, we're in! First priority is to make a proper breach".

She moves to the ground floor and commands "Ragnheiðr, get the big doors to the east open. Then we have options on reinforcement or escape".

Raven then approaches the sturdy south door and tries to open it.

[The Bindoner]

Recon rolls I think.

( because it wouldn't be fair to allow an experienced raider to just pull on a strange door )

[Tiglath]

Here we go:

Roll(2d6)+0:
3,4,+0
Total:7

Bonus:
Recon 1
Int +1