IC-OVER-The Hangar(Diane/Rick/Bernard/Lucy)

[Mr. Handy]

Z-Day - 2:10 PM Central Time - In Hangar 1, airfield 10 miles SW of Kearney, Nebraska

Hangar 1 was the largest of the five hangars at the airfield, situated 100 yards north of the control tower currently occupied by the National Guard. Within the hangar rested a crop duster, and the only reason it was still there was that it was broken down and awaiting repairs. Lucy Armstrong, a mechanic who worked at the airfield, walked around it and inspected it. The small plane would hold the four of them - barely - but getting it back in working order would be no easy task.

Dr. Bernard Smith stood nearby, talking to the two Nebraska State Troopers also present in the hangar. Trooper Rick Brenner was a handsome pilot and the only one there who knew how to fly the plane. Beside him stood Sergeant Diane Ford.

"We've got a tough job ahead of us," she said. "Even if we can get this kite up and running, those National Guardsmen will take notice. I wouldn't put it past them to try and take it for themselves. We don't have rifles, and they do - and that sniper of theirs is downright deadly. There's also the matter of fuel. All the fuel is stored in those warehouses east of the tower, and the National Guard keeps them under lock and key. Without fuel, we're not going anywhere. So, Lucy, think you can fix her?"

(Anyone who wants to help fix the crop duster, roll Mechanical Repair on 1d100 at Invisible Castle as explained in the Rules and Guidelines thread. You need to get less than or equal to your Mechnical Repair skill to succeed. If you roll higher, you fail, but you'll still be able to try again later unless you roll really badly. If you do not have Mechanical Repair on your character sheet, you have the base skill level of 20%.)

[Kranix]

(OOC: I feel the need to roll twice, once to look it over and see what I can do, the other to start working on it. Now i'm not really sure what the skill would be for it, but i'de imagine it's still probably Mechanical Repair. So i'm going to roll twice, the first for the inspection, the second for repair attempts. If thats not how this works, just take the first roll and i'll edit out the second one.)

Lucy takes another slow walk around the duster before answering, still studying the plane.

"I'de say with a bit of time, we could probably salvage the old girl."

Inspection roll (1d100=46)

"Now lets see what I can do..."

Repair Roll (1d100=59)

[Mr. Handy]

(Only one roll is necessary for each person. Lucy already inspected the plane before the start of the chapter anyway. It will take a long time to complete all the repairs, but once you've succeeded at your roll there is no need to roll again, even if you stop to do something else and then resume work. I'll give the other players a chance to join in before advancing this thread.)

Lucy knew that working alone, she'd be able to make the crop duster airworthy again in three hours. The problem was with the engine, but there were enough spare parts in the hangar to effect the repairs. With help she could accomplish the job faster, but anyone assisting her would not be able to do other things at the same time. With one assistant she could finish in two hours, with two she could get it done in ninety minutes, and with three it would only take an hour. Any more helpers than that wouldn't speed things up any further.

"That's good to hear," said Diane, coming over to examine the plane.

[Bosco]

Dr Smith walked over the join the others by the old plane.

"Well if it's going to take some time to get this thing airborn we should probably make sure this hangar is secure, we wouldn't want one of those things to creep up on us now would we? I'll take a look around and see how safe this place actually is."

With that Bernard turns to walk away and check the hangar. As he does so he turns back and says...

"It might be wise for someone to make themselves useful and check if that plane has a working radio too, could prove useful."

OOC: Dr Smith goes to look around the hangar, checking for places something (or someone) could get in, being careful not to stray too far from the group. Whilst he does so he keeps his eyes open for something he can use as a weapon, deciding his small scalpel may not cut it against the living dead.

[Mr. Handy]

(Laraqua hasn't logged in for a week, so I'll run Rick Brenner as an NPC until she checks in.)

"You're absolutely right about that, Doc," said Diane. "We need to secure this hangar on both the inside and the outside." She looked over the crop duster. "Yeah, I can help out here too. Why don't you patrol around the hangar? If there's trouble outside, call for us and Rick and I will come running to help. You need a weapon?"

Trooper Rick Brenner also started on the plane, working with amazing skill and efficiency. Lucy could tell that the three of them working together could have the crop duster up and running in as little as an hour.

Bernard saw that there were two exits from the hangar: the main doorway on the south side, which was wide open, and a smaller, person-sized door on the north side, which was already locked. The main exit was big enough for the crop duster to taxi through - once it was repaired and refueled. He also found several lengths of steel pipe, about four feet long each. They could easily be swung as a club. While he had no skill in using one, if they hit they could do a lot of damage.

(OOC: The steel pipes are considered large clubs. The base skill for using one, if it's not on your character sheet, is 25%. They do 1d8 damage plus any damage bonus if you hit.)

[Bosco]

Dr Smith slowly made his way towards the large hangar door, being careful to stay near the walls so as not to be seen from the airfield through the huge opening.

As he made his was towards the entrance he noticed some lengths of steal pipe on the ground and took one from the pile. Deciding that although he's a bit old to be swinging large pieces of metal around, the pipe would prove a more serviceable weapon than the scalpel he'd had clamped permanently in his fist.

As Dr Smith approached the opening with his new found club he looked for a way to close the doors and with some luck a way of locking them from the inside.

OOC: Bernard considers using the lengths of metal pipe to wedge between the door handles if that's at all possible. Providing their isn't a move obvious locking mechanism that is.

[Mr. Handy]

The hangar doors on the south side were huge sliding doors with handles that jutted out from them. A pipe could be slid between the handles either from the inside or the outside, but it would not lock them by itself. The doors could simply be slid open. There was a lock, but it wasn't very sturdy. It required a key to lock or unlock it, and Lucy had one. However, Bernard had also seen some lengths of chain in the hangar. If the chain were tied around the handles it could help keep the doors sealed, especially if a pipe were also wedged between the handles.

Peering outside, Bernard could see the tower a hundred yards to the south, rising about fifty or sixty feet off the ground. Four more hangars stood in a line to the east of this one. To the east of the tower (on the left) were a collection of other buildings that Lucy had mentioned earlier were warehouses where fuel and other supplies were stored. The row of warehouses came pretty close to the row of hangars at its northern end. To the west and south, runways stretched off into the distance. The lake to the north was not visible from this direction, but it was about fifty yards north of the hangar.

(Dr. Bernard Smith, roll Spot Hidden and Listen. The base level for each of these skills is 25%. If you make either roll, I'll let you know what you see and/or hear.)

[Bosco]

Dr Smith is too busy concentrating on locking the doors to see or hear anything.

[Mr. Handy]

Dr. Smith was able to secure the main doors and lock them shut while the others continued to work on the crop duster. He could still exit the hangar through the back door on the north side, as it could be freely opened from the inside. However, it would lock behind him if he left, so if he needed to get back in he would need to borrow Lucy's key or knock on the door and have someone let him in.

(Everyone roll Listen. If it's not on your character sheet, your base score is 25%.

Lucy, if you don't anything else I'll assume you just continue working on the plane. Feel free to talk to the others while you work. You can also take a steel pipe without slowing down your repairs. It uses your Large Club skill, which is 60%. It can be used to parry in hand-to-hand combat as well as attack, and can even do both in the same round. Parrying is done by rolling against your skill with the weapon, and if you succeed you block the attack with it. Scalpels cannot parry, but nightsticks and combat knives can.)

[Bosco]

Dr Smith breathes a sigh of relief after managing to secure the doors.

"We should be relatively safe for now, but we've still got the problem of getting this old crop duster airborne. We have two options, either getting the fuel to the plane or the plane to the fuel.
Does anyone have any idea what volume of fuel this thing holds and how long it will take to fill her up? I don't like the idea of standing in the open for too long whilst we refuel.

He's too busy contemplating the problem of refueling to hear much of anything.

[Kranix]

With a grunt of annoyance, Lucy rolls out from under the plane and walks deliberately over to the pipes, briefly considering giving the good doctor a swat in the face if only for him to stop talking for a moment. Hefting the pipe in her hand, the familar weight and size reminding her of the old baseball bat back home.

Home... She pushed it out of her mind, no time for happier days.

Lucy sighed, cracking her neck and knuckles just to block out everyone around her. She focused on her own breathing for a few long breaths.

Listen (25 or less) (1d100=40)

On the way back to work on the plane, Lucy idly wonders the best way to holster this shiny new club of hers.

[Mr. Handy]

Lucy realized that she could strap the pipe to her back diagonally. That was probably the best way to carry it when she wasn't holding it in her hands, as the thing was four feet long and rather unwieldy.

"About two barrels full of fuel should be enough to fill up the tank," said Trooper Rick Brenner as he worked. "The tank was emptied prior to it being stored here awaiting repairs, but there's probably enough left to taxi over to the warehouses to the east where the fuel is stored on fumes - once the repairs are complete that is. There was also a small flatbed truck parked by the warehouses that would be ideal for moving the fuel. It'll take about twenty minutes to fuel her up, but we have to finish the repairs before we start that process - the fuel pump is faulty too." He paused, thinking for a second that he might have heard something, but decided he was mistaken.

Diane Ford nodded, then held up a hand. "Did you guys hear that?" she asked, then stopped speaking and cocked her ear. "Yeah, I definitely hear something. It sounds like a helicopter, and it's getting closer! Doc, you want to take a look outside?"

[Bosco]

"Take a look? One my own, not likely! Aren't you troopers supposed to 'Protect and Serve'? I don't even have a gun!"

After a seconds though Dr Smith realises this helicopter could be his way out of here.

"Maybe one of you troopers and I should go and investigate together?

[Mr. Handy]

"You can borrow my pistol if you like," says Diane. "If one of us goes, it'll slow down repairs. I can't spare Rick, as he's far too good at this, but I'll come with you if you're sure you need backup."

[Bosco]

"Fine, fine, I'll go and see whats happening. Let me have that pistols of yours, and I'll need to key too. I would want to get locked outside now would I."

With that Dr Smith places the pipe he found earlier on the floor, nervelessly grips the pistols and taking a deep breath opens the door...

[Mr. Handy]

(I'll assume Lucy lends Dr. Smith the key to the hangar door.)

Diane handed Bernard her Ruger and two spare magazines. "If you run into any trouble, come back and get us," she said. "Shout for us too, so we'll get there faster. If the National Guard or whoever's in the helicopter turns on us, I doubt that pistol will do much good, but it may help if you run into any of those things out there. Be careful, and don't take any risks, just see what's going on."

Bernard slipped out through the rear door on the north side of the hangar. Diane Ford's police cruiser was parked right near the door. Fifty yards to the north the lake sat, its waters still and calm. He could now clearly hear the sound of the helicopter's rotors winding down. When he reached the corner, he looked around it and got a good look at the situation.

The helicopter had landed on the pad twenty yards west of the control tower. Julio Alvarez, the National Guard medic, and Harry Flynn, the Air National Guard pilot, had stepped outside the tower and were walking towards the helicopter. Alvarez carried an M-4, but Flynn had only a pistol. A huge man stepped out of the co-pilot's seat of the helicopter and watched the two men, a pair of pistols on his belt.

(Dr. Smith, roll Spot Hidden.)

[Bosco]

Failed Spot hidden

[Bosco]

Dr Smith tries to find somewhere he can stay out of sight and watch what's happening on the landing pad.

[Mr. Handy]

The best place Dr. Smith could find to hide was right where he stood, at the northwest corner of the hangar. It gave him a good view of the helipad, but nobody in or on the tower could see him with the building in the way.

(Dr. Smith, roll Hide. The base skill level is only 10%, but even if you fail there's a good chance nobody at the helipad will see you or even look in your direction.)

[Bosco]

Dr Smith pulled himself tight against the hangar wall, trying to keep out of sight. He waited to see what would unfold on the heli-pad in front of him, remembering to keep an eye out for any 'thing' that may get too close.