Surface of Pluto 0655 GMT - Tuesday, August 9, 2112
Unaware of what was happening outside, Juliette watched as the airlock finished cycling.The Demeter was a small craft, and the main cabin was barely large enough to fit her. When the airlock opened at last, she saw another of the bizarre creatures within, seated in the pilot's seat just a couple of feet away. It turned to face her...
OOC,[b]Juliette[/b], please roll Sanity. Sanity loss is 0/1d6, so you lose no Sanity if you succeed and 1d6 if you fail. If you lose 5 or more Sanity, you must roll Idea. You want to fail this roll, as if you succeed, you will go temporarily insane. As long as you do not go insane, you may act before the creature does.
OOC,The stats for your blaster pistol are listed on your character sheet. You get two shots off before the creature can react. Please make two Light Energy Weapon rolls. You are at point blank range, so your effective skill is doubled. This makes it 110%. A 98 or higher will still result in a malfunction, but any other roll will hit. Remember that if you get an impale, which is 1/5 of your skill or less (22 in this case), you will do 2d10 damage instead of 1d10. Please also roll damage for each shot that hits.
Juliette fired twice at the intruder. Both shots striking it, she could just pray that she would make enough damage to kill it, and she prayed she would be hitting something vital. Because if not she better get out quick. Her hand moving to close the airlock as she shot.
The deadly red beams shot out of the blaster pistol's nose accompanied by loud, almost musical blasts. Both beams struck the creature in the torso and appeared to pass right through it. While it did look a little worse for the wear, it was far from dead.
"Zzztop!" it buzzed, its voice dull and emotionless. "We come in peazzze..." Its voice was soothing, calming. It made Juliette almost want to go to sleep.
OOC,[b]Juliette[/b], please make a Resistance Table roll, pitting your POW of 14 against the creature's POW of 11. This gives you a 65% chance to succeed. If you do succeed, you may fire your third shot for this first round just like you fired the first two. On the second round, if you wish to keep shooting, you will get one more shot before the creature acts (which you can go ahead and roll). If you want to do something else in the second round, such as closing the airlock, the creature will get to act before you can do so. Please let me know if you are doing something else in the second round in this case.
If you fail the Resistance Table roll, you will not be able to act. In that case, you will need to wait until I let you know what happens.
Juliette startled and stared at the creature, "Oh shut up," she said,"That does not work on me." She shot yet again, so wellplaced that she laughed with delight. And hoped that this shotwould be enough. She wanted it dead. Really utterly dead.
The beam struck the alien directly in the center of its head. It collapsed on the seat and ceased buzzing and moving. A small, black knob-like object fell from one of its pincers and clattered on the deck.
Now that the battle was over, Juliette could see that this creature was smaller than the two she had encountered in the underground cavern, about the size of a small child. Though space was tight in the Demeter, she would be able to place it in the airlock during the return flight. It was small enough that she could - barely - fit with it in the airlock when the time came to leave the ship, and it looked light enough that she could carry it without difficulty in spite of her lack of strength.
Juliette walked carefully towards it, carried it into the airlock. Shut it tightly, and moved over to the controls. She was certain the creature had done something to them. On her way she put the black knob-like ting into one of the testtubes she used for rocks. Reaching the controls she radioed the other. "Colonet Lt. And Lt. Hu, this is Captein Desjardins. I found one of the little buggers in my ship. Blasted it to smithereens. I have gained control of a ship, again." She started warming the Demeter up and looked outside...
Right before Juliette reached the comm and spoke, she heard Lt. Hu's voice just prior to her reply: "Come on, Juliette, answer... Answer..."
The controls did not appear to be tampered with, just like the controls of the Persephone hadn't been. Through the viewscreen, Juliette saw six more of the creatures flying back into the tunnel carrying an unresisting Lt. Colonel Bruce. The Demeter started up on cue and was ready for liftoff.
OOC,[b]Juliette[/b], please roll Sanity again for seeing the creatures. Sanity loss is 0/1d6, but since you've already lost 3 Sanity for seeing one of these creatures, you can lose at most 3 more. Any loss of more than 3 on 1d6 counts as only 3. Thus, there is no danger of going temporarily insane, and you may act freely after you have made the roll.
"Merde, ces démons sera meurent", juliette cursed as she saw the creatures carrying the Lt. Colonel away.
She unlocked the weapons systems, took the Demeter up and flew her towards the entrance of the cave. "This is capt Desjardins, they have captured the Lt. Colonel. Permission to engage in battle on close ground to own party." She personally would prefer to die rather than be captured, but this was what one had superior officers for. To make tough desicions.
Juliette and Xiang talked over each other again. "Desjardins, they have taken Lt. Col. Bruce into the caverns," said the astrophysicist. "That's where you found the Persephone, correct?"
Juliette lifted off and hovered at the tunnel entrance. She could see down it fairly far thanks to the ship's lights, but the aliens and their captive were no longer in sight. The Demeter would fit down the tunnel easily. The scout craft's sole blaster cannon was fully charged and ready to fire.
OOC,That would be a Pilot Space Fighter roll, but it isn't needed just to lift off. If you do fly down the tunnel later and need it, I'll use the result at that time.
I'm presuming you sent that last message to Ground Control, not to the [i]Persephone[/i], if you want to get permission.
Mr Handy,That would be directed at ground control yes..
As she hovered in front of the tunnel entrance Juliette switched over to reply Lt.Hu: "Roger that Lt. That is where I found the Perspephone. It is a narrow corridor. Ending in at cave with a door. I could easily fly in, but the salauds are FAST, I can't see them any more. Les bâtards puants vole vite." Her voice shaking with anger she switched language without noticing. She opened both channels so that lt. Hu could hear what she said to Ground Control. " Contrôle au sol, Les crètins fly incredible fast." The french dialect suddenly showing through. "There is a flat cave, at the far end of the cave there is a round sphincter-like opening that was closed when I was down there last . It is sealed by a lot of black plates that looks like it would be an iris opening. There were at lot of colored lights flashing on the wall next to the door, and since they had two on guard the last time, they are bound to be on guard now.."
"Capt. Desjardins," says Heinrich, "do you have any reconnaissance drones you can send into the cavern first? See exactly what's going on? But congratulations on your kill. And whatever you decide... be careful."
Juliette didn't have any drones on board - the Demeter was too small for that. There were a couple of unmanned reconnaisance drones that were stored in the docking bay back at Styx Base, however.
Juliette took a second to think, Sergeant Kohl was not in her commands chain, she needed a go from General Bryce or Colonel Patel. His suggestion however was a good one, drones would be nice, since she couldnt carry them she had to think fast. She left the com open to both base and the Persephone.
"That is a negative Sergant Kohl, I have no drones, the Demeter is to small to carry them. But there are some unmanned drones in the docking bay at the base. I'm uncertain of the the signal lenght, but if you send them out we should be able to take over control at this end to boost the signal as they go into the tunnel. Or 1.st Lt Hu can fetch them with the Persephone." She hoovered in front of the entrance. Suddenly lost in thought. "Fourmilière, Zut Alors," she said and continued in english. "This is maybe like an anthill, they are bound to have other exits. All creatures that live underground have alternate exits. They lured the Persephone down here. Maybe this is only a trap. We should send in drones here, but we should also find their alternative exits."
After some delay, Colleen replied: "We've been authorized to deploy a drone. It's on its way to you now, Captain. If this fails, you are not to enter the tunnel yourself but are ordered to return to base." A couple of minutes later, the small remote control drone arrived and hovered beside the Demeter. "Transferring control to you now." Juliette found that she could now control the drone from her instrument panel, and she was able to bring up the view from its camera on one of her monitors.
Juliette used the controls on the Demeter to steer the Drone down the cavelike entrance. She moved it down as fast as she could, feeling that time was of the essence, but making sure she did not bump into anything. She contactet 1.lt Hu on the intercom. "Demeter to Persephone, do you keep a look-out for action on the surface? I would not like them to come at us from a different exit!"
Juliette steered the drone down the tunnel with ease, and soon it emerged into the large underground cavern where she had found the Persephone. It looked exactly as it did then, except of course that the other ship was no longer there. Two of the creatures, perhaps the same two, stood guard on either side of the sealed iris at the back. They noticed the drone as it entered and each raised a small black knob-like object, much like the one she had recovered from the alien she had defeated, in a tiny pincer and pointed it at the remotely controlled craft. Beams of blue sparks emerged from these strange objects and flew towards the drone, but they both went wide.
OOC,The drone has a blaster cannon mounted in its nose that draws energy from the craft's internal power source. The cannon uses Heavy Energy Weapon skill and does 3d10 damage. Please roll to hit and specify whether you're targeting the creature on the left or the right. If you hit, you may roll damage. If you get an impale, which is 1/5 or less of your skill (12 or less in this case), then you do 6d10 damage instead.
Targeting the flying abomination to the left Juliette firedthe drones blastercannon trying to blastthe thing out of existence. "Fire in the Hole", she shouted over the intercom, still open to all, as she pressed the trigger. And an unusual thought flashed by her mind: 'I reaally hope they did not come in peace.' It fluttered through her mind for a splitsecond like a fragile speck of white in an ocean of red anger, and quickly melted away in the exitement of the battle.
The blast from the cannon struck the alien on the left dead on. The powerful beam should have obliterated it, but it was still intact and only seemed lightly injured. It tried to return fire, but it dropped the odd weapon it had been holding as a result of the impact. The other one also fired, the beam of blue sparks narrowly missing and whizzing past the drone.
OOC,[b]Juliette[/b], you may fire again or take some other action.
Juliette considered the shot to be a good one, and cursed.: "The little buggers took a full blast without seeming more than injured. I will withdraw the drone to see if I can lure them out. 1st. Lt Hu? Are you ready for action if they do come out? They need a full blast from a biig gun to go down. If they do not come out I think we should take the specimen I've got packed up in my airlock and their gunthinghy in for closer study... " She withdrew the drone a bit, checking to see if they followed.
"Shi, I can keep an eye out up here for any sign of activity," replied Lt. Hu, a little belatedly.
Juliette spun the drone around so that it faced the tunnel and started accelerating towards it. She could no longer see the creatures behind the drone, but she could see a blue glow envelop the remote controlled craft an instant before the image went blank. The drone's controls no longer responded to her.
She switched the com to talk to 1st lt Hu. "That's it 1st lt.Hu! We are going back. Let's take off and return to base." Juliette lifted the Demeter gently up and faced the Entrance weapons ready..."When you are ready 1st.lt Hu. Let's go home. I'll cover the entrance until we are ready, then maximum speed to base. Does that sound ok by you?" To the base she said. "This is capt. Desjardins. Drone down. The Demeter and the Persephone will return to base. We all need to have a long chat now!"
"Affirmative," replied Lt. Colleen Rose. "I'll notify General Pryce and Colonel Patel."
While the loss of the drone was a blow, it was not a crippling one. There was still one drone in reserve, and at least it was not the Demeter that had met that fate. This was what drones were for, after all.
OOC,You're in the [i]Demeter[/i]. [b]Lt. Hu[/b] is in the [i]Persephone[/i].
Juliette did not like the fact that she had let the drone go. But she was ready to get back to base and talk to someone. She had been in battle, and needed to get the adrenalin out of her blood, one way or the other. She followed 1.lt Hu to the base and kept a close look on the rear scans.. She did not want an attack from the behind.
"Right, let's get back to base," said Lt. Hu. Juliette followed him back in the Demeter. Nothing appeared to follow them, and there were no contacts visible on the scanner. Soon they reached the docking bay module of Styx Base. As they hovered, the dome retracted to allow them to land.
"Persephone and Demeter," said Lt. Colleen Rose, "this is Ground Control. You have permission to land."
OOC,[b]Juliette[/b] is moving to the thread linked below.