Iron Stars - Combat sweep team

The second of the combat teams prepares to head inside just after the first, meeting up at the secondary airlock. As the assault to take the bridge is going on this team is ordered to move through the other compartments to try to blunt any counter attacks or the movements of reinforcements that might try to block team 1. Evidence about what is happening here is likewise in short supply and anything that can be done to corroborate the findings of team 1 will serve the later investigation well. Someone is responsible for this and both the planetary Governor and the President are expecting results.

Proceus begins to stretch outside of the airlock, preparing for what lay beyond the door. While touching his toes, he makes some light conversation with the people he'll soon be trusting to watch his back. "So...ready to go sweep some corridors?"

“For sure. Hide in the shadows and shoot whatever comes out,” Barnabas says agreeably.

“Should be easy enough. Team 1 is going to be hogging all the attention at the bridge.”

( @Izyra is also on this mission, we set set off if you folks are ready)

(I’m good to go)

(Good here)

(I'm good to go)

~~(The post above would be better suited for the main thread)~~ (edited)

The Dark Star begging accelerating forward toward the station. The bridge team is in the airlock already in front of you separated by one of the thick doors. Heading in together you’ll split off to make as much noise as possible to split the attention of the enemy

“You guys ready to go in?” Proc asks while standing in front of the door, rifle in hand and ready to go pass the threshold, the slab of metal separating them and the terrorists.

“Just about,” Barnabas says, looking in the ship’s locker for a vacc suit and sorting his weapons for the battle. (On a space station, do we need to worry about shots decompressing the hull?)

(Yes)

2:30 PM

(But it takes more concentrated fire to do)

2:31 PM

(Armored vac suits and assault suits + will work)

(Okay to assume that there’s at least an unarmored vacc suit in the ship’s locker?)

(The locker has a few sets of everything but storm armor

(I’m ready to start if you guys are)

Barnabas struggles into an assault suit from the ship’s locker. “Not sure I have this thing on right,” he says, voice muffled. He struggles a bit more, then seems satisfied that he has it on correctly. “Okay, ready to go.”

The countdown from ten seconds begins to wind down. Out the viewport you can see the wraith shuttle carrying the ground team speeding away to carry them on their own task. You can hear the drills on the boarding tubes beginning to wind up and the ship side door opens to allow you to get in.

Proceus cracks his knuckles and steps through the door, rifle at the ready

Barnabas finishes fiddling with the controls on the assault suit after figuring out how to plug in his laser pistol into the suit. He hefts his laser rifle, stuffs a squiggle spotter into his pack, and steps through the door after Proceus.

(We will be drilling in by the corporate docks)

Nekosmash pinned a message to this channel. 2/14/2022 9:48 AM

(Right side or left side of the docks?Or is it not important) (edited)

(Not really important)

10:52 AM

As the drills punch into the hull, the corporate docks left side is ahead of you. You can see a burned out shuttle is sitting in the bay right now and it looks like the fighting has destroyed it past the point of recovery. Two technicians are springing to their feet as the drill head finishes punching through.

(Surprise round or initiative?)

(lets give everyone else a chance to get into the scene before we make a hard descent into initiative)

(

)

Barnabas follows Proceus onto the docks. Seeing the two technicians, he points his laser rifle toward them, prepared to fire, and scans for any available cover.

There isn’t much to be found here, the docks have been kept mostly clear to not encumber the flow of passengers on or off the ships that used to dock here.

(Got it - Barnabas is ready for whatever these guys might try to do)

(I think Fatima is the only other one on this mission. If you two are prepared to fire we can get a surprise round in)

(sorry I'll have to back out of this mission, my weekend exploded and I don't want to hold y'all up further)

(sound good, barny, proc, light em up)

Barnabas aims his laser rifle at one of the technicians and glances to look for cover. Seeing none, he fires at the technician. "Sorry, bud, it's you or me here." (22/7)

The technician is wounded and tries scampering away as Proceus emerges from the drill head and lines up his own actions

Proceus takes the other technician, quickly lining up the shot with his shear rifle and squeezes the trigger once (no burst, 27/10)

The technician falls, and his companion is quickly overwhelmed by the sudden violence, trying to surrender before things get even more out of hand

Barnabas approaches the injured technician, keeping a bit of a distance and keeping his laser rifle aimed at him. "Get your hands where I can see them," he orders. "What weapons do you have on you?"

He gestures to an automatic pistol that has skidded across the deck away from you both in his panic to get away from you.

Barnabas places himself between the downed technician and his pistol and keeps the laser rifle pointed at him. "What kind of forces are we going to find between here and the Medina?"

It takes a few moments of pleading and gurgling, but ultimately he is not sure about numbers. He is just a tech they subborned into working as indentured labor and ad-hoc securiy.

“Okay, then,” Barnabas says. “Sorry they got you caught up in this.” (If it’s possible, Barnabas would pat the guy down to make sure he’s fully disarmed, then pass him to the wraith shuttle crew to watch over)

“Got any suggestions on what to do now?” Proceus asks

“I have no doubt we’re walking in to something, but that’s what we’re here for. Seems like we should secure the docks and then move inward. “If we get in real trouble, I may be able to teleport us back to secured territory. I’m also pretty good at avoiding surprises, so when we move forward, I’m happy to go out a little in front.”

“Got it. I’ve also got some tricks up my sleeve, including illusionary reinforcements if you think that would make us look more imposing”

He has a small blade on him but it looks more for utility than being able to hurt someone.

Barnabas collects the blade as they transfer the technician back to the wraith shuttle. He then prepares to move forward.

Proceus moves with him, ready to move to the next area (Where we moving to?)

(I'm thinking inward from the edge of the docks, toward the center)

(I think that’s the bridge. What if we move towards the comm centre, taking it back would be beneficial)

(That makes sense)

(We will push out to the 0 shaped room just after the docks.) Moving past the site of the Bridge teams' combat with two guards you see the hallway splits into a left and right side. One side is for people leaving the dock and the other looks for people coming in so the traffic streams do not cross. Both hallways are dark and even the emergency lighting is offline now.

“Which side do you think we should take? If we go through the side people come in, we may be able to eliminate some problems for the bridge capture team”

"It sounds like a coin flip to me - your way sounds good. I'll go a bit out ahead in case there are any ambushes."

“And I’ll follow for fire support. Let’s do it”

Barnabas fiddles with his assault suit for a moment to make sure the low-light and infrared systems are turned on, then he heads down the hallway, laser rifle at the ready.

At the end of the intake hallway it looks like a pair of security eyebots are beginning to sweep the chamber on a patrol route. You do not hear any alerts or signals coming in yet, but it is only a matter of time before the locals realize they have been boarded.

(Do they look like they are coming down the hallway toward us, or are they just crossing the intersection ahead and maybe looking this way?)

(crossing the intersection and will be looking this way in a second or two)

Barnabas makes a quick hand signal to Proceus as he tries to melt into the side of the passageway. (Or duck behind any cover that might be available)

Proceus quickly flattens against the wall in an effort to not be seen I should have totally brought some scrambler grenades

(sneak/dex, both of you)

(8 for Barnabas)

(6 for moi)

(If that 6 ends up being a failure, Barnabas will spend 1 Effort for the day on Alternate Outcome, so Proc can reroll. 4/5 Effort remaining.)

(It would be, so lets get that sweet re-roll when you can Proc)

(Ouch, 5)

The eyebot begins to warble, seeing Proceus just as he dives for cover. A shrill alarm sound begins to fill the deck area as they move closer to investigate.

Barnabas stays flattened against the wall, hoping his position remains secure for the moment. He also scans ahead for a possible teleportation point further up the corridor or at the intersection. (If a team starts heading down the corridor, Barnabas might want to teleport past them and attack from behind.)

“Ah shit. There goes stealth.” Proceus growls as he slips his shear rifle off the swing, aims it at one of the eyebots, and takes a shot (edited)

10:01 AM

(23/18)

Proceus easily smashes the first of the two eye bots as the shear field takes it apart at a molecular level. The disassembled and broken parts hit the decking like an iron rain.

10:48 AM

(Barny, im considering your action held, did you want to use it or wait for the bot to go first)

(Thanks - now that Proc is shooting, I'll shoot, too) Hearing the shot go off from Proceus' gun, Barnabas takes aim at the remaining bot with his laser rifle. (10/10)

(I’m sorry if you didn’t want me to shoot, just thought that since shear rifles are quiet, might as well resolve the problem)

(No worries - I wasn't thinking that the eyebots themselves would attack, so you're probably right to take them out right away)

(They probably can’t attack, but if we take care of it fast enough maybe we can pass it off as a false alarm) (edited)

The shot misses the bot and the survivors begins returning fire down the corridor with the laser pistol built into its slight frame. The shot burns the decking near Barnabas, but misses.

(Should I roll initiative?)

(Not worth it, just go ahead and shoot)

Proceus trains his rifle on the second one, then pulls the trigger quickly. Maybe we can pass this off as a false alarm

8:41 PM

(19/7)

The second shot shatters the flimsy eyebot. Its broken pieces scatter across the ground and it joins its companion. The alert seems to die with them

“Well, what to do now? We may be able to pass off as techs if we take the previous tech’s uniforms, or we could keep rushing to the comm center”

"Let's keep moving. Reinforcements are bound to come soon, and I'd rather not get stuck in this hallway with them."

“Got it. To the comm center it is then” Proc says giddily, and breaks off at a run

Barnabas takes a moment to unplug his laser pistol from the assault rifle and plug in his laser rifle, then he joins Proceus in the run toward the comm center.

Moving ahead you enter a place where the chambers widen. Five universal staterooms are in this area just past the docks and the doors to each have been closed. It's unclear if the captors had managed to take hostages, but there aer many people reported on the Chloe platform that are missing now.

Proceus stops abruptly when he sees the doors. “Let’s check for hostages. The less leverage they have on us, the more we’ll be able to do.”

Barnabas closes his eyes for a moment and imagines himself opening to door to one of the staterooms, visualizing the scene when the door comes open. (Oracle, 1 Effort for the day, 3/5 remaining.)

There are five hostages in the westernmost state room, being held captive by three enemy gunmen

Barnabas opens his eyes. “There are some hostages in the room at the far west. Three gunmen covering them. Don’t ask me how I know that - I just do sometimes.” “So do we want to be heroes, duck into one of the unoccupied rooms - at least I think the others are unoccupied - or keep going to the comm center?”

“Well, that’s a neat trick.” Proceus says before beginning to ponder an action. “If we agitate them, we could get a hostage shot. I don’t like leaving them there, but I don’t know what to do about it.”

“I think the best course of action is to keep moving, but to mark this down as a hostage situation so people don’t accidentally barge in there”

(either option works)

(What do you think barnabas?)

“I agree - we can save a lot more hostages by getting control of the station than we can trying to rescue them one group at a time.”

“Then on to the comm station we go then”

There is a muffled thump from within one of the rooms that was not seen in the vision as containing hostages. It repeats after three seconds, and it sounds like steam is venting on the other side

(What type of locks are these?)

(Keypad on the doors )

“Want to check that out barnabas?” Proceus looks at the door and wonders if his cyberware can interface with it. (Can I attempt a program/int check to open it?)

“Yeah, you don’t suppose they’re dropping bombs on the planet from here? I didn’t see anything about these rooms when I saw the hostages.”

“Or maybe they’re keeping someone sedated with sleeping gas? I have no idea, just spitballing really” (edited)

“Well, I don’t have a good way in except to shoot the door open. What about you?”

“I’m a novice when it comes to hacking, but I may be able to bypass the lock. Let’s try that before we bust in”

“Go for it.”

(proigram/int proc)

Proceus plugs into the pad and begins to make small gestures, using his direct interface to hack into the machine.(10)

The door opens and you can see the source of the noise. Some kind of malfunctioning sleep gas grenade is giving off small puffs of air. The concentration is too slight to bother you or put you to sleep but this room seems like a stockpile. A handful of combat rifles, ammunition, power cells, grenades, and even a few anti tank mines are in this room- all stamped with the helmeted spartan head of the Protectorate.

Barnabas steps into the room and takes some pictures with his compad. “I don’t know if we can secure this stuff. We may want to do a controlled blast or something to make sure the terrorists don’t get them back, but we need to record what we’re seeing.”

Proceus looks around the room “We can use one of these sleep grenades to go free those hostages. It’d be a lot easier if everyone in the room was asleep”

“True - and the hostages might be able to tell us something,” Barnabas adds. “I mean, after they’re awake again.”

“Alright. Let’s do it.” Proceus grabs a sleep grenade and hands it to barnabas. “I’ll let you do the honors. I’ll open and close the door real quick so you can toss it through”

“Let’s hope this works. Okay, go!”

(There’s enough for each of you to have one , or Barney to throw two of proc is on door duty )

Barnabas grabs the sleep grenades and offers one to Proceus. “It’s probably faster if we each toss one in.”

“No objection here.” Proc grins as he takes one, then gets ready to open the door and toss in the grenade as soon as barnabas signals

Barnabas grips his grenade, ready to trigger and throw it, then signals to Proc to open the door.

(need a hit roll for each of you, just have to get over a 10 so it doesn't scatter)

(Crit, 29)

1

(19/9)

Two grenades roll into the room as Proceus hacks the door, using the same method he used on the armory room. It is quickly sealed and a pair of muffled pops followed by coughing is a strong indicator the gas is working.

Proc puts his ear to the door and forms a funnel with his hands to hear through the door. When all signs of struggle stops, he opens the door once more with one hand, mag pistol in his other, ready if somehow anybody had a vac suit or a filtration system of some sort. (edited)

(I think once we finish this, since Fatimah dropped I'll combine you with the other mission)

12:54 PM

Inside you can see five hostages, including the station's captain. THe others are members of his bridge crew and all of them look to have been beaten and otherwise abused recently

“Let’s get the gunmen tied up, then we can help the hostages as they start to come out of it,” Barnabas says, looking for zip ties and other gear with which to immobilize the gunmen. (If nothing else, I’m hoping we can re-use whatever the terrorists were using to tie up the hostages.)

There are lengths of rope available here that can be re used as well as simple plastic cuffs for an added layer of immobility

Barnabas gets to work tying up the gunmen, using both the rope and the cuffs. He also moves any weapons away from the gunmen. Then he moves to untie hostages and get them in a comfortable position so that they can be revived.

It takes about five minutes to complete this work and the captain begins coming to as the concentration of sleep gas works its way out of his system.

Proceus smiles “Hey you. You’re finally awake.” Proc sticks out his hand to help him up and as an introduction. “I’m Proceus, and my friend here is Barnabas. We’re here to liberate your station from the terrorists that took it over.”

The captain is awake, but terrible things have been done to his body. He has been beaten several times and it looks like someone tried cutting through one of his fingers to try to get his signet ring off before they got it off of him through some other means,

"We'll need to get you medical attention," Barnabas says to the captain. "Can you tell us anything about who is responsible, or what forces they may have? We're sweeping the station now, but anything you can tell us may help us secure the station and minimize any loss of innocent lives."

"Couple hundred demonstrators. They're not local, said the Protectorate gave them guns to "take back what is theirs" . Only caught bits and pieces while they were beating me. Not sure how many have guns,l probably not too many, but more than my security had"

(when this is done we will join the other squad)

2

“The protectorate, huh. We actually just found an armory with a bunch of weapons with their stamp on it. I don’t like how this looks.” Proceus looks over the group of hostages. “But that can wait. Let’s get you guys medical attention, and then we can keep going.”

Barnabas nods his head in agreement.

(I'm gonna archive this since we joined the other mission and don't need it anymore)